Laguna: Asian Grocery Store Hiding @ QV

My neighbour Winnie recommended Laguna to me. It is an Asian grocery store ‘secretly tucked away’ at the back of QV. I have been shopping for groceries at QV since Safeway opened its doors back in 2003. Until Winnie told me about Laguna, I used to go to an Asian grocery store on Russell Street in Chinatown whenever I felt adventurous enough to cook a Japanese meal. Yes, this nanny loves Japanese food. If there really is such a thing as reincarnation, I was probably Japanese in the past. LOL

It is kinda hard to explain online where Laguna is. It is located towards one of the Russell Street entrances to QV. From that entrance, one will have to walk up a flight of stairs. From the Swanston Street entrance (referring to the one next to the AFL), one should ride the escalators located next to Wagamama to the next level and then walk towards Russell Street. Take the ramp next to the lane leading to Russell Street to get to the shop. It is at the end of the ramp. To make matters worse, there is some kind of construction going on around there. The scaffolds further obstruct the view of the shop’s existence. If you get lost along the way, just ask one of the many Asian students. Winnie’s directions were confusing. I ended up asking an Asian guy who was heading there at the time.

Laguna is not a grocery store specializing in Japanese groceries only. From what I noticed, it sells groceries from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan and Thailand. It is interesting to see food items we don’t normally see at Safeway or Coles. Among the wide range of drinks is a drink in a can called Kickapoo. I always wondered who named it. LOL. There is also a big range of instant noodles. While I do not recommend them for daily consumption, I am in the process of trying all the different varieties on offer. I think I have tried more than 15 varieties so far and the truth is that I can’t remember which one is tastiest. I did find out however that the Maggi noodles from Malaysia taste different from the Aussie Maggi noodles! Winnie told me about this first but I didn’t take her word for it until I tried them for myself. Another item that I always buy from Laguna is the BBQ Pork buns. These are one of the many types of white buns served mostly in Yum Cha (Chinese) restaurants. The white buns I like are the ones stuffed with BBQ pork. They come in a pack of four and sometimes they are only around $5 for two packs. I don’t think you can eat straight from the pack. I never did. We steam them on the stove.

To those who enjoy cheap Asian migrant labour and their contribution but hate their cultural impact on the average Joe’s daily lifestyle, this grocery store is unlike those in Chinatown. There is nothing written in foreign languages externally to offend fussy people who walk by. In fact, most people walking by may not notice it because it is hiding. LOL. Believe it or not, there are actually people out there who complain about shopfronts with non-English displays. I just don’t understand how foreign languages can be offensive or unpatriotic. There is so much to find out. These people have heaps to show us. If you ever shop at Laguna, do pay attention to the music playing in the store too. No, they don’t play stereotypical classical music from Asia. They probably do but I have never heard it when I was there. They instead play pop music from many parts of Asia and this is probably because most of their customers are young university students. I even heard a rap-style song. LOL.

Laguna Shopping Tip #1: After selecting an item, always read the item’s price ticket that is usually stuck on the edge of the shelf to see if the price is lower if you buy multiple quantities of the same item.

NOTE: This nanny is not linked in anyway to Laguna. I wrote about them positively because I enjoyed shopping there. It is fun to write about places and things that I love.