My favorite place in New York City is the Pearl River Mart on Canal St. It is a utopia of squiggly things, porcelain dishes, questionable herbal pills and enough cloth footwear to clothe a block of the mainland. When I moved, I thought I left it forever.
Until my fiancée drove me to the Grand Asia Market in Cary.
Their 30,000 sq. ft. store is located in a strip mall forgotten amid suburban sprawl. But once inside, you find a vibrant cross-cultural Mecca of people gathered around row upon row of edible and non-edible delights.
Curly noodles in fuchsia-fishnet packaging. Fish sauce in every formidable strength and a rainbow of miso, chili and who-knows-what paste.
Steamed pork buns so authentic, the Triangle’s Chinese residents stand ten-deep in line for a single one.
Fresh produce like boy choy, bean sprouts and lotus root and strange mammal products (young children should cover their eyes here) like liver, blood and tripe.
But for me, the gem is a back wall of tanks filled with all the creatures of the sea, happily swimming and mugging for the customers like characters in a twisted pet shop.
Oh, and adorable porcelain dishes to eat on and clothing (like the slippers on my feet) to look just as adorable while doing so.
An escape of a few miles that will take you a million miles away.
Grand Asia Market
253 Buck Jones Rd.
Cary, NC 27606
