Pacific Produce

Not sure about this place. I stop out periodically go get ingredients to make Thai dishes.
Stopped out on 12/​30/​2015 and there was no (or little) heat. The lights were dimmed. Not sure what was going on, the check-​out lady was wearing a winter jacket and gloves.
A lot of the produce looked like crap. I mean really bad. There was mold on Thai chile peppers, wilted vegetables, yellow roma tomatoes. Was not very impressed at all.
My little guy had to use the bathroom. No soap in the Women’s bathroom or Men’s. Men’s had crap bubbling up from the floor and smelled.
Was kind of gross. If that’s what their bathrooms look like, no soap, dirty, smelly, not sure how the rest of it works.
Seems to be going downhill from previous visits.

Horrible experience today. I went last night to pick up some stuff for sushi, bought a container of pink ginger. Came home, opened it, and even though the safety seal was in tact (I think), inside of the seal had strange bubbles… Within the seal itself. It was like a couple of plastic grey aluminum tin foil bubbles being developed on the seal where it’s touching the food inside the container. No way I would eat that, looked rotten as hell.
Today I took it back asking for a replacement or a refund. Wow, the manager guy was rude. First he told me it’s oil from the product, which made no sense as it was a container was ginger in vinegar. Then when I told him I’ve bought this same thing before there, he asked me when that was. And he was like interrogating me as I was trying to think of when that was. What a joke.
Then, he told me it’s safe to eat as he was picking off the foil bubble or the build up. Whatever the nasty shit that was!
I could have told him I would like to see him eat it. Wow.
For 4 dollars I spent, didn’t feel like it was worth arguing and wasting my time.
I think they’re due for a food safety inspection sometime soon… Never going back there again.
It’s one thing that you had a faulty product, but you don’t tell a customer that it’s safe to eat when it’s clearly some sort of build up that doesn’t belong in a food container. And most of all, you do not interrogate your customer asking 5 times when I was there!
Jerk. Go there if you feel like getting sick and argue with the manager over $ 4!!!
UNREAL.

Yes, the sheer selection of items here is great. Unfortunately that makes it difficult to find what you are looking for in the vast grocery store. I always try to check expiration dates on sauces because with all of the sauces crowding up the shelves, who knows? Since it’s not convenient to stop by Pacific Produce, I go to places closer to where I live that have the same staples I buy on a regular basis. I have been able to find some more unique items here like Korean ingredients, but for me it’s not worth the trek unless I really want to make Korean food.
I haven’t been back here since Xankia moved downtown. Xankia was about 50 percent of the reason why I came here.

It’s the place to go to get the weird stuff. Durian: check. Sodas with gummy stuff in them: check. Jackfruits the size of your torso: check. All kinds of animals with their heads still attached: check.
They also have pre made pork bao. They’re in the fridge, right after you walk in. Yummy.

Wow! I was so excited to discover this Asian Market only minutes from my house! The first time I went, I spent 2 hours there! I was able to find a bunch of my favorite Korean food and it was a lot of fun! The only thing I would say to look out for is the experation dates. I bought a wheatgrass/​green tea cereal and I didn’t realize until I drank two of them that the experation date was ⁴⁄₂₀₁₃. That was two + years ago! It’s not the cleanest establishment and you can’t get help if you need help finding something. Also, I waited in line for 30 minutes to check out…

Yes — it’s big. But NO — the way they do business is horrible. Look CAREFULLY when you buy anything — they boldly sell many items that are expired according to the manufacture’s labels. And the produce part often has moldy veggies and mushrooms… worse to worst, I bought a tray of canned soup, and when I opened the 1^st one, it’s disgustingly bad — looked like a polluted river of green color. So i took them back to return. The manager was like a gang and talked with such attitude and condescendingly, although with my hard insistence to return he did unwillingly return the rest of the tray (with a face that looked like I owe him 10,000 dollars instead of feeling sorry that I had to carry that shit back and forth and drive and wait for him while he intentionally slowed down and went to do other things during the return), he STILL refused to return the can i opened. For Pete’s sake, I couldn’t drink that shit and there is no reason I should not be able to return it.
Tell you what, don’t even go to this place. It’s simply not worth it to pay money to a business that is not good for the community and not caring for the customer. I have not been there for over 6 months and used alternative markets that are way more responsible and fresh instead. For example, Meihua market on National Ave, and Anh Chau market on 27^th St. They are smaller but still have really good selection and are willing to listen to your need and get stuff for you.

I definitely prefer the Appleton Ave location over the S 27^th location. It is much bigger and more diverse. I used to travel down to Chicago but everything we need is right here in Milwaukee. They need to open one closer to the east side though because it’s a far drive just for groceries.

They have a wide selection of fresh and packaged Asian items. It is a good sized store that provides a lot of depth in the products so you can find whatever you need.

Everything I could need to make Asian dishes and not to mention, a really good Thai takeout joint inside.

