While many think Chinatown is exclusively inhabited by Chinese, this neighborhood is shared by many Asian populations. This market is all about Thai cuisine. Here you can buy all the crucial ingredients for a genuine Thai feast, including several kinds of fresh curry paste and fresh lemongrass. The service is unusually good.

This family-owned butcher carries its fair share of the exotic, for example air-dried meats and pork organs. They also feature a strong selection of more traditional meaty edibles, including flank steak.

Got a hankering for a dish of green tea ice cream? Here ya go. Some of the other creamy Asian flavored offerings include mango, litchi, coconut, red bean and almond cookie. Sold by the scoop or the pint, you might find yourself unwilling unable to return to the simple likes of Ben & Jerry's.

This tiny little store is actually quite well known to Asian restaurants throughout the city. Fong Inn is a prime supplier for specialty rice cakes and rice noodles. They also make fresh tofu.

If you're not fluent in Cantonese, plan to point and gesture a lot. Still and all, if you like seafood, you'll be happy you made the effort. A leading source for upscale Asian restaurants, G.S. Food Market has some of the freshest seafood you'll find (without aid of a bait and tackle). They also have a nice selection of dumplings, noodles and other prepared Asian delicacies.

It definitely helps to speak fluent Chinese in this shop, but pointing works pretty well too. Primarily a grocery store, they also carry everything from Cuddle Fish to BBQ Duck. There are some interesting selections for the more adventurous Asian palate.

Pork brains, anyone? Alligator meat? If you're looking for something out of the ordinary to grill up that was recently among the living, this may be your place. Actually, they carry plenty of "normal" meats as well, with an emphasis on pork. Don't miss their handmade meat dumplings.