International student guide: finding home ingredients in UK university cities

Moving to the UK to study brings plenty of new experiences, and usually a sudden craving for the food you grew up with. The good news is that every big university city has several Asian supermarkets, and most carry Chinese, Korean, Japanese and South-East Asian staples under one roof. This guide covers 12 of the biggest student cities, with 112 stores between them in our directory.

Before you go shopping

Edinburgh

Most of Edinburgh's Asian grocers sit on the Southside, a short walk from the University of Edinburgh's central campus. 优鲜 U-FRESH Supermarket, Aihua Supermarket and Starlight are all in EH8, and the listings for Starlight and 朗御langyu mention student discounts.

For a bigger shop, PCY Oriental in Leith is described as the largest oriental supermarket in the city, with a meat counter and pastries, and Edinburgh Trading Ltd specialises in Japanese packaged food, sauces and curry.

See all 13 Asian supermarkets in Edinburgh

Glasgow

iMart Oriental has three Glasgow branches, in the West End, city centre and Finnieston, each with Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai sauces, noodles and frozen food. Tang Mall is a large West End store for Chinese ingredients.

For Korean and Japanese snacks, try O-Mart or 100 Supermarket in the city centre; for Thai and Malaysian herbs such as Thai sweet basil and petai, Isan Thai Food Market in Partick.

See all 11 Asian supermarkets in Glasgow

Manchester

Manchester's Chinatown is within walking distance of the Oxford Road universities. Woo Sang Supermarket is described as the city's first Chinese supermarket, and Wing Fat Supermarket, Hang Won Hong and Blue Whale Supermarket (fresh fish and seafood) are close by.

Oseyo Oxford Rd. sits on the student corridor itself, and W.H. Lung Supermarket is a big warehouse-style supermarket in M13 for bulk rice, sauces and frozen food.

See all 15 Asian supermarkets in Manchester

Leeds

Hang Sing Hong Store & 火锅 Restaurant in LS2 sells Chinese, Thai, Filipino and Japanese groceries and has a hotpot restaurant. Sing Kee has two stores with a café serving ramen and sushi, and Vinh supermarket covers Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese groceries with a Vietnamese restaurant on site.

For bulk buying, Tian Tian Oriental Food Cash and Carry and Tai Lee Hong supply restaurants as well as the public.

See all 7 Asian supermarkets in Leeds

Nottingham

Nottingham is unusually well served. Oriental Mart has a city-centre store and a Beeston branch next to the University of Nottingham's main campus, both covering Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Malaysian and Indonesian food.

Asiana Hypermarket and Asiana Express 亚洲超市 add a bubble tea café, WAN Li Chinese supermarket is noted as a favourite with Nottingham Trent students, and ASIA SUPERSTORE is the place for Vietnamese products.

See all 7 Asian supermarkets in Nottingham

Cambridge

Cambridge has both big Korean chains: Seoul Plaza and Oseyo Cambridge. JIAMART has shops on Regent Street and Hills Road with fresh vegetables, seafood and meat.

Retour UK has a fresh seafood counter, and Sam Ping stocks Chinese teas, herbs and Filipino products.

See all 10 Asian supermarkets in Cambridge

Oxford

Oxford has two Seoul Plaza shops, including one on Cornmarket in the city centre. JIAMART Oxford and Lung Wah Chong, a large store that also supplies restaurants, are both in OX1.

Thong Heng has a hot food counter with dim sum, roast duck and BBQ pork, and GG Oriental Snack Shack is good for snacks, dumplings, hotpot ingredients and fruit teas.

See all 7 Asian supermarkets in Oxford

Bristol

168 Oriental on Park Street is right by the University of Bristol, with bubble tea, ramen, steamed buns and vegan options, and there's a second branch in the centre. Ding Sing Oriental Supermarket adds dim sum, fresh bao and Chinese vegetables.

Wai Yee Hong Chinese Supermarket is the big one for a monthly stock-up, with Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Malaysian groceries, and the two Konbini stores on the edge of the city focus on Japanese and Korean food.

See all 10 Asian supermarkets in Bristol

Sheffield

Taste the Orient in Broomhill (S10) is close to the University of Sheffield and stocks Chinese, Thai, Filipino and Japanese food. Hua Mei Oriental Store is a mini-market aimed at Chinese students, and Panda Fresh is in the city centre.

KH Oriental Supermarket is the largest, with fresh produce, a bakery, ready-cooked food and homeware.

See all 6 Asian supermarkets in Sheffield

Birmingham

Birmingham's Chinese Quarter (B5) has Day In Oriental Supermarket 日進行, with more than 500 product lines across Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Malaysian food, plus Sun Yip, HansonMart and Papa Asian Mart.

Seoul Plaza in Selly Oak is handy for University of Birmingham students, and Wing Yip Superstore Birmingham in Nechells is the place to go for cookware and catering-size packs.

See all 12 Asian supermarkets in Birmingham

Cardiff

Several Cardiff shops are in CF24, the postcode that covers Cathays and Roath where many students live: La Mart Asian Supermarket 辣妈超市 has Chinese, Japanese and Korean products, dumplings and a bubble tea counter, and Yigou Chinese Store and Yongjia Supermarket sell Chinese sauces, spices and imported products.

Across the river in CF11, Man Fung Store stocks Chinese, Korean and Japanese food with vegan options, and C&A Supermarket is a large Chinese supermarket.

See all 7 Asian supermarkets in Cardiff

Belfast

Lee Foods Oriental Supermarket and E Kou Xian are in BT7, south Belfast, near Queen's University. Lee Foods covers Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Singaporean food.

OYE Asian SuperMarket is a large store with a café and live lobster and crab, and Mongkok Market 旺角中超 offers printing, scanning and luggage storage as well as groceries, which is handy at the start and end of term.

See all 7 Asian supermarkets in Belfast

Not on the list?

We cover more than these twelve cities. Browse every city, or open the map and use your location to find the nearest store. If your local shop is missing, tell us about it and we'll check it and add it.