This is the place to find Asian groceries in Milwaukee. Actually, you could probably do most of your shopping here if you were so inclined with relatively little supplementing from one of the big chain groceries.
The big draw for me is the inexpensive seafood. My best friend is way into seafood, so the ability to pick up an entire fish of decent quality for pretty cheap is a huge plus. The downside, though, is that most of it is frozen so you do have to make plans in advance (honestly, though, I wouldn’t expect otherwise given the sheer volume of fish that they deal in). Other seafood – mussels, clams, and whatnot – is also readily available.
Their produce selection is pretty great too. You’ll find most of your standards, but they also have the unusual ingredients – I’m looking at you galangal – that you need to complete your tom kha gai.
The selection of bottled sauces is nothing to shake a stick at, either.
It does sorta have that funky fish smell to it that other reviewers have pointed out, so… you know, be warned.

Every time I walk into Pacific Produce I feel like I have left the US and ventured into another country. Most of the customers are transplants and will be speaking their native tongue which is so cool! However, if you get stuck trying to find something good luck. Most of the employees are not very fluent in English (many Spanish speaking). You might find a patron who can help you out but it can be difficult.
However, this place is the BEST Asian grocery store in town. They have another location on the NW side. The produce selection is incredible and inexpensive. Shiitake mushrooms are $ 3 a pound and are the freshest I have ever seen. Lemongrass is fresh and also a great deal.
They have one whole freezer section just devoted to different types of potstickers, dumplings, etc. Also, there is a one side of an aisle just devoted to different types of noodle packages. There is a full butcher and fish counter where they can cut pork belly to order. You can also get fresh noodles, etc. The only thing that I couldn’t find was tamarind sauce but they had fresh tamarind :)
If you want get some great ethnic food this is your place. Wander around and check out all of the unique ingredients you can’t find at your typical store.

Pacific Produce is an experience. I could easily spend all day walking their aisles!
Pacific is a grocery store that carries Asian products — more Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai products than Japanese and Korean. (The Korean and Japanese food items take up half an aisle.) It has a meat counter and a fish counter, an extensive frozen foods selection, a produce department, and a section that contains plates/​cutlery, shampoo/​conditioner, and other non-​food products.
I mainly go to Pacific for one thing: produce. The best thing about the produce is that not only is it fresh — it’s also really inexpensive. Twenty pieces of shelled garlic cloves for two bucks? Yes, please. Huge daikon for a fraction of what you’d be paying elsewhere? Sign me up. Not to mention they have a really good variety of greens — not just bok choy and choy sum. And I swear, they have half-​pounds of basil!
I usually can’t not spend at least fifty bucks every time I go there, but the prices can’t be beat, so fifty bucks nets me a ton of stuff.

This is not only a wonderful, but long overdue addition to ethnic grocery shopping in Milwaukee.
Not only do they have whatever is on your shopping list, the prices will be great too!
Too many great products to mention, but some of my favorites are:
Fresh Lemongrass — always just picked and smells very fresh
Fresh Herbs — the mint is one of my favorites. You get 4 – 5 times what you would get in those little plastic trays at the grocery store and I guarantee this is much, much more fresh. Oh yeah, and half the price.
Yuzu Tea — one of my absolute favorite products at this store (see photo below). In stock flavors vary but I’ve found Ginger Pear, Citron and Honey. This tea has the consistency of marmalade, but it’s not as sweet. Just add to hot water and it’s the most soothing and comforting tea you will drink. And it great for sore throats and colds!
Fresh Peeled Garlic — I don’t know about you but I hate peeling garlic. Let PP do it for you and buy trays of freshly peeled garlic cloves for the same price as the grocery store. Use what you need and freeze the rest = awesome!
Frozen potstickers — I took a class on how to make these, it’s not hard but it’s time consuming. And with all the flavors they have here they make the perfect grab and go snack.
Fresh Bamboo Plants — Have you even seen the «Lucky Bamboo» plants at the end of the aisle at Walgreens? They usually look more sick than anyone in line at the pharmacy. But PP sells really healthy (just look at the roots, they should be more orange than yellow) stalks in five gallon pails, usually near the register. Sometimes they have the curly bamboo as well. And you’ll get a great deal (about 2.49 per stalk).
You may not think you need anything here, but you at least need to check it out, it worth the trip!

This is the biggest, best Southeast Asian grocery store on the south side of Milwaukee. It is very Southeast Asian, so it’s not really very welcoming for the unfamiliar or ethnocentric, especially in an olfactory sense. On the other hand if you have some familiarity with any Southeast Asian culture, it’s not offensive, it’s comforting, you know, you say tomato and so on. It’s an economy of size thing too, you’re not going to find fresh rambutan, durian, or a whole shelf full of different fish sauce brands anywhere else. There is a tremendous selection of frozen Southeast Asian seafood. If you’re looking to cook Southeast Asian, (Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian…) you’ll need to know this place. If you use the adjective, Asian, interchangeably with the words, Chinese or Japanese, you don’t belong here. They don’t actually have a large selection of (Japanese) ramen, though they do have a very good selection of Southeast Asian style instant noodle soups, and soup stocks. There isn’t much in the way of South Asian, only limited Far East Asian (Korean, Japanese) groceries here, that’s not really their thing. Since many Vietnamese and some other SouthEast Asian immigrants are ethnically Chinese, they also do have a good selection of Chinese style noodles, sauces, oils, curries, fishcake, and pickles. I do like shopping here, but I don’t like seeing and hearing people come in here as the proverbial ugly American tourists, which is unfortunately too common («eeewww, what is THAT? Do those people actually EAT that! Oh My God that is so DISGUSTING…»). There’s really nothing more offensive than making fun of what other people consider comfort food, you know, that’s what their mothers made for them. Besides, do you actually know what goes into hot dogs and bratwurst?

