A new Asian supermarket called Mr Cheng’s has recently opened about a block away from where I live.

The shop looks nothing like the above picture, which I found on flickr. In fact, it doesn’t look anything like your typical Asian supermarket. There’s no harsh lighting, no jumbled shelves, no Chinese speaking staff (the guy at the counter had sandy coloured hair). The place actually looks nice. Stylish even. Obviously, the owners have tried to westernise the shop to attract Newtown locals. Case in point is the logo: Stay Slim. Eat Asian. Which, I’d like to point out, is not entirely true.

While some may question the authenticity of the products within such a shop, I was quite taken with it. I’ve always been intimidated by Chinese grocers, being someone who doesn’t speak Chinese and is unfamiliar with traditional ingredients. But yesterday, I asked the sales guy to talk me through the products (something I’ve never done before) and had a great time perusing through the jars and sauces, particularly the Indian section as I’ve never seen authentic Indian products before.

I ended up buying a jar of salted soy beans to make Zha jiang mien, using my friend Em’s blog post as my recipe. If you’ve never had this dish, it’s like an Asian version of spaghetti bolognaise (well, except that it really tastes nothing like spag bol, the only similarities really being the noodles and mince). The soy beans give the dish a salty flavour, while the cucumbers add a refreshing touch. For a more vivid description, I recommend you read Em’s blog post. It’s quite a moreish dish, which explains why we polished the whole lot off before I had time to take a photo. Oops.

Mr Cheng’s thoughtfully places little flyers with different recipes around the shop, next to the relevant products. I grabbed a few that I’m keen to try out, such as the Lamb Rogan Josh and the Ma Po Tofu. I’ll put the end results up on this blog when I do.

What went down in your kitchen last night? What’s the most exotic ingredient you’ve ever bought or cooked with?