Hing Long Oriental Food Market

This place is disgusting! I went in here and walked around and I saw the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen! I took a look down and I saw moldy rotten grapes, FOR SALE! I was shocked and disgusted. Never going back here and I do not recommend going to this store!

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR MONEY WHEN YOU’RE HERE! My mom was buying food here and the older lady who was the cashier, took my mom’s money without giving her change and then told her that she didn’t give her enough money for change. When my mom demanded to see the security camera to make sure, she refused to and hence scammed my mom out of her money. The management refused to do anything to help. If I could give this zero stars I would.
For our Vietnamese friends:
Canh cao ba con di cho hinh long dua tien can than toi mua bot nem 1.50 su dua 20.50 thoi lai cho chan di ba lay luong khong thoi lai lam cho toi dung cho con kh thoi ma noi toi dua co dong ruoi toi gian keu coi
May camera coi lai di ba nhut dinh kh di so Thay duoc su that an gian tien cua toi neu
Minh la dang hoan so gi canh cao ba con do
Di cho hinh long can than tien bac di ba da roi kh ve huu an gian tien bac cua khach hang

This place is cheap! Great selection and friendly people but the parking will stress you out

Folks, ghetto. Yes the parking lot blows. And yes, the cashier is wonderful. Hence the two stars for service. Some produce is haphazardly strewn outside. Inside I looked at noodles. An easy third were moldly with black and green patches in them. Some were tossed on the floor. Bizarre was the random, opened bottles of juice on the shelves. Shopping carts were stored in the aisles not allowing you to walk. Boxes were left unopened as if in storage all over. In the freezer case was large pieces of meat to be moved to the meat counter. The young coconuts had mildew in them. The floor was coming up, unpatched and filthy. Another shelf looked as if a cleaning project was abandoned with a spray bottle just sitting there. Many items were old and without stickers or any kind of pricing on them. The selection was surprisingly good. There were no fresh keffir lime lease. Asked the wonderful casher who smiled and produced some dried ones from under her counter. She is great, the store is not. There were no fresh prepared foods as the other reviews indicated. This place is downright frightening with all the aged food. I won’t be back. Ever.

I don’t get it… this place looks, from the exterior, like it is reducing inventory to close. Enter, and the impression lingers, as the store is cramped at the front, not stocked at the back and it looks like inventory is in a perpetual state of being unloaded
In visiting this store previously (like 10 years ago)…the store was always immaculate, the stock on the shelves, not in boxes on the floor, the staff always in pressed uniforms. Now, the inventory has been reduced by at least ½, and the store is showing its age. No one at the butcher block… no one monitoring produce, only one person obviously working here, and she is behind the register.
Prior to stopping here, I went a block east looking for green papaya. The other stop has a look similar to this place… but that is another review. The only papaya they had were all over 5 lbs… and I only wanted to make salad for 2 people, so figured I could look elsewhere.
The produce section is small… though everything appears to be fresh. As a bonus measure, this place had julienne green papaya… and it looked as if it had been placed only moments before. I grabbed 2 lbs along with lime, tomato and fish sauce. My friend has garlic, palm sugar and chili pepper.
Went to ring out, and the ancient and attractive woman running the register is a joy. Her laugh… not sure what it is but love the sound when she chuckles. She processed my order, collected money and asked if I wanted my items double-​bagged. I replied that I did not, gathered up and left.
How to describe this place? Cluttered and «faded» seem to fit. Dingy is almost right; it is not surface dirt that is the problem, more of a ground in age… like a sepia-​toned image.
I will continue to shop here on the occasions I need to.

Wow! This place reminds me of the family run supermarkets in Chinatown Los Angeles. It’s really nice to see a family owned place that hasn’t been driven out of business by the big supermarket chains. The prices and quality of the fruit and produce are very good. I like coming here to see what exotic fruits they have. This is the only place in town I’ve found that carries «baby bananas».
The cashier is very nice and helpful. Only thing I don’t like here is the tiny parking lot.

SUPER cramped little market. The fruit outside looked delicious, and the produce inside was also super fresh. It made me think that they probably have a ton of people buying their food. Great deals to be had in here :)

I like this grocery store because they have a nice offering of vegetarian mock meats. They also have the concentrated vegetarian fish sauce that’s used for cooking!
There’s this elderly lady that always works at the counter and she is so cute and eccentric! She likes to wear bright blue eyeshadows and red lipstick. ROCK ON! Once though, I was with my dad and I told him, «Eww those strawberries are moldy!». I know that strawberries have a tendency to get moldy because they are so fragile and once the inside is exposed it gets mold quickly but these strawberries were REALLY moldy and you can tell it was because they were just plain old. This was at the front of the store so there was that lady standing at the counter and she says, «Oh those strawberries are bad so they’re 2 for $ 1» o_​O lol WTF?! What am I going to do with moldy strawberries??? My dad and I joke about what that lady said all the time, it’s been our thing lol! Moldy strawberries on sale 2 for $ 1 lol! My mom told me that I should have asked her what if I got sick from the strawberries and sued but she was so ridiculous that we couldn’t take her seriously and just laughed if off.
Oh, and parking does suck sometimes, but I think driving in that area in general sucks!

This place is both strange and average.
I prefer the Oriental market across the street, but they were closed so I went to Hing Long.
The products I buy are sold here, so that’s a plus.
The prices are «alright», but the prices at the place across the street are better and they have a better produce section.
They have a Virgin Mary shrine above the meat counter WHICH IS AWESOME. I think the Blessed Virgin is a super funky lady who loves being the overlord of dead flesh.
They have a good seafood selection of fresh fish too.
The employes either don’t speak English, or they don’t want to be bothered with questions. Also, the parking lot SUCKS. It is small, cramped, and at a funny angle. I have seen people play bumper cars in there before.

