We noticed Davis Food Mart pop up on the corner of Taranaki Street and Karo Drive a little before Xmas, so we decided it was time to check it out to see if Mt Cook now has a proper supermarket to call its own.

It doesn't.

But, we did find some very interesting things anyway, and you can read more about them after the break. 

Our first impressions of the space was that it was clean, airy and lacking the rotten smell that many Asian markets suffer from. At first glance it appeared to be mostly Asian food, but it turns out we didn't glance particularly hard. Different aisles are in fact dedicated to different cuisines. We started out in India with its 20kg bags of chapati flour and a whole range of boxed curries, before coming to what I think were Malaysian snacks, including durian chips.

Then there was bay after bay after bay of noodles. Ooodles of Noodles! I have never seen such a broad selection before. This is only a tiny fraction of what was on offer: 

Amongst the china for sale, we also found a wok big enough to stir-fry a baby in, a bargain at only $59:

And then we came to the Western food selection, with a huge range of imported pasta and also some Mexican stuff that I have not seen anywhere else in Wellington, like chipolte chillies: 

Then there was a meat freezer which although small had lamb racks, free-range chicken and duck breasts for $8.50:

In the freezer section there was a wide range of all kinds of things, including these frozen durian which they sell by the kilo: 

There was also the beginnings of a deli section, featuring parmesan cheese, buffalo mozarella, olives and cured meats from La Bella Italia: 

And in things that I didn't take photos of, there were huge ranges of spices (giant bags of Star Anise for $15 just begging to be turned into jewellery), curry pastes, dried pulses including the hard-to-find puy lentils and a really tiny and dismal fresh fruit section.

So, in summary, Davis Food Mart with its parking is a great place to stock up on harder-to-find staples, but you will need to supplement your shopping with a trip to the fresh markets or a supermarket because I'm sure that you all realise you need to eat veges. Oh, and it doesn't sell booze either, which is a real shame, but I think it is definitely worth a visit.