Are there any decent Chinese grocery stores in Milan? I was told there were some down Paulo Sarpi but all my fiance saw were Chinese restaurants. He did find a Chinese store which also sells some Japanese/Korean on Rosimini.
I can't eat Italian more than twice a week. I'm Asian and would love to get my hands on Chinese vegetables and other foodstuffs I'm used to eating.
thanks for any info.

Susan

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Originally posted by Millasan:
Are there any decent Chinese grocery stores in Milan?

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I don't know how decent they are, but to find them you have to move off the main street. Paolo Sarpi (a good shpopping street, by the way!) is too costly for groceries, the smaller streets on its sides have cheaper rents and groceries can survive. Some don't even have Italian names on them, all they have is a sign in chinese! I have a couple of friends living in that area, they are Italian, and it made me laugh out real loud when I wisited them the last time, befause there was this message from the building "amministratore", written firts in chinese and, underneath and smaller, in Italian.
You can also find other shops all over Milano, now. near the stazione Centrale there are a lot of Chinese and Indian crocery shops. With "near" I mean for 800 meters all around it, in the narrower streets! You will have to explore.

Yep, I go to the International Market next to Centrale. It's run by an Asian couple and the stuff they have in there is great! I have been buying my foodstuffs in that grocery store since the second day I moved to Milan. You'll find veggies, canned goods, rice of nature and other various things. There is also a great spice shop at the Erboristeria on Via Vittruvio (near the Settembrini intersection) that carries all kinds of random spices you'll need for indian, thai, sri lankan and other asian dishes. The prices are very low too.

Hope that helps!

~ Tami

This one is pretty well supplied and is off via Paolo Sarpi:

KATHAY INTERNATIONAL FOODSTORES
20154 Milano (MI) - 11, v. Rosmini
tel: 02 33105368

Even better is one on viale Monza, less than a block up on the right as you leave Piazzale Loreto (can't remember the name) - has a full range of Indian spices, plus Thai, South American, African, and other ingredients. It's the best international grocery I've found in Milan so far.

Tip: If you buy coriander seed, even when it's packaged as a spice, it's very easy to grow your own coriander (aka cilantro) in pots. Just cut off as much as you need. Try to use it before it starts budding and flowering, it's still usable but not as tasty at that point. Then plant some more. I had it growing well into the winter, and have just planted two long boxes again.

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Originally posted by Tami:
There is also a great spice shop at the Erboristeria on Via Vittruvio (near the Settembrini intersection

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I am trying to identify the Erboristeria you are talking about between Vitruvio and Settembrini. Anyhow, there are a lot of asian shops with large amounts of spices in that area. In via Petrella, in the 100 meters part of Via Petrella that go from Console Marcello to Vitruvio alone, there are four of them. Plus an indian (actually I think, the owners are from Bangladesh) take-away.

thank you girls!