Dong-A Imports

It had a lot of items — almost an overwhelming amount. But the woman who seemed to be in charge was super helpful when I asked for specific items. I’ll be back!

This place is awesome! They should put it on the tourist maps as an area attraction… ok, maybe not but I love it. It’s in an old building on Mills and it’s cluttered and strange inside, but a walk around the store will introduce you to an entire world of Asian products you wont see anywhere else. Dried fish and octopus, crazy Asian candies I’ve never heard of, exotic fruits and veggies… ever see a banana tree flower at Publix? The sake selection was great and prices were far better than ABC or Total Wine. They had a vast selection of teas, spices, sauces, noodles, even cookware and sake sets.

This is my go to asian market, which honestly has as much to do with quality as convenience being right off of Mills. They have a decent selection of fresh produce, large freezer section and lots of dry goods and sauces. I do find their sake section lacking. The store has an overall organization system but things are still hard to find and one sauce may be on a totally other aisle from the others. This is no big deal though, as the lady who runs the shop is always willing to find what you need and make recommendations.

My recent visit just confirmed how much I love this place! Decided to stop by for their premade shrimp summer rolls as a light dinner for 1. I decided to call on my way to make sure they had some available. The sweet woman that is always there (owner’s daughter) answered, checked and agreed to hold for me.
When I arrived, she acknowledged me and knew I was the one that called. I ended up buying some other of their premade items like the chicken sio pao bun, fried tofu and red bean sesame balls. All so good and cheap! Most people think this is just a supermarket but they do have a few items made in house that are great to pick up for a quick meal when you don’t want to order from a restaurant.
I will be coming here again and again and again! You should too!

Walking in this place instantly, I was reminded of the great supermarkets I went to when I was a kid. That smell that I used to hate was kind of refreshing and reminiscing. This place carries all the asian essentials and then some. The snacks, the meats, the seafood, all the goodies that I love, this place has. The best part about all of this is that everything is reasonably cheap. I’ve been going to 1^st oriental to buy all my hot pot ingredients lately, but I will no longer be going there. My new favorite asian market.

This Asian grocery store is amazing! I’ve shopped here very frequently over the last five years but just decided it was a good time to write a review. The customer service is always great. The staff will help you find things that are hard to find in the store. I’m sure the organization of the store makes sense to the people who work there, but I can never figure out where things are except in the main aisle, the vegetable aisle, and the candy area. I usually have to ask for the type of rice I’m looking for. Fortunately, the different types of rice are sold in different size bags if you ask at the front. Sometimes you just don’t need a 20 pound bag of rice! Anyway I find the store very welcoming, and they always have a great selection of different Asian vegetables and fruits that are hard to find other places. They also have prepared foods like spring rolls in their small deli area. If you have a craving for various and assorted Asian candies this is the place you want to go! There is also a nice selection of different Asian wines and beers that are hard-​to-​find. Check this place out and I promise you’ll be happy if you just ask for what you need.

Holy noodles and things I can’t read or pronounce Batman!
This locally owned asian market is a one stop shop off the mills and colonial area of town. Do you need pantry, equipment, and asian influenced stock items for your culinary exploration? They will probably have it!
I spend about an hour browsing this little grocer every time I visit. First off it can be overwhelming, especially down the sauce and noodle isle. Secondly, unfamiliar ingredients dot the shelves every where. I just don’t know what to make of some the items for sale. Inevitably I find myself with my phone in hand looking up what some of the products are and how they can be used.
Thirdly the selection of items can be daunting. Once you find what you are looking for, You then have the decision of which type and manufacture of the same item.
Don’t be shy and timid, if your confused about a product simply ask one of the staff wondering the isles from time to time. They are more than happy to help.
I find the experience as a whole entertaining and educational at the same time. Should you ever find yourself wanting a package of kaffir leaves… A durian fruit… Maybe a case of quail eggs… Or just take an asian cultural food odyssey, this could be the place for you.

I get almost all my noodles, snacks, and veggies at this store. The staff is nice, and there is a good variety to the stuff on sale. Bit of a drive from where I live, but still worth it.

I was not impressed with this place. Please be aware that almost all items are WAY out of date. My favorite chili beef jerky was so dried and old looking (i could not find an expiration) that I ditched it and went to the other market on Colonial instead. It was hard to find not out of date canned items, but the vegetables looked pretty good. To be honest I went for the safe stuff, but in the end I had to throw out almost everything I bought from here (packaged cookies, chocolates, etc) because it tasted rancid. Please check items before buying. And if you can’t find an expiry date, don’t purchase.

I love this place! Every time I’m searching for some sushi, Chinese, or any other Asian stuff, I just ask one of their employees and they’re more than happy to help me out. Very well-​run and fully stocked place!

VARIETY
Very similar to nearby Oriental Markets in terms of the packaged goods offered. The fresh vegetables and produce area has all the basics for the typical Asian-​home-​chef but they are lacking greatly in the fresh seafood and meats area.
QUALITY
Don’t expect the staff to be at your beck and call and don’t expect the cleanliness and organization of a Publix – but this is almost expected from any Oriental Market. Anything I’ve purchased here has been good quality.

This place is awesome! Granted, not the cleanest looking place in the world, but what a selection!
If you ever have complained there aren’t enough Asian groceries/​candy in Orlando, then you must visit this place!

Dong A Imports oh how I love your store and wish plenty of these imported statues were mine lol. This store has alot of fancy asian traditional vases, lucky cats all of shapes and sizes, warrior statues, kitchen ware, tea sets, and decorated cloths. Alot of the items here cannot be found at any other local store so I took advantage and bought a ninja statue. They are a tad bit on the pricey side but they have the right to be. Whoever purchases these exotic goodies at this store definitely thought outside the box, Where else in Orlando can you find breathtaking vase with detailed flower work about the size of 5 feet.
This is a place that if I had an extra $ 50,000 laying around I would purchase alot of decorative items from here because this place rocks.

