ASSI Market North Wales — Local services in Montgomery Township

Today Nov 16th, 2016, I walked around the store, looking around with the intent of writing this review. I wasn't there to shop, I was there to learn.

Assi Plaza is quite the store. We found it a number of years ago simply by driving by it. We saw the Korean letters on the sign and had to check it out. Having grown up in NYC, we were used to going to local Asian markets, where almost nothing was written in English and almost nobody spoke English.

Assi Plaza is no different. They have a huge amount of items there that is from Asia, and much of it has no English on it other than the nutrition label. Some items I picked up had nothing I could read at all other than "Made in ".

Here is where Assi Plaza veers away from the store's we were used to visiting.

Products here literally come from all over the world. As I walked around today I randomly picked up items just to see where they were from. There are a LOT of things from Korea, which makes sense since their parent company in is Korea. Even with me having shopped repeatedly at the store, I never realized just how many countries are represented there!

These are the countries that I found products from today: Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, China, El Salvador, Germany, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United States, and Vietnam.

What really surprised me though was how many dessert type items came from Turkey! Who'd've thought...

I dare you to go to Assi Plaza and look around and NOT find something you have never seen before. I don't care if you are a world traveling chef. I dare you to go. You WILL find some product you have never seen before. If all you're used to is your local supermarket and or Walmart, do yourself a favor. BRING A COOLER, especially if it's warm or hot out. Their refrigerators and freezers are amazing, just as filled with things as the shelves.

The prices we have found have been totally reasonable, bearing in mind that much of it is imported from all over the world. Will rice be cheaper at Walmart? Of course. Will you find sixty varieties of rice at Walmart? Of course not.

You could even take the kids and make it an educational trip. Show them foods from around the world. I have never been there without at least one woman making something fresh to give as a sample. Today is was dried anchovies in a hot sauce. The last time is was shrimp dumplings and something else with vegetables.

Go to Assi Plaza. You...

Assi Plaza is amazing. I always wanted to go to a Korean grocery store but none exist where I live. I learned that there is an Assi store right in North Wales PA. It took about 50 minutes to get there from my house and yes it was worth the drive. Assi Plaza had everything I ever wanted to try plus more. Tons of fresh fruits and veggies that you will never find at a regular grocery store. Their seafood section was like stepping into a fish market. There is so much fish and seafood to choose from. There are Isle after Isle of food to chose from. Even a snack Isle! Tons of yummy different kimchi as well. The fresh meat was like a dream land. I get sick and tried of looking at the same cuts off meat at a regular grocery store. At Assi Plaza you will find almost every part of the animal available to purchase. I love chicken feet and I found them with no problem. And the super thin cut off steak and belly pork for shabu shabu/ hot pot was available. Even the meat for a bbq. I can write a whole review on just the meats they have available. There frozen food section is a good size as well tons to choose. From fish cake to dumplings and even ice cream! There is a section to purchase alcohol. Also a section where there are several different shops. They sell things such as clothes, beauty, massaging area and I believe spot to purchase herbal gifts. If you are worried you might not have the right cookware to cook all the food you just bought. There is a houseware section as well. There you will find all the cooking pots you need, plates, utensils, knives and tons more. I even found a electric BBQ grill for indoors. At the very end of my trip I visited their restaurant area. There are I believe 4 or five small restaurants to choose from plus a bakery cafe. You order your food to go or sit and relax. I got the fried chicken to take home. When I got home and finally got to sit and eat. The fried chicken was still crunchy and juicy not dried at all. The fried chicken has such a clean taste after swallowing no after taste like you would normally get when you eat other fried foods. I plan on going back soon. Your first trip there is going to be overly whelming. There are tons to choose from. For example that's isn't just 5 types of sauces to choose from there isles of to them. The 50 minute trip to Assi Plaza was worth it. I left with a car full groceries. I was happy as well...

I go to this store at least once a week on my way home from work. It can be hit or miss and there are pros and cons of shopping at an asian/international market with the language barrier being a pretty big one. You are likely to get more help from fellow shoppers than workers.

While you can get some great deals on fish and produce, you have to really look over your fresh food purchases closely for spoilage. Use your senses; touch, feel, smell EVERYTHING. Don't go in thinking everything is perfectly ripe or that the store is cheaper across the board because it is not. If you need a gallon of Soy Sauce or Sesame oil, sure you'll get it cheap but if you need a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk, you'd get a much better price at a wawa or 7-eleven.

Buyer beware on seafood regardless of where you get it. Make sure you see and smell any fresh seafood you purchase before it is wrapped. My Assi advice is to go fresh whenever you can. I'm not kidding. Nothing is worse than grabbing "freshly frozen" store packaged fish and getting home only to realize as it thaws that it smells bad. That has happened to me a couple times at Assi.

The exception is their broad selection of pre-packaging imported seafood. I've found the quality there to be excellent. They have crayfish, shrimp, softshell crab, crab legs, squid, mackrell and more at good prices all year round.

I'm also a big fan of their freshly butchered meats. Don't get too excited because it can be pretty pricey. So, when they do have a sale be sure to stock up! I especially like the pork belly in a variety of cuts and the ribeye slices. Don't be afraid to grab a beef shin or neck bone for a soup or stew.

So take Assi with a grain of salt. Give yourself plenty of time to explore and enjoy the experience of shopping outside of your comfort zone. Hit the food court and try some authentic Korean/Asian food too. Just don't forget your Product Quality values when you get there and you'll surely...