Mary Jane C.
Yelp
I'm a grocery store snob and I'm in love. With this location and their Westminster location.
Here's the breakdown in my experience:
Organization: Items are categorized in the aisles under the aisle labels where it says it will be found, and the sections make sense. Everything is labeled and organized. The employees can actually tell you which aisle and where the item is at.
Prices: Fresh produce are inexpensive for what it is unless you purchase something exotic and limited like a custard apple or dragon fruit. Packaged items are generally more expensive. I purchase those for lazy days (1 frozen dumpling bag/2-3 small meals - $5.99+).
Vegetables and herbs: Fresh as in unbruised, not squished, or moldy. For example, bitter melon tends to get moldy quickly if it isn't handled gently, and their humongous pile are in pristine condition.
Fruits: The common choices, like apples and lemons, are consistently available, but the more exotic fruit choices change up.
Dry goods: Impressive variety for basic Asian cooking needs. Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese...but choices lean towards Korean. I mean, it is a Korean supermarket.
Kitchenware: Inexpensive. Decent quality. Bought some kitchen gadgets - works fine so far.
Seafood: Fresh fish. Quality and reasonably priced, especially since they clean and gut it for you. Example: Whole pompano fish is less than $10. Ready-to-grab wrapped fish frozen or pre-salted in fridge section.
Pre-made food: Potato noodles are okay. Kimchi's good but I prefer it more fermented and sour. Might need to try a different batch.
Meat: I've only tried the oxtail so far, and it made a nice and rich beef broth. Good amount of beef meat on the bones. Seems fresh and not discolored (you know, when it's been refrigerated too long?).
Desserts: They have most of the childhood snacks I loved as a kid (orange-looking rice crackers in the shape of mini McD's hashbrowns, pocky, seafood chips, seaweed). Also, ice cream galoreeeee. I like the brands they have for the boba milk tea, green tea and cream, and oolong and cream bars.
Alcohol: I wish I had a choice to buy a single can for any of the alcohol options. There only a few where you can buy a single bottle or can. I want to try it before I commit to a whole pack.
Cleanliness: Clean store. Open and large. Masks required. Can get crowded, so it's best to drop by on a weekday night or weekend morning when it's near empty.