Chai Market

Great place to get all your grocery/​cooking needs, especially if you are from India or other Asian countries. Very close to UAB campus, great prices, wonderful and friendly owners.
NOTE: They get fresh veggies on every Tuesday and Friday.

A (quite literally) hidden gem on 7^th Avenue South! The building is kind of small and inconspicuous, but don’t let the modest exterior of the shop fool you – this place is excellent.
First off, Chai is not a huge market, and if you’re looking for a shiny Costco or Target-​like store but for Asian groceries, you might as well look elsewhere. That being said, I believe it does a great job at being a small but efficient workhorse of a corner store. And – major plus – they are within walking distance of the downtown area. Not having to drive to get Asian groceries? Big thumbs up.
I was so surprised to find a place like this in Birmingham, but boy am I glad I did. A solid selection of produce (think specialty items like baby bok choy), miscellaneous Asian snacks (shrimp chips and Pocky, anyone? Totally reliving my childhood right now) and they even sell PANEER. As if it couldn’t get any better, they also have a pretty good selection of Indian spices. In short, I love this place. The staff are so nice, they take credit/​debit cards, and are convenient to downtown. I think I am bound to be their #1 fan. They even have t-​shirts to prove it!
Pro tip (s): As much as I love this place, be careful of expiration dates here. Be sure to check extra carefully for perishables like milk. Also, don’t forget that the store is closed on Mondays.

Customer service at this place is the best! I’ve requested oriental veggies and snacks and they have been able to provide them for me. I really enjoy the chinese eggplant, vegetarian dumplings, tofu, bok choi, and chili pastes. It’s my staple for chinese and regular groceries. Great prices and good quality products. A win!

This place always has the freshest seasonal fruit. I’ve gotten some fruit here that could take on the farmers market for freshness. I go here for my Chinese and Indian ingredients although they carry stuff from many other parts of the world as well. They also have a good selection of Thai ingredients for making curries and chicken coconut soup. They always have fresh lemongrass.

While I’m no cook, I am sent to purchase delicious food that is to be cooked. For this, I am lucky. I’m also lucky to have a place like Chai that is sympathetic to my lack of understand what a Soba Noodle is.
When I walk in to Chai, I can be sure of two things; I won’t know what it is that I’m looking for and I will have help finding it. The ladies working here are always friendly and the store is very organized.
Whether it’s fresh produce or some kind of rice I had no idea existed, I know I can get it here.

Looking at David M.‘s review, I have to say that he is correct on all counts. However, the original owners have retired since his review and the new folks have expanded the inventory to include more indian spices, and fresh vegetables. A good place.

Very nice customer service, small shop, great selection and fresh produce!

I had a huge craving for dumplings last week, so one of my coworkers suggested I check out Chai’s. Don’t let appearances scare you, Chai’s has everything you could ever desire from an import store. Indian curries, Vietnamese noodles, Thai curry pastes, and (of course) everything you need to make dumplings. I’m a lazy chef, so I grabbed the frozen pre-​made variety instead. still fantastic. Compared to big chain import stores, Chai’s has all of the selection you expect with a price that beats buying spaghetti o’s at the piggly wiggly.