Of course, the British formulation has the same problem for a different billion Asians.
Indian people and things in America are I think most often called “Indian,” which is more respectful from a certain point of view than calling, say, Japanese people and things either “Asian” or “Oriental.”
Only to describe a person.
That is the perception, but I’m not sure that there should be the distinction. How can it be correct to refer to a cultural product by a name that’s offensive when applied to members of the culture? It’s as if we were calling jazz “Negro music.”
I buy sesame oi, pot sticker wrappers and (yum) Silver Swan soy sauce at “Joe’s Oriental Grocery” in the South Central USA. I’ve never seen anyone of European ancestry working there.
While I could be misremembering, I’m fairly sure I’ve seen “Oriental” on aisle signs both in Massachusetts and here in Ontario. The chains where I may have seen it would be: Stop ‘n’ Shop, Star Market (now owned by Shaw’s), Shaw’s, and Roche Bros. (all in MA), and Loblaw’s, Fortino’s, Dominion (now owned by Metro), and Metro.
So, to directly answer the OP: I wouldn’t even bat an eye.
I have the same confusion over the Scotts/Scotch distinction.
In 1983, I dated a woman who was of Japanese descent. She’s the one who first explained the distinction to me. She was far from a radical. She actually found the whole thing amusing. At the time, Oriental didn’t have the negative connotation that Negro does but this is starting to change.
Wasn’t Negro a replacement for Colored which had become a term that wasn’t supposed to be used anymore? Maybe it was the other way around. The point still stands it’s a constantly evolving thing.
“Oriental” seems archaic, but not offensive, similar to “occidental”.
Not “South Asian”? That seems to be the usual term around here in Southern Ontario. “Asian” by default means “East Asian”, though we will say “East Asian”, Southeast Asian", etc.
All of this is what I would think. Combined with a little bit of it being an older term–and I would realize that people around here are slow to change.
The saving signs look over done. The term oriental for a food section means nothing more than I don’t need to look there. There is nothing offensive about oriental as a food section around here.
Meh. It’s usually “Asian” around here, but damn near half of the people in the Bay Area are of Asian descent, so that might be a factor.
Joe
I wouldn’t notice.
My local supermarket (Safeway) lumps all the Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, etc. foods together under “Asian.” Makes sense, as these are foods that come from different parts of Asia.
I wouldn’t even notice it.
No, just “Asian”. Different ethnic mix, different social history, different culture, different country, different words. 
I’ve always considered both terms to be generically lazy terms. When referring to people, I refer to their nation of residence. Objects, nation of origin. Well…ok not really nation of origin, since everything is made everywhere else nowadays. But to me both oriental and asian are not specific enough to give me much of an idea what’s there beyond ‘non-american-based’.
Oh, and the sign wouldn’t have phased me.
My first thought was “That’s quaint”. Then I squinted at the picture to see if it was the UK or Australia, wondering if “Oriental” was the common term there. Here in California, the sign typically says “International” with the matzo, seaweed, pad thai sauce and refried beans all there together, like a delicious rainbow.
mmmmmmmmmm…delicious rainbow…
Interesting replies, cheers all.
I guess it’s because I read El Dope that the sign struck a chord.
This is the Wall-Mart influence… the ASDA stores pitch at the lower end of the mass-market, but really push the fact they are cheaper than their competitors, so the place is a frenzy of savings and promotions.
Oriental is a good word that ought to be rehabilitated. “Asian” could mean anything from Turkey to Siberia to India to Vietnam. Oriental is pretty well understood to refer to the, for lack of a better word, pan-Confucian nations. Actually, there isn’t a lack of a better word - the word is Oriental.
I’m aware that “Oriental rugs” can come from central and southwestern Asia but that’s almost jargon, like “French fries” that don’t really come from France.