Web Resource: Import Food - Online Thai Produce and Thai Pantry Items

Out here in California, we're a little bit spoiled by all the Asian markets and Asian produce available in the farmer's markets. Sometimes we forget that people in other parts of the country don't have access to fresh opo leaves, galangal root, or banana leaves.

Thankfully, many things can be found online. Isn't the Internet an amazing thing? Today we'll share one of our favorite bookmarks: Import Food, a wonderful online store for buying fresh Thai produce such as fresh green papaya, galangal root and kaffir lime leaves (essential for making many Thai soups and curries,) Thai cooking utensils, and various Thai pantry items such as curry paste, tamarind paste, mulberry tea, tapioca pearls for bubble tea, Thai iced tea mix, and so much more.

(Images: Import Foods)

Comments (5)

What I have found most overwhelming is making a choice between all of the different brands available for Thai ingredients.

I found this online a while ago and it has helped me immensely:
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/brands.html

I'm sure people have other favorite brands for various ingredients but at least this list upped my comfort factor in figuring out what to buy.

You can find banana leaves at Temple of Thai (but not at importfood.com) and also green papaya for a much lower price. Also Temple of Thai carries galangal root, kaffir lime leaves, Thai eggplant, Thai basil, young green coconuts, fresh sweet tamarind, Thai chilis, lemongrass and baby bananas (gloy ky in Thai) and in smaller portions which are more practical for most home chefs. We do not carry the Thai fruits that have recently been permitted by the USDA for entry into America because the produce must be irradiated before it is permitted entry by USA customs (e.g mangosteen and rambutan). We also carry all the necessary Thai ingredients to cook an authentic Thai meal including Nittaya Curry paste, which is flown in directly from Bangkok and Krathong Molds which are very hard to come by! I hope you will try us at www.Temple ofThai.com

It's always interesting when spammers from one site appear every time a related website is mentioned.

ImportFood.com has a toll free phone number and the owner of the company answers the phone. Everything you order comes from their own warehouse. Communication is instant unlike the spam website which asks you to leave your order and credit card on an answering machine (tried many times, nobody there). It seems the other website mentioned which has no property, no inventory, just an email system originating overseas.

And compare the price yourself. Looks like the spam website is more expensive and charges a great deal more for shipping.

When shopping online consider the spam for what it is.

At least Temple of Thai is up front about who is posting, unlike shopper time; check out the 2 sites for yourself. Spam may be on offer at one of the 2, you will have to search on it to discover the source of it!

I don't recommend ImportFood at all.

My entire order with gifts for my children was delayed because of ONE item (which I would have GLADLY left out of my order if the rest could have arrived on time) being out of stock. I ordered on December 11th, order was not shipped until December 23rd.

I was NOT upgraded to 2 day shipping, even though this was THEIR mistake and they ...were offering free 2 day shipping on a knife set. I was NOT given any kind of notice that the item was out of stock. I was NOT even contacted to ask whether or not I would be willing to pay more to receive the out of stock item at a later date at MY expense, which I would have done if I could have received my order before Christmas! I had no idea why I hadn't received the item until I got an email from them with tracking on December 23rd. (As it is, FedEx says the package is in Oregon, but it was last updated on December 24th.) So much for a Christmas gift.

By ordering on December 11th, this package had PLENTY of time to arrive before Christmas. How can their website not track in stock and out of stock items? My tiny little website I put together myself can accurately track in-stock items!

Then, when I posted my complaint on their Facebook wall, they just deleted my post! Unreal.

Worst customer service experience I have experienced in a LONG time. I will be putting the word out everywhere I can about this, because it is absolutely ridiculous.

I absolutely do NOT recommend this company after this experience. I never even got an apology until after I wrote to them to ask WHY my order was JUST getting shipped out 2 days before Christmas. Unacceptable.