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Whether traveling or living in the Tampa Bay area, MD Oriental Market is a must-visit for some of the best Asian cuisine.
In my opinion, this is considered one of the best Asian specialty markets in Florida, with locations in Pinellas Park, Brandon, and Tampa.
MD Oriental Market is one of the largest Asian grocery stores in Florida. It has a wide selection of hot and cold food, fresh seafood, and an outstanding bakery.
As a specialty grocery store, they have traditional meat, seafood, snacks, etc., like most standard shopping stores. Beyond the usual items, they have aisles of nontraditional grocery store items.
Here are a few examples: exotic and specialty meats, fresh seafood, rare fruits (i.e., jackfruit and durian), a large selection of frozen foods, mochi, and so much more!
This store isn’t for you if you are in a huge rush. Service maybe slower, and aisles tend to be more untidy than in your typical large grocery store chain. Relax – because part of the charm is the authentic feel!
MD Oriental Market Hours & General Information
Where is MD Oriental Located?
MD Oriental has three locations within the Tampa Bay area, Tampa, Pinellas Park, and Brandon.
The Pinellas Park location is our preferred location due to its size and variety. However, all are worthy options in Tampa Bay. Here are their addresses and phone numbers.
- Pinellas Park: 7400 49th St N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781 – (727) 954-8876
- Tampa: 1106 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33612 – (813) 868-1688
- Brandon: 10127 E Adamo Dr, Tampa, FL 33619 – (813) 443-2188
- Credit cards are accepted at their locations.
What Days is MD Oriental Market Open?
MD Oriental Market Hours are daily from 8:30 am to 9 pm on weekends, and on Sunday, it’s open from 8:30 am to 8 pm. Hours are subject to change depending on the store. Verify hours prior to visiting your desired location.
Is MD Oriental Market only a Chinese Market?
MD Oriental Market is largely a Chinese market that is easy to navigate with signage in Chinese or English. However, they have a good variety of reasonably priced specialties from Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Does MD Oriental Market only sell food?
No, MD Oriental Market sells various other items such as cookware, utensils, beauty products, beer, and wine. They have one of the broadest selections of saké.
Tip: It is best to visit during the weekday or when it first opens on the weekend. It tends to get very busy during peak times.
Fresh Seafood at MD Oriental Market
It’s been a long time since we have seen a whole wall of fresh seafood in tanks at a grocery store. At the Pinellas Park MD Oriental Market you will find a good assortment of live and fresh seafood for purchase.
Hot Asian Food Prepared to Go
Have no time to cook? One of the things we love about MD Oriental Market is the large selection of freshly made hot food. Some of the available options tend to be chicken, duck, pork, and beef. Some starches include fried rice, egg rolls, and lo mein. They have a variety of vegetables and sauces. They also serve some delicious soups (our favorite is the hot and sour soup).
MD Oriental is a popular lunch place to take a dish to go. You can quickly grab something prepared in a pre-filled dish or pick your selection from the counter. They also have an excellent dine-in option. Either way, you’re in good hands.
Check Out the Sushi & Sashimi
Another lunch or dinner option is their freshly made sushi and sashimi. There are a variety of rolls ready to go. We tried the spicy tuna roll and rainbow roll. Both were fresh and definitely would eat them again. In our opinion, it was better than the average grocery store chain.
Experience the Delicious Bakery
You won’t have to look for the bakery as you approach it. The delicious aroma literally beckons you. Here you will find some standard items as well as some very unique delicacies.
We tried the purple-powered bun with red bean filling. While it was made well, it is definitely for someone who prefers a slightly sweet and savory bun.
At Formosa Cakes, you will see many items you won’t find in a traditional bakery, but they can indeed pull off some extraordinary cakes and cookies.
Besides being gorgeous desserts, they are made from some of the finest quality ingredients that are low calorie and low sugar (so you can enjoy even more of them)!
Some of our favorite bakery items at MD Oriental Market are coconut cream buns, honey-glazed scallion buns, cheese buns, and custard tarts.
Next visit, we plan to check out the twisted almond bread. And speaking of bread, all of it was newly baked which totally makes the extra calories worthwhile.
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MD Oriental has Rows of Rice
The sheer amount of rice in MD Oriental Mark is impressive. Jasmine rice and a variety of different rice are available ini massive bags.
Besides Sam’s Club I’ve never seen so much rice. I loved looking at the different options; an ideal quantity for a family like mine, that eats a lot of rice!
Final Thoughts on MD Oriental Market
If you love to eat or cook Asian cuisine, then you have found the right place. No other Asian food mart will you find as much selection in Tampa Bay. They haven’t let us down yet. Enjoy!
Salivating over that bakery! I’ll definitely be making the drive to Tampa next time I’m in Florida!
I never would have thought that you could find something like this in the Tampa Bay area! I will definitely have to make a note of this for my next trip. I love your tip about their selection of other items like Sake too!
What a unique idea for a post. Thanks for the good tips.
We love visiting local grocery stores when we travel. It is always fun to discover new things that we can’t find at home. The bakery items, specifically the coconut cream buns, sound delicious!
This is so awesome! We love visiting specialty grocery stores and markets. So many fun treats. Thank you for sharing. Next time we are in the Tampa Bay Area, we’ll have to find this.
This place sounds like PARADISE! You can always find the best things ever at asian markets – I always visit mine 1x or 2x a week, just because they have such great variety when you make lots of Asian dishes 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
What a cool place! Usually specialty markets are a bit smaller, but this one seems so large and well stocked!
This market sounds so fascinating! Thanks for sharing – I would OD on the jackfruit and sushi haha!