Your Strong Ally for a Stay in Portugal! How to Make the Most of Asian Supermarkets
When you’re staying in Portugal for the medium to long term or studying abroad, you inevitably start craving the ‘taste of Asia’. While you might find soy sauce and instant noodles in local supermarkets, to get mentsuyu (noodle soup base), rice, mirin, and authentic spices, a specialized Asian supermarket is essential.
This article carefully selects and introduces three beloved Asian supermarkets in Porto, the central city of northern Portugal, and one super famous store in Lisbon. We’ve summarized each store’s specialties, important shopping tips (like payment methods and expiry dates), and local ways to navigate them, so you can use this as a reference for your daily cooking and grocery runs.
Chen Shi Asian Supermarket (陳氏亞洲超市)
📍 Address: Praça da República 103, Porto, Portugal
This is a comprehensive Asian supermarket located in the heart of Porto, facing Praça da República. The store is packed with Chinese, Korean, and Southeast Asian ingredients, offering a wide range of products from seasonings, drinks, and spices to local cooking utensils.
What’s particularly appealing to long-term residents and students is the extensive selection of instant ramen. Bagged and cup noodles like Shin Ramyun and Jin Ramen are available at relatively reasonable prices (around 1 Euro per bag), making them a strong ally on days you want a break from cooking. There’s also a rich assortment of snacks, with many travelers expressing delight, saying, ‘I finally found Asian flavors after a long journey!’
However, as with imported food stores, there’s a strict rule: ‘always check the expiry date before purchasing’. Very rarely, some expired items might be mixed in with the displayed products, so it’s reassuring to get into the habit of quickly checking the back of the package before putting it in your cart.
Supermercado CHEN
📍 Address: R. do Bolhão 105, 4000-121 Porto, Portugal
This Asian supermarket boasts excellent accessibility, located just behind Bolhão Market, the culinary and tourist heart of Porto. While it mainly focuses on Chinese ingredients, this particular store stands out for its ‘selection and sense of Japanese ingredients’, making it an essential spot for anyone wanting to cook Japanese food.
Inside, you’ll find mentsuyu, Otafuku sauce, sesame dressing, and roasted nori (seaweed) – items that are often hard to find in Europe. For rice, you can get ‘Shinode’, a variety close to Japanese rice. Even more surprising is the liquor lineup, which includes not just common alcoholic beverages but also niche and high-quality Japanese sake like ‘Harushika Junmai Fūinshu’, a famous sake from Nara. This is undoubtedly one of Porto’s finest stores, reflecting the owner’s deep knowledge of Japanese food culture.
Asian teas and snacks (like Milki and Choco Pie) are also popular, and the store is always neatly organized, creating a pleasant shopping atmosphere. As a note of caution, credit cards like VISA may not always be accepted for payment, so be sure to bring plenty of cash when you visit.
Oriental Bazaar Cidade imam Talho halal (Karim Bhai Shop)
📍 Address: R. do Cativo 76, 4000-160 Porto, Portugal
Located near the center of Porto, this is a South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi) halal food store. Also affectionately known as ‘Karim Bhai Shop’, it’s invaluable when you want to make authentic curry or source Middle Eastern spices and Indian vegetables.
Its biggest feature is the attached butcher shop (Talho) that handles fresh halal meat (chicken, mutton, etc.). High-quality meat is available at affordable prices, so much so that some loyal local customers have been coming for over five years. The store is filled with multinational ingredients like Basmati rice and Lebanese tahini, making it an exciting place just to browse.
As a local family business, you might occasionally find the customer service from the owner or staff to be somewhat brusque. However, the quality of products and the high cost-performance are undeniable, making this a must-visit store if you want to try spice or ethnic cuisine in Porto.
[Bonus] Amanhecer (Lisbon)
📍 Address: R. da Palma 41 A 1o andar, 1100-390 Lisboa, Portugal
If you have the opportunity to venture from Porto to Lisbon, you absolutely must visit this store. Located near ‘Martim Moniz station’, the Chinatown-like area of Lisbon, this is an Asian-specialized supermarket operated by ‘Amanhecer’, a familiar supermarket chain in Portugal.
The supermarket section on the ground floor (1st floor in Portuguese counting) perfectly stocks essential Japanese ingredients like natto, tofu, cabbage, frozen thinly sliced beef, Kewpie mayonnaise, and frozen dumplings. The clean and organized store is reassuring even for those who dislike the chaotic atmosphere often found in Asian supermarkets. Prices are also reasonable for imported foods.
Even more unmissable is the ‘Mercado Oriental’ food court on the upper floor (1st floor in Portuguese counting/2nd floor in Japanese counting). It houses multiple Asian food stalls offering Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese dishes, where you can enjoy hand-pulled Lanzhou ramen, authentic Korean cuisine, and convenient bao. It’s an oasis in Lisbon where you can take a relaxing break with nostalgic Asian flavors after your shopping.
Summary: Head Out to Shop with Your Reusable Bag and Cash!
For long-term stays and study abroad life in Portugal, Asian supermarkets are a source of comfort. Each store has distinct characteristics – ‘strong in Korean products’, ‘niche Japanese ingredients’, or ‘cheap spices and halal meat’ – so it’s smart to use them according to your specific needs.
When visiting, be sure to bring an eco-bag, and don’t forget to prepare coins and cash (Euros), as some stores may not accept credit cards. With proper preparation, enjoy a fulfilling Asian home-cooking life!
