They say Globalisation is bad but I say it's great! Who would have thought that in 2011 you'd be…read moreable to buy just about any type of Japanese snack, drink or grocery right in your neighbourhood. Gone are the days when Japanese migrants or travellers to Japan would stuff their bags with food and drink so they could relive or share their experience with loved ones. No more having to wait in line at Quarantine only to have your food confiscated because the ingredients were all in Japanese. Fuji Mart near Prahran Market has it all. Fresh, frozen, preserved, pickled, pasteurised, bottled, canned, boxed, shrunk wrapped, bubble wrapped, perfumed etc - whatever your Japanese grocery need, this power packed store will be able to deliver. Try your hand at cooking up a Sukiyaki meal or learn the art of sushi rolling. Indulge in some Japanese sweets - try the frozen Mochi or taste the weird but wonderful Choya (plum wine) I absolutely adore this store and since my first visit, I haven't been able to stop. They also carry a range of Japanese crockery, household items, homeware and decorative items so you no longer have to fly miles across the equator to say Domo Arigato Mr Roboto!

I love Fuji Mart. When I am looking for something different to cook for dinner, I can always come…read moreup with a delicious dish with ingredients bought from here. 2015 has been a year of Japanese cooking for me and Fuji Mart is fully stocked with authentic Japanese ingredients, whether it be tempura batter, panko breadcrumbs, soba noodles, speciality sauces or different meats to cook with. I especially love their Sake range too. Staff are really friendly and smiley and have been known to help me with the Japanese language too!

My new neighbourhood Asian store has actually been one of my favourites for awhile now because my…read moresister has lived in the area for years. But now that I'm a local in the Caulfield area, it's become number one in my books. The couple that own it are really nice and do a great job getting to know their customers. It's like going to a family run store knowing you'll get top notch service every time. The couple are really good with recommendations too so if you're torn between brands, they can advise you which might be better for the dish you're preparing. Like all Asian grocery stores, you can find everything to do with Asian cooking here and some more rare ingredients like Laksa leaf (needed for curry laksa) and durian (frozen). They also sell a range of nyonya kueh (Asian desserts) and on some days you can get yu tiao (fried dough sticks) for porridge.

Pretty stoked to have found this terrific Asian grocer int eh heart of the city. With a huge sake…read morecollection, snacks from Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia and lots of other places, it's a great way to stock up on interesting bits and pieces and recreate dishes from your favourite restaurants in town. I was really happy to see that the veggies were super fresh, and will be heading here next time I miss a market day up the road at Queen Vic.

Craving some instant noodles at 11pm on a Sunday night? This is your place!…read more Couldn't believe the range of Asian groceries they had in this store! Everything from Fresh Vegetables and Soy Milk to Instant anything and Beer and Spirits as well! The shop is well lit and one of the cleanest on the street! Pop in and see what you find!

I was on my way home from the city on Wednesday and I remembered that I didn't have any munchies…read morefor games night with the guys. And right next the entrance of Melbourne Central Station there is this grocery store. " The Urban Asian Grocery" reads the slogan on the pillar out front. It had great range of chips with all kinds of Asian flavors, like masala. And the guys kind of compete to bring unusual chip flavors when they come over for our regular Wednesday night games night. This week I had the most novel flavor of chips. Otherwise it is a pretty regular grocery store - what more can I say?

Don't be confused by the name and go here thinking its a Woolies type grocery store. It is, as the…read moresign at the entrance suggests, an Asian specialty food market. Sure, they've got a good variety of Asian goods, yeah its in a central location in Melbourne Central conveniently near the train station, and it is clean and pretty. However, I can get the same, if not better, large range of Asian rices, noodles, sauces, herbs and spices from my favoured local markets around Glenroy, with friendlier and more helpful service and at prices that make me smile, not cringe.

Since the renovations the place rules, best green grocer in Melbourne now. Abby is wrong.read more

Abby E has given this store a low rating because she was told not to ruin the fruit for the next…read moreperson? Give me a break. There's other ways to tell if fruit is ripe, try smelling it. I'd also like to comment that saying you would stab the "b-tch" is not edgy writing, it's rude and uncalled for! It's people like this who ruin the otherwise pleasant shopping experience in Hawksburn. The produce at Toscano's is great (provided some rude selfish person hasn't squashed it all before you get there), they have a nice variety of deli meats, pasta, sauces, dips and yoghurts. If I want to avoid the crowds down at Prahran Market, this is a great place to go. I'm also impressed by the staff who I've seen carrying boxes of produce to customers' cars. It's the little things about Toscano's that makes it such a nice place to shop.

