I walked into the shop with a purpose. I was not there to browse or “noodle around” as my mother used to say. I was there to get one item, something that’s not widely available. And I had heard that this particular place kept it in stock.
The small store was filled with interesting food items, many of which I had never seen before. A gentleman looked up from his work behind the meat counter.
I kept looking, walking up and down the aisles, scanning the shelves lined with brightly colored packages.
A moment later a man came to the main counter. “May I help you?” he asked.
“Do you have Quality Street? The chocolates?”
He smiled, and pointed me in the right direction. There they were, a stack of them in a display, their hexagonal purple tins gleaming. I felt as though I had won a prize, or found the treasure in a treasure hunt. These things are hard to find in the U.S. Quality Street chocolates are made in the UK by Nestle and are an assortment of the following:
- The Purple One (previously known as Hazel in Caramel) – Milk Chocolate filled with hazelnut and caramel (purple wrapper)
- The Green Triangle (previously known as Noisette Triangle) – milk chocolate filled with hazelnut praline (green wrapper, foil)
- Toffee Finger (gold wrapper, stick)
- Strawberry Delight (red wrapper, circular)
- Caramel Swirl (yellow wrapper, circular, foil)
- Milk Choc Block (green wrapper)
- Orange Chocolate Crunch (orange wrapper, octagonal, foil)
- Orange Creme (orange wrapper)
- Fudge (pink wrapper)
- Coconut Eclair (blue wrapper)
- Toffee Penny (gold wrapper, circular, no chocolate coating)
- Coffee Creme (brown wrapper, available in certain stores)
“Did someone send you?” the clerk asked as he rang up my purchase.
“Yes! My husband. It’s his birthday and he told me you had them.”
“Ahh…I just wondered. There’s another lady who comes in just for these. I thought maybe it was her.”
“My husband grew up in Northern Ireland. For him Quality Street is a taste of home.”
He smiled. “You know, people talk about these so much and I had never had any, so recently I tried some. They are good.”
“Thank you so much! My husband will be so happy.”
So, where was the place that I was able to get my husband “chocolates from home”? Right here in the Thunder Hill neighborhood of Oakland Mills. It’s called the Banyam Halal Meat international grocery store.
Image from Oakland Mills Village social media
Tucked in a quiet, leafy enclave of Columbia, Bamyan Halal Meat international grocery store is the area’s only Afghanistan-focused food market, Sultani says, specializing in goods from his home country and butchered, Halal-prepared meats. The next closest one is in Manassas, Virginia, more than 60 miles away.
(Mohammad Sultani) estimates that his store, which opened in 2021, carries about 3,500 items, from teas to the rolled rugs in the corner to dried fruits and nuts — an Afghan must for the household — in an ambitious effort to serve the community as a Halal butchering hub and food market.
You can read more about the amazing journey that brought this establishment into existence in the following article from the Baltimore Banner.
I was so tickled to read this piece and learn more about how Sultani worked to bring the store to the community, especially since I had just been there. As you read it you will get a vivid sense of how hard immigrants must work to get a foothold in America and also what great contributions they are making as they put down roots in a new land.
Banyam Halal Meat international grocery store is located at 5134 Thunder Hill Rd Suit A, Columbia, MD 21045. (It’s in that little shopping center area with the Thunder Hill pool.) Pay them a visit if you’re in the area. You’ll find so much more than British chocolates.
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