Longdan Express

Great selection but you could probably find a lot cheaper prices if you made the small trek to C-​town.

Yes!
Quand on aime la cuisine asiatique, et qu’on tombe sur ce magasin, on est juste ravi…
Pas besoin d’aller au quartier chinois, on trouve presque tout ici.
Pour ceux qui connaissent Paris, c’est un petit «Tang Frères» pas loin de Shoreditch!

I always stop at Longdan when I’m in the neighborhood and venture out here when I need to do some serious stocking up.
I can’t really say anything that the other reviewers haven’t expressed already, but I will say this. Do not come on a weekend afternoon! I made this mistake this past weekend. It took me double the time to do my shopping because I was dodging all the hipsters and tourists who were gawking at the shelves. «Oh my gawd… that is so weird.» «OMG, so many dumplings!» «What is that?!» That’s what I’m having for dinner! Now get out of my way!
P. S. They stock the REAL Sriracha sauce! All the Asian Americans know what I’m talking about! ;-)

This place is slightly more expensive than some of the other oriental supermarkets in London, but it’s the best in the area and has a great selection of food from all over the far east. I buy lots of different cooking sauces here, as well as using it as a place to buy snacks for work (I’m a huge fan of laver as a snack). Longdan also has a good selection of fresh vegetables and herbs, big blocks of fresh tofu, and an array of frozen fish. They also do a small selection of sushi and salads to take away.

Every time I take the ol’ 55 bus up and past Longdan Express I say to myself: GET OUT THERE AND GET SOME DELICIOUS CHINESE GUMMIES! OR SOME SPRING ONION MISO SOUP! OR RAMEN! OR SHRIMP CRACKERS! GET OUTTTT!
But I don’t because, y’know…I’m on the bus heading to a meeting, or a lunch date, or it’s raining, or whatever.
But then… I went. Is it controversial (yeah, a little) to say that I might even prefer this to Japan Centre?
Well…hear me out.
There is a LOT packed into this shop, with a really decent selection of fresh produce including tropical fruits, and a broad selection of chills and chinese greens (which I adore). I am also a sucker for the following two things, which Longdan masters:
1. condiments: so many! From different soy sauces to vinegars, spicy sauces, kimchis, wasabis, etc. etc.
2. miso: options galore! From packs that enable me to get my miso-​on at work in a mug (tofu! Seaweed! Spring onion!) to miso pastes which I love to cook with… Longdan has you covered.
Another strength is the freezer section. I currently *do not have a freezer* (this is a very sore subject, and the only benefit is that when I buy ice-​cream I am forced to binge eat it all at once) but if I did… Longdan would be an immediate stop. Frozen dumplings, so many options of frozen fish, frozen veggies, frozen exotic fruits (holla, jackfruit!), frozen dumplings and even something I’d never seen: my beloved wakame salad in frozen form (WTF).

Really good little Asian supermarket with very helpful staff. They always seem to have a good variety of fresh and frozen produce. The back of the shop is where they keep a huge range of sauces and pastes.
Sadly the noodle selection is not what it once was however there should still be enough there to choose from and they now even throw in a free beer if you spend over £15!

Asian supermarket with a ‘bubble tea and bahn mi’ bar?! SIGN ME UP. For everything.
I’ve walked past Logndan Express (why is it express? I do not know… maybe there is a bigger slower sister market somewhere) many times on my pilgrimage to the Columbia Road Flower Market. I always vow to pop in for a bubble tea (one of my vices) and finally, finally — I made it. With a boba virgin, no less!
So my pal and I sidle up and make some decisions. They have a pretty good setup, not super super extensive, but surely cover the basics. I go for a red bean milk tea with boba, she goes for a passionfruit juice tea (clear) with boba. Both are hits! Both with actually honest to god ICE. So they are cold and boba-​y and perfect. They use powders (not real fruit) but so it goes.
The guys were friendly and there is a whole market of oddities (to me) that I’ll be back to explore. I’ll also be hitting up the fresh made bahn mi bar, where you can customise the toppings and get it rarin’ to go. The stuff looked pretty fresh, we’ll see.
They also let me know they are opening a new bubble tea shop on Kingsland road with a more extensive line of bubble teas, so I’ll 1. locate it and 2. review it ASAP. Because I love all of you. And bubble tea.

