A Dong & Oriental Food Market

Good lord, what a mess. I am super confused why anyone has given this place anything but a 1-​star review, and I’m also unsure why the city government hasn’t shut this store down, condemned the entire building, and bulldozed it. First of all, the inside smells like rotting flesh (never a good sign). I can barely stand to be in there for more than 10 minutes at a time. There are seriously cockroaches and other curious bugs crawling around in the shelves that are lined with expired packaged foods. A lot of the produce is rotten and moldy, and I don’t even want to go into detail about the disturbing meat area and the absolutely filthy live seafood tanks (someone should really call PETA). Even the frozen food section is terrifying. I actually take my friends by here whenever I’m in the area, just so they can witness these surreal sites for themselves.
Hazardous. Nothing is safe here. Enter at own risk.

I’ve honestly never been in a grocery store as terrifying as this. There were bugs literally crawling on the shelves and tons of the produce was just rotting in the cooler, on the floor and in grocery carts. Tons of the packaged items were very very outdated. Me and my friend joked about it for a while but the longer i think on it the more terrifying the experience was. I’m not sure how they’re still in business.

This is probably my new favorite oriental market in Grand Rapids. The store is laid out in an organized way and products are reasonably priced and easy to find. The selection is crazy! The shelves are stacked super high with so many unusual products. The coolest/​most Asian market thing is a tank full of live tilapia ready to be your dinner. Not for the faint of heart I imagine. I will definitely be back here.

Cmon it’s not that bad if you know what you’re wanna get, and the owner is nice enough to help you with the things you want.
PROS
–not expensive at all
–not to crowded at all
–moderately clean everywhere
–variety of items everywhere
CONS
–items scattered everywhere
–wet in some areas

I found this store appalling. I only saw one employee who was busy talking on the phone while checking out another customer, so no chance to ask what I was looking for. As I wandered around the store, I came to the section with the fish tanks. Disgusting. Heartbreaking. There were so many tilapia fighting for space in the tanks it was disturbing. Looking at the piping to the tanks I wondered why this place is even allowed to be open. Steer clear and head down the street to Kim Nhung.

This is your run of the mill Asian market with a twist. The people that work there will actually talk to you and answer questions if need be. Friendly people is always a plus. They have a large selection of greens and a meat counter that appears to be freshly stocked. You will find all the sauces and chili pastes you will need to cook authentically. On certain days they have fresh craw fish which by color I would have to say have been imported from somewhere down south. They are going to be fun to play with one of these days. I’m a fan

I shop at A Dong occasionally. Between them and Kim Nhung down the street I can pretty much get everything I need for Asian cooking. A Dong is one of the first Asian Markets in Grand Rapids that have a comprehensive stock of items.
Both markets generally carry Vietnamese, Chinese and Filipino goods. They have some Japanese or Korean but nothing extensive. Asian Delight and Seoul Market would be the places for these.
This comment applies to any market however: Expiration dates of their items should be monitored and not leave them on the shelves if they are expired. I believe this is an MSDA regulation. If this is not addressed, some unhappy customer may report them. The customer also should check the dates on their items so they are not faced with the hassle of returning an expired item.

First of all, as tempting as it sounds, DO NOT enter this establishment and ask for adult appliance recommendations.
During my last visit to Michigan’s west coast, I found myself on the hunt for traditional Asian ingredients to demonstrate the fine art of lumpia making to my wonderful Midwestern hosts. Trusty Google led me to this place and I pleasantly discovered that Division Ave is kind of like a mini Asian mecca: Asian grocery after Asian grocery within a few miles. Quite surprising that all this exists out here, at least to me, a naïve Pacific coaster, fairly unfamiliar with the midwest.
They had a good selection of everything Asian, spices, sauces, canned goods, Durian fruit, Pocky, other desserts, and even some stuff that I would never ever think of putting in my mouth. Silkworms and pig guts and all that. A dedicated freezer section for whatever meat your tongue desires. Andrew Zimmern would be proud!
It was about as clean as Asian grocery stores can get, very friendly staff and cheap prices considering how many miles these goods had to cover to make it to Grand Rapids.