I got these Butterfly Crispy Rolls at the small 88 market in San Leandro. I didn’t have high expectations for them, but they were very tasty, to the point of being addictive. They are flaky but less dry than I would have thought. I had imagined they would need some filling, but they are flavorful enough that they don’t need it. All in all I’d buy them again.
I got these Esaki Glico Caplico Mini Japanese snacks twice now at the large 88 market on East 14th in San Leandro. I don’t recall the exact price, but it was around $4-$5 for the package. They are small wafer cones with a sweet flavored filling, not too disimilar to the filling in an oreo cookie, but lighter and less sweet. They are remarkably delicious.
Each cone is individually packaged and rather small – this is very much a special treat.
I’m lucky enough to live in the Bay Area, where I have access to lots of stores with lots of international ingredients. And these ingredients have become far easier to find in recent years. Still, finding them can still be a hassle, and often times I forget where I actually found a particular ingredient when I need to buy it again. I’m hoping to use this blog post to remind myself.
Black Truffles I found them at the Berkeley Bowl during truffle season, but I wasn’t too impressed with the flavor.
Candlenuts These large nuts are used as thickeners and flavor enhancers in southeastasian cuisine. I have yet to find them in the East Bay, so I’ve substituted with their cousin, macadamia nuts. The latter are sold in bulk at Sprouts at a reasonable price.
Coconut flakes, frozen, I was able to find at both the 88 Manor Markets and at Santos Spices in San Leandro
Curry leaves They are regularly sold fresh at Santos Spices in San Leandro.
Dark Soy Sauce is a darker, thicker and slightly sweet soy sauce mostly used to darken dishes. I’ve found it at the 88 Manor Markets. Recipes that call for it include Soy-Glazed Black pepper chicken and Lion’s head meatballs.
Galangal root (also spelled galanga) adds a special flavor to Thai/Indonesian/Malay dishes. I usually find it at the 88 Manor Markets in San Leandro, but it’s often available at the Berkeley Bowl as well. It freezes fairly well.
Glutinous Rice Flour/Powder is available at some regular supermarkets, but I got it at the 88 Manor Markets
Indonesian Bay Leaves aka salam leaves. They are different than Indian or western bay leaves, and I haven’t been able to find them locally yet.
Jameed is a Jordanian yogurt used in sauces. I was able to find it in liquid form at Santos Spices in San Leandro.
Kaffir Lime leaves are an indispensable element for many southeast Asian dishes. I’d seen them at the 88 Manor Markets in the past, but I couldn’t find them last time I needed them, so I bought them off someone on Facebook marketplace who had her own tree. Since then I’ve found that my friends J. & G. have their own tree. The leaves can be frozen, and they seem to retain their flavor well.
Kecap manis is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce. It’s been surprisingly hard to find, but I did find it at the 88 Manor Markets. If you can’t find it, you can make your own.
Light Soy Sauce is the default soy sauce in Chinese cuisine, lighter in color and a bit less salty than the standard Japanese soy sauce. It’s not the same as Kikkoman lite soy sauce. It’s widely available and I found it at the 88 Manor Markets. You can substitute with regular or tamari soy sauce.
Shaoxing wine This cheap, sweet Chinese rice wine is actually not too hard to find, and it’s available at the 88 Manor Markets. Recipes that call for it include Braised Winter Melon, Braised Pork Belly, Walnut chicken and Royal Concubine Chicken wings. You can substitute with sherry.
Shrimp paste This southeast Asian condiment is available at the 88 Manor Markets.
Palm oil. The small 88 Manor Market in San Leandro carries several brands of African red palm oil.
Palm nut sauce. An ingredient in west African recipes can be found at the small 88 Manor Market in San Leandro.
Palm sugar. Found it at the small 88 Manor Market in San Leandro, but not at the large new one.
Pandan leaves These leaves are used as wrappers and to flavor food. They are listed as available fresh at the Berkeley Bowl and I found them frozen at the small 88 Manor Market in San Leandro (couldn’t find them at the new, larger one nearby).
Rock Sugar Chinese rock sugar consists of large yellow sugar crystals and is used to give shine to glaces as well as a sweetener. It’s easily available at Asian supermarkets and I found it at the 88 Manor Markets in San Leandro. White rock sugar is available at Santos Spices in San Leandro.
Sweet Bean Paste/Sauce These are, theoretically, different sauces, with the former being made primarily of beans and the latter of wheat. However, the sweet bean sauce that I found at the 88 Manor Markets in San Leandro had beans as its main ingredient. Apparently, despite the different ingredients, you can use the two interchangeably.
Turmeric root. Fresh turmeric root is an ingredient in many Thai and Indonesian dishes. I’ve found it at Raley’s, but it’s also available at supermarkets like Sprouts and the Berkeley Bowl. It freezes well, but don’t defrost it before you peel/use it because it turns to mush. Just peel it frozen.
Posted in Food Items, Shops & Markets
Tagged 88 Supermarket, Berkeley Bowl, Raley's, Santos Spice, Sprouts
I just stopped by the 88 Supermarket to buy some frozen banana leaves ($1.20), and while I waited for Mike to finish the purchase, I did some quick browsing. I was happy to find one aisle with a bunch of African items. They had manioc, cassava, semolina and plantain flours, some manioc couscous, flour for fufu, egusi, groundnut butter (peanut butter but African), lots and lots of palm oil (starting at $4 for a small jar). You can see some of the other products they carry on the picture below. I originally thought they didn’t have maggi cubes, but clearly this picture shows that they do.
88 Supermarket
14405 E 14th St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 351-8200
Posted in Shops & Markets
Tagged 88 Supermarket, African food, banana leaves, flours, San Leandro
A few weeks ago, the San Leandro Patch had a little “story” about the 88 market on East 14th St. I’d been to the store once or twice before, in search of rare Asian ingredients, but it’s not a place I’d normally hit. However, the Patch article mentioned that the 88 market has become a seafood emporium in the last few years, offering 150 varieties of fish, so when I needed some catfish earlier this week (to make Catfish a la Meuniere which was, btw, amazing), and Safeway was selling it at $9 lb (really? who are they kidding?), I thought we should give 88 market a try.
Fortunately or unfortunately I sent Mike to do the shopping. He was very impressed with the freshness of the fish. Indeed, it was alive and swimming in a tank until Mike ordered it, heard a big thump and a lot of flopping around. He didn’t watch, and he was happy the kids didn’t go along. He asked for the catfish to be filleted but again, declined to look at the process. What can we say? He’s squeamish.
So he was not prepared, after he came home, for me to scream at him from the kitchen to come see what he bought: a bag of fish parts (head, tail, fins, whatever) with two very uneven, not fully descaled, bone-in fillets that would feed one person (if I chose to cook them, which I did not). Moral of the story? Go to 88 market for very fresh, full fish – but if you want your fish neatly processed, go elsewhere.
I will try this place again, however, when I need some type of rare fish you can’t find at the supermarket – and I have time to learn how to fillet fish myself 🙂
88 Supermarket
14405 E 14th St
San Leandro, CA
(510) 351-8200