I found this market by accident as I was leaving Auto Zone which is in the same plaza further down. I was about to break down and settle for a fast food burger, which I rarely ever do, from the Cookout location that is right across from this market in the same parking lot, when I thought, well this market looks way more interesting and I'd bet that they will have roasted duck etc which is way better than an ordinary burger! And yes, they have great duck options here! By the whole, half or a smaller portion with rice. And they have a small but excellent selection of cooked authentic Chinese dishes on a steam table. You can pick several items plus rice for a very low price. But, I'll warn you that if you don't speak or understand Asian languages/dialects, there are will be communication problems with the restaurant portion of this market in particular. I had to ask a Chinese customer to help communicate what I was asking twice! So, don't expect to get a clear answer as to what each item on the hot bar is; just pick what looks interesting and good to you. I particularly liked the eggplant dish, Chinese broccoli and some sort of vegetable assortment that had exotic things in it like lotus root. I also ordered a half of a roasted duck after the counter lady had misunderstood and misinformed me when I had first asked about being able to get a smaller portion. I would have if I had known before I ordered the half. But I ate leftovers of it the next day in Chinese pancakes with julienned scallion onions and hoisin sauce (a la Peking style) that I bought on their market side. Also, for you Caucasians that will have language difficulties there, I am informing you that you can go over to the incredible seafood market area and pick out a live lobster and then bring it over to the restaurant and they will cook it for you in an Asian style and serve it to you so you can eat it in the restaurant seating area (for $27). I don't know if they will cook up any other types of seafood that you may purchase.
I was very impressed with the diverse and exotic seafood variety that the seafood market portion of the store offers either live in tanks or on trays of ice. They have lots of items that you won't find elsewhere, like geoduck, razor clams, a variety of other types of clams and cockles in a range of sizes and big shrimp with the heads on as well as a huge selection of finned fish, lobster, oysters and crabs!
And the produce department is equally impressive! They have many exotic fruits, vegetables and tubers that I'm not even familiar with! I love dragon fruit and they had the largest ones that I've ever seen in person, and in the white or red variety! And if you love mushrooms, then you need to see the wide variety that they offer.....beautiful and fresh! You can get bigger quantities of fresh herbs, like basil and mint etc, for less here. And if you run a restaurant or catering company, they sell produce by the case as well. I don't think you'll find a better overall selection of mundane and exotic produce elsewhere and at such good prices.
Then they have the dry goods shelved aisles. And a selection of restaurant and/or home kitchen utensils, serving dishes and equipment.
But before you checkout at the registers, you will be further tempted by a wall of Asian pastries and buns to the left! A woman grabbed up all of the sesame red bean balls which are larger than I've seen before and looked great, so I plan to go back earlier next time in hopes of scoring one of those! I tried a coconut-filled bun and it was very fresh and good.
So, yes, I was very happy that I stumbled upon this market before I had settled on something inferior. There is something for everyone here! Try something different! You may not be aware of what you're missing out on in life, especially if you just routinely frequent boring American burger joints that offer little nutrition either. read more