Profile

Asia Market Corp. is small and manageable, with a Pan-Asian panoply of packaged goods imported from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China, Korea, and Japan, and a limited but choice selection of fresh produce packed in cardboard boxes on the floor. You’ll find frozen durian from Thailand, Filipino purple yam, dried Korean wakame, and Taiwanese preserved duck eggs. Regulars include emissaries from 66, The Four Seasons, and Aquavit, plus Zak Pelaccio and Mainland chef Brian Young, who’s been shopping there for ten years. “I get a specific size of bok choy sprouts in a particular color—jade green instead of the normal white—called Shanghai sprouts. She gets ’em exactly the size I like to use. And barley glaze for my duck.” — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld