My Quang Market

I stopped in to buy Sichuan spice and shrimp I need for a special dish I wanted to make. I ask the cashier if she knew where to find the spice she said «isle 3». I looked at every inch of that isle… nowhere to be found. Went back to cashier and she called someone to help… he couldn’t find but just walked off and left me standing there I went back to her and she said she was too busy. Oh well… Tuff luck for me! I spent 20 minutes for NOTHING. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!

I come to this place all the time but I HATE the Attitude off this old grumpy employee he always with his nasty looks I won’t be coming anymore

If it wasn’t for my gf I would have never known this area of town existed. It’s a small vietnamese community off 45 south. And here is one of their supermarkets.
She was craving live blue crab, and I figured HEB might be here stop, but after calling they only had frozen. So I went to this market where she swears they have live blue crab.
Sure enough they had two buckets full. They were small, but definitely live and snapping.
It’s a small market but the meat and seafood seemed fresh. The veggies were meh, but stay away from the canned/​boxed items. Or if you do just double check the expiration dates, they do not get a huge amount of traffic so items stay on the shelves way past expiration.
Price is good, but just be selective and you’ll be good. Better than the shouting matches at some of the meat/​seafood counters at the markets on bellaire.

I’ve been coming here since I was little with my mother and father. The first thing I want to talk about this place is, the workers including the manager are some rude ass people. Therefor they are not friendly. With tasty looking food: do not get fool. In other words, tell your brain to tell your body turn away.
Here’s a story about my dad…
So my dad came home from work one time and was hungry. Instead of stopping at a fast food restaurant he stopped at this filthy place. He purchased a plate of spring rolls. Then munched it. After a few hours later, he got food poisoned! ! He was getting all-​types of stomach ache and was pooping literally about every 2 hours!
Another story was about me wandering around the store looking for some food. Something tasty to have a snack on. A wrapped plate of spring rolls had a dead fly in it… Til that day, NEVER I WILL BUY FOOD FROM THAT DISTURBING PLACE, EVER! I’m not even going to you how rude and not friendly they are because they just are! And that’s, that.

I miss this place. After moving away from Houston I wish I could go get my weekly duck from these guys. Always spectacular.

When I join Unilocal to write this, you can be sure there’s some kind of problem that I have. Today, after many loyal visits and happiness, it’s all fallen down. Something happened that I’m not completely clear on its cause, but I know that it doesn’t belong in business.
So I’m still a little hungry even though I’ve had a banh mi from Hong Kong Market, and while my dad is shopping for something else, I’m taking a look at the snacks on the shelf in the center of the market. I see some nice banh cuon and quite fresh goi cuon… and then when I eye some round dumplings with dried shrimp, one of the ladies from the cash register passes by and says «I already know you’re not buying that.» Warning light, everyone.
Perhaps nobody’s noticed, but I’ve bought plenty of weird things from My Quang in all these visits, and everyone at the cash register knows it. There’s nicer ways to say a phrase of the «You won’t like that» variety, if that’s what all the fuss is about here. I even wrote an essay about this for my college Composition class a few months ago, so I deem myself an expert on this subject.
Not to be denied, I continued to look around the shelf as if nothing happened, and the moment I picked up those rolls again, someone else came along and, without even flinching, said «You can’t buy that». So why is it there if I can’t buy it? Or has picking up the snacks been banned since I came in YESTERDAY and did the same thing? While the man remains where he is, I looked at some of the other items next to it, and quick as a gale Mr. No Sale speaks up again and says that these rolls «aren’t good». How can that be possible if you’re the one selling them, mister?
But I hadn’t seen the half of it yet. When the woman from the front who apparently doesn’t like selling products saw this, she snapped at me: «Hey, boy, step outside please.» For exactly what, «girl»? I flagged Dad down, but before I could tell him anything, I was waved out and was watched intently as I stood outside. I figure that by the time Dad finishes his shopping, we’ll understand exactly what the problem is here.
Meanwhile, I stand around in back and open the automatic door a few times in hopes of getting someone’s attention. The other lady in front pops her head out and yells at me to stop, and continues to watch me as if to say «We hate you, get out» all the way until Dad signals to me that he’s done, and to come back in.
Maybe now’s the time. I quickly relay what just happened over to Dad, and he asks the manager, who is now at the register, if I was bothering anyone. He said no, so Dad asked why I was kicked out. Apparently he has no idea, because he then asked «Someone told you to leave?» I told her it was the person standing a foot to his right… and he said nothing at all, as if to say «Too bad, you’re screwed.» Immediately afterwards, we walked out to leave him caught in the lie.
Despite a few possible yet grossly stereotypical reasons for some of the staff’s initial behavior, the last few incidents are of the type that will automatically result in a 1-​star rating, regardless of the clean surroundings, homey feel, wide, fresh and exotic selection, and low prices that My Quang has.
I was wearing my black exercise clothes from earlier in the day, but yet I have come here several times wearing them without incident. I have repeatedly defied the «You won’t like that» maxim with several purchases here, also without incident. The people who must have thought I was a kleptomaniac Anglo teenager, up to no good, failed to acknowledge that not only have I been here about 100 times before, but I came here yesterday! I’ve obviously been singled out for this grilling, because nobody would stay in business if business owners did this to everyone he or she was suspicious about.
I’m extremely displeased and confused, because I’ve visited Hong Kong Market about 1,000 times, stayed far longer, peeked around more intently, bought far merchandise that includes exotics that I «wouldn’t like», worn these sweaty black clothes (very frequently, even), and sometimes even been occasionally annoyed… but I do not remember the last time I’ve ever run into any sort of incident, let alone something like this. In fact, I’m like family at Hong Kong.
I will not return to My Quang for a very long time, and anyone reading this that has seen flashes of this rudeness is encouraged to follow suit. I hand out negative reviews very speculatively, so what was it, my readers, that spurred me, a loyal B4-​U-​Eat writer, to join Unilocal as well?