Cooking the food of home in Israel means knowing where to find the ingredients — soy sauce that tastes right, fresh Asian greens, rice flour, the proper noodles. The good news: it’s more available than newcomers expect, if you know where to look. This is the practical map, for the Chinese, Filipino, Thai, Korean, Japanese and wider Asian community.
Dedicated Asian supermarkets#
These carry the real range — sauces, dried goods, noodles, frozen items, and often fresh produce. Cluster your trips when you can; many of the best are in Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv (Levinsky Market & around)#
The Levinsky Market (שוק לוינסקי) area in south Tel Aviv is the historic spice-and-import district, and it’s where Asian grocery shopping in Israel is densest:
- Asiana Supermarket — Levinsky St 39, Tel Aviv. A go-to for a broad pan-Asian range.
- Panda Asia Market — Levinsky St, Tel Aviv. Another solid Levinsky-area option.
- Yossi Peretz Butcher — Carmel Market area, Tel Aviv. Useful for cuts that Asian cooking needs but Israeli butchers don’t usually pre-cut.
Haifa & the north#
- Chinese Supermarket Haifa — HeHalutz St 45, Haifa. The anchor for the north.
Center#
- Tav HaOchel Asian Supermarket — Petah Tikva. Convenient if you’re in the center and want to avoid the Tel Aviv crowds.
South#
- Filipino Store Eilat — Eilat. A lifeline for the southern community, with a Filipino-leaning range.
See the full, filterable list in our business directory — filter by city to find what’s near you.
The Levinsky Market spice shops#
Even beyond the dedicated Asian supermarkets, Levinsky Market’s spice shops are invaluable for the Asian cook: whole and ground spices, dried chilies, dried mushrooms and seaweed, rice and specialty flours, nuts and dried goods, often at better prices than packaged-import shelves. Go in person, ask, and taste.
Online & nationwide delivery#
If you’re not near Tel Aviv or Haifa, online ordering closes much of the gap:
- The Spice Way — online / nationwide. Spices and dried aromatics shipped across Israel.
- Several Asian supermarkets also deliver or take phone/WhatsApp orders — call ahead to ask.
- General Israeli grocery-delivery platforms increasingly list imported Asian sauces and pantry staples.
Your regular Israeli supermarket#
Don’t overlook the big chains. Most now carry an “Asian” or “international” aisle with the basics: soy sauce, rice and rice noodles, coconut milk, curry pastes, sesame oil, sometimes miso and gochujang. Fresh Asian greens (bok choy, pak choi) and herbs increasingly turn up in the produce section or at shuk (market) stalls, especially seasonally.
Keeping it kosher#
If you keep kosher, the main thing to check on imported sauces and condiments is the hechsher (kosher certification) on the label — many imported Asian products carry one, but not all. Watch for non-kosher ingredients common in Asian pantry items (certain fish-derived additives, shellfish, non-kosher gelatin). Fresh vegetables, rice, and most dried goods are straightforward. We’ll cover kosher-friendly Asian cooking in more depth in a follow-up guide.
Reading Hebrew labels (quick starts)#
A few label words that help the Asian cook:
- רוטב סויה — soy sauce
- שמן שומשום — sesame oil
- חלב קוקוס — coconut milk
- אורז — rice
- קמח אורז — rice flour
- פולי סויה / טופו — soy beans / tofu
Looking for a specific shop near you? Browse our business directory of Asian grocers, restaurants and services across Israel, and our other guides.
Photo: market stalls by PattayaPatrol / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
