Ken's Mart Asian Supermarket on Wairakei Road in Bryndwr is a 100% New Zealand owned and operated Asian grocery store serving Christchurch shoppers looking for authentic Asian pantry staples, snacks, drinks and specialty items. The Wairakei Road branch carries the full Ken's Mart range, from a large Asian Grocery section of over 100 products to dedicated shelves for instant noodles, rice, noodles, seaweed, tea, coffee and fresh kimchi.
The store is organised into clearly labelled departments, so whether you are after Korean instant noodles like Samyang Hot Chicken, Japanese and Korean soft drinks, fresh kimchi, Asian confectionery, or everyday cooking ingredients, there is a logical place to browse. Beyond food, the store also stocks Beer & Wine, Health & Beauty, Hardware and a Vegan & Vegetarian section, making it a practical one-stop shop for a wide range of households.
Ken's Mart runs regular Daily Special Offers and wholesale Box Deals, and the same range can be shopped online with Click & Collect, store pickup, and free shipping on orders over $80. Online orders also come with a small seasonal Asian snack gift, and the team offers 24/7 email customer support. Gift vouchers are available, making it an easy pick for anyone shopping for a friend who loves Asian snacks and cooking.
On Wairakei Road in Bryndwr, Ken's Mart Asian Supermarket has quietly become one of Christchurch's most useful stops for anyone who cooks, snacks or sips their way through Asian flavours. It is a 100% New Zealand owned and operated business, and the Wairakei Road branch brings the company's full online range onto shelves you can walk, browse and fill a basket in.
What sets Ken's Mart apart is how deliberately it is organised. Rather than one sprawling wall of unlabeled imports, the store is broken into clear departments: Asian Grocery (the biggest, with more than 118 products), Instant Noodles, Snacks, Drinks, Coffee, Tea, Rice, Noodles, Seaweed, Fresh Kimchi, Beer & Wine, Health & Beauty, Hardware, and a dedicated Vegan & Vegetarian section. If you have a specific ingredient in mind, you can usually head straight to the right aisle. If you do not, the same structure makes aimless browsing genuinely rewarding.
The Instant Noodles section is the store's calling card, with 41 different products and the Samyang Hot Chicken Noodles range given banner billing. Whether you are chasing the famous Korean fire noodles for the challenge or just restocking a month of quick lunches, the depth of the range means you are not limited to one or two brands.
Just as notable is that Ken's Mart gives fresh kimchi its own dedicated collection, a small but meaningful touch that signals who the store is really for: people who want proper Korean staples, not a token jar. Combine that with the rice, noodle and seaweed sections and you can assemble a full Korean or Japanese-style pantry in one trip.
The coffee offering leans into Asian coffee culture with serious commitment. Kopiko appears three ways, as Cappuccino, Black and Blanca white coffee, alongside Kopiko's original coffee candy. There are Nescafe 3in1 stick multipacks, Nestle Tasters Choice in Original and Mild Mocha, Dongsuh Frima creamer by the kilogram, and UCC Black Cold Brew by the bottle for the ready-to-drink crowd.
The snacks section runs to 47 lines, from Mamee Monster Noodle Snacks to seasonal Asian confectionery, and the drinks fridge covers everything from Thai Red Bull and Pocari Sweat to three varieties of Arizona Iced Tea, Dr Pepper, and Korean picks like Dong A Bacchus F and Lotte Cafe Time Latte. A separate tea collection, including a dedicated Yerba Mate range, rounds out the shelves for non-coffee drinkers.
Ken's Mart runs Daily Special Offers in store, and the same products can be bought in bulk through its Wholesale Box Deals, popular with households that go through drinks and snacks quickly as well as small businesses. Online, the full catalogue is shoppable with Click & Collect and store pickup at the branch, and shipping is free on orders over $80. Online orders arrive with a small seasonal Asian snack gift, a nice touch that has clearly built the store its loyal following, and the team backs everything with 24/7 email customer support.
If you are shopping for someone else, gift vouchers are available, which solves the perennial problem of buying for the friend whose snack preferences you cannot quite keep up with.
Whether you are a Christchurch local doing a weekly top-up, a student furnishing a first flat with instant noodles, or someone hunting one specific ingredient for a recipe, Ken's Mart Wairakei Road delivers the combination that matters most in a specialty grocer: range, organisation and genuine stock depth. Come with a list and you will find it. Come without one and you will almost certainly leave with something you did not know you were looking for.