Fil Am Oriental Market

I love Fil Am Market. Every time I step thru the door I feel like I am back in the SF Bay Area at one of the markets there. They have everything that you will need to cook any Asian dish and then some. The prices are very reasonable. You never know what you will come out with after shopping here. So glad to have a market like this here in the desert.

If you are looking for anything filipino, this is your spot. We were looking for frozen lumpia to cook for a party and this place came through. We were able to get a two pound pick for $ 12, a great price considering most catering places were quoting almost $ 1 a piece. This place also had hot food to go, desserts, and many sauces. We will back again for sure.

fresh variety of hard to find fresh asian vegetables, such as chinese long beans, okra, bitter gourd, calamansi, galangal root

Great find! We found rice noodles, curry, and many Asian sauces … Plus had an outstanding lunch. Helpful staff & friendly patrons too.

Love this store! The only place in the desert to purchase every weird and wonderful ingredient for Asian inspired cooking! Highly recommend!

It’s called the Fil-​Am market, but don’t let the abbreviated form of Filipino lead you astray into thinking that is the only foodstuff they stock. The store looks clean & is full of smells of fermented foods of South East & East Asia. For a small market, it is well stocked & thoughtfully arranged. There is representation of food from Japan, Southeast Asia, China as well as specialty vegetables such as bitter melon, Japanese Kabocha pumpkin, long green beans, Chinese egg plant, etc. from what I could see by doing a fast walk down the aisles.
There is also a mini Turo Turo (point, point) hot food counter w/​about 12 items such as Pancit Bihon, Chicken Curry, Pinakbet, Adobong Pusit, Green beans w/​mushrooms, Pork Adobo, Pork Binago’ongan, Beef stir fry, what looks like grilled Bangus/​Milk fish.
1) Ordered the Pancit Bihon which is made of very fine strands of rice pasta w/​pieces of chicken, red bell pepper wcabbage in a light garlic inflected Patis/​fish sauce & soy sauce broth which is absorbed by the Capelli d’Angeli like rice pasta to form a «dry pasta».
2) Pork Binago’ongan is «sautéed in ginger, garlic, onions braised in coconut milk, Bago’ong/fermented shrimp paste, topped w/​chiles. The pork seemed like pork belly with stratified layers of fat & meat for a rich oiliness. This meat went along well with the two scoops of long grained rice which is dry & light in texture.
3) The Pinakbet was the vegetable portion of the meal, but taste-​wise it may have been the most complex. There were slices of sweet, starchy Japanese Kabocha pumpkin, creamy eggplant, slice of bitter melon which is rather bitter, a taste that is unfamiliar to most of us Americans, slimey whole okra, long green beans, tomato, cabbage, & a mysterious meat that had texture between salmon & pork & looked pink along w/​Patis & Bago’ong paste.
4) Halo Halo Special is a cooling dessert made from crushed ice, coconut milk, mixed dried fruits, sweetened beans, jellies w/​a scoop of periwinkle purple Ube (oo beh) ice cream made from a purple sweet potato w/​a taste of coconut. The creamy coconut & Ube ice cream is accentuated by smooth jellies, chewy bits of dried fruit & sweet beans so there is a different taste or texture sensation with every bite.
The portions for this 3 combo meal for $ 8.99 was a deal. For light eaters, this would more than enough to satisfy the hunger of 2 people. I investigated two local Vietnamese restaurants & was surprised at the high price of Vietnamese food here in the Coachella Valley. No matter that they proclaim themselves to be «fusion cuisine». However, the Turo Turo food at the Fil-​Am is a great deal in terms of the taste & the price.
There is «dining» in the market with patio tables & chairs so take out is not the only option although I’m pretty sure that the food will be served in Styrofoam containers no matter what. The only disappointment is that there is no alcohol sold here so I couldn’t order a cold bottle of San Miguel beer from Manila. However, some of the friendly customers told me that I could get it at Total Wine.
Good food, friendly service, good price for Southeast Asian food that won’t break the bank. 4 Unilocal stars especially since it is one of the few places in the Coachella Valley with a fairly extensive array of foods from the Orient.

For literally being one of two asian markets in the desert, Fil Am Oriental is fully well-​equipped with great selection of everything!
–Fruits/​Veggies
–Sauces
–Noodles
–Snacks
–canned foods
–etc
They even sell filipino food to-​go! I highly recommend the Halo Halo!

This is a great small neighborhood market to get just about any ingredient you need to complete that Asian-​style recipe, that you couldn’t find at the big grocery store down the street. I needed some fish sauce, and while Stater Bros didn’t stock any, I had my choice of four different brands here.
Staff is friendly, but they’re usually pretty busy, so you’ll normally find them behind one of two cash registers, rather than roaming the aisles asking if people need help. Pricing is pretty good, considering the specific nature of what they’re selling.
One word of warning: if you’re going to use a credit or debit card, the minimum purchase is $ 10.

