Oaka Glasgow opened last year on George Street but it took me till this month to visit. For some reason I kept forgetting about it but finally I was in that area of town and I had to visit.
The store is a decent size and although it’s not a supermarket it has a wide variety of items to choose from. As you enter the store you are met with a selection of Asian kitchen accessories and a gorgeous smell of dumplings that are being prepared further in front of you. To the left are the registers and a small seating area. To the right the ‘shopping’ section of the store.
The whole store has a lovely feel to it. The dark floors and wooden shelves create a more welcoming space than most stores with their bright/clinical settings. Along with a good selection, everything is well organised. The first items you come across are the snacks and drinks which is perfect for those in a hurry and towards the back of the store are the grocery items.
As I picked up my basket I knew I would have to refrain myself. I was carrying quite a bit and knew that from what I had already seen I couldn’t carry everything I wanted. I selected just a few items and made a deal with my boyfriend that I would go back soon but bring him with me.
My first pick was the Bulbasaur soda by Ocean Bomb. I did want the Pikachu since he’s my favourite but Bulbasaur had the better flavour, apple. The soda smelt like those sour chewy apple sweets and sort of tasted like it too. It’s doesn’t taste sour, just has the flavour. It’s also quite a sweet drink, similar to Japan’s ramune sodas.
Pretzels are one of my favourite savoury snacks and I love tea so when I saw the matcha Pretz sticks I had to try them. These are the Double Pretz sticks which means they have two flavours. These were vanilla and matcha to replicate a type of cake. At first they taste creamy with the vanilla and then in comes the matcha flavour. They are good but I have had other Pretz sticks before and I prefer other flavours, such as the pizza ones.
Hello Panda are another brand I have had before. These are packets of mini biscuits with a cream filling. I love their chocolate ones but I had never had the matcha before. I could of done without these. First the smell hits you, they smell of really really strong tea. They also taste of really strong tea but very bitter. I can’t eat these.
My last item and also my last find was banana crisps. I couldn’t believe that I found banana crisps. Generally I love banana flavoured food especially sweets. Those foam bananas, I could eat forever, but I never expected crisps. I didn’t really pay attention to the crisps at first but before heading to the tills I thought of prawn crackers and decided I would have another look about. I didn’t see prawn crackers but I did look at the crisps and there they were. I thought they were going to be banana chips like the dried sliced bananas but I looked at the bag more closely and they looked like yellow wotsits, so
in the basket they went. They taste sweet at first which is a bit weird for a crisp. They have a light crunch but are very airy crisps. The banana taste comes through after and somehow they also taste creamy. I don’t know how they do this but I’m happy they do. I ate half the bag and saved the other half for when the Mr got home from his work trip.
Oaka Glasgow is a great store and I want to go back soon and discover more of what they have especially their street food, which is sit in or takeaway. Has anyone tried their street food? Let me know if you have any recommendations.