99 Ranch Market

I’ve been to several 99 Ranch, I like how this one has a pretty big parking lot and the staff were friendly and efficient. Even though I went near closing times, there were 5 registers open still, and although the lines were not short, they moved pretty fast.
I was excited when I found some rare Asian veggies here, like red spinach, choy sum and tong ho, delicious! They also have fresh, live clams, mussels, lobsters and catfish. However, I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t carry a nice beef cut for hot pot so I opted for some lamb instead.
The plaza 99 ranch is in is pretty big and from the parking lot to the main entrance is quite a distance so I highly recommend you take the cart with you to the car. Also, they charge for bags and they only have paper bags without handles, so make sure you BYOB!
Overall pretty decent store close to the freeway.

Looking for Asians and their native food morsels? Look no further because this is where you will find it all. Mmm… Asian cuisine.

Early morning visit. Which is the best time to go. Otherwise, once the adjoining restaurants & businesses open up, it’s a parking lot purgatory. And you can easily get claustrophobic in the crowded aisles of the store.
Surprised I haven’t written a review because we stop by this location on occasion.
It’s much nicer than the nearest MPK store and has a full hot deli which is pretty good.
Produce is decent and the meat department is clean.
Since we were there early, there wasn’t a line at the lotto counter. Picked up some Powerball tickets for that billion dollar drawing. I was touching all the good luck charms on the counter!
My husband doesn’t care to come in here because he thinks it smells «herb-​y», but this morning was surprised to catch a whiff of incense (the Buddhist temple kind). That, he can deal with.
My beloved Zojirushi water boiler (hot pot) sprung a leak and we knew we could get a replacement here for less than at other Asian markets.
This is a pretty good place to get Asian appliances and cookware for decent prices.
So, if I’m in the area and the parking lot isn’t full, I’ll drop by.

[ B L U R B S ]:
I stopped coming here because their bakery gave me some bad ass shits (this was almost 5 years ago) and I was fearful for my life. But upon a recent visit (on a hunt for herbal hot grass jelly ingredients) I’ve come to realize just what a gem this location really was.
[ G R O C E R Y ]:
Boyfriend lives closer to the Chino Hills area so we frequent the 99 Ranch there sometimes and let me just tell you, that market is hella marketed towards Caucasians (I’ve also been to 99 Ranch Markets in Texas too…) compared to this location. I’ve completely forgotten all the nice nostalgic super legit Asian items you can at this particular market. I can’t name every item at the top of my head, but they have Asian snacks like guilinggao (龜苓膏) MY FAVE SNACK atm, hot aiyu (愛玉) and all kinds (and I mean ALL KINDS) of braised snacks that’s ready to go (reminds me of those stalls back in Taiwan, grab-​n-​go yoooo). Not to mention all sorts of exotic ass (but familiar) stuff like frogs, hearts, tripe, PORK BLOOD (also a fave) and stuff.
I know, probs every other Asian is like: BRUH. JUST ANOTHER CHINESE MARKET. But I’m all like: BRUH. YOU DUN EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU MISSIN’ UNTILL YOU DUN HAVE IT ANYMOAR. Iunno. The last trip back here literally felt super nostalgic and I kind of fell in love with it. I need to come back here more often even if it’s a farther drive. YOLO. Lol.

This 99 Ranch Market was inside of a mall with other Asian stores. The parking was almost full and I’m sure it would be more packed on the weekend (I came on a Friday morning). There were a few stations where you could sample food which I haven’t seen before in a 99 Ranch Market before. It was also a few years since I remember going so maybe it was just the area where they had samples to give away. I liked it since you could try before you buy. We found everything we needed which was great. The check out lines were non-​existent so that was nice. Good place for groceries!

Pros: plenty of parking on weekdays; get fresh produce; short to no lines @ register; NO PUSHING IN LINES OR IN THE AISLES… LOL
Though l have to say thank you for making the lot BIGGER and adding a signal down the end for us to make those crazy left turns !
Cons: insane parking during weekends which means more shoppers and more long lines. Bumper to bumper cart pushing. Not enough cart returns in the parking lot. But we all need to feed our families right? Come early; you’ll live !

Good food but bad service. they are impolite and even rude. never go there again. bad bad bad

Oh man. The Fujisan bread at 2.45 is big, fluffy and delicious. The Pineapple cake pastry at the bakery section is also delicious. Nevermind the 85 bakery pineappe pastry at like 1.75, this pastry is DELICIOUS for two for one. Desir brand at the bakery. Oh man. Came here randomly, was not expecting such delicious bread.
Compared to other 99 ranch markets, I really liked this one. It is clean and the elderly Chinese cashier was friendly.
Accumulate points on your card.

This is your typical familiar 99 Ranch Market. Pretty decent size it got everything your familiar from a Chinese Market. There’s samples testing on the weekend, and there’s takeout bbq catering as well. Price is fair, always look for those discount deal. I find 99 ranch has better value than most other Asian Market. Not the cheapest but the layout is simple and their discount item are hard to beat at time.

