Pinoy Food & Other Cuisine :: Food PhotoBlog and Events |

After eating at Superdawg, my sister said I could not leave without shopping at Assi Plaza, an Asian grocery store along Niles, Chicago which also sells Philippine products.

Assi Plaza is a large Asian grocery chain headquartered in California and Ma ryland, and with branches in Korea, China, Japan, and major cities in the United States. The place sells mostly Korean and Japanese food and consumer products, but there is still an abundance of Pinoy goodies for the homesick Filipinos. Besides being a large grocery store, there’s also an Asian food court and several boutiques.

They have an entire row of condiments from the Philippines, including suka (white cane vinegar), toyo (soy sauce), and patis (fish sauce).

Here’s a shelf full of Mama Sita seasonings and food mixes for those who would like to prepare Filipino dishes like kaldereta, menudo, and sinigang but aren’t confident enough about their culinary skills to make them from scratch.

Among the Filipino items was this skyscraper of Skyflakes cracker tin cans! I think the older Filipino immigrants miss eating Skyflakes crackers.

My sister often buys seasoned bangus (milkfish) because it is ready to cook. We also have Sarangani Bay bangus in the Philippines – I especially love their smoked bangus variety.

They even sell fresh durians and other fruits from the Philippines!

Assi Plaza is like a home away from home because they’ve got all these things you thought you’d never find anywhere else but the Philippines (or Japan, or Korea, or wherever your home country might be). It’s not surprising that this is the place to go shopping if you are a Filipino who misses the taste of a real Pinoy home cooked meal or using products from the Philippines. You know what would be even more wonderful? If Assi Plaza had a stall that sold Filipino street food or merienda favorites like turon, bananacue, or fishballs. I think that would be a huge hit in the Filipino community.

Which foods or dishes do you miss from home?

Assi Plaza Chicago Inc
8901 N Milwaukee Ave
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 470-9450