Asian Grocery Stores in Zurich, Part 5: Lian Hua and Barkat

I've been on holiday in Turkey for the last two weeks so please excuse the fact that it's taking me longer and longer to finish this series (See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4)!  There's only one more post to write after this one so I'll get there eventually!

Today's two stores are both within walking distance of Bahnhof Wiedikon, in Kreis 3.



Lian Hua Asia Laden
Birmensdorferstrasse 94
8003 Zurich
044 450 31 88
Mo-F 9-19 | Sa 9-18:30



Lian Hua is primarily a Chinese grocery, although they carry some goods from other countries as well.  It's a medium-sized store with plenty of dry goods as well as a decent-sized refrigerated produce section and one wall of dishes and cooking implements.  I didn't see too much at this shop that can't be found at New Asia Market, but as Maki at Just Hungry mentions in her writeup, they have a large selection of different tofus and unusual drinks both Asian and otherwise:  for example, they carry A&W root beer.  The ambiance here is rather scruffy, with boxes and palettes lying around at the end of aisles, and dust on lesser-used items.



One thing to keep in mind is that they offer a 15% discount on Saturdays, so if you're going to stock up it's worth fighting the crowds in the city to get there.


Barkat
Birmensdorferstrasse 143
8003 Zurich
043 811 54 90

About a 10-minute walk down Birmensdorferstrasse from Lian Hua, Barkat is a cash-and-carry store with cheap bulk food as well as plenty of imports. Maki also wrote about it here (with photos, scroll down) and here, and what she has to say is still accurate. When I visited on a Saturday, it was incredibly crowded and I was constantly jostled in the narrow aisles as I tried to note down some of the products.  The imported food mostly focuses on India, Pakistan and the Middle East - I found some incredibly inexpensive Arab flatbread, as well as Turkish cheese, a large spice selection, and cooking ingredients like chapati flour.  The produce section was very small and not particularly organized or fresh-looking - unlike Maki I didn't see any fruit or vegetables that I couldn't buy at Coop or Migros, and 20 kg bags of onions aren't on my shopping list very often.  Barkat also has a small homewares section with very cheap (both in price and quality) items.

I'd probably only go back here if I was looking for a specific Indian ingredient that Aggarwal didn't carry, or else to grab a packet of that flatbread to serve with a mezze.


Go to Part 6: Nishi's Japan Shop and Thanh Hung