South Area Market

So authentic, so good! I cannot stress how authentic this place is. Spicy is actually spicy. All of the different flavors in every dish are there. They have some of the best sausages I have ever eaten! Prices are affordable too! Glad it’s right down the street from my mom’s place, so I can always stop by whenever I’m in town.

Whenever I need an authentic fix for Thai or Laos food I come here! Their Laos sausage is delicious and their pork and egg stew is one of my favorites! The cheap and reasonable pricing is also a plus :)

This place it’s a rip off. Every time I go there the food portion get smaller and the price go higher. My last time going there.

I only have two favorite places to go for Papaya Salad and this is one of them… but to be fair, I haven’t really try all the places that sells papaya salad.
I don’t recall if I’ve tried their Kapoon before.
The Laos Sausage is fattening but darn good with the sticky rice.
That’s all I have to say for now.
To be continued…

Love their food. But over time, it’s been lacking the same taste it used to have a couple years ago. Love that it’s a hole in the wall type of restaurant. They’re service is awesome. Everyone is always super respectful and nice. I like Laos kitchen a little better but this place is good too!

One word. Bombdiggity! Especially the Kapoon, papaya, sausage, phở, kapiek, fried rice, pad see ew, Pad Thai, curry, laab, oh and the Thai tea as well. Pretty much everything at this place is delicious.

What can I say, the food were great and made fresh beside those premade ones. Prices were reasonable as well. We ordered a bunch of food such as chicken wings, Lao sausages, papaya salad, pad see eew, whole deep fried fish, intestine soup, I think it was kaeng noir mai, pork belly soup, kapoon was a little sweet for my taste, sticky rice, and I think that was it… all for under $ 70. There were only 3 of us but if you know me, I like to eat, a lot. Service was quick and they’re friendly and clean as well.

I love this place i frequent this restaraunt mom n pop shop a lot. Their khaopoon is delish i love eating it with the raw chili pepper mint and shrimp paste. I had a different variety of food from here. The front is a little laotian grocery store and the back is the other half where there are plenty of tables set up with condiments on the table for dining. They also have prepackaged food togo like laab padlao lao style dried jerky sticky rice. In their togo area theres also steam catfish very delish chicken curry and porkbelly with egg its called thom khem a sweet lao dish very good over rice. They also have other dishes you can order like pad thai fried fish beef phở. Honestly you can never go wrong with anything you order here everything is delish!!! Their lao sweet sausage is the bomb!!! The wait staff is run by the owners theirselves and theyre always friendly and attentive. The best place for authentic lao dishes.

Highly recommend this place if you are looking for home cook meal. I order the padthai, beef laab and papaya salad. Padthai is pretty good and flavorful. I just think the tofu and chicken should be cut into smaller edible bites. Papaya salad is good if you like the crab paste taste. I prefer the shrimp paste instead but still good. The beef laab is the best. I love all the herbs and the spicy level was just right. The beef laab reminds me of my mom’s laab. Overall, really enjoyed all the well balance of flavors and the portion size.

This place was another go to spot of mines. I’ve frequented this place a lot for papaya salad when Yee stopped selling at her place. However I don’t come here as often as it’s usually out of the way which wasn’t too bad back then until I discovered Pure Water — my now go to place for papaya salad.
There is something something about the papaya salad from here that you can just taste freshness. It’s like the papaya was shredded when you placed your order. The crunchiness of the papaya, the level of spice, the tartness of the lemon, to the sweetness of the sugar, this dish has never disappointed.
A plus is also the pork rinds/​ear. A bag of that goes very well with the papaya salad. I could eat a whole bag and use the papaya salad juice as dipping sauce.
I remembered this place as just a little market that sold food but now they even have a dine in area. If ever near and craving I would definitely be back.

