Grocery Market

While their dry goods selection remains superior to most other grocers in Chinatown (with the exception of probably Asia Supermarket which I loathe for being underground and Great World Supermarket which I am still largely a fan of), their meat department is getting out of hand disgusting. I hate to say it because they have nearly every preparation available (bones for stock, organ meats, and decent variety across beef, pork and poultry and lesser known meats), and the butchers themselves have always been beyond courteous and friendly. But c’mon! I don’t want to see yet uncut meat in cardboard boxes lined with plastic ON THE FLOOR! Who would be okay with that?!
Things are busy looking next door at Heng Fa, and while they’re new and still have plenty of time to sink into disrepair, their whole store, and most especially of note, the meat section is looking pretty spotless. I wonder if Grocery Market is taking note. Honestly as far as the staff goes, I’ve not had a single pleasant exchange with anyone over at Heng Fa. They’re packed nearly all of the time. Every time I’ve politely waited in line, I’ve had people cut in front of me endlessly until a butcher or cashier waved me forward impatiently and sometimes chastised me for not bulldozing my way to the front (what?). And that’s why I’m sad to see Grocery Market falling so far into not just questionable but really unacceptable sanitary practices. The people at Grocery Market really have always been very nice.
I’m not sure what if anything will make Grocery Market step up their cleanliness, but for their sake I hope they will improve in the future. Meanwhile I will always waste a few minutes popping my head in to see how they’re doing, even as I’m begrudgingly on my way to Heng Fa to get shoved around some.

This place has a wide selection of dried goods, but I wouldn’t buy any fresh food here. The butcher counter they have here is extremely unhygienic. If you walk in, you’ll literally see dirty cardboard boxes full of animal parts lying on the floor of the store. In the refrigerated section, if you want something like eggs, you have to reach around additional boxes full of animal parts that are placed without any regard for the health code. This place should be reported to the

#108 Still a 3-​star location, but I just wanted to say that their packaged noodle selection is awesome. =) After finding Shin Ramyun Hot&Spicy Noodles at Food & Friends for $ 1.19 a pack, we decided we would scour Chinatown for cheaper options since we love it so much. Lo and behold, we found it! A 20-​pack box for $ 13, not too shabby!