AAA Asian Market

I really like this market. It’s small, but the fruits, veggies, meats, and fish are fresh and well priced. Lots of Asian specialty items but also a big enough selection of everything to do the whole week’s groceries here if you want to stick to simple, healthy food and skip the processed stuff. The fresh herbs aren’t labeled, so you might have to ask if you aren’t familiar with what’s what. But the staff is friendly and helpful for things like that.

An Asian market in Waterbury? Who would have thought?
After reading reviews of AAA Asian Market on Unilocal,and finding myself low on some ingredients for Japanese and Korean recipes, I thought I’d give this place a try.
The first thing you see when you walk in is produce — directly in front of you. There were some nice Japanese eggplants, mangoes, papayas, and persimmons on display. To the left, were more vegetables– three «aisles» of them. All the produce seemed fresh, which means they sell well, and the wide variety will give me a lot of options when I am in the mood to cook something different. The fresh meat case had a lot of different items at decent prices — slightly lower than even the best deals at a supermarket. Plus, they had fresh pork belly, something very difficult to find even in the best superstore’s meat department. On the other side of the store, in the frozen food case, were about twenty different types of fish, frozen meat (oxtail soup anyone? How about Hamam Ma’shi [stuffed pigeon]?), and a lot of different «fresh» herbs frozen for later use.
One of the things I did notice was the amount of Latin foods on display. I am actually happy about this because it shows the owners are sensitive to their neighborhood, and sometimes, I need something for a specific recipe and I’m not always in the mood to hunt down a bodega that may have it. My complaint is that these treasures are interspersed with the Asian products, which, in my opinion, makes it difficult for the novice Asian cook to pick the right product. For example, curry spice. Jamaican curry (Mmmm –and they also have goat!) is much different than Indian curry, and both are different from Japanese curry, which they didn’t have. (A historical note: curry is not native to Japan or Korea, although, both countries have assimilated it into their culinary heritage — it actually came from England, via India from the Raj, though the British rule of Hong Kong). I would wish they would separate the Latin products from the Asian ones to make it easier (although, the Goya label is a hint).
All in all, it’s a tiny market compared to some Asian specialty stores I’ve been to. They tend to have smaller containers of products (no gallon-​sized jugs of soy sauce or sesame oil), and they only carry two or three varieties of each item. However, since the store is close to me, I don’t really need to buy such large quantities anymore!) I did not receive one query from the staff (I think the owner’s teenage daughter was manning the register, and she was interspersing cashing out customers with doing homework).
So —
Pluses: A good resource for general, everyday Asian products.
Minuses: Not everything I want is available (for example, no green tea Pockies — my favorite).
I will be back. As another reviewer noted, they carry fresh quail eggs, so I’m digging out those recipes for the holidays.

Was in Waterbury for a basketball game and looked up Asian markets on Unilocal.My best Unilocal find to date! Found everything I was looking for. Three different employees offered to help. They helped me find everything I needed plus stuff I didn’t know existed. Doesn’t look like I will be traveling to W. Hartford anytime soon. It is worth the drive.

I went to AAA for the first time today after a couple of friends recommended it to me. To say I was impressed would be a total understatement. The produce & meats/​fish are not only fresher than at mainstream grocery stores, but they’re significantly less expensive — and they have some great niche stuff (lychees, dragonfruit, cuttlefish, quail eggs, oxtail, fresh blue crab, etc, etc.) If you’re a foodie, you’ll love it here. I packed my cart for only $ 80. The same cart would usually cost me double that at Whole Foods.
And by the way, the people who work here are equally amazing. They even helped carry my groceries to my car. (What???) Don’t let the location put you off. This place is a hidden gem — I’ll be doing my regular shopping here from now on!

Finally! No more taking a trip to West Hartford or Danbury for us when we want to pick up some veggies, meat and sauces to make traditional Cambodian dishes.
This Asian market is much smaller than Adong in West Hartford, but carries a bit of everything. We were able to pick up some sweet soy sauce, hoisin sauce and fresh pork belly. Aisles are a bit tight, but nothing to worry about. The owners/​employees of the market are very nice. They greet you when you come in and talk with you as they ring up your purchase.
AND THEY HAVE BUBBLE TEA! Do you know how hard it is to find bubble tea in the Greater Waterbury area!!!
We will be coming here more often for our (basic) Asian groceries!

I had grabbed a duck while in NYC. I was planning on making a Thai curry but back in CT I realized I was out of red curry. I usually pick up supplies in New Haven, which was far, so I did a search and found AAA Market. Wow! A real good Asian market finally in the Waterbury area. The owner and family are welcoming and ready to assist. Not only did I get the red curry I was looking for, but some kaffir lime leaves which I haven’t been finding in New Haven. While there I picked up fresh veggies that looked great like baby bok choy, Chinese eggplant, and Thai basil. I couldn’t resist. The market is well organized and clean. The owner said he’s been there about a year. I wish them much success.

As near as I can tell, this is the only Asian grocery store in the entire northwest corner of Connecticut. Not huge, but not tiny, and the quality and variety of food are excellent! Fresh vegetables, fish, and meat, plus a huge variety of Asian ingredients, from noodles (fresh and dried) to sauces to canned and pickled vegetables. Wide variety of unusual frozen fish, too. The owner, Stanley, is very helpful and friendly, and the store is sparkling clean. Parking on the side of the store. A great, great resource for anyone looking to cook Asian food but not wanting to drive to New Haven or New York.