Punjab Food Center

I come here to get gluten free flours as they are much cheaper than going to specialty stores that mark up prices based on the trend. They have a good selection of spices and other import grocery. I love walking through the isles more as a museum and inspiration for future culinary projects. They have mango popsicle = awesome in the summer. The guy working at the til has always been friendly and awesome to me insuring that I pick up something that is vegan and gluten free.

Solid 3.5 stars because it’s not just a grocery but some hardware stuff. well, more intangibles like pots and pans.
Been here a few times whenever I’m in a jam to buy milk quickly without heading down to the hassle of fighting traffic/​people @ Superstore. But no ice cream so that could be a good thing.
Lottery available.
credit/​debit accepted.
free parking right in front.

Came here looking for some hard to find Indian ingredients. Only place in Vancouver where I could find Amchur powder (powdered mango) and Kasoori Methi.
I didn’t bother browsing –its a warren in there– and instead asked the staff where to find what I needed. The staff were very helpful!

Super nice people! And the selection is awesome, it’s filled with things including items that the staff doesn’t know much about.
Vegetables are kind of mangy looking here but some special items like fresh fenugreek and curry leaves can be easily found. Mass quantities of lentils, tandoori masala, garam masala, tea, rice and all kinds of Indian instant food items are all available.
I seriously recommend this place to anyone interested in making Indian food. It’s the only place I found asafoetida (a powder that the Indians use in cooking but also as a medicinal) as well as koori methi (dried fenugreek leaves that seem to form the basis of everything Vij makes). The staff will be able to help you locate your items and also are very sociable and fun.
Also, the prices are crazy good. A pound of tea for $ 8? 10 pounds of basmati rice for $ 12? Ten pounds of lentils for $ 7? DONE.
This neighborhood seems to be going through a transition and it’s a bit sad, since a lot of the Indian shops seem to be closing. I have no idea what will replace them, but Punjab Food Center had better not move somewhere. If it does, I don’t know what I’d do!

Where do you go to find fresh okra? Here! A relatively expensive grocery store where you can find different conventional and Indian/​Asian vegetables to cook with. For example, okra was $ 0.99 per pound! Crazy! And they have good quality ginger too – it’s not too moist on the outside. And a crazy collection of spicy peppers. This is just on 1.5 walls. In the rest of the store you can find tons of Indian spices and spice blends to make any kind of curry you desire (from scratch or from a packet). In the fridge you will find packs of paneer. They also have a whole wall of different types of flours and grains such as rice, millet flour, cream of wheat, durum semolina flour etc. and the opposite wall full of papadums and tea.
Yes, here is where you go to buy the ingredients to make chai from scratch. I always make a stop here if I am in the neighbourhood.

I really love Indian cuisine but many ingredients are difficult to find. This store has it all-​flours, beans, lentils, spices galore, canned specialties like jackfruit, snacks, produce like chiles and cilantro, rose syrups, masalas, indian breads, paneer, ghee, frozen vegetables, etc. They also carry lots of fresh milk. There is a lovely selection of exotic hair and body oils and cleansers and incense, as well as some beautiful incense holders.
The man behind the counter is friendly and very helpful and the prices are very good.
They have set up a good website as well:
You can browse through products there, I believe you can even order them online and arrange for later pickup, and there are lots of photos.
If you love this culture and it’s food as much as I do, you’ll really enjoy browsing this store.