Here's how to experience CLE AsiaTown all year round!

CLEVELAND — The 10th annual Cleveland Asian Festival is coming up on May 18 and 19. Night Market Cleveland returns with four schedule dates on June 21st, July 26th, August 20th, and September 27th.

Co-Founders Lisa Wong, Johnny Wu, and Vi Huynh volunteer their time every year in May to bring together Cleveland AsiaTown, Diversity, and The world of Asian Culture in Northeast Ohio in one place with food, cultural demonstrations and performances in martial arts and dance one two big stages, and free guided tours of AsiaTown for all of Northeast Ohio to experience with the Cleveland Asian Festival on Payne Ave. With 100+ vendors and exhibitors, 25+ local restaurants with authentic Asian cuisine, it is a must visit festival.

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Coordinators Josh Maxwell, Brendan Trewella, and Ewyn Tsang also brings together Cleveland's AsiaTown with Night Market Cleveland connecting food, art, retail, live bands and performances on Rockwell Ave. They also do year around guided bus tours with select food and drinks inside Cleveland's AsiaTown. For Night Market Cleveland tour dates click here.

But how do you experience Cleveland's AsiaTown when the Cleveland Asian Festival or Night Market Cleveland isn't happening?

Featured in the video above is Lisa Wong and Andy Ng. Lisa Wong is the president of a non-profit called OCA Greater Cleveland Chapter, an organization advocating for the Asian Community to help showcase their talents in culinary, dance, art, and business. Andy Ng, owner of Ice or Rice, does tours into Cleveland's AsiaTown markets. Both Lisa and Andy helped take us on a tour of some of the best places to check out in AsiaTown.

Click here for a quick list directory of businesses. Now, let's get started:

How do you know you're in Cleveland AsiaTown? Find the signs!

All streets and businesses within Cleveland's AsiaTown area have these yellow and red signs with every Cleveland street sign.

General plazas and shopping centers

The shopping centers of Cleveland AsiaTown have nice cluster of shops in one area if you don't feel like traveling too far to experience the area. Just remember every area of Cleveland's Asian businesses are unique in its own way. You may not find everything you are looking for in one general location.

Asia Plaza (Link)

2999 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 241-3553

Asia Plaza has a grocery market (Park to Shop), Chinese knickknack stores, a Hong Kong bubble waffle shop (Ball Ball Waffle), two Chinese Restaurants (Li Wah & Szechuan Cafe), herbal medical shop, a Chinese clothes shop, jewelry booths, and community help services. Also here you can find a kiosk setup by OCA that gives you more information about Cleveland Asia Town community

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Asian Town Center (Link)

3820 Superior Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

Turn down E.38th for parking lot

Inside the Asian Town Center is a large grocery store (Asia Food Co.), martial art studios, a dance studio, a art gallery, a Korean Restaurant (Miega Korean Barbecue), a massage parlor, a Chinese herbal doctor, Chinese tax consulates, and a beauty supply shop.

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Payne Commons

3710 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114



Payne Commons can't be called a shopping center. Its more like a general plaza food corner. It has four amazing restaurants right next to each other: Koko Bakery, Map of Thailand, Han Chinese Kabob and Grill, and Dagu Rice Noodles. If you just want to try food for a few hours, this is the place to go! Go below to the food section to learn more about these restaurants listed.

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The Golden Plaza

3030 Superior Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

The Golden Plaza is small shopping center where you can find two authentic Asian restaurants (Ha Ahn Korean and Japanese Restaurant, and Superior Pho), a hair and nail salon, boutique shop, a printing center, and a cafe.

You can park in front on the street or in the parking lot behind Golden Plaza off of E.36th St.

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Cleveland AsiaTown photo spots! Find the Chinese Zodiac Animal Statues during you exploration!

All over Cleveland AsiaTown you can find Zodiac animal statues on the street and in front of businesses. On Rockwell Ave. where the old Chinatown is, you can find a row of old stone Zodiac statues.



Take selfie photo with the Zodiac animal from your birth year!

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Feed the Koi fish.

At the Asian Town Center, they have Koi fish outside their establishment to bring in good fortune. If you have left over bread, feed the Koi fish for a relaxing time. Or do what my kids do by crumbling the bottom of the pocky stick for the Koi fish!

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Onto the markets



With Cleveland's Asian population only making 1.5%, the Asian markets are stocked weekly with fresh imports due to the fast turnover from their local customers. At that high demand, the Cleveland Asian population can keep themselves fed with the food they desire. The items that turnover the fastest are the vegetables, seafood, and meats.

Many of the bigger Asian Markets are categorized as Oriental, All. This means that you can find everything from Thai, Laos, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Filipino food. You will NOT find India foods at these markets. However, that doesn't mean you won't find India markets around Cleveland.

