It was a friend of Weng Bing who originally suggested he open an Asian supermarket to meet the needs of Geelong locals, who usually had to travel to Melbourne to stock up on supplies.
Weng, who’d already had experience in working at such a supermarket, agreed – so he went ahead and opened his Fresh Land Asian Supermarket in Manifold Heights.
The large, breezy store now offers more than 8000 products from countries that include China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and India, as well as Mexican, Italian and Australian items.
This extraordinary range allows home cooks to whip up an Asian feast, using authentic ingredients – and the staff is more than happy to explain how to use any unfamiliar products.
As well as a range of fresh fruit and veg, there’s a wall of fridges packed with the likes of dumplings, soy drinks, seafood and meat – and recently stocks of jackfruit arrived from Malaysia – and loads more.
On the shelves, there’s everything needed, from spices, sauces, and dried and instant noodles to packs of roasted seaweed and Korean rice cake cooking packs. All the staples are available as well.
Weng says that his prices are very affordable, even “much cheaper than found in Melbourne”. He encourages everyone to visit the store and discover for themselves what he has to offer.
Fresh Land Asian Supermarket, 153-161 Shannon Avenue, Manifold Heights. Opens 8am-8pm Monday-Saturday and 9am-7pm Sunday. Inquiries: 0413 852 860 or Facebook.
