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Where to get Asian groceries in Auckland, New Zealand

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Your few first weeks of living as an international student in New Zealand will probably feel fascinating. There is a plethora of new taste from the local menu such as Maori Hangi, Crayfish, Kina and many others.

After you’ve been in New Zealand for a while though, you might come to miss home-cooked Indonesian food and the staples that you grew up eating.

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If that’s the case, then roll up your sleeves, and start cooking! Now, while many supermarkets in New Zealand have an Asian section, we recommend that you shop at Asian supermarkets to get the most authentic, freshest ingredients.

For example, you might want to get ingredients such as soto ayam or gado-gado!

Asian Groceries in Auckland, New Zealand

When you start shopping, you may notice how Indonesian food shares quite a lot of similar ingredients with the cuisines from other Asian countries. For example, we love cooking with chili and spices. These staples you can easily find in the section of Indian food. We also have a fond favorite of white rice. This you can buy in Japanese grocery stores. So, bear in mind while it may be hard to find a specialized Indonesian grocery store, you can always get nifty and adjust the ingredients with stuffs you can find from other Asian stores. Or maybe completely replace something else that would taste the same? Talk about culinary exploration!

Regardless of whether you’re craving Chinese, Japanese, Indian, or Korean food, there’s always a specialist grocery store where you can get your ingredients! Otherwise, you can check out Big T Supermarket which specializes in food from a variety of cuisines from Malaysian, to Japanese, to Indonesian!

So now without further ado, we’ll be sharing where to buy Asian groceries in Auckland, New Zealand.

1. Chinese Grocery Stores

Tai Ping is one of the best-known Asian and Chinese supermarkets in Auckland, and you can find all the Chinese ingredients you need here.

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Tai Ping, 3037 Great North Road, Auckland. Like Tai Ping’s Facebook Page to get updates on their latest promotions and discounts.

2. Japanese Grocery Stores

Japan Mart is a Japanese grocery store chain that was established in New Zealand back in 1987. They carry the largest selection of Japanese food products you’ll find in New Zealand, and they’ve got outlets at Newmarket, Sylvia Park, Wyndham Street, Manukau, Henderson and Riccarton.

The newest branch is the one located at Wyndham Street, and this comes stocked with plenty of Japanese ingredients, including miso paste, soy sauce, nori, wasabi, pickled ginger, and more. Lazy to make a trip down? You can also visit Japan Mart’s online store.

Japan Mart, 26-28 Wyndham Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010

3. Indian Grocery Stores

Craving for the rich flavours and aromatic spices that characterize Indian food? A popular Indian grocery store in Auckland is Patel Brothers; this store has outlets at SunnyBrae Road, Carr Road, and Queen Street.

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Another well-known Indian supermarket in Auckland is Lotus Supermarket at Stoddard Road. This is a one-stop shop that sells Indian spices, vegetables, frozen foods, and even prayer items. There’s a halal meat stall located in the same compound, and the Chapati stall on the corner sells homemade chapatis, samosas, and pani puris.

Lotus Supermarket, 64 Stoddard Rd, Mount Roskill, Auckland 1041

4. Korean Grocery Stores

If you’re looking to get Korean ingredients, H Mart is definitely your supermarket of choice.

This grocery store has a wide variety of Korean products, including ramen, kimchi, Korean chilli powder, and more. H Mart also has an online store where you can check out its newest arrivals and discounted products.

Apart from the standard pantry staples, you can also stock up on claypots, portable stoves, and other cooking equipment. There’s also a counter selling freshly roasted meats; we hear these are pretty good.

H Mart, 166c Harris Rd, East Tamaki, Auckland 2013

Becoming A True-Blue New Zealander

You might take some time to adjust to life in Auckland, but there’s no rush. Start off by exploring the different Asian grocery stores (and figuring out which will be your go-to), and take it from there!

For those of you thinking of studying and living in New Zealand, IDP is here to assist you and offer our support.

Apart from walking our candidates through the process of applying to study overseas and placing them in universities, we also help students settle down overseas, and take care of their accommodation and welfare.

Who knows? This time next year, you could be studying in Auckland, and cooking up a storm for yourself in your own apartment. Check out our website to find out more!