Amayzine

The 9 most fun foreign supermarkets in Amsterdam

woman in supermarket

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: the 9 coolest foreign supermarkets in Amsterdam.

One of the coolest things about being abroad is going to the supermarket. Yes, seriously. I can walk around for hours, searching for products that you can't find in the Netherlands. Whether it's a special chip flavor or fresh ingredients, it doesn't even matter that much to me. But good news, because nowadays you can also find many foreign supermarkets in the Netherlands.

That's why I've made a nice list of them. Apologies: they have become foreign supermarkets in Amsterdam, for the simple reason that I live in Amsterdam and am therefore most familiar with it. Do you have tips for foreign supermarkets elsewhere in the Netherlands: bring it on. I love making more lists, because how fun is it to shop at these stores?

Amazing Oriental – Amsterdam-Noord & Nieuwmarkt
Our Delilah can be found here weekly and shops for frozen dim sum and frozen bao buns (highly recommended!), fresh vegetables (like kai lan), snacks (bapao’s), and of course bubble tea.
Buikslotermeerplein 228 & Nieuwmarkt 27

Costa – Amsterdam-Noord
Tip from FavorFlavs Sharon: If you love Polish pierogi (who doesn't?), then hurry to the Polish supermarket Costa in Amsterdam-Noord. These dumplings, often filled with potato and cheese, are truly delicious. Here you will find a wide variety of fresh and frozen pierogi with special fillings (tip: sauerkraut with mushrooms!). You will also find a lot of sauerkraut here, even sauerkraut juice! Also in your shopping cart: sausage, dried mushrooms, Zurek (a creamy soup with sausage), and such a delightfully kitschy bottle of white wine in the shape of... a fish. That's still exotic on your dinner table. Finally: don't forget to take one of the many Polish cheesecakes, which are less sweet than American cheesecakes and you buy them by the block.
Meeuwenlaan 102

Kelly’s Expat Shopping – De Pijp
Here you mainly find British and American products, and especially of the latter I am a big fan. And then – completely American – especially the snacks: chips, chocolate, candy bars... They really do it a bit better in America, so I stock up here.
Ferdinand Bolstraat 139

Vkusvill – De Pijp & Kinkerbuurt
Now that you're in Ferdinand Bolstraat, also step inside the Russian supermarket Vkusvill. Aside from the assortment, the start of this company is also special. The Russian founder Andrej Krivenko, a software programmer, built his healthy supermarket chain mainly with his own money. His motivation: to raise his children with healthy food, something that was hardly available in Russia around 2009. There are now more than 1200 Vkusvill branches, two of which are in Amsterdam. You will find various types of caviar and many freshly made dishes like bœuf stroganoff (the famous meat dish from Russian cuisine), chicken Kiev, and beautifully shaped pastries (pirog) with sweet or savory filling. Tips from FavorFlav’s Sharon: the pancakes with salmon and cream cheese and Tvorog, a Russian pressed cottage cheese that resembles quark, but is firmer and drier. Delicious on a toasted bun with jam. You can also find Tvorog in the Glazirovannyj syrok; a beastly rich dessert, wrapped in Belgian chocolate.
Ferdinand Bolstraat 88 + Kinkerstraat 252H

Bizim Ufuk – Amsterdam-Noord
From soft fluffy rolls and za’atar to sticky, super sweet baklava: the Turkish supermarket, oh, how we love it here! There are of course many in Amsterdam. Bizim Ufuk is again a favorite of Sharon, so there's a good chance you'll run into her here, if you know how often she can be found here.
Waterlandplein 320

Tjin’s – De Pijp
If there is one Amsterdam store where you can go for all your ingredients, it is Tjin’s. Besides about all the Asian items you could ever need, you can also find ingredients from British cuisine, American products, or Mexican: name it and Tjin’s has it (for KitKat fans: they have crazy flavors from Japan). What a great place! And hungry after all that wandering along shelves full of treasures? You can also pick up the tastiest sandwiches and meals here.
Eerste van der Helststraat 64

Casa Bocage – Jordaan
Longing for a vacation in Portugal, then you can stock up on everything you need for that (except the weather of course). The stockfish is a recommendation, but also the collection of canned fish. And don't forget the wines from Alentejo: ideal for a wine tasting. And the charcuterie that you serve with it, you can also get here. And last but certainly not least... The pastel del nata. SO DELICIOUS!
Haarlemmerstraat 111

Appetito – Novitalia – Houthavens
If you're planning an Italian themed evening, then you MUST come here. I say must indeed, because they literally have every type of pasta you can think of. If you're not a kitchen princess yourself, they also have a stock of ready-made meals that taste authentically Italian, but take you no time to prepare.
Nieuwe Hemweg 4B

Hong Kong Superstore – Kinkerbuurt
As you can guess from the name, this is a Chinese supermarket, and what a one: here you can truly find everything. It's wonderful to wander through the aisles, and especially at the freezer section, you'll be very happy. I don't have a mega large freezer at home, so I often come here to stock up again.
Kinkerstraat 298