Asian Invasion in Edmonds!

Being from Japan, I have a love for authentic Asian foods...lucky for me, Seattle happens to be a very Cosmopolitan city. And hands down, one of the best supermarkets that carries all kinds of Asian foods from mochi to kimchi is located in Edmonds, on Aurora Avenue and 228th Street SW. Ranch 99 is a Chinese-owned Asian market and is a destination for several Asian families in the area. I've found sauces, candies, pickles and noodles that I thought I'd never find again here! They carry everything from produce to dim sum, fresh seafood to baked goods, carbs, drinks, and even some Asian household products. They only have two locations in Washington State, the other being in Kent; most of their locations are in California where the first store was opened and they now have several locations all over the state.

Surrounding the market are little Asian restaurants, including a little Vietnamese pho noodle restaurant and a larger Chinese restaurant. Around the corner from it is one of my favorite bubble tea places, Pochi. Pochi serves all kinds of bubble teas, including fruit smoothies, milk teas, normal teas and slushies. You can get them to add "bubbles" (they're little tapioca balls, like the kind you find in tapioca pudding, but much bigger) in your tea...hence the name bubble tea, aka boba tea. Other goodies are available as well, such as lychee jelly, apple jelly, passion fruit jelly, coffee jelly...the list goes on. Personally my fave is the mango fruit smoothie with the tapioca bubbles, but it runs high on the calories so it's really a treat...usually I stick with normal unsweetened green tea, with bubbles.

For those who aren't too familiar with the bubble tea aka pearl tea aka "Boba" tea, it's a tea beverage that contains tapioca bubbles that originated in Taiwan in the '80s. At first it may seem different and scary but trust me it's amazing...I've convinced my friends who were new to it to give it a try and they all love it!

I also love Uwajimaya, another large Asian market in the International District in Downtown Seattle...but that's for another blog, another day.

Amy Kizaki
Buyer's Agent
206.384.7169
amy@seattlepowersearch.com