If you’re not well versed on Laotian/​Thai fusion food such as what’s served here, then stfu. Eat it or skip it. Simple as that.
I’ve been here several times and we’ve always ordered family style to share a few dishes. I’ve also ordered the Ka Poon every time simply because it’s the BEST I’ve ever had. There’s just so much flavour. My mouth waters as I write this review.
The Ka Poon is to die for. It’s a bit oily but that’s what gives it all the flavour. There are chunks of cooked blood served with this soup, which I happen to like. If you’re saying, «wtf, blood?», then ask for it without. Don’t be a drama queen.
My other favourites are the chicken wings, larb, the Ka piek, and the jerky that’s served at the front counter. You’ll notice that I’ve shared photos of other dishes as well. I like them all, just didn’t love them all.
The Thai iced coffee is a must order item as well. It’s deliciously sweet. It’s like legal crack on ice. I just love the overall taste of it.
As most people have noticed is that it’s not much of a market anymore. It’s simply a matter of demand. When more people are eating there and there’s a demand then it only makes sense to expand the area that adds to the bottom line. The fact that it no longer carries 800 different kinds of pots and cutting board shouldn’t impact your dining experience.
If you’re looking for something fancy, it’s probably not for you. If you’re commenting about the area it’s in, get the F out of South sac. Go try some overpriced place in downtown Sacramento.

A locally owned business that offers both a small market for hard to find east asian goods and a small restaurant. I tried the sausage + sticky rice and ka poon, both were really good.
The sausage is a mix of different meats, not really sure what’s in it, but its bursting with flavor. I usually eat this type of sausage with some pepper sauce, especially if you like spicy! Their pepper sauce has a nice lemon/​lime acid to it. Pretty nice!
The Ka poon (a curry based broth) was pretty good as well.
This place may not win awards in décor/​location, but it serves good food by good local people. I recommend it for people that haven’t tried south east asian /​lao /​hmong/​minh type food before.

I’ve been to this market since I was a kid, when it was just that: a Lao market. My parents even used to sell their vegetables here. As a kid, I enjoyed coming here with my parents for groceries and now as an adult, I still come here, but for the delicious food they make. Growing up on Lao food, I can tell you that Lao food made here is definitely how Lao food is supposed to taste like. If you really know Lao food well, you know Lao food has very unique and distinct flavors.
Being Lao, I’ve practically eaten everything there is known in the long list of Lao foods. And believe me, that list can include what others consider strange and unheard of. (Special thanks to my parents for that! Lol)
I’m used to this style of Lao food and I love it. I’ve had basically everything on the menu and this will always be my go-​to place when I don’t feel like cooking. I’ve never had to wait more than a few minutes for my food and the service has always been pleasant. I live near Thai-​Lao restaurants that have some of these food items on their menu, but for the expensive prices they set and the fancy ambience, you’d think they would outdo places like South Area Market in food taste. Nope! I rather drive the extra 15 – 20 minutes here, to get my Lao food cravings satisfied.
Delicious food doesn’t always come from «perfect» places. From my experiences, delicious LAO food always come from the most unlikely places. Thank you South Area Market for proving just that!

The structure, like the food, were not particularly compelling. I’m not well-​versed in Laotian food yet I found the «pad see ew» to be just «okay.» The neighborhood in which this establishment is positioned is one where you might want to visit when there’s full sunlight, if you know what I mean. The small storefront gives way to a smaller market section inside and for a business which has the name «market» in it, you’ll be very disappointed in what little of a grocery area the South Area Market has to offer. This is the equivalent of going to a corner mart for groceries (yes, you can get milk and some canned goods at the 7-​Eleven, but, well…)
Most of the area is devoted to the restaurant portion of the business and so there is a lot of seating for groups. I have to say, while I don’t mind dive-​y places, I was quite discouraged at what I saw by way of atmosphere and menu. There are some things which are made fresh and my plate was one such item. It only took about 5 minutes to serve, which was great. Granted, there was only one other patron in this place during the lunch hour (interpret that as you may). There are a half dozen items situated in a school cafeteria-​style presentation (aluminum bins with food which has not been stirred for awhile).
I also purchased a Hmong sausage (one of the bin items) and it was, again, just «okay.» It kind of made me want to quickly eat some of the yan yan (Nutella-​like snack) I’d picked up from the «market» section and left me feeling a bit unwell. The spice in it was good, the grease which began to percolate around it was not so good, and the yellow-​ish goo I encountered in the middle of it had me pitching it quickly into the trash.
I feel I’m now going to be overly-​critical because this next point really doesn’t matter to me personally yet I’ll say that, for the record, putting one television in a room that size is a bit humorous. I don’t really care to watch TV when I’m in a restaurant but if you are one that wants to catch the game (or whatever) while you eat, then you better be seated close to the table under the wall where the TV is mounted.
I came here because I saw great reviews on Unilocal over the food and it was close to where my office was. Going to new places are trial and error, and this cumulatively average experience won’t be bringing me back again (read: error).