If you're looking at adding some authenticity to your Asian cooking, you can't go past this place…read morefor the best in Asian vegetables, sauces and noodles. The staff are really friendly, and even if you don't really know what you're looking for they are more than willing to help out. I wondered in a couple of months ago pondering if my chicken with vegetables and singapore noodles could be improved with some better produce. Telling the smiling Asian grocer what I wanted, he quickly went about helping me pick out some products; bak choy, wombok, and traditional soy and oyster sauce. Not only that, he also went out of his way to give me a secret recipe for making up the yummiest sauce to go with almost any Asian meal you want to create. It was as simple as a bit of oyster and soy sauce and a teaspoon of gravy powder, mixed with some fresh Asian herbs and garlic paste! My husband was VERY impressed, even my daughter didn't believe I'd cooked it. The ever helpful grocer also gave me a great recipe for making fresh pork and vegetable rolls using the leaves of wombok to wrap the filling in. So delish...and all of these great recipes and new, fresh ingredients have given me the inspiration to throw my very own dinner party. If only I could get the grocer to come over and cook it for me...

Great little shop. Ingredients from all over Asia. Really helpful staff and good pricingread more

I am impressed every single time I go into Leo's…read more It has to be one of my favorite supermarkets. The range is so wide, I feel like you could go in there and always find something. Shelves are packed in such a nice homely way. Last time, I stumbled upon a spoon of chocolate to make hot chocolate with. Who knew? Plus, their selection of wine has a lot to offer. I could get lost in this supermarket, just looking at everything that they have.

The original Leo's Fine Food & Wine in Kew does a lot right. The bakery, the deli with gourmet…read morecheese, antipasto and salad. The wide range of meats and fresh produce that share the spotlight with a diverse grocery collection. This is the spot to pick up gourmet food for your picnic basket or your next morning tea. However this supermarket has simply outgrown itself. It is full to bursting point with tantlizing tastes and aromas. The result is chaotic. The problem isn't the space itself, more that I have spent time in its sibling supermarket in Heidelberg. That location has wide aisles, great lighting, windows and feels spacious, not so Kew. It does gourmet as well as anyone though and is a great place to browse. I liked the blackboard listing liquor specials and was chuffed to find Viru, an Estonian beer that I enjoyed while living in there. Queue Tallinn flashbacks.

You probably think all Coles supermarkets are pretty much the same. I understand how you could…read morethink that too, if you haven't been to Coles in Flemington. As I type this, Coles Flemington is less than a year old. It's what Coles refers to as a 'new look' supermarket with a different layout, range and service system than the others. If you've ever lived in the UK, it's more like a big Sainsbury's than what we've come to expect of Coles in Australia. The store really has everything you could kind of want for your everyday grocery shopping. There's even a fishmonger and butcher inside. I love their huge range of gluten free products (on which you get a 20% discount if you belong to the coeliac society) and that they use rainwater to clean because of the size of the roof. They also have skylights in the ceiling to reduce the amount of energy used lighting the place. Bottom line: if you have to shop at Coles, this is the one to do it at.

I love this Coles. Truly, I've never had this much affection for a SUPERMARKET. Most supermarkets…read moreare quite humdrum and boring. This particular Coles is quite refreshing. Situated next to the Flemington Showgrounds, the site itself is huge. Coles is the main tenant, and takes up probably 90% of the total floor space. The huge amount of space has allowed them to put in a fish station, butchery section, and a gourmet section (which I find ridiculous). Fruits and vegetables are very well laid out, with multiple long rows. The fish station is set up to replicate a market stall, but it doesn't quite get there yet. What is impressive is that there are whole fish on offer, with several types past the usual basa and barramundi. Despite having whole fish, most of the other seafood is still frozen and from overseas, like fish from Thailand and prawns from China. I find it disappointing, but I have to remind myself this is a supermarket after all. The deli section is about normal size for a Coles supermarket. I would have preferred more choice, but standard fare is offered. The cheese section is impressive, with a wide range of hard and soft cheeses. There is also a bakery section, with fresh bread and biscuits and croissants. I think this is a welcome addition to supermarkets, especially for people who are time poor to visit artisan bakers but want something different from the usual white bread fare. The rest of the supermarket is well laid out, but I got the feeling that they had so much space they didn't really know what to do with it. Six or seven rows of a single product is a bit much don't you think? As a supermarket, there is none better. I use this Coles as a benchmark against other supermarkets. Even Barkly Square doesn't come close. My only gripe is why can't they stock Spreyton Fresh apple juice? It's the best apple juice out there...and they used to stock it until recently.