3 Asian markets with great delis or restaurants

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and a delicious way to celebrate is to explore a variety of rich food traditions right in our backyards.

There are plenty of great Asian grocery stores in the Twin Cities that stock specialty ingredients for the recipe you’ve been wanting to tackle. We’re also fortunate that there are plenty of restaurants serving up authentic cuisine from Asia and the Pacific islands.

And then there are the places that give us the best of both worlds: grocery stores featuring delis or restaurants within the food aisles for ultimate multi-tasking. Check items off your grocery list while grabbing a bite to eat as you shop or to take home for later.

From bành mí sandwiches and bao buns to Hawaiian plates and sushi rolls, here are three great Asian grocery stores that come with equally wonderful delis or restaurants.

Since 1980, United Noodles has served the Twin Cities as one of the premier Asian grocers with an impressive array of ingredients from around the globe. Throughout the years, the store with a deli is always adding new reasons to visit. Located through a parking lot that passes Coastal Seafoods, it always feels like an insider-y secret to find. Weaving through the aisles, shoppers can indulge a serious chili crisp obsession, create a tasting cavalcade of ramen flavors, load up on fresh meats and veggies for an epic at-home hot pot feast or shop the gift-y area with utensils, beautiful bowls and plenty of Sanrio characters. In the center is Ono Hawaiian Plates, with cafeteria-style dishes and the best poke in the Twin Cities. United Noodles also stocks some Hawaiian items, in addition to those goods from Japan, China, Vietnam and more.

There’s a smaller United Noodles outpost in Woodbury; it doesn’t have a deli, but does stock a good number of items.

2015 E. 24th St., Mpls. unitednoodles.com

This supermarket in a former Byerlys features pan-Asian ingredients and more. It’s also a draw for its reliable and extensive deli offerings. Grab spring rolls, papaya salads or rice cakes from the cold food cases. Or, head to the deli counter to grab staples such as egg rolls, bao buns, bành mí sandwiches and barbecued duck or pork chopped to order. There’s also a hot food station with about a dozen rotating items, including wings, salt and pepper shrimp (our favorite), braised pork belly, lo mein and stir-fries ready to feed a crowd.

1959 Suburban Av., St. Paul, bit.ly/HaTienSTP

It seems the massive Dragon Star in Brooklyn Park has it all: sprawling produce, meat and seafood departments, bakeries and delis. We’re especially fond of the deli, featuring salads (noodle, papaya and laab), khao poon soup and bành mí sandwich stations with items prepackaged to go. Next, a hot foods station lets you select piping-hot egg rolls, wings, stir-fries and more. And the store is constantly evolving, just this month adding a sushi station featuring grocery store standards as well as specialty rolls. Fans of mochi donuts should note that there’s a stand near the checkout counter that features several fun varieties of the American-Japanese fusion treat.

Parksquare Shopping Center, 8020 Brooklyn Blvd., Brooklyn Park, dragonstarmarket.com

Order Up is an occasional feature from the Taste team that answers frequently asked questions, from where to find certain dishes to the latest restaurant trends. Send ideas to taste@startribune.com.