Credit: Photo By Courtney Chavanell

MT Supermarket

7601 N. Lamar, 454-4804/4805

Credit: Photo By Courtney Chavanell

Daily, 9am-9pm

www.mtsupermarket.com
Credit: Photo By Courtney Chavanell

With the opening of the new MT Supermarket, Austin has finally entered the 21st century when it comes to Asian culinary supplies. The original My Thanh Market’s 15,000-square-foot store opened in 1984, and for many it was the go-to market for all things Asian. Now, there is a newer and much larger 55,000-square-foot version in the spanking new Chinatown Center near the southeast corner of Braker and Lamar. It’s so much more than its former self: The product lines and fresh items have expanded exponentially, and in the new store, there’s plenty of room to actually peruse the shelves in detail.

It’s close to the size and complexity of some of the larger markets found in Houston, and you’ll be amazed with the diversity of products. When you enter and head to the right, you’ll see the massive produce section covering one wing: 20 different kinds of Asian greens, fresh lychee and jackfruit, and the like. There is a “salad bar” for fresh bulk tofu, bamboo, pickled veggies, and such shredded salad items as jellyfish and wheat gluten.

You’ll find an astonishing variety of sea critters housed in six huge, open-chest style freezers, each holding 25 to 30 bins of individual products. That doesn’t count freezers holding only shrimp, squid, and cuttlefish, the huge fresh fish section, or the live tanks of tilapia, Dungeness crab, lobsters, catfish, and clams.

Need fresh, boneless chicken feet, duck heads, pig ears, or six different types of fresh fishballs? Not a problem! All of the bottled and canned good lines have expanded. The housewares section now comprises three aisles. For the vegans out there, there is a whole section of mock foods made from tempeh, wheat gluten, and soy.

When you get ready to check out, there are 12 cashier spaces, two of which are express lines, with plenty of room for queuing. The new MT is a vast improvement over My Thanh, and a perfect way to spend a few hours wandering, shopping in slack-jawed amazement.

This article appears in July 28 • 2006.

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Mick Vann is a retired Austin chef who is a food writer and restaurant critic, cookbook author, restaurant consultant, and recipe developer. He moonlights as a University of Texas horticulturist with a propensity for ethnic eats and international food, particularly of the Asian persuasion, but he also knows his way around a plate of soul food or barbecue.