The following are markets you can find in Cleveland:

Asia Food Co. (Oriental, All,) located inside Asian Town Center,

3820 Superior Ave. Cleveland OH, 44114

Turn down E.38th Street for Parking Lot

(216) 621-1681

There is a lot of food to find at the Asia Food Co. They have a decent selection of Oriental foods here. You can find "Halo Halo" (Filipino Ice Cream) here, plus imported live crabs and tilapia. They make Kimchi fresh weekly. There is a small bakery and a low-key restaurant in the back of the store. You can order freshly fried Pork Belly, soups, Vietnamese sandwiches, and fried Asian street foods like deep fried pork dumplings and pig ears.

This store can take EBT. There is $5 credit limit using your debit card.

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Park to Shop (Oriental, All,), located with the Asia Plaza

1580 E 30th Street Cleveland OH 44114,

(216) 781-3388

Park to Shop is a great all around Asian market. You can find almost everything you need to make any traditional Asian cuisine you want. You can find live seafood from crab, turtles, frogs, and eel. They have a bubble tea station, small hot foods section, and fresh bakery. You'll also find kitchen items in the back, including large Woks, rice cookers, Asian style dishes, and disposable chopsticks to help make your parties and gatherings a success.

EBT food stamps is accepted and there is NO credit limit when using your debit card.

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Tink Holl (Oriental, All),

1735 E 36th Street, Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 881-6996

The Tink Holl grocery store is also packed with everything you can find for your daily living. They have really nice hot food section. Vegetables are well stocked. There is really nice selection of fresh seafood too.

EBT is accepted and no credit card limit.

Parking here is a little tight, so you will have to park in the former Dave's Supermarket or on the street if the lot is full.

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Good Harvest Market (Oriental, All),

3038 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 861-8018

Good Harvest is a great market too. They have all your expected items from vegetables to seafood to meat to miscellaneous kitchen items like rice cookers and steamers.

EBT is accepted and there is a $5 credit limit when shopping here.

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Kim’s Oriental Food (Korean),

3700 Superior Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 391-5485

Kim's Oriental Market is a little market located next to Korean House Restaurant. This market has mostly Korean items sold at the store. You definitely have a large selection of Kim-chi here. You can find other variety of Asian items here but not as large quantity as other markets.

EBT is accepted with no credit card limitation.

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The following are markets you can find outside of Cleveland AsiaTown:

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Vietnam Market (Vietnamese),

5506 Detroit Ave. Cleveland OH 44102

(216) 281-7724

Vietnam Market Asian Foods and Gifts has mostly Vietnamese items inside. The smell of spices will definitely attract you into this smaller market. Some items you can find are Vietnamese dubbed movies, music, and posters of Vietnamese stars. This is nice one stop market for you essentials for rice, vegetables, frozen meats, eggs, and Vietnamese snacks.

EBT is accepted and no credit card limit.

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Nipa Hut Oriental Market (Philippines) (Link)

6775 W. 130th St. Cleveland, OH 44130

(440) 842-7333

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Dong Duong Indochina Grocery (Thai, Laos, Cambodian)

6406 Lorain Ave. Cleveland OH 44102

(216) 651-8796

Dong Duong is a little southeast Asian market that has mostly Thai, Laos, and Cambodian items. You can find dubbed movies and music. There are plenty items to make it a one stop shop for bags of rice, dry noodles, sauces, can items like Bamboo and fish, or candies. There are a lot a preservable items here but you won't find fresh fish or vegetables like the main Asia town markets. But you live near the area, this is a great choice for basic essentials.

EBT is accepted and no credit card limit.

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Oriental Market (Korean, Philippines)

5701 Mayfield Rd Mayfield Heights OH 44124

(440) 646-1039

Oriental Market is a nice little Korean and Filipino market. You won't find too many fresh vegetable items here but there is enough variety for a nice one-stop shop. There are essentials like rice, eggs, and frozen meats, plus a nice selection of Kim-Chi. They do have Filipino ice cream as well. If you're an east sider and unable to make it to Asia Town, this is a very nice market to visit.

EBT is accepted and there is a $2 credit limit for debit cards.

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Lucky Seven Family Grocery (Oriental, All),

304 E Cuyahoga Falls Ave, Akron OH 44310

(330) 208-0589

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Cleveland Asia Market (CAM) (Oriental, All),

21200 Miles Road, North Randall OH 44128

(216) 518-1600

CAM Asia Supermarket is a massive grocery store where you can find everything you need to make a great meal.

EBT is accepted and no credit limit using your card.

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Nepali Grocery Store (India/Himalayan/Nepalese)

13859 Lorain Ave, Cleveland OH 44111

(216) 496-2176

Nepali Grocery Store is a quaint little places that helps you buy other items if you don't live near the main Asian town stores. The items here are a mixture of Indian, Himalayan, and Nepalese items such as spices, sauces, drinks, and candy.