I bought 6 pcs. Salted Eggs all of them are spoiled why they are selling filipino foods without expiration date also the Frozen Fish smell so bad

Fil Am Oriental Market has hot prepared foods, but you have to pay premium price to experience Filipino foods. Sadly Noodle wasn’t good. If you live in Los Angeles or San Diego area & have visited Asian market/​restaurant before, you can tell they charge extra for all items & hot prepared foods. They definitely give customers more foods for the price. But at least employees are friendly.

Very pleasant. Agree Halo Halo is not overly sweet. Came here will visiting for conference. Hope to get back again before I have to go home!

was looking for Basil seed for a cocktail I was doing for a party. I called and the gentleman said that they were out but were expecting more in. So I waited a couple days and decided to go see if they came in. To my surprise they did have them and they were very reasonably priced.

They have Thai tea in cans! Yummy! There are items in this store to help you make some awesome Asian meals.

Originally the best place for Filipino/​Asian snacks & ingredients for your home cooked Filipino dishes, but now they serve hot meals and desserts turo turo (point point joint) style. This is a big deal for an area that had no Filipino cuisine. To check it out

My spouse and I went to this store this morning. The place is nice. And the price is good. We wish there will be more Indonesian in this store. And some of the foods they put in there web was not available.
And I hope they also sell Mie Sedaap all kinds of flavors instead of Indomie.
Very recommended for those who miss Asian foods :)

After 2 weeks on the road through Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, I was jonesing for not just any ethnic food, but FILIPINO food, aka my comfort food and the food I have grown up eating.
That’s why as I was driving through Cathedral City to the Westin in Rancho Mirage, I frantically made my husband make an immediate turn into Fil Am Oriental Market to get some Filipino food.
Faced with about 8 prepared dishes in their «turo-​turo» section, I chose Pata Tim, which is typically pork leg braised in soy sauce and sugar. Having not had Filipino food in a few weeks, it definitely hit the spot. However, I’m from SF and I know Pata Tim, which is one of my favorite Filipino dishes, and I have very high standards for the dish. I’ve definitely had better and I didn’t really like the tomato sauce and tomatoes in it, which is something I’ve never had in Pata Tim.
A solid choice for Filipino food if you’re in the area.

HALO HALO!!!
Come here and get a sweet treat. I love the Halo Halo here because it’s not sweet and it’s just the right flavors. I don’t typically like ube ice cream, but with halo halo, I will eat it.
This store is spacious, bright and clean. It’s right across the street from IHOP with a shared parking lot with other neighboring hole in the wall businesses.
The store has unique Asian goodies, and I even found some chocolate filled SkyFlakes. Never had them before so bought a 12 pack for $ 4. There is also turo-​turo of about 8 Filipino entrees.
At the time of our visit, the adobo was sold out, but they had other foods that looked really good. I really was interested in the bistek with fish bellies — WHAT?! Evidently they do catering and I saw several people coming and going with bags of catered food.
Definitely will try their Filipino food when I come back!

Everything is very expensive here. Not much variety either. The store is fairly small and the employees/​workers/​owners are not that friendly. Place is kindda dirty too.

In honor of my first Unilocal review it goes to… FIL AM!!!
I LOVE THIS PLACE!
I’m from the Bay Area, and I spend most summers here at Cat City (ironically, cause it’s hotter than ever!!) but every time that I am here, I go to FIL AM!
THIS IS THE SPOT for Halo Halo and for all your Oriental needs! Rice, produce, can goods, seasonings, bake goods, etc.!! When I am here I always get siopao, shrimp chips and desserts like: ginataang and the maja blanca !! BIG Happy Face, for having all of my ultimate childhood favs !! =) For the times I’ve been here, the store has always been well kept, stocked and organized! So, everything is well displayed and easy to find!!!
Most importantly, everyone here are soo friendly and respectful! «Yes Ate, Yes Manang» type of thang. So, you won’t ever leave here unhappy!
They also sell lotto and scratchers here too! =)

I’m Filipino. I have a «Flipdar!»
What the heck is a Flipdar?
Let me explain:
As we were driving to the hotel on Dinah Shore Drive, after picking my wife up from Palm Springs Airport, I glimpsed the word «Fil AM» out of the corner of my right eye. I glanced at the diminutive building while going approximately 50MPH and immediately engaged the turn signal to make a right turn.
Darn it, I missed the parking lot so I go around the block… a very long block. Coming around the corner, I read in small neon signs, «Fil Am Oriental Market.» Hmmm… I was right as my Flipdar was tingling. We pull in the parking lot and a familiar feeling I can’t explain fills the air.
We walk inside and get greeted by a smell of fish, fish sauce, soy sauce and mani (peanuts). Yup… the usual suspects. There was also the chirping and chattering of ILocano over the counter. See, my Flipdar is right.
OK…here’s the verdict:
They didn’t have San Miguel and Red Horse so no liquor license. They have typical products that can be found in a typical Pinoy Store but they are very pricey. I guess if you’re feeling homesick, you’re willing to pay anything for a little taste of home.
My Flipdar is on 24 – 7.