Sunny Market Place

I heard they recently had a fire. I was in the neighborhood recently, going to another market, and a friend said to go there. «Much cheaper.» Not really. I stepped out of my truck and someone asked me for a dollar. I walked by and into the market. I watched the guy walk over and try the door handle on my truck. Great part of town.
They have candy in boxes outside. Inside, it was freezing. Everyone wearing Winter coats. The place smelled and there were flys buzzing around. Aside from bak choy, I couldn’t find anything I was looking for. I bought a couple vegetables, which were not the quality or freshness, and they were no cheaper than down the street. Couldn’t wait to leave.

I’ve been coming to Sunny Market more lately b/​c it happens to be conveniently located in the same strip mall as Pacific Seafood and Saigon Sub. The produce isn’t always labelled in English, so you’ll need to either know what you’re buying or get some help. Pricing is a little less expensive on average compared to other Asian markets I’ve been to in the area and dirt cheap compared to groceries like Shaw’s or Whole Foods for comparable ingredients. Sunny Market doesn’t carry everything I want, but it does have a better than average selection of ingredients if I’m looking to cook southeast Asian food and will probably even have 4+ brands to choose from staples like fish sauce, dried shallots, palm sugar, etc. Overall a good choice for southeast Asian specialty grocery staples in the area.

I think I’d come here for their large produce selection and good prices. Most things looked really nice and fresh. The rest of the store is kind of cramped and arranged erratically. I’d probably go elsewhere for my sauces and spices

I used to go to Sunny Market a lot but I can’t say I’m a great fan of it nowadays. The quality of the foods is not good all the time, and often I find some foods that have gone bad/​are going bad (including the fresh produce and fridge products).
My biggest complaint about Sunny Market now is the cashier woman. During my last visit, I picked up two bags of noodles, marked $ 1.89 each, which should have totaled up to $ 3.78. Instead of asking for $ 3.78 like she should have, she asked me for $ 4.00. STEALING $ 0.22 from me. That’s almost a quarter. Mind you, this happens often and to many people.
Don’t go to Sunny Market. While it’s convenient, you will be cheated out of your money for mediocre produce. Go to V-​Mart down the street instead.

Not bad but many of the grocery items are not from Asia but from Mexico, etc. just be careful what you buy. It still isn’t bad considering that this is Providence and not San Francisco or Seattle where the asian population is much bigger.

Sunny Market Place is actually one of the cleanest and most organized asian stores that I’ve been to. Make sure to bundle up with an extra sweater when you come in here. They keep this place mighty chilly for their frozen foods, meats, and vegetables. Here you’ll find great deals on (mostly asian) vegetables that you normally wouldn’t see in a conventional grocery store, such as bitter melon, durian, bottle gourds, etc. Seasonally, besides meats, you can expect to find seafood such as crabs as well. In the back of the store, they have some stocked shelf stable foods as well as various kitchen knick knacks as well, but generally the store’s emphasis is more on the produce and meats. At the counter, you can order bags of rice, which they can roll out to your car after purchase. This place is a pretty solid choice when looking for asian groceries in Rhode Island.

I like Sunny Market Place. I’ve been going here since about the 90s maybe? It is very crowded but has many great Asian finds in it. My SIL and I cruise this place whenever we get the chance looking for new foods or interesting pots and pans or vegetables and fruits you won’t see in an American grocery store. Still buyer beware: if you come here be prepared to either have an anxiety attack from the closeness of the aisles or the amount of wares. You’ll see all races and ages of people here, it’s very popular. Like Victoria K. said, you can find almost everything here but look in a city’s Chinatown section for more specific brands or unusual products.
You can find Asian Holiday favors here though and religious artifacts and to help you observe Asian celebrations. I believe I got a pack of money bags here a few years ago for Chinese New Year.
They don’t have as many candies as the Chinese American Mini Market near Apsara though. Still I like Sunny and try to visit as much as possible. FYI they like most Asian grocery stores do not sell most Indian products. I needed Basmati rice and couldn’t find any here. I wasn’t surprised but just wanted you to know this incase you too looked for more than Asian Products. Also, be aware what you are buying and the prices. Some things are cheap, some are alright some are high. Know what you are buying.
Their freezers are the low type kind that sit on the floor and are open to browsing without having to open doors. I like them better only because i don’t hit other shoppers as I try to get an item in them. I like this places meats and vegetables better as I always seem to find them cleaner and wrapped well. They also sometimes get special products locally made (I think,) like today my SIL and I purchased some warm steamed buns. I thought they were pork buns but they were stuffed with sausage, a hard boiled egg and some other kind of meat. It was tasty but unexpected!

I love love love Sunny Market Place. In a place like RI, where sometimes certain ethnic ingredients can easily be off the radar, I know that I can go to Sunny Market Place and find what I’m looking for at a very reasonable price. Do not hit up your local supermarket when looking for anything Asian. You will pay through the roof.
Sunny Market Place has nearly everything under the sun. It’s missing some harder to find ingredients that I have only managed to find in large shopping venues in major city Chinatowns, but otherwise, for little Rhodey, it’s not so bad.
The only thing I have desperately looked for an been unable to find here is wheat starch, which is used for many dumpling doughs. Other than this one thing they don’t seem to carry, I have found every other ingredient on my sometimes extensive Asian shopping lists.
A huge bag of bean sprout for $ 1? Check!
A stack of rice paper for a fraction of the supermarket price? Check!
Light and dark soy sauces in a variety of brands? At discount prices? Check and check!
Dried shiitake mushrooms? 4 limes for $ 1? Chicken hearts and feet? Oodles upon oodles of all kinds of noodles? They have it all here!
Sunny Market Place is my one stop for Asian shopping. No need to look much further than this :)

I’ve written so many reviews of Asian markets already, but like an addict, I’ve been holding out for that one superior rush, that transcendent experience that makes all others pale in comparison. I’ve been waiting to find that one market that warrants a five-​star rating. Sunny Market Place is it!
Walking up to the door, the first thing one notices are pallets full of produce and packaged goods, sitting outside under the awning. These folks have so much quality merchandise they can’t even keep it under one roof! Inside, the store is incredibly well stocked. There’s an outstanding produce section supplementing the fruits and veggies out front, and the prices? $ 1.49 for a beautiful bundle of enoki mushrooms is unbelievably cheap! Herbs are packaged in huge, lush bundles and are similarly cheap.
There’s an outstanding selection of noodles, spices, and frozen fish, with sections for packaged meats and the ubiquitous ramen bowls. It’s absolutely worth noting that this is the cleanest of all the markets I’ve explored, and one of the busiest. That’s not to say it was crowded (we were there around 6pm on a Saturday), but they were certainly doing good business, and the employees were more than happy to answer our questions about how to use exotic ingredients.
This is my new go-​to Asian market.