A trip to Super Cao Nguyen
Getting an aisle-by-aisle tour of the Super Cao Nguyen Market with Ba Luong is akin to a tour of Disneyland with Walt Disney.
Ba’s enthusiasm is infectious. The man loves food. He loves to eat, smell and feel it. But more than anything, he loves to discuss it. His passion is palpable.
Produce there is fresh and unique. It includes nearly a dozen different kinds of mushroom and vegetarian offal. That’s right, vegetarians no longer have to mope around when the family is enjoying a nice plate of liver or tongue. Super Cao Nguyen carries tofu version that have been molded to taste and look as close to it as possible.
They also carry every conceivable type of egg roll and wonton wrapper, plus banana leaves and a variety of sodas that might initially have you shaking your head but will ultimately surprise you. I tried the basil seed soday, which was a little like drinking the liquid from a lava lamp, and I mean that in a good way.
In shooting our video, we didn’t have time to check out the cookie aisle. Ba has a sweet tooth, and he calls the cookie aisle his favorite in the entire store. They have treats from Poland to Bangkok in house, proving that while we might be the fattest country in the world, we aren’t the only ones down with cheap, sugary treats.
We also didn’t have time to check out the non-Food section of the store, where you can find anything from bonzai trees, to marble statues to rice cookers.
Super Cao Nguyen is the crown jewel of the Asian District, but I would argue it’s one of the crown jewels of the entire city. Check it out.
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I love exploring Asian markets, and Super Cao Nguyen is the best in OKC. We have a special Christmas tradition with my hubbie’s side of the family to remember their years living in Japan when he was young. I go to SCN and buy Asian snacks (crackers, cookies, sodas, etc.) that were their favorites in Japan to fill their stockings. I have so much fun doing it for them, even if I do tend to spend way too much money! I can spend hours at SCN just happily exploring the aisles.
-BAM