New Sagaya Market Review from an Anchorage AK Chiropractor
The New Sagaya Midtown Market is an Asian grocery store with a large selection of Asian foods. This includes Asian style dried goods, canned goods, produce, meat, as well as drinks, pre-packaged foods, deli, and hot food selections. Check out this article from an Anchorage AK Chiropractor!
The Coffee Shop & Bakery in Anchorage AK
There is also a coffee shop and bakery located within the grocery store itself. New Sagaya is conveniently located in midtown on the corner of the New Seward Highway and 36th Ave. My family and I enjoy going to New Sagaya as a treat for inexpensive American style Asian foods. They have a fair selection of dishes such as garlic chicken, Mongolian beef, chicken adobo, teriyaki chicken, spicy beef, glass noodles, fried rice, and egg rolls. A 2-entrée combo will set you back ten dollars and is big enough for 2 adults, so the price is definitely right.
Grocery Store
My family and I also enjoy shopping here for some spices and produce that are hard to find in a regular grocery store. Making a big pot of pho? New Sagaya has Vietnamese cilantro, it has daikon radish, it has oxtails. It has everything you need to make pho, from bean sprouts to pho seasoning. The same can be said for any specialty Asian ingredients. Chinese black vinegar, rice vinegar, curry paste, lime leaves, fresh Thai basil, kimchi, you name it! This is quite convenient when considering specialty ingredients for home Asian style cooking. Not much is worse than diving into a new stir fry recipe and finding out that the main ingredients include slow-fermented soy sauce and black vinegar, and only Amazon has any in your area. Luckily for those of us in Anchorage, New Sagaya has us covered.
Organic Section?
One of the main issues with the market is that their organic selection is pretty much non-existent. This is a huge deal for my family, which pretty much eats exclusively organic ingredients when available. If the store saw fit to expand their offerings to include organic meats and produce, we would likely shop there much more often. We love Japanese eggplant, but we would really rather have organic eggplant, and unfortunately, whether it is Japanese eggplant or bok choi, you will likely not find what you are looking for as an organic option. The same can be said of the meats, which other than the seafood is generic. No grass-fed meats. No organic meats. This is the major disappointment associated with New Sagaya. They would do well to expand their selection to include organic options.
The Deli Section
The deli selection at New Sagaya is pretty well developed. They have many side salads, cheeses, and cured meats to select from, as well as freshly baked breads and cakes. We used to be huge fans of the New Sagaya eggplant dip, but the last few times we went it was pretty much all dip, and no eggplant. It was pretty much just cream cheese, they used to include much more eggplant. Overall, I recommend New Sagaya despite its shortcomings, especially if planning to make Asian inspired home cuisine. You just may be better off getting your meat and vegetables from a grocer that has organic options, especially with fruits and vegetables listed on the "Dirty Dozen." If you are buying things that are listed in the "clean fifteen", then there isn't as much to worry about. We hope you find this review helpful. We look forward to hearing from you!