If you were inspired by our cookbook story last week (visit tiny.cc/6wu3m), chances are you’re missing some key ingredients to cook up your next masterpiece. Here we round up a diverse range of specialty food stores that have what you need.

INDIAN

Bimla Mini Mart

Sukhumvit Soi 10, 02-653-1524. Open daily 11am-7pm
This dusty little shop carries a wide range of Indian food products to suit every level of cookery: red chilli powders, poppadums, lentils, legumes, raita and pre-made mixes, and more. Should you become enamored and want vast amounts for your home, the folks behind the counter will even arrange a delivery. Ask them about their bricks of fresh paneer (B300 per kg) if you want to try your hand at making saag paneer at home. Also, be advised that although the store is officially open everyday, it is sometimes randomly closed on Sundays, so do call ahead if you plan to go then.

MEDITERRANEAN

Crescendo

7/F, CentralWorld, Rama 1 Rd., 02-613-1630. Open daily 10am-10pm
A bit hard to find in the madness that is the Central Food Hall at CentralWorld, this little set-up behind the escalators conceals a pretty big concept: specialty oils, vinegars and spices in small portions. Sure you know your peanut oil from your olive oil, but these guys have earthen jugs dispensing avocado oil (B199 per 100ml), grapeseed oil (B399), lemon oil (B149), four different kinds of olive oil with various Italian origins (B199) and more. Not to mention their vinegars: apple balsam, honey balsam, and different kinds of balsamic. Their spices aren’t that unusual, but we like the spice mixes, particularly the ones to help you make chilli con carne (B25 per 10g) and chimmichurri sauce (B25 per 10g)—and we love that you have the choice of taking only as much as you need in little baggies. As for the oils, though, bring your own empty bottle, unless you want to pay an extra B199 to buy one of theirs.

KOREAN

Food Mart

Sukhumvit Plaza, Sukhumvit Soi 12, 02-653-3920, 080-975-6325. Open daily 9am-10pm
An unintimidating little mini-mart in the Korean plaza at the corner of soi 12, Food Mart manages to pack a range of products into its few shelves, limited not just to Korean instant noodles, cookies and ice creams, but also enormous, economy-sized bottles of sauces, which makes us think that some Korean restaurants probably come here to stock up. Dry goods such as Korean wheat noodles (B180) and buckwheat noodles (B230) are plentiful, but the highlight is the small selection of freshly prepared kimchis and other pickled vegetables at the far end of the store. A word of advice, though: bring a Korean friend as all the packaging here is in Korean and there are no helpful signs in English or Thai, a good sign that you’re in the right place.

RARE VEGGIES

Doi Kham

101 Kamphaengpet Rd., 02-299-1551. MRT Kamphaengpet. Open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 7am-6pm
A small and manageable annex store of the Royal Project Foundation, the shop is located right next to Talat Or Tor Kor. At least twice a week, they receive fresh produce from the farms in Chiang Mai, including some produce not traditionally grown in Thailand. So if you don’t want to pay for imported jalapenos, Swiss chard, figs, radicchio, and more, check these guys out. It’s also good for a range of super cheap and fresh (not that bottled, dried junk) herbs like sage, rosemary and thyme.

NEW YORK DELI

Dean and Deluca

G/F, Mahanakhon Pavillion, Sathorn Road, 02-234-1434. BTS Chong Nonsi. Open daily 7am-8pm
In the well-lit, high-ceilinged space of this fancy deli, you may have neglected to notice that a small portion of the store is devoted to food and kitchen products, including a house-line of inspiring ingredients like hard-to-find spices, mixes and rubs (B150 for 40g), such as hot pimenton, for your Spanish tapas, and a tandoori blend, for your Indian roasts, as well as a range of flavored, large-grained sea salts to jazz up almost any finished meal. How about a tiny sprinkle of espresso flavored salt (B650 for a 200g jar) on a scoop of chocolate/caramel ice cream, or some chipotle salt with your steak? At these prices, though, you’re paying for the brand and packaging, so these are probably better given away as gifts than used in the kitchen.

FRENCH BUTCHER

Gargantua

10/2 Soi 6 Convent Road. 02 630 4577. Open Mon-Sat 10am-10pm
Right opposite Indigo restaurant, a right turn down a small alley on Soi Convent, Gargantua boasts a real-live French butcher at the helm. Drool over their display of house-made sausages: Toulouse, Cumberland, lamb merguez (B420 per kilo), as well as the more unusual liver pate (B570 per kg) and rabbit terrine (B590 per kg). Gargantua also does specifically French cuts of beef, like the cote de boeuf, which is headache to describe to non-connoisseurs (seriously, just try asking for a “1.2kg double bone-in ribeye steak, but very thick, and with the bone” at any other market). Gargantua’s Thai-French one is surprisingly succulent (B690/kg).

CHEESE

Quintessence

116 Sukhumvit Soi 23, 02-662-3577. Open Mon-Sat 10am-7pm
It may be a non-descript little store and cafe with little more than a black and white awning as a distinguishing mark, but Quintessence is the only speciality cheese store in the city. They specialize mostly in French stuff, including high-quality AOC cheeses such as Sainte Maure de Touraine (B575 per piece), bleu d’Auvergne (B1,131 per kg), brie de Meux (B1,480) and premium Camembert de la Perelle (B451 per piece). Sure they have a little stall at the Emporium supermarket, but their flagship store has a walk-in fridge and it also doubles as a café offering European-style sandwiches (the café, not the fridge). And don’t be alarmed by the prices; it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever need a whole kilo of cheese—unless you’re French. The folks at Quintessence will be happy to cut their cheeses to a size suited to your needs. So 250 grams of brie de Meaux, for instance, will only work out to about B370.

HOW TO: Choose Your Olive Oil