Thai Phat is an INCREDIBLE Asian market on North Street. I have no idea how we have been blessed with such as amazing source like this, but I'm grateful for gift horses - which I haven't yet found there, but I've found many other kinds of protein that Price Chopper doesn't have!! A variety of whole, fresh fish, quail, goat, all parts of every animal (chicken feet, tripe, hearts, gizzards, kidneys, pigs feet, etc, etc, all beautifully cleaned!!), fresh tofu in bulk, the list goes on and on. Then there's the dry goods, canned and bottled goods, all the sweets, and all the kitchen equipment. That doesn't even include all the items in their refrigerators and freezers (take home an awesome dumpling-fest, instead of fast-food!), the incredible variety of gorgeous herbs and vegetables (their cilantro is reliably the best in town!), and their fruit selection! They have fresh lychee nuts / fruits, aaaannd... DURIAN!! Andrew Zimmern's nemesis, and Tony Bourdain's favorite fruit, that is banned in many cities because of it's strong smell! Well, they have it, in a couple of forms; sometimes whole & "fresh", although it doesn't smell, so I question it's freshness (very understandable, as I would guess many shipping companies would not want to take such a strong-smelling fruit!). They also have it frozen, however, both whole, and just the important edible center part, frozen while ripe. That's what I tried, and OH MY - yup, it smells! It's worth trying though, because the texture is lovely, and if you can get past the smell, it tastes pretty good. If you would like to ease in to it, they have a variety of sweet things (candy, etc.) that are durian flavored to start you off. Of course, that's not the only flavor they have, so don't be scared off.
If you like trying fun, new sweets, keep an eye on the counter area - they always have interesting, new, and fun dessert-y type things to try there, for a fairly low price. Some of my favorites are the sesame candy, young coconut candy, and cashew nut cookies, depending on what they have!
I used to feel a bit intimidated to ask questions, as I am often the only non-Asian in there, and I don't hear much English being spoken. At this point, I ask anyway, and the staff people generally do speak English, and are very helpful. They try to find answers if they don't know something right away.
I have no idea how they fit so much stuff into such a small store, yet it's all organized, and you can find what you're looking for, too! If you need an ingredient for an Asian dish / meal, or many ingredients, this is the place to come! The prices are definitely right too - very inexpensive! I think the primary goal of this place is for the community to have access to the quality food they love, and making money is secondary.
(Last word - right across the street is a newer Himalayan Market, which is great! If you are looking for Indian ingredients at the same time, just head over there - they're awesome too!). read more