The market here is not much of a market, and the place is located right in the heart of #nope. But the food inside of here is both delicious and fun.
There is a lot of hubbub on Unilocal about foods that are authentic. The reality is that «authentic» usually means «dingy but tasty,» and not actually «authentic.» For example, gourmet Mexican is basically never described as Authentic, but a burrito supreme that was excellent and served from the back of a truck — that is always described as Authentic.
South Area Market is definitely the second type, but man what a second type. I can’t speak for its actual authenticity, but someone that can said that for Laotian food that was about as authentic as you’re going to find in the United States. It was sort of a dingy place, but the food also looked way more flavorful than you usually find at Thai and Laotian restaurants.
I ordered the Phad Thai, because as a vegetarian I’m kind of limited. But I have heard excellent things about the Kapoon, and the boiled beef blood. The Phad Thai though was dingy and excellent, so mission successful. Very flavorful, very «real» looking food, and served very quickly for very cheap.
I’m a fan. My lady is a fan. Her family is a fan. And since it’s hot right now in Sac, spend time where the fans are.

Long overdue review of this place. I honestly don’t think I need to go into detail too much. Their kapoon is to die for, the ka piek is the best i’ve had thus far, the sausage is bomb, my whole family agrees that they have the best chicken wings and their laab has such good flavor… And they have the best thai tea in town.
Why this review is so late, because i’m a lazy Unilocaler… Why im writing it now, I went to eat here this past Saturday because my family wanted to eat somewhere they’ve never tried before. Since I wasnt in a mood for kapoon, I tried their phở for the first time… And it was the best damn phở I ever had in my life… I consider myself a connoisseur of the noodle soups, so I def know what im talking about it… If I could eat their phở everyday, I would. The broth was so tasty and the meat was so good. My little brother who is so picky, finished every last morsel in his bowl… He literally picked up the bowl and drank the broth and continued to ask me for the «chicken» that was still in my bowl.
Everything here is so good, but I want you, whoever you may be to try their phở asap and everything else. Im glad I got my family hooked. I would eat here everyday if I could.
Also their service is quick and friendly, which is always a plus.

Update: Food is just as good as ever and there’s running AC now!
Yesterday, we tried:
1. Papaya Salad (1 pepper)
–Tangier than I remembered, just the way I like it.
–1 pepper IMO is perfect; just enough kick.
2. Hmong Sausage
–A little spicy.
–Lots of lemongrass flavor.
–Just enough fermentation.
–Tasted homemade.
3. Sticky Rice
–Good texture.
4. Ka Piek
–My favorite noodle soup!
–Broth is clear and bursting with flavor! The chicken broth and
garlic flavor really pulled through.
–The tapioca based noodles had a good consistency. They weren’t tough
nor were they flimsy. I also liked how the starchiness of the noodles didn’t
ruin the broth by making it too thick.
I may or may not be wrong, but I felt kinda special this visit because I’m sure the owners/​chefs read my previous review; everything had more tang to my liking and the taste was on point! Again, the food arrived quickly and the employees were nice. Thanks again, South Area!

I like this place. Papaya salad is good here. They make it just how you request it. Everything else is also good too. I always order the kaopoon, kaopiek, papaya salad, and lao sausage. I’m not bias just because my aunt works here, but the food is good.

Authentic Laos food served in the back of the market.
Delicious and cheap food.
Fast and friendly service.

This place reminds me of eating at little family-​owned restaurants back on Guam. The atmosphere. Nothing too fancy but when that server walks out from the back with your meal, and you know it, you can’t help but become even more anxious for all the possible goodness in your mouth you’re about to experience… Your belly growls a little bit as you smell the freshly cooked homemade dishes coming closer and closer.
A colleague of mine recommended this place and she mentioned that this is her favorite place to get pad thai. Of course when I hear that, I know I’d have to try it for myself. Yes, their food is delicious!!! We ordered the pad thai and pad si ew. I would love to try more on their menu since I’m still fairly new to Laotian and Thai food (Thai other than the usual pad thai, pad si ew, curries, etc.) But yes, the location is not in the best looking area but we all know that most of the time you’ll find the most beautiful gems in an unexpected place…