EBT is accepted and no credit card limit.

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Z Beverage & South Asian Groceries (India/Himalayan/Nepalese)

13712 Lorain Road, Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 252-2550

South Asian Groceries is a little convenience store with a mixture of Indian, Himalayan, and Nepalese items.

EBT is accepted and no credit card limit.

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Restaurants

There are so many restaurants to check out in Cleveland. As Cleveland keeps building its food empire as new restaurants pop up each year, it's hard to keep up!

But what makes a Asian restaurant authentic? We love to hear about The Asian American Dream story. A story about how they wanted to share their traditional cooking by opening their own Ma and Pa restaurant. The restaurants listed below are restaurants are the most authentic to the Cleveland Asia Town. No crossovers. No fusion. Just authentic goodness.

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Authentic Asian Restaurants inside the Cleveland AsiaTown area

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Koko Bakery (Link)

3710 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 881-7600



At Koko Bakery, you will find their masterful bubble teas that is amazing and a AsiaTown favorite for 20 years. Also at Koko Bakery you will find fresh baked buns stuffed with curry or glazed in coconut. There is also rice bowls with beef, pork, or chicken.

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LJ Shanghai (Link)

3142 Superior Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 400-693

Soup dumplings? Yes please! This amazing place has fleshly stuffed and rolled soup dumplings made to order. There is also a large window to the kitchen so you can watch them roll them before you eat. They have a nice small menu of stir fries and soups if you so desire.

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Dagu Rice Noodles (Link)

3710 Payne Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114

Yummy rice noodle dishes that come out fiery hot!

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Ball Ball Waffle (Link)

2999 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 282-3834

Want some bubble waffle ice cream? Go inside the Asia Plaza and vist Ball Ball Waffle to some yummy deserts!!

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Bo Loong Chinese Restaurant (Link)

3922 St Clair Ave. NE Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 391-3113

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Emperor's Palace (Link)

2136 Rockwell Ave. Cleveland OH 44114,

(216) 861-9999

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Ha Ahn Korean Restaurant (Link)

3030 Superior Ave. E, Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 664-1152

Ha Ahn has delicious Korean eats with fresh Japanese style sushi.

Ha Ahn is located inside The Golden Plaza. You can park on the street in front of Golden Plaza or in the parking lot off of E.36th St. Follow the driveway with the gated fence.

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Han Chinese Kabob and Grill (Link)

3710 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216)769-8745

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Korea House (Link)

3700 Superior Ave. E, Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 431-0462

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Phusion Cafe (Link)

11611 Euclid Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 978-0088

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Li Wah Chinese Restaurant (Link)

2999 Payne Ave., Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 696-6556

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Map of Thailand (Link)

3710 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 361-2220

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Miega Korean Barbecue (Link)

3820 Superior Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 432-9200

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Number One Pho (Link)

3120 Superior Ave. E, Cleveland OH

(216) 781-1176

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Siam Cafe (Link)

3951 St Clair Ave. NE, Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 361-2323

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Rising Grill Korean BBQ (Link)

3709 Payne Ave., Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 465-3561

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Superior Pho (Link)

3030 Superior Ave. E, #105, Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 781-7462

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Sichuan Hot Pot (Link)

2162 Rockwell Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 523-1188

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Szechuan Café (Link)

2999 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 515-1111

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Szechuan Gourmet (Link)

1735 E 36th Street Cleveland OH 44114

216-881-9688

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Wonton Gourmet & BBQ (Link)

3211 Payne Ave. Cleveland OH 44114

(216) 875-7000

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Other authentic Asian Restaurants outside Cleveland AsiaTown in Northeast Ohio

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Thai Thai Bangkok Street Food (Link)

13735 Madison Ave. Lakewood OH 44107

(216) 961-9655



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Kintaro All You can Eat Sushi & Hot Pot (Link)

7325 Northcliff Ave., Brooklyn, OH 44144

(216) 459-8862

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Minh Anh Vietnamese Restaurant (Link)

5428 Detroit Road, Cleveland OH 44102

(216) 961-9671

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Himalayan Restaurant (Link)

13124 Lorain Ave, Cleveland OH 44111

(216) 716-4500

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Lobster & Pho (Link)

6901 Rockside Rd, Independence OH, 44131

(216) 525-0028

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Otani Noodle - Uptown (Link)

11472 Euclid Ave. Cleveland OH 44106

(216) 862-1400

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SASA Japanese Izakaya Asian Bistro (Link)

13120 Shaker Square Cleveland OH 44120

(216) 767-1111

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Seoul Garden Restaurant (Link)

5270 Pearl Rd, Parma OH

216-661-5990

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Tai Wah Asian Cuisine (Link)

9160 State Route 14, Streetsboro OH 44241

(330) 626-2626

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Kinfolk Bakery (Link)

9160 State Route 14, Streetsboro, OH 44241

(440) 305-6190