Bubble Tea (& more) at Cary’s Grand Asia Market
Cary, NC — One of my favorite things to do in Cary is visit the Grand Asia Market for a bubble tea. Then, I’ll drink the tea as I wander around the store and shop for dinner ingredients.
Bubble Tea
I first discovered bubble tea at Cary’s Grand Asia Market on Buck Jones Road.
Bubble tea is, generally, a tea base shaken or stirred with fruit and/or milk and filled with chewy tapioca balls. It can come in many different flavors – I usually order the standard, which is slightly-sweetened black tea with milk, or the strawberry bubble tea, which is my favorite.
Bubble tea is served with a wide straw so that you can slurp up the tapioca balls. I like to order a bubble tea and enjoy it as I walk around the market.
Other Favorites at the Market
According to Grand Asia’s website, the store is 30,000 square feet and carries products from China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. In this way, the website says, Grand Asia strives to be a complete Asian market.
I love to walk through the colorful produce section.
My favorite section, however, is an aisle filled with any sauce you can imagine.
I love to make Pad Thai, but you can’t find Pad Thai sauce at any supermarket. Ready-to-cook small packages of sauce and noodles, yes, but not a jar of Pad Thai sauce. I’ll pick up some green onions, rice noodles and the sauce and be all set to make a homemade dinner.
Another favorite section of mine in the market is a nook filled with beautiful dishes and cooking supplies. If you love hot tea, you’ll want to check out the striking selection of tea cups and brewers for loose-leaf tea. There are colorful little bowls for noodles and soups, gorgeous plates to hold sushi and supplies like chop sticks, rice cookers and pots and pans.
Grand Asia Market is also home to a bakery and the Joy Luck Club restaurant. The bakery features many different breads, cakes, cookies and pastries – you can even buy a beautiful wedding cake there. Joy Luck Club serves Chinese cuisine, which I hear is delicious. You can order food (or bubble tea and a baked good) to-go or sit down and eat in the restaurant.
Visit the Grand Asia Market
I agree with a reviewer on Yelp, who said, “Situated in the heart of Cary, Grand Asia Market offers an escape from suburbia.” Stop by for a visit and a bubble tea, and see for yourself.
The Grand Asia Market is located in South Hills, Cary’s oldest shopping center, at 1253 Buck Jones Road. It has a Raleigh address but is, literally, seconds from Cary.
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Story and photos by Jessica Patrick.
The barbecue ribs there are awesome, too.
I stop by one the way home to pick up a rack or two, to throw into fried rice.