This place is the bomb! So much frozen food, packaged foods… pretty good selection of asian beverages including alcoholic ones and chips! The location was especially convenient for me as it was one of the only asian markets in the East End. Also everything is cheaper than at the Central asian markets. They even sell chopsticks and bowls.

It’s been about 8 months since I first walked in. It was a freezing new years’ day and it was the only place open. I scored us some fortune cookies that would definitely predict the year ahead and had a quick brows, vowing to return on my lunch break one day.
What can I say? Treasure trove. Since then my diet has improved dramatically… I learned the huge difference between fresh tofu and shelf stable sludge that most supermarkets like to call tofu. I’m now a convert. I’m making my own banh cuon vietnamese pancakes to stuff with lovely fresh veggies and seafood. I am eating tempeh for lunch as I type. I didn’t even KNOW what tempeh was.
Also Japanese stuff I’d missed SO much. Mochi, sake, umeboshi, all your sushi making bits apart from the fish. Including natto. Just in case you ever lose your mind and miss it and need to get hold of some (hasn’t happened yet)
I think I split my weekly shop between here and the fresh fruit/​veg markets of East London now. And honestly, my diet has never been more healthy and varied. Perhaps not the best place if you’re less than open minded… though there is an aisle pretty much dedicated to ramen noodles. And also this stuff does not bankrupt you the way that the «ethnic» section of your normal supermarkets would. Try it. I dares ya.

Pretty decent oriental food store around shoreditch area that sells a range of fresh and frozen food plus sauces and spices!
wait, LOTS OF FROZEN FOOD! (sea food, dumplings, mochi, fruits, noodles) you name it they have it! they also carry some Asian snacks such as dried durian, Japanese candy and Chinese crackers. OH, and JAPANESE SAKE!
they also sell some kitchen appliances such as Tupperware and those wooden Chinese steaming cages (for dim sum)
they have a bubble tea station but i never had the guts to try it as it looks like it has never been touched…
anyway, convenient and closes late, minimum £10 for card though!

Strange personal anecdote, but I LOVE Asian grocery stores. I could browse and gawk for hours, seriously.
This market has a Vietnamese/​Indonesian base, but with plenty of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese staples as well. Small fresh food section, but lots of frozen goodies! I bought some Char Shu Bao and some Coconut Dumplings, Zaru soba and sauce, sesame oil, a can of vanilla latte, Kimchi ramen, and some chapatis. Yup, pretty much hit up every country possible with that bag.
They have a massive selection of frozen seafood and literally a WALL of sauce. Have I mentioned how much I love sauce?
Plus, way cheaper than the Asian groceries in Soho, that’s for sure.
I was smiling the whole time walking home, thinking «I love living in Shoreditch/​Hoxton.»

they have a lot of stuff but they seem to have very poor stock control and it’s very variable. I’ve bought stuff there, liked it, and then gone back 5x on the consistent promise of next time, to never find it again (I’ve stopped going back). And this happened with 3 different things. (I literally cycle past on my way home so it’s easy to stop if you were wondering why I can be botherered!). I’ve complained to the manager and even head office but it falls on deaf ears — one time they gave me a customer satisfaction card to fill in which I took the time to do in some detail, but never heard another peep. So, a company like this that doesn’t care about it’s customers — I cycle by.

Great pan-​asia supermarket with a focus on Vietnamese ingredients. Wide selection of fresh vegetables, frozen goods and dry ingredients. Perfect for your store cupboard. If you want to attempt to replicate some of the dishes from the plethora of Vietnamese restaurants in the area then this is the place to go. Helpful and friendly staff will guide you through the ranges. They also stock a good range of cooking and serving equipment. Highly recommended.

Oriental supermarket. About:‘We supply over 4,000 authentic Vietnamese products of high quality at the best prices. Our products are hand selected by our food specialists to meet customer’s needs. We source products directly from North, Central and South of Vietnam, as well as other Far East countries, including China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines.’
In case you feel like cooking, eating, supplying on anything remotely asian come here! My favourite place to stock up on frozen fish and sea food, odd sauce of some kind and candies with (warning, haha) signs I cannot read. Have some fun experimenting with unknown food (you can’t go that wrong really.) However if you think that is not so much fun, ask the knowledgeable staff, they are happy to help you as a translator and a recipe book in one.
For those who play it supersafe you can find your delicious sushi, dumplings, mochi desserts (flushing them down with Hite optional, but highly recommended) or tea, all ready to takeaway.
ps_​1kg of frozen broad squid=£5=bargain!

