Around the World

A visit to the new Great Wall Supermarket is like traveling to Asia without having to step on a plane.

By: Faith Bahadurian

TIMEOFF PHOTOS/Frank Wojciechowski

It’s OK to squeeze the cabbages at Great Wall Supermarket in Franklin Township.

   There’s a growing culinary wonderland north of Princeton. Each time I head up Route 27, I find another intriguing new Indian or Asian restaurant, and now, happily, a huge new supermarket devoted to Asian and Pacific Rim cuisines has opened.
   The Great Wall Supermarket, about eight miles north of downtown Princeton, occupies a 40,000-square-foot space that was once home to an A&P. For my first visit, I took along my friend, Chinese cookbook author Angela Chang, to get her impressions. We spoke briefly to one of the owners, Li Hui Zhang, with his very tall — and genial — manager, Gore Wang, acting as translator along with Angela.

Dungeness crabs await the adventurous cook.

   Mr. Zhang opened his first market in 1996; the Great Wall is his seventh, and the first one situated in a suburban area. The others (some are called C-Mart) are in New York, Massachusetts and Virginia. If the large and very diverse crowd of shoppers I saw at Great Wall is any indication, he will have much luck with this store, which opened, propitiously, just in time for Chinese New Year.
   Great Wall has shiny new display cases and that bright, clean look we expect to see in any American supermarket. Maybe a leftover from A&P days, the ladies room sports a huge mirror with amusing personal hygiene and dress-code tips along both sides, intended more for staff than patrons.

Workers stock the shelves in the frozen-food section.

   To the right of the entrance, near wide windows, is a food court and seating area. It was not yet open when I visited, but Mr. Wang assured me they would have a large selection of popular Chinese dishes, and I have heard rumors of a good chef running the show.
   Further back on the right are endless aisles of produce, much of it at very low prices, such as Fuji apples for 49 cents/pound (an opening special), ginger at 99 cents/pound and cilantro at 50 cents/bunch. Low prices often mean a trade off in quality, but we were impressed with the quality here, especially in stone and citrus fruits, which included the largest oranges I’ve ever seen. With fresh arrowroot bulbs, water chestnuts, two kinds of mangos and three kinds of papayas, this is a treasure trove of tropical and unusual fruits and vegetables. Like other Asian markets, the selection of greens is dazzling.
   We also noted many items for Hispanic cooking, such as chayote, Colombian yams and yucca. Three side-by-side bins held Brussels sprouts, tiny green Thai eggplants and paper-husked tomatillos — all green and approximately the same size — but what different flavor families they represent!

Shoppers engage in friendly banter in the aisles.

   Alongside the produce department, freezer cases hold appetizers, buns, vegetables, meats and seafood. What, I wondered aloud, is shepherd’s purse? Angela came to my rescue, calling it "Chinese cilantro," however this version stays crisp even after cooking. Other bags held frozen lotus root slices, bamboo shoots (you’ll never want canned again) and peeled chestnuts.
   We marveled over large sheets of tofu skin, huge circles like an unfurled Indian dosa, easily over two feet in diameter, folded in half. Smaller sheets of tofu skin, used to make look- and taste-alike versions of duck and chicken for vegetarians, are also available. Bags of "soya sheet knots" looked like fancy ridged pasta, but are more durable, for use in stews.
   Against the back wall of the store, dramatic tanks hold live Dungeness crabs, eels, lobsters and fish. Bins of ice hold clams (several kinds, including razor), cockles, oysters, snails, and even geoducks and whelk. The array of filleted and whole fish on ice is impressive, with several varieties of gorgeous rosy red snapper the star of the display, along with oceanic murals on the walls.

Cans of salted duck eggs line the shelves.

   The selection of fresh fish is rivaled by that of dried fish, such as anchovy, croaker (a type of drum fish), cuttlefish and shrimp, which lend a flavor punch to much Asian cooking.
   Cases of fresh meat hold unusual items such as "mutton" and pig stomach, along with more familiar meats such as flank steak, spareribs and oxtails. One will also find here cuts meant for stewing, such as shin meat.
   The aisles of staples constituted a virtual pan-Asian culinary tour. Snack foods, in their many colorful incarnations, beckoned, although I’ve learned to be prepared for what I call "flavor surprises" such as spring onion or fish flavors in sweet crackers. Funoaka Shoga Tsumami looked for like Polish chruschiki, but are darker and flavored with ginger. Cantonese umbrella cookies were pretty two-toned swirly things, and I eyed taro brittle, burdock biscuits and Amoy’s classic Chinese almond cookies. For the name and the colorful red, white and blue tin alone I almost shelled out $2.49 for M.Y. San’s Sky Flakes Crackers from the Philippines.

Tilapia swim in the fish tank.

   We lingered over bottles of Pearl River Bridge and Kimlan soy sauce, the latter favored by Angela. Wan Ja Shan fruit vinegar, made with pineapple, looked interesting, and Angela took home a silver can of Bull Head barbecue sauce, pronouncing it one of her favorites. Fancy XO sauces, containing dried anchovy and shrimp, are said to represent "the ultimate taste"— but at a price, up to around $14 for a few ounces.
   The Indian food section (likely to grow, given all the Indian restaurants around) features bags of exotic spices, flours and legumes along with snacks, prepared sauces, and other staples. I scooped up fenugreek seeds, aged basmati rice and all-natural tadka dal (made with lentils) and dal makhani (made with black gram beans) that is microwaved or boiled in the bag.
   One can also stock up here on many American brands. Pet foods, peanut butter, Stovetop stuffing, Charmin, Honey Bunches of Oats and Ortega taco kits are all available. The household items and dishes were fun to browse, especially the many kinds of china bowls.
   More freezer cases, yet to be filled on my first visit, are meant for ice cream and other prepared foods, while back up front there is a large magazine, book and video section and bins of bulk candy and dried fruits.
   Now that the Great Wall Supermarket has been added to the culinary mix, the