Spices Superstore offers a variety of special spices, among other items.
Laxmi basmati rice is also available at Spices Superstore.
Panna displays some of the products offered at Spices Superstore on Middle Road in Chinatown, next to Sugar King Park.
SPICES Superstore, which sells hard-to-find spices, will hold its grand opening today, Friday, April 12 on Middle Road in Chinatown.
It also sells various grocery items, appliances and furniture, but if there are spices you can’t find anywhere else on island, Spices Superstore is the right place to go. It has all sorts of spices that give dishes a wonderful taste, Mr. Panna, the store owner, said.
He said there are not a lot of stores on Saipan that sell a wide variety of spices that can turn your meal into a very special culinary dish, and that is why he opened Spices Superstore.
He said on Saipan, people of different ethnicities, including local residents, love to spice up their meals. Since he held a soft opening five months ago, the number of people patronizing his products has continued to grow, he said.
Living up to its name, Spices Superstore retails a large selection of aromatic spices, which includes, green cardamom, turmeric powder, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon powder, garlic powder, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, takmaria, star anise, mustard seeds, cinnamon sticks, methi seeds, flax seeds, black caraway, kalonji, kasoori methi and a host of others.
Panna said people who had a great meal at local restaurants often wondered how the food tasted so good. Their search for answers has led them to Spices Superstore, he added.
“They learned about the spices that are found only here in my store, and nowhere else,” Panna said.
The two main brands of his spices are Laxmi and Pran.
He said most of his Laxmi spices and other specialty commodities are shipped from Los Angeles, California while Pran, which is shipped from Bangladesh, is one of the large brand names in the spice trade. Their other products, which include dates, are imported from the Middle East, Pran said.
A foodie’s paradise, Spices Superstore keeps in stock a vast assortment of specialty foods to create a tasty meal soup to nuts. Consider the store’s varieties of rice, such as basmati, extra long basmati, aged basmati, kerala kuthari matta, brown rice, puffed rice, thick poha; its collection of legumes including, toor dal (pigeon peas), moong dal (split mung bean or green gram), whole moong, chana dal (split chickpeas), urad gota (whole matpe beans without skin), urad dal (balck lentil), kabuli chana, kala chana, masoor dal, yellow split peas, light red kidney beans; and spice blends like in tea masala, fish masala, chatpati masala, butter masala, chicken masala, meat masala and chana masala.
Then there’s also a smorgasbord of other specialty foods like the familiar rice flour, wheat flour, coconut powder, dry bay leaf, tamarind paste, golden raisins, whole cashews, jumbo peanuts, and the not so familiar: sooji, besan, pheni,borhani, fish curry, hot chili pickle, premium tea leaves, chanachur, ghee (butter from cow), mustard oil, and many more.
The highlight of the grand opening today is a raffle drawing with valuable prizes at stake. Every $30 purchase gets a raffle ticket for a chance to win a washing machine, a refrigerator or a 32-inch smart television.
Panna said they are also offering discounts on appliances and select grocery items as part of the grand opening celebration.