Expat Grocery Shopping in Asia: Finding What You Miss From Home

The Comfort Food Crisis

Two months into living in Seoul, I found myself standing in a Korean supermarket, holding a package labeled "cheese" that looked like a sheet of orange plastic, wondering what I'd done with my life. Korean supermarkets are fantastic for Korean food — the kimchi section alone occupies more shelf space than most American grocery stores dedicate to their entire dairy department. But if you want cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, good bread, olive oil, decent coffee beans, peanut butter that doesn't taste like candy, or any of the hundred small ingredients that form the foundation of Western cooking, you need a strategy. Every long-term expat in Asia develops one, and the intel about which stores carry which products is traded with the seriousness of stock tips.

The International Supermarket Network

Bangkok

Tops Marketplace (multiple locations, particularly the Sukhumvit 24 and Central Embassy branches) carries the widest range of imported products in Bangkok. The cheese section has proper cheddar, brie, gouda, and parmesan from European producers. Villa Market (Sukhumvit 33) is the classic expat grocery store — smaller selection but curated specifically for Western palates, with Australian beef, imported pasta, craft beer, and a decent wine section. Prices are 2–3x what you'd pay at home, but availability is consistent. Foodland (Sukhumvit) is a 24-hour option with a good imported section and reasonable prices on basics. For the real deep cuts — specific brands of hot sauce, American breakfast cereals, British biscuits — Lazada and Shopee deliver imported groceries with wider selection than any physical store.

Tokyo

National Azabu Supermarket (Hiroo/Azabu) is Tokyo's legendary international grocery store. The selection of imported goods from the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia is unmatched in Japan — real tortilla chips, imported pasta sauce, tahini, hummus, canned beans, and an entire aisle of international breakfast cereals. Prices are eye-watering (expect to pay ¥1,000–¥2,000/$6.70–$13.40 for imported items that cost $3–$5 at home), but for specific products you can't find elsewhere, National Azabu is the answer. Nissin World Delicatessen (Higashi-Azabu) offers similar range with slightly lower prices on some items. For budget-friendly imports, the Kaldi Coffee Farm chain (found in most shopping malls) stocks a surprisingly good selection of imported spices, sauces, pasta, and snacks at reasonable prices.

Costco Japan (membership ¥4,840/$32 annually) deserves special mention. There are locations in Makuhari, Kawasaki, and several suburban areas, and they stock bulk American products — Kirkland brand everything, real American bacon, imported cheese blocks, peanut butter in large jars, and granola in quantities that last months. If you have a car (or a friend with a car), a monthly Costco run provides most of the home-comfort products you need at prices that, while not cheap, are dramatically lower than National Azabu.

Seoul

Itaewon has been the traditional expat grocery destination, with Foreign Food Mart and the High Street Market offering imported goods. But the real game-changer is iHerb (iherb.com), which ships to Korea with customs-free deliveries under $150. Protein powder, supplements, imported snacks, gluten-free products, and specialty foods arrive in 3–5 days. For physical stores, Emart Traders (a Costco-style warehouse chain) stocks some imported products at bulk prices. SSG Food Market in Gangnam's Shinsegae department store has a premium import section with European cheeses, Japanese wagyu, and American snacks — at department store prices, naturally.

Singapore

Cold Storage and FairPrice Finest are the mid-range international grocery options, available across the island with solid imported product sections. The cheese, bread, and deli selections at Cold Storage (particularly the Holland Village and Takashimaya branches) satisfy most Western grocery needs. For specialty items, Meidi-Ya (Japanese imports), Little India's spice shops, and Mustafa Centre (24-hour shopping complex in Little India with an enormous grocery section) cover almost every culinary tradition on earth. RedMart (online, owned by Lazada) delivers groceries including imported products within 2-hour windows and is how most Singapore expats handle weekly grocery shopping.

Local Alternatives That Are Actually Better

Not every Western product needs a Western replacement. Some local alternatives are improvements that you'll miss when you leave Asia. Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie) is richer and more umami-forward than Hellmann's or Best Foods — every expat who tries it converts permanently. Thai coconut milk from Chaokoh or Aroy-D is fresher and creamier than any imported brand. Korean gochujang (fermented red pepper paste) replaces Sriracha, hot sauce, and harissa with a depth of flavor that none of those match. Vietnamese fish sauce (Phu Quoc brand) elevates any savory dish in ways that salt alone can't. And Japanese rice — proper short-grain rice cooked in a proper rice cooker — makes you realize that the rice you were eating at home was a pale approximation of what rice can be.

The Asian pantry items worth learning to cook with: soy sauce (Kikkoman or a local equivalent), sesame oil, rice vinegar, mirin (sweet rice wine), miso paste, oyster sauce, fish sauce, gochujang, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves. Stocking these transforms your home cooking into something that's influenced by where you live rather than fighting against it. The expats who eat best in Asia are the ones who adopt local ingredients into their existing cooking repertoire rather than trying to recreate a Brooklyn kitchen in Bangkok. Use the local market for 80% of your ingredients and the international store for the 20% you genuinely can't replace. Your food will be better, your grocery bill will be lower, and your cooking skills will expand in ways that last long after you leave.