LAX-C
Grocery store · Chinatown ·
Thai Costco: groceries, deli, BBQ Express, papaya salad, desserts
Thai Costco: groceries, deli, BBQ Express, papaya salad, desserts
"Located in a nearly six-acre space at the edge of Chinatown, many refer to LAX-C as the “Thai Costco”—but maybe it should be the other way around? A grocery store, wholesale market, and restaurant supply destination, you could name almost anything in the world and LAX-C probably has it. Fresh produce? LAX-C’s got it. A hot food station filled with curries? Check. Asian beauty products, coconut milk by the gallon, or an $8,000 religious statue? Yes, yes, and, if you can believe it, yes. There aren’t many grocery stores we’d break our lease for, but if we could move into LAX-C tomorrow, we would." - brant cox, sylvio martins, kat hong
"Sometimes referred to as “Thai Costco,” LAX-C is a massive grocery store and wholesale market that takes up nearly six acres on the eastern edge of Chinatown. Its rows of aisles contain pretty much anything you could desire, from professional-grade woks to beauty products to coconut milk by the gallon. And similar to the other Costco, it's the perfect place to stroll around and disassociate on those days when you've received one push notification too many. Once you get hungry, hit the hot food station up front, where you can order delicious curries and stir-fries from a steam table and eat while watching someone try to load a pallet of jackfruit into a hatchback." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, garrett snyder
"I note that the night market takes place in the parking lot of Lax-C, also known locally as Thai Costco, and that the Lax-C plaza serves as the site for vendors and related activity during the market." - Kat Thompson
"Located in a nearly six-acre space at the edge of Chinatown, many refer to LAX-C as the “Thai Costco”—but maybe it should be the other way around? A grocery store, wholesale market, and restaurant supply destination, you could name almost anything in the world and LAX-C probably has it. Fresh produce? LAX-C’s got it. A hot food station filled with curries? Check. Asian beauty products, coconut milk by the gallon, or an $8,000 religious statue? Yes, yes, and, if you can believe it, yes. There aren’t many grocery stores we’d break our lease for, but if we could move into LAX-C tomorrow, we would." - Brant Cox, Sylvio Martins, Kat Hong
"Inside the sprawling Lax-C warehouse I grab affordable lunch combos that start at $9 from Lax-C BBQ Express, where the hot bar features a rotating menu of curries, stir-fries, salads, and stews served with jasmine rice and popular options like larb streaked with red Thai chiles and shallots; most hot foods are prepared on-site while some packaged desserts—steamed tapioca layer cakes, sticky rice tamales stuffed with banana and taro, and mung bean rice crepes—are imported from Thailand. There are a few worn booths to dine in but most people take food to go, and the refrigerator next to the bar is filled with freshly pounded curry pastes and chile dips (the young green chile dip, nam prik num, goes well with steamed vegetables and pork rinds, while the roasted red chile jam, nam prik pao, is useful for cooking or spreading on toast). Known affectionately as the two-decade-old “Thai Costco,” Lax-C has grown since opening in 2000 into an essential fixture for the grocer’s employees and the surrounding Chinatown and Thai Town communities." - Kat Thompson
