I was beginning to worry that my blog was moving away from all things food and travel and towards sports, what with Ascot and Wimbledon and then the part of my weekend spent watching the Tour de France time trials in Hyde Park.
Oh, and did I mention that Tom outdid himself by getting his hands on two tickets to the Women’s Final and Federer’s semi-final match on Saturday?
Despite all this sports fabulousness, what I really want to share is Jon and my discovery of the Thai-An Grocery off Chapel Market in Islington.
What’s so noteworthy about the Thai-An Grocery? I thought you’d never ask!
Normally, Jon and I buy 10kg (22.2 lbs) bags of jasmine rice in Chinatown. What this means is that whenever we want to re-stock up on rice, Jon slings this heavy, large bag of rice on his back and schlepps it through the hordes of tourists in Leicester Square, onto the tube, and then to our place in Islington.
With the discovery of Thai-An, a clean and organized Asian food store here in our neighborhood, Jon and I can now walk a few minutes to Chapel Market to pick up all the Asian basics in a pinch: fresh tofu, Thai eggplants, bean sprouts, sushi nori, frozen xiao long bao, and varieties of soy sauce in sizes much larger than the piddly condiment size stocked at our Sainsbury’s. And as Jon will tell you, the best part about Thai-An is that now when he has to lug 10kg of rice around, he doesn’t have to contend with crowds and a tube ride.
Chapel Market, by the way, is a daily outdoor market near Angel tube station that makes up for its extreme unattractiveness by selling useful goodies like rolls of garbage bags for a pound. Because the vendors sell such random, prosaic items, it’s never going to be a tourist attraction. And that’s the way I like it.
ooooh! i’m so excited, i’ve been craving tofu!
“Jon slings this heavy, large bag of rice on his back and schlepps it through the hordes of tourists in Leicester Square” – so that’s what a husband is good for!
So excited about this tip…will definitely stop by Thai-An this coming weekend!
How great to have two commenters in the neighborhood! Let me know how Thai-An strikes you. It’s small but very handy, no?
Love Thai-An. They cater at lunch and serve an expressive selection of curries (genuine ones, with lemongrass etc), thai, malysian and others I have not tried yet. They also serve an excellent duck which is enough to satisfy my regular cravings for full fat meat. The best thing about it is that I don’t have to go to Chinatown either and drag my uncooperative 10 month old daughter! Thanks for your blog and your tips as my husband and i moved 4 months ago from Chicago.
khun, glad to hear the takeaway food at Thai-An is good. I’ve noticed it but am usually carrying so many groceries already that I haven’t tried the takeaway. And, by the way, I hope you’re loving Islington as much as I do. Wait until that Waitrose finally opens on Liverpool Road. With Thai-An, Chapel Market, the Sunday farmer’s market, the Sainsbury’s, M&S, the Italian delis off Chapel Market and Canonbury Road, and the Sampler wine shop (not to mention Exmouth Market a quick skip away), I’ll never have to leave N1 again to do my food & beverage shopping. Eat your heart out, crazy-mobbed-mad Borough Market!
[...] sesame oil and other Asian pantry basics, there’s the small, tidy and unfailingly-friendly Thai-An just behind the [...]
Thanks a loot – am a londoner/islingtonian and wanted to make a Thai green curry… However I had no clue where to shop and didnt want to go travelling too far on my chill out Sunday!
Thia An had everything i wanted only down the road from my newington Green residence… much appreciated!!!
Now i have the ingrediaents, lets hope the cooking is just as easy!!
Very happy Lady
Anonymous – I’m so glad to hear this post was helpful to you, and I’m even gladder to hear the pleasant, hard-working folks at Thai-An are benefiting from your custom. Hope your green curry turned out delish.
Thanks for sharing this. I will check out this supermarket! Do they stock frozen prawns?? Do you know any good Vietnamese supermarkets around that area?
I love Japanese supermarkets! Always find some new and interesting foods
http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/japanese-supermarket-inside-tour/
What are there opening hours?
it’s been shut the few times i’ve been there after i get back from work
Thai-An is the bomb fam, been hittin’ dat joint regular for mad long! Respect 2 my homies Thai and An, you bluds are fam innit, legit like.