Never a good idea to come during weekends!
Asian markets does their free samples in the aisle during weekends but the patrons there are so hungry for free stuff that it is a nightmare just walking in and picking up a few things.
The 15 minute experience of picking up a few things during one Saturday morning:
1. Getting a cart into the market. Some items are placed outside of the market and people looking at them have their carts in the middle of the walkway. When asked politely to move the carts, one rolled her cart forward about 6 inches and continues to do her shopping. Another one sees me, moves her cart forward and turns it into the corner (the corner was the entrance to the supermarket!!). I had to ask her to move again as I am becoming a part of the going in traffic.
2. Trying to pick up some stuff. While looking for sauces, a lady decides to get in front of me and peruse the items she needed. At first, I thought I took too long and she was getting in front of me to get what she wanted. But it turns out she was looking for sauce too… I had to wait for her to finish before I can continue my own search.
3. Worse one yet! Samples are being served, a lady goes over to ask the server what it was. Afterwards, she picked up the drink and taste it, didn’t like it, she sets the cup back on to the table and walks away. WHAT IN THE WORLD!?! The server then shouts «hey if you don’t like it, throw it away. Don’t just place it back on the table!!» At that point everyone around the table heard it and the lady had already disappeared in the mass crowd.
After I got out of the market with my few items, I was pissed and annoyed. It was hard to phantom the fact people are so rude.

Pros:
— An amazing place for people-​watching, my people are a peculiar breed
— Many delicious Asian food choices (mostly Chinese, some Japanese and Korean) for pretty good deals
— They changed the parking recently, it seems like there’s more than before
— There are a number of yummy restaurants in the market that are very good!
Cons:
— Could be cleaner but it’s not bad for a Chinese market

Like this place a lot, coming here all the time. They have many Asian grocery to choose.

They have a lot of really nice items in here the only problem is people can be real rude here they seem to want to rush you through what you’re buying and not take the time to let you know about the product

One stop shop for all of your Asian food needs. 99 Ranch Market is like going through a portal and emerging in Asia. Just stepping in you can smell the authenticity, cause it smells kinda terrible. They’ve got everything you need for your Asian food needs, and I guess accessories?
A big fault I give 99 Ranch is they pretty much hold a monopoly on the Asian food markets. And it’s evident by their high prices. I mean the prices aren’t high. it’s just higher then other Asian markets. Veggies, noodles, fixings are a tiny bit higher on average.
Despite all this the market is pretty clean, the produce is extremely fresh, and the selection is very plentiful. Everything from meat and seafood, to snacks and drinks 99 has got all your bases covered. Let me stop right here and say that the peanuts they have at the front near the checkout counter are mind blowing. Best peanuts in my opinion. Not super salty, but salty. enough, these peanuts are perfection. Try em, it comes in a small circular container.
But be sure to bring your recycled bags, cause 99 Ranch doesn’t provide bags anymore. I know I know, California will stop plastic bags beginning next year but 99 Ranch decided they wanted to save money by stopping this policy even earlier. You see this when they ask if you want Paper Bags at 10 cents each. I prefer the buddy system (bring friends and carrying everything out) or recycled bags.
And parking is pretty much a nightmare. This shopping plaza is always poppin so it is always crowded. On top of that the spaces are small, and the drivers are simply terrible. Everyone is fighting for an empty spot, so come prepared to battle it out.

Just off the 60 freeway exit, this Ranch 99 is one of the older ones in the area. With the influx of Taiwanese patrons who migrated from the old school Monterey Park/​Alhambra area, Rowland and Hacienda Heights became the Asian hotbed about twenty years ago. Landmark stores like Class 302 and 85 °C came and further popularized this community.
Back to this store, it was one of the first staples and was often the main food source. With another store off Azusa, it isn’t as crowded as before. My main reason for coming here is to get my Taiwanese eats from my favorite Banana Café. Coincidentally, this mall also houses Class 302’s flagship store. We shopped here after getting our lunch and found numerous snacks unseen in Northern California. The SoCal demographics are why there’s more Taiwan foods and products as opposed to the Cantonese dominant NorCal.
Sadly, with numerous road closures and ongoing construction, navigating your way has become an obstacle course… am I in San Francisco?!
Still, it’s worth the hassle!

Well this review is gonna stick until at least 2016. They have construction on Nogales (because of the train tracks causing a lot of traffic when it passes by), and so it gets harder and harder to park here. They have built an access road on Gale to let all the traffic go in and out from there, but Gale is getting really packed now. Parking lot has become a bit smaller and traffic is still terrible here.
They now are trying to attract more customers on the weekdays, having «only weekday» coupons and whatnot, along with (I forget which day) only sales. The next two years will be a struggle on weekdays, but I believe 99 Ranch will be fine again once summer of 2016 hits.
They do have more samples here so that you can try the food– but on weekends, there are a lot of people here that you either need to have a designated cart driver or you need to be crafty trying to get through people.

