A few days ago I got a craving homemade mapo tofu that my mom always makes on chilly winter days, but I needed super soft tofu and black bean sauce. I really didn’t want to make the 45 minute trek to HMart on the subway, so I started googling to see if there were any easier options. That’s when I came across Umamicart, an online grocery store offering a carefully curated selection of hundreds of Asian products and ingredients. How had I not heard of this before?
I began to scroll through the items and was really impressed by the selection. Fresh vegetables, tropical fruits, meats and seafood (including sashimi grade fish!) were all available for delivery right to my door! There was also a huge selection of sweet and savory Asian snacks, and all the pantry essentials you could need (think chili crisps, fish sauce, and curry paste, to name just a few). I had started out only looking for a single item, but it quickly became clear that this was going to be a substantial order.
The Umamicart site was incredibly easy to navigate and before I knew it, I had added a week’s worth of groceries to my cart. One of my favorite features of Umamicart was the Pantry section, which allowed me to filter by region so I could quickly find what I needed. There are a lot of products I grew up with where I don’t know the exact brand name, but I can recognize the packaging in a second, so being able to narrow down my options by country was so helpful.
I was also happy to learn that Umamicart prioritizes Asian and Asian American-led businesses, and I loved the All Asian American section of the site. It features brands from Asian American founders who are reinterpreting traditional flavors. From chili sauce to coffee to kimchi, this section had a ton of mouthwatering items from a lot of brands I’d never heard of before. I’m especially excited to try the Moon Man Kaya Jam!
Because I live in New York City, there was an option for same-day delivery since I was ordering before 12:30. (For all of their other coverage areas, next-day delivery is available or you can schedule your delivery time.) Delivery was free since my order was over $49, which was a nice surprise at checkout. My order arrived in the late afternoon and was perfectly packaged with perishables separated in a cold storage bag to keep everything fresh. The Sashimi Grade Bluefin Tuna was as good as what I get at my favorite sushi places. I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical about this part of my order, but I was so so impressed with the quality; I later found out that they work directly with the same Japanese fish supplier that serves some of the most popular upscale sushi restaurants in the city
Needless to say, I won’t be making the long subway trip to HMart ever again. Umamicart has everything I need, and having it delivered to my doorstep is such a huge timesaver. For anyone who regularly buys Asian groceries, this site is an absolute godsend, and for people who are interested in cooking more Asian cuisines at home, Umamicart is the perfect place to get started. I came for the soft tofu, but I’ll be returning over and over for the incredible selection and quality.
Offer For First Time Purchasers: $5 off and FREE delivery on first order of $49+!