Vegetarian (etc.) bargains/special offers thread

agree about the Asian stores - they are a complete godsend for veggies compared to Irish supermarkets with their ****e selection of fresh produce & apparent belief that the only beans that come in tins are baked beans and butterbeans -yuk!

The Oriental Emporium beside the Jervis Luas stop is amazing and much cheaper even than many other ethnic shops. I don't know how many times I've bought something I thought I could only get in a healthfood shop and then gone in there and seen it for half the price. Even unexpected stuff like popcorn is dead cheap. Spices, beans, lentils and sauces of all kinds are much cheaper there than in supermarkets and it's also really good for unusual greenleafy veg like mustard greens, water spinach, kai lan etc. that you just can't get anywhere else and are always in recipe books. You can also get mini Thai aubergines and Thai basil, Vietnamese mint & exotic spices like fresh galangal and root turmeric as well as sacks of chillies for the same you pay for a tiny packet in Tesco. Oh and they sell seitan in tins as mock duck/chicken/abalone, which believe it or not is a great meat substitute in small quantities in stirfries or sandwiches, once marinaded like tofu in spices. They have less Japanese stuff, but do the basics like miso paste & sake.

Other great ethnic shops are the Asian Food Company on Mary Street and Madina on Parnell Street, which is attached to the deadly Madina Indian restaurant on Mary Street which I've become addicted to. These places are better for Indian food but a bit more expensive than the Chinese shop. Between them they sell literally every variety possible of dal and beans & the spice collection is ridiculous. They also sell some Turkish foods like halloumi, that salty yoghurt drink and vine leaves and it's the only place I've yet found fresh curry leaves, which make an incredible difference to Indian curries!

if anyone knows of any ethnic shops specialising in Japanese/Thai/Vietnamese or especially African/Moroccan/Mexican products, it's be really appreciated as these ingredients are a bit tougher to source sometimes. Also anyone know if there's such a thing as veggie Thai/Vietnamese fish sauce and where could I get it??

As you can probably tell I'm a total foodie, but a very amateur chef - I think you kinda need to be being an Irish veggie - unless you don't really like food that is!