Dessert in a can? Sweetened, ready to eat tropical fruits
Bored with cooking curry at home night after night? Then the Siam Asian Market which opened a little under two weeks ago on Crwys Road might just be the solution the cookery genie ordered.
A corner mini-market and delicatessen, Siam offers a range of exotic food, regional produce and beverages from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to cater to Cardiff’s expanding Asian expatriate population.
The store is run by Jing Jing who incidentally also hails from Thailand.
Aloe vera juice, bottled green tea, canned lychees in syrup, gluten free soya sauce, rice crackers and sesame oil are the more easily identifiable items in the store. The unique condiments include dried anchovy sambal, banana sauce, mango powder, poppy seeds, roast duck seasoning mix and spicy siracha seaweed!
Spicy seaweed, perfect on its own or over a bowl of white rice
When asked about the customers who frequent the store, Jing Jing says “Only fifty percent are students, since we are located very close to Cathays, but many Malaysian and Indonesian residents have also come in with their families.
“They enter to look for ABC sauce and tempeh.”
ABC sauce she explains is slightly sweeter than regular soya sauce and has a hint of caramel flavour while tempeh is actually fermented soya beans, deep fried and widely consumed across Indonesia. “Similar to tofu or bean curd,” she smiles.
There are over 40 varieties of packaged noodles while 14 more brands are soon expected on their way from Asia to fill up the shelves at Siam. So those impacted by the current Pot Noodle crisis need not be concerned.
Other snacks to grab on the go include cream wafers in four flavours (including peanut) mandarin peel and sesame cookies.
Niki, a customer and a resident of City Road said “I just walked in to grab some honey crab crackers.”