If you’re looking for an ingredient or utensil used in Asian cooking, odds are you’ll find it here!
It’s a big store with more varieties of noodles than I would have believed possible. You could reassemble the pig from the variety of cuts they sell at the meat counter. Good fresh produce and a very large frozen foods section.
It’s like the Woodman’s of Asian foods.

A long time ago I used to drive to Chicago to get Sriracha hot sauce and Japanese noodles — no more. I can get all my favorite Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Filipino, and Chinese food right here in Milwaukee for the same prices I used to pay in the Windy City. Awesome.
Credit cards accepted, and they have a little fast food nook for bubble tea and warm eats.

This is a great grocery store for exploring. I’m no expert in Asian cookery, but I love to wander through here and buy some ingredients just to go home and experiment.
This is my go-​to grocer for:
–duck eggs
–lemongrass
–an assortment of chile pastes and sauces
–rice & bean noodles
–fermented shrimp paste, etc
–interesting fruits, such as rambutan and dragon fruit. I’ve also seen durian here.
–lots of interesting greens
–inexpensive seafood (I recommend using the same day as you buy it…)
They usually have kimchi that you can buy.
I recently purchased all of the ingredients to make a green curry paste (from scratch) here.
If you’re not that ambitious, no worries — I’ve purchased plenty of ready to go items, such as pre-​made curry pastes and canned rambutan fruit… and it’s all been very tasty!
Also, I recently experimented with a variety of packaged sweets — lotus flower candy, and a sesame peanut thing. I can’t say either was to my liking, but I tried them. What was a big hit with both me and my husband was the sweetened and salted tamarind pods.
There is also an extensive frozen food section that I want to explore for some «ready made» foods…
Much of the staff doesn’t speak English. When I’m looking for something in particular, I usually have a picture of the item on my iPhone and ask someone. So far, that’s worked every time. Go, explore, have fun! There is also a Phở restuarant in the same plaza, around the corner.

If I’m being honest, I don’t know how many stars to give on this one. It was such a confusing experience. I had been on a mission to locate lemongrass and I had seen this place, so I admittedly came on a mission that wasn’t browsing.
I found my lemongrass quickly and roughly where you might expect it. However, the variety of oldish and odd looking produce was concerning. The country music playing was comforting. The shouting in foreign languages was alarming. The checkout folks were friendly. The overwhelming fishy fish smell was assaulting.
I want to go back and adventure through again. There were rows and rows of things that you would most likely only be able to identify by sight (or taste if you’re feeling dangerous). At least I will have a better idea what to expect!

This place weirds me out. It smells kinda funny, it’s kinda dark and I don’t know what 90% of this stuff is.
But I like it.
When I was in high school I worked at the adjacent pet store. In those days Kohl’s Food Stores were still a thing, and I was over here buying microwave burritos and candy all the time. It looks nothing like it once did, and that is a VERY good thing.
Pros:
–The Banh Mi stand is awesome. Cheap too.
–While the store appears to be kinda dank and nasty, I’ve never seen a crisis of cleanliness. In fact it seemed quite clean.
–They had durian. I saw that doucher Andrew Zimmern nearly puke when he ate it so I’m not going near it, but it’s there.
–The variety is shocking. I’m just looking for some mirin dude.
–Rambutan is my new favorite fruit.
–The Phở restaurant is really good too. South 27^th street is the unofficial Phở capitol of Wisconsin.
Cons:
–There is a definite funk in the air. That may be completely normal, but it seems like Joanna T attributed it to the fish. Caveat Emptor.
–Where the hell is the damn peanut sauce? It’s not that the joint is disorganized, it’s just not very organized either.
–I just cannot get with all the gnarly animal parts.
This is definitely a place to explore, especially for the more curious eaters among us.

Be careful entering the parking lot area there are two big pot holes that will loosen your teeth if you hit them just right.
I’ve finally got a chance to pop in to the new Asian grocery store. On the south side of Milwaukee. We were hoping to have lunch. @ the restaurant or deli. Looks they were red tagged by the city. So work was halted due no building permit.
They have the largest selections available for noodles, produce, tea, sea foods, and a freezer section with all kinds of processed fish or meat type balls for soups. Some of the freezer windows have lost their insulation and that made window shopping hard as they were covered in condensation.
The cilantro, garlic, and shallots were a good deal. The prices for a majority of things are close to any other Asian market. The bean sprouts were past fresh.
The isles are tight, so don’t come on the weekends if you are claustrophobic. It’s cramped just enough to allow one cart to pass another cart barely. So if you are wider than the cart your pushing you might get stuck brushing to get past. I’m glad Milwaukee has a local super market. that reminds me of an Asian Kohls food store.