New Oriental Food Store — Local services in Des Moines

I love the New Oriental Food Store in the East Village, it's where I buy all my specialty asian foods. The owners are very friendly and helpful, for instance, I wanted to make Thai Sticky Rice. I asked the owner if she knew what kind of rice I would need and how to make it. She showed me the right kind of rice, and told me exactly how to make it. It turned out great! Better than restaurant versions, even.

They also have excellent fresh produce and their fresh basil is to die for. I buy a batch for $2 and it lasts us all week. The prices are also quite good, comperable to bigger asian markets...

After 4 stops at traditional grocery stores near my home I came to this location in search of miso paste. I wandered the store and was impressed with the selection of products. After a few minutes I was asked if I needed help and they helped me locate the miso paste. I should have known, but the quality of the paste in our meal was better than anything we had purchased at a standard grocery store. I can't wait to bring my wife back...

Parking was a bit of a challenge, either find it on the street or go around to the back of the building which were not clearly marked for this business. Limited amount of produce at fair prices. No fruits. We found frozen jumbo size shrimp at a great price. Most items were not marked so we had to keep asking what the price of each item was. This is a smaller version of a typical asian market. The lady who serves as cashier was not...