Out of all of the 99 Ranch Markets I’ve been to my entire life, the one in Rowland Heights may be my favorite one. True, it may mostly be because of nostalgia and remembering how I would be the fat kid waddling around this shop. But, when considering what this 99 Ranch Markte has to offer versus others, it’s definitely one of my favorites.
Other than when there’s construction around this supermarket, parking is mostly readily available. Yes, you are dealing with Asian drivers who think they’re still in Taiwan/​China/​Hong Kong, but it’s the same kind of driving you’d find in any other 99 Ranch Market. Yes, the back area will smell because of the sewage and the discarded food items, but you’ll get that at any other 99 Ranch Market. Yes, there will be plenty of drivers that can’t see what they’re doing because they’re completely covered up, including the dark face mask/​visor over their face, but you’ll get that in any Asian district. Parking spaces are decently a good-​size, but that doesn’t mean people will follow the lines to park their car.
Another reason I like this 99 Tawa is because of the shops that you pass to get to the 99 Tawa. Almost always changing, they do have the traditional staples: bakery, newspaper place, CD/​DVD shop, and hole-​in-​the-​wall Chinese food.
Anyways, as I’ve seen this place change in the last 20 years, they have definitely tried their best to be more American-​ized instead of being stuck with how things might be in Taiwan. It is cleaner, they do follow regulations, and things are more sanitary than it’s been before. Well, as sanitary as possible for an Asian supermarket. You’ll still get the clientele who will dump their samples on shelves, or break something and run away. Ahh… home…
Prices can be crazy cheap for the foods, as long as you don’t get the American stuff, like soda, chips, and/​or candy. Otherwise, you can buy enough food for under $ 50 that can feed for a week. Yes, some of the produce may not be the freshest, but that’s why you have to learn on how to pick up fresh items. Can’t just trust supermarkets to always buy the freshest items.
Anyways, yes, will be back. There are other options for Asian supermarkets, but I do like this one for the price, location (dude, food central!), and variety.

Seriously? No plastic bags? What a joke. It’s part of running a business, especially a supermarket. Instead of eliminating plastic bags altogether, why not offer it but at the same time offer some incentive for people to use their own bags. This location is also dirtier than other 99 Ranch Markets.
It’s like a restaurant charging people to use basic shit like ketchup and mustard.
BYOB or you might just have to stuff shit down your pants to carry shit to the car.

This place can def be very overwhelming for many. I showed up after work thinking that it might not be busy but the parking lot was packed and the lines to check out were long. Parking can be very very complicated so keep your eyes open and peeled for people and other cars. The place is surprisingly huge and clean. There is various workers walking around but most are too busy to bother asking if you need help.
Being that this was my first time at this particular location, I had no idea where to start. I did a few back and forth rounds, up and down the aisle looking for random things for dinner. I even asked a worker to help me out but he himself couldn’t tell me what aisle the item would be found in. Don’t let this stop you though, it helped me get a bit more familiar with the store and it allowed me to get distracted finding other possible snacks to buy. You will find almost everything here! Tons of sea food (fish, crab, etc), vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, bok choy, mushrooms, etc), tofu, milk, cleaning supplies for the home, sauces/​condiments/​spices, and even some beer. I was able to buy everything I needed and more to make hot pot at home, at an affordable price too. I also saw a few pre-​made little food boxes which would be perfect for anyone’s quick lunch.
I was a little worried about how I was gonna carry out all the bags after my purchase being that I thought I only needed a few things yet ended up with a full basket. A worker was kind enough to bring me a shopping cart so I wouldn’t go through the trouble. They do not provide free plastic bags so bring some reusable ones or just do what I did and take the cart to your car with all the items. They accept credit cards at check out which was a huge plus for me too.
At the exit you will also find that there is a bakery with fresh bread, a few restaurants (a vegetarian one that I went too a while back) and a few other little stores.

This is really only a review of their deli section…
I come here often to get take out food to bring home. The roast duck and the roast pork is at least as good if not better than what you can get at Sam Woo’s (Leung Kee) across the street and cheaper too I believe. I usually get a pound or so of the fried chicken wings and drummettes too if they look good. One comment about this Ranch 99 that I don’t know if it’s a widespread thing or not, but when you ask them for a particular quantity (e.g. 1 pound), they will always seem to give you a hell of a lot more than you ask for, which is only bothersome if you don’t want to pay for more than you ask for. The exception to this is when they sell by unit price of course (i.e. ½ a roast duck cost half the amount of a whole duck, no more no less)…
Randomness: I found the perfect Secret Santa gift for my oenophilic friends and family on the shelf of the market for $ 14.99; too funny…