I was inspired one day to make cocktails using boba’s but I had a difficult time finding them in the grocery stores. I tried two different local grocers and neither had the little tapioca balls that I wanted. That is when we decided to go to Carol’s Oriental Food and Gifts.
First Impressions of Carol’s Oriental Food and Gifts
My first impression of this import store was relief. I was relieved because after searching at two other places, boba’s were one of the first things we saw when we entered the store.
After my first feeling of relief, we managed to look around for a bit. The store is extremely clean and the shelves are all neatly stocked. There are some frozen items and plenty of dry food. We did not just find bobas we found 3 or 4 different types. Some needed more preparation than others but the point is there is a really good variety of Asian import goods.
As we walked around, I picked up a couple other items that I did not think I would easily find at the grocery store. One of those items was the controversial MSG, but I figured I would get a bag because I do like cooking with it occasionally and it can be difficult to find on the shelves.
Hospitality at Carol’s Food and Gifts
The woman working at Carol’s was very nice. She gave us our space to look around the store but she was also helpful when we talked to her. She was willing to give us suggestions and told us stories about the particular bobas we were purchasing. It showed that she uses the products on her shelves and was happy to discuss with us anything we needed to know about the foreign products we were purchasing.
Final Thoughts on Carol’s Oriental Food and Gifts
I fully recommend this store. I have been to other import store where the shelves are messy or the floor is dirty. I did not get that impression when we entered Carol’s. It was neat and clean and we were easily able to find the products we were looking for. This is important to me because often in these situations, I cannot read the packaging.
The language barrier is one more reason why it is so important that the employees are hospitable and approachable because in this context I likely need some help. So once again, I fully recommend Carol’s Oriental Food and Gifts if you ever need Asian import products while in Grand Junction, Colorado.