I love to take time out to search through the slew of asian groceries in this area, but when it comes to actual grocery shopping, this is hands-​down the best. There’s a wide selection of noodles and adorable snacks (including seasonal pocky for addicts like me), as well as plenty of tea. Even then, there’s a metric buttload of goods here for just about any Asian dish you’ll ever want to cook (and some you may not want to).
By the way, cilantro is a lot cheaper here than at Publix when it’s in season. Just sayin’.

I was trying to make Sushi and getting all the ingredients, I wasn’t sure what I needed so I asked the lady (which I think is the owner of the place) to help me out, she was really nice and told me what to get and stuff!
It’s such a nice store that even as an Asian I was surprised by all these different items they got in stock! It was like a kaleidescope for me that I was all bedazzled by all these cool looking stuff.
They definitely got all you need to make any Asian dishes, even you don’t need to buy anything from there, it’s still fun to go there to look at all these different stuff and get ASIANIZED and become WISER.

This is my Asian supermarket of choice in Central FL, and I’ve been going here since 2001. I’ve never been disappointed. There’s a larger Asian grocery store down the road, but it’s just a different atmosphere and I’ve never felt «at home» there.
The store utilizes space pretty well, but a couple of the aisles may have boxes in the way. Their frozen food selection is great, and their noodles and canned pickled vegetables section are extensive. Of course, there’s lots of cute and delicious looking snacks, and I dare you to resist them. Everything is reasonably priced, and for things like soy sauce or teriyaki sauce, I would encourage you to buy it in bulk here than buy a small bottle at a Publix or whereever.
The staff are always asking how I’m doing, and always greets me with «How are you, Little Sister?» in Mandarin. [It is common for Chinese to call younger girls «mei-​mei» — Little Sister — as a term of endearment, even in a store setting.] Once in a while, when I make a large purchase, the owner usually tosses in something for free: a drink or two, some lychees. One time, my mother came up and made a HUGE purchase, and they gave her an entire case of soymilk for free. These are things that breed repeat customers.
One caution: check expiration dates on the items. I’ve seen things on the shelf dangerously close to expiring, and items that were — gulp — slightly past their prime. It only happens once in a blue moon, but do be careful. Also do remember that sometimes the date format is possibly in YYMMDD, or DDMMYY, or MMDDYY… you’ll never know. Just exercise common sense and use your intuition.

I recently spent about three hours in Dong A Market with my husband walking aisle after aisle checking out all this gem has to offer. We left with the trappings to make our first curry, some painfully cute candies, curry paste, bean sprouts, a couple of types of tea, noodles, and even instructions from one of the owners on how to cook perfect pad thai noodles. What more could you want?
It was really exciting to see products that I recognized from my trip to China last year, and wander through the aisles discovering even more about the complex cuisine and beautiful people of China. Can you believe I found all of this just off of Mills and Colonial?

If you want to cook some asian influenced food at home, which i attempt to do from time to time, this is a good place to stock up. You can get all kinds of fresh veggies and fresh spices and herbs. They have an extensive selection of rice, noodles, canned gods, dried goods, most of which are very reasonably priced. I really only comprehend about 20% of the things in there but i still like going and shopping on occaision.

I can’t lie. Being your typical, run of the mill SWG (that’s Standard White Guy, an internet acronym of my own invention) I was actually a little nervous about even parking in the Dong-​A store lot. Would ninjas jump out from behind bushes and attack? Would a little old chinese lady come out of the doors and curse me for treading upon sacred ground only allowed to those of Oriental descent? What would i find inside? Cat meat? Dog meat? Whole, uncleaned fish?
The answer was resoundingly «no» to all of those — OK, except the fish part — and I’m glad I ventured in. Dong-​A is packed to the brim with all sorts interesting foreign bit’s to eat (i’d call them delicacies, but i have really no comparison for what’s an Asian delicacy or non-​delicacy.) They have all kinds of sushi-​grade fish in the freezer (sometimes it’s hard to find — just ask) and tons of sauces, condiments, and other ingredients you’d NEVER find anywhere else.
There WAS a little old asian lady at the register, and she is sweet and very helpful, and will help you find what you need. This is my go-​to spot for curry paste, rice in bulk, fish sauce, seaweed for sushi, random-​ass asian ingredients, and sometimes, fresh, cheap, local veggies. The best part about? You will be proud of yourself for shopping here — you’ve broken away from the power of publix and whole paycheck and are shopping locally AND ethnically — and doing it at the hidden lair of asian-​food awesomeness.
One bummer — they close at eight, if I remember correctly.

Dong A is without a doubt the best Asian grocery store in the Orlando area. Their selection is complete which is incredible considering the size of the place. The shelves are stuffed beyond belief with goodies and even though sometimes it feels a little bit like searching a needle in a haystack, things still are possible to find. If not, just ask one of the staff. They’re friendly and if you spend over a certain amount, they might just give you a little something extra in the form of a cool, refreshing drink as you are leaving.
Being Asian, it is important for me to have that little taste of home-​cooked food. And although I can never quite achieve that since there’s no way I have the same cooking abilities as my mom, Dong A helps. They have a few of the snacks that I grew up with, and seasonings of other main dishes that are my favorites.
It really is quite incredible how much stuff they have in such a little store, so for your first time there, take the time to explore every aisle. If you’re looking for a unique Asian ingredient, make Dong A your first stop. Chances are, you won’t have to make any more after that.