Asian Supermarkets in Tenerife
3 options to help nourish me (and other Asian stomachs) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
One of the things I scout for when first moving to a new place is a rice cooker, then Asian groceries. I mean, how can one live without decent soy sauce, curry, soba, sesame oil, instant noodles (my vicio) and sriracha? We stop by at least once a month to stock up.
There are three that we frequent in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
1. Supermercado Asia Sonton
Avenida Ángel Guimerá, 37 38003 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Perhaps the most well-stocked of all the Asian supermarkets, and located most centrally, along the tram line crossing through the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. They have lots of green Asian veggies, an entire shelf of Asian beverages (canned teas…) and lots of freezer items, including frozen glutinous rice dumplings from Singapore and gyoza wrappers!
2. Supermercado Dong
C. Imeldo Serís, 62, 38003 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
This is the other Asian supermarket that can be found close to the tram stop, with fresh Asian veggies - I found okra (lady’s finger), white radish, kangkong and enoki mushroom here. They also have an extensive range of rice, noodles, sauces and spices (I found frozen lemongrass for tom yum!). Prices here are not the cheapest since most of the Asian goods are shipped from Madrid but that really depends on the item.
3. Alimenzano in the Mercado Nuestro Señora de Africa
C. Darias y Padron, 12, 38003 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
The smallest of the three supermarkets on this list.
Round the corner of the El Precio Justo Frutería, near a cheese store, is a small supermarket manned by a Chinese lady (she said “see you again” to me in Mandarin when I asked her if she sold white pepper, in Mandarin). The shop sells a selection of African, Latin American and Asian groceries, including smooth/ soft tofu, all the basic sauces like soy, oyster and curries, Lao Gan Ma Chili oil, ramen and Japanese curry paste (Golden Curry goes for €2,95 a pack, about half the price of Carrefour’s…) From time to time they also have fresh greens. I like stopping by here because it is in a much larger market with all the fresh produce you could want. It is not far from the best churrería (Churrería La Tradicional) in Tenerife with a special Barraquito coffee, which merits another post!