Stopped in here after finding it on Unilocal and needing ingredients for Yellow Curry. The gentleman was very helpful and knew right where everything was as soon as I said the name. I would have been lost in the aisles of colorful labels that I cannot read. Prices were great and service was perfect. I was in and out very quick with everything I needed, couldn’t ask for anything more.
Also, $ 15 minimum for credit/​debit charges.

This is my go to local market (for when I don’t want to hop onto the freeway and head out to 99 Ranch) for general Asian products. For a relatively small store it carries a great selection of Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino and other popular Asian products. They also have fresh produce, frozen foods and fresh meats.
What also impresses me is their selection of joss supplies in the back corner. Here you can find an abundant collection of stick and coiled incense (I recommend the Wuyang and Leung Wing Shing incense!), incense burners, ash for your incense burners, joss paper, candles (itty bitty birthday cake sized to standard taper sized) and a few basic altar decorations. This is by far my favorite part of the store. You can also pick up kitchenware here (pots, plates, spoons, baskets, etc.). For its size the variety is amazing and the prices are reasonable plus the older lady who often rings purchases is a sweetheart. She was very helpful once when she gave me some cooking tips after she noticed, based on my purchases, what I was planning to make (I’m clearly not Vietnamese so her help was greatly appreciated).
Sure the parking lot and the shopping aisles are small and sometimes the products are dusty, but this ain’t Whole Foods so don’t expect that sort of shopping experience. Instead you’ll find an austere bounty of imported Asian products.

I decided to make chicken satay for my daughter tonight, and seeing as I have never made it, I didn’t exactly have the ingredients I needed (coconut milk, lemongrass, etc.) I had no idea where to get it, so I do what I usually do in this situation and consult my friends at Unilocal.
This place popped up, and I was ready for an El Cajon Blvd. adventure.
As we cruised down EC, I couldn’t help but comment to Mike on the amount of Korean, Vietnamese and Thai businesses and residents in this area and I think it’s current run-​down state draws a stark contrast to other «ThaiTown/​ChinaTown» area’s I have been to in other large cities. Every store window and door are covered with iron bars here; hookers wander up and down the street, loudly talking into their cell phones~ you can get your PhoBowl with a side of fellatio in this neighborhood.
What isn’t different between this area of SD and comparative areas of other cities is the authenticity of the food. As soon as you walk in, you know that if you’re looking for something to make a real-​deal Thai meal with then this is the place.
Hing Long is stuffed full of all things culinarily Asian, and on the cheap.
Don’t be afraid to ask if you’re looking for something specific and you can’t find it; the store is a bit crowded with exotic stock and it can be confusing to find something specific if you’re new to this place.
The chicken came out great!

I love that we found this place!
I’m lucky to have a fantastic chef as a husband, who also happens to choose Thai food as his favourite cuisine. So Hing Long is pretty perfect for us.
We can find everything we would ever need for Thai cooking, and then some. And prices! Ohmygosh — I feel like I’m stealing from them ½ the time! Prices on the items you can find at your neighborhood market — if you’re lucky — are much less. We scored this visit and bought fresh Thai loose tea to make Thai Iced Tea at home (a Huge bag for $ 2) — mmmmm… and if you enjoy the sweetened version, they have the evaporated milk right there for you.
Yes, you have to battle the notorious Asian driver syndrome in addition to a poorly set-​up tiny parking lot, but it’s so worth it. There are 2 aisles of the parking lot — I highly recommend parking on the aisle that opens up to El Cajon Blvd. (the other one is a dead end, and good luck getting back out).
Better selection of Thai ingredients and better prices than Minh Hoa, though Minh Hoa has more fresh meats and produce, and seems more focused on Japanese/​Chinese cuisine (these are just my white-​girl observations).
Hing Long even makes fresh spring rolls daily, and you can get a package of 4 large ones with the sauce wrapped up for $ 1.99 to go — what a treat!
Woman who is always there to check us out is sweet and efficient (don’t worry if she doesn’t give you the time of day; if you become a «regular», you’ve past the «test» :-)
FYI — they take credit cards only if you purchase more than $ 15 (which can sometimes be difficult to do — bring cash!)

The only good spot to go for vegans who love great fake/​mock fish, chicken, duck, shrimp, pork. anything .you name it, these people probably have the fake version of it. The parking lot can be full at times but I’ve never had a problem finding parking. They are very affordable. It’s like less than 4 dollars for a small fake chicken that you can live off for a couple days .The fake fish patties are delicious! Who knew you can have fake fish tacos? They also have tasty, yummy asian sweet’s and candies you cant really find in to many market’s.I always buy kamquats here (theyre so goood!) they also accept debit and e.b.t. cards. I love coming here to shop. They make vegan living way easier.

Cramped as Hell. The parking lot sucks ! Find parking elsewhere, on the street or in the small lot directly behind the building.
Like the only other reviewer stated, «Primarily Asian food «is pretty spot on.
Its right next to the Chinese place that I just reviewed. Minh Ky
If youre looking for a Vons or a Ralphs, well keep looking. This store will not have what most American stores carry.
I have to say it again. Do Not park in the lot ! You’re either going to get blocked in, stuck or your car will get damaged somehow.
Asians drivers ! You’ve been warned, multiple times now.