Longdan is fantastic and full of things that I want.
This includes my purchases of today: small bottle of light Kikkoman soy sauce, soba noodles, cornstarch, sesame oil, dried mushrooms, Thai chili sauce, sticky rice, good jasmine tea, and Chinese cooking wine. Yay.
Longdan also has lots of things I don’t want but find somewhat amusing.
This includes ‘happy pancakes,’ massive amounts of frozen fish, Japanese mayonnaise, creamy bear shaped cookies, and MSG in a bag.
There are also a few things that I want that Longdan does not have.
This includes light Kikkoman soy sauce in gallon jugs (don’t judge me, it’s very useful), lotus leaves, and round wonton wrappers. That’s okay because they’ve got so many other things — dried things, frozen things, things in bottles, jars, cans, bags, and more. Plus they’ve got chopsticks and rice cookers and bamboo steamers and other useful household items.
Because of all these amazing things, I’d love to give them a full five stars. They’re sooo close, but the only reason I’m not there every day is because of the lack of fresh produce. They’ve got a small fridge with a few herbs and some Asian vegetables, but they’re otherwise really lacking in the fruit and vegetable department. Most of the store is filled with freezers and shelves and so it’s useful to stock up on cooking products but less so for things to actually eat. Although they do have a good selection of frozen dumplings and spring rolls and other defrostable items.
Plus MSG in a bag. Who doesn’t need MSG in a bag?

I love this place! Clean, well organised and tidy. And I cannot smell the durians! I hate the pungent smell of durians so much that I would never ever wanted to try one…
There is a huge range of stuff concentrating mainly on Vietnamese food but there is a tiny Thai, Japanese, Indian and Chinese section. The prices are cheaper than equivalent Vietnamese stores locally.
There are some unusual things like snail flavoured stock cubes along with frozen hotpot seafood mixes. There are various greens I’ve never heard of such as am choi…
There is a counter apparently offering hot foods. But it was not open possibly due to the fact that it was earlyish. Finally special offers were placed in prominent locations at the front of the door to attract passing trade.

Great Vietnamese market on Hackney road. Probably the cleanest, most organized Asian market I’ve ever been to. No funny smells to speak of, and a huge supply of frozen foods. These guys supply the seafood to most of the area Vietnamese markets and they even have their own cookbook for just £4!
They also carry some Korean foods (kim chi, etc.) and some prepared foods, so I’m in heaven.

A massive, amazing Oriental supermarket on the Shoreditch Church end of Hackney Road, that stocks everything you could want from the Promise land. Freezers and freezers full of frozen shellfish, fish, meats and exotic vegetables take up half of the shop. Bit scary if you’re scared of fish as i am.
The rest of the shop is taken up with rows of canned and dried ingredients. noodles, pulses, canned vegetables as well as fresh goods. Huge cash and carry, great for stocking up on some Oriental treats.

Vietnamese, Chinese and oriental supermarkets seem to be getting quite common these days. Generally they have a wonderful assortment of stuff, all crammed onto shelves that look like they came second hand from Woolworths after a refurbishment 20 years ago. Pretty they are not.
Longdon is different. It’s posh. All the shop fittings are new and ‘designed’. And at the same time the range seems to be even greater. They have freezers full of frozen fish and sea foods, dried stuff, sweet stuff, pot noodles with labels I can’t read, etc. They also have a very tempting array of hot stuff right by the checkout (I fell for a dumpling with a lotus seed filling: never had one hot before, but it was great). And they have food from other ethnic groups too. One lot I’m pretty sure was Polish. There’s even some English stuff. As I left I spotted some signs advertising ‘bubble’ drinks that looked intriguing. Have to try them next time
I also sort of like the fact they’ve called this ‘Express’. Competing with Tesco perhaps?
Wonderful shop.
UPDATE: I have now tried the ‘bubble tea’ (mango flavoured without milk to be precise) and want more! Strangely adictive.