AMEx (American Mongolian Express) - Authentic Mongolian and Russian Market with Prepared Foods in South Arlington

[manolands]

I don't mean to post so much but as I've said in previous posts WE GOTZZZZ A BACKLOG to clear. This is a very very unknown store and one of the only Mongolian stores in the United States. Yes Northern Virginia is home to one of the largest Mongolian communities in the United States and actually many of them work on M street in Georgetown. That Ms. Saigon place on m has a bunch of Mongolian people working there for example. Anywhoooo this community has a few legit well hidden outposts. When I say well hidden I mean you won't see them on the street nor are they on google for the most part. SOOOOO Amex....

AMEx or American Mongolian Express doubles as a grocery store and a shipping center. Both of the Mongolian outposts I know of are shipping centers/something else so THIS IS A TREND YO!!!! Anyway AMEX is an extremely small store that is underneath a computer store (the basement practically) that happens to be facing out to the parking lot of this store. It is hidden so you can't see it but at the end of this I'll give the directions. They have Mongolian products one literally can't find elsewhere. In fact I was told that this is the ONLY Mongolian store in America sooooo I literally mean this lol. They have the Mongolian tea and they also have some other goods and knick knacks from Mongolia/also Russia cuz of the historical ties of the two from the communist era and the fact they are neighbors (I've been to Mongolia as well so I've first hand felt the Eastern Europeaness of Mongolia). Here is the REALLY SPECIAL PART THOUGH: Sometimes they have ultra hard to find Mongolian food such as horse milk or aarul which is dried cheese curds. This stuff is very potent and most Americans have a really hard time trying it. Sour and Milky are two words to describe this stuff. My friends did not believe I enjoyed the horse milk or the aarul etc BUT I DO!!!! They only have this sometimes as they get it from the Mongolian "network." Essentially someone in the community decides to make it and give it to them through a process I don't know BUT this only happens sometimes. The shortage can last MONTHS!!! FUCKING MONTHS!!! What I have also been told is that there is like a Mongolian community website (name I have lost BUT will ask around again) where they exchange food amongst each other which also contributes to why they don't necessarily go to the store to get it me thinks. Anyway go to this place if your craving something different to try and something most Americans can't find!!! 

DIRECTIONS:

So here is the hard part.....finding this place

This is what you do

Type in Bob and Ediths Diner in Arlington on Columbia Pike

Park your car as close to that as you can

Walk down the street past the CITGO station and keep walking till you see an inclined down sloped street towards a parking lot. There should be a place called like LA NAILS there but there is also a laptop repair type of place THOSE ARE YOUR MARKERS.

You should go down the parking lot and turn right stop and look for a sign that says AMEX in blue and red colors go inside and EUREKA YOU'VE FOUND IT

The above is a google map view that should show what I am talking about

Here is an article about the Mongolian community in Arlington by the way

May 1, 2012 - "Mongolian Students Thrive in Arlington Ex-Pat Community" by Rachael Marcus on washingtonpost.com

and actually just looking after writing this there seems to be a new MONGOLIAN RESTAURANT!!!! Which I'll post separately!!!

[DonRocks]

Who the hell knew that when I was sipping my coffee in Rappahannock Coffee & Roasting, I was a block away from "the best imitation fermented mare's milk in America?"

manolands, do you know if AMEx has prepared foods, or is it strictly a market? If the latter, this should go in Shopping and Cooking.

[manolands]

AMEX has prepared food like some Russian sausages etc. They have Buuz or Mongolian dumplings all the time as I recall but only have like the Horse Milk or the Aarul when they can get someone in the community to make it ORRRRRRR as I recall if they can get it from Mongolia. Sometimes they have a ton sometimes they don't have any. . Now we have a Mongolian restaurant though that I haven't gotten around to writing about and while they don't have horse milk they do have some of the main dishes of Mongolian food!!!

3 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Who the hell knew that when I was sipping my coffee in Rappahannock Coffee & Roasting, I was a block away from "the best imitation fermented mare's milk in America?"

manolands, do you know if AMEx has prepared foods, or is it strictly a market? If the latter, this should go in Shopping and Cooking.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8635709,-77.0830919,3a,75y,164.16h,76.68t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sc52xNVyoXJWM3PWKT_W9vw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e

[dracisk]

On 5/8/2016 at 2:44 PM, manolands said:

I don't mean to post so much

Please keep posting! I love your posts despite the fact that it'll probably be a long time before I ever get to most of the places you post about (if I ever get there).