Hwa Lei Market

It’s a local Asian grocery store. Out of all of the grocery stores within a radius of a couple blocks, this one has the largest selection of southeast Asian products.
Yes, it is super tiny in there, and the aisles are super skinny and make one feel claustrophobic.
However, if you are looking to cook cuisine from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, then this is the place!
They’ve got a decent selection of meats/​fish. (Hey they even have bangus aka milkfish!!)

I feel bad about giving this place 2 stars but I just can’t justify giving them any more than that. The only reason that it even gets an extra star is because they sell some of the Asian goodies from back home and is fairly close to where I live. Other than those reasons, I can’t think of anything else to boost this place up.
For one, the aisles are too narrow. It literally is wide enough for 1 person to walk through. So when someone else goes on the same aisle from the opposite end, one of you has to walk back to the end and wait for the other to pass. Very annoying. Last time I was there, some of the staff kept walking through the same aisle I was in to get to the back room or something.
Also, the registrar (store owner?) isn’t very friendly. He also tried putting one over me by charging me for a plastic bag I didn’t want. By law, they are supposed to ask you if you want a bag because they charge 10 cents for it now. He just assumed I needed a bag and added 10 cents to my bill. I let it go that time (because, 10 cents), but that is not good business ethic.
I want to like you, Hwa Lei, because you carry food items from my childhood and there are not many Asian groceries in the Mission. Please get your act together so I can write a better update the next time I’m in you.
2.4 stars.

Love this place! It’s tiny but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in charm.
I got there at a few minutes before 7pm and they were kind enough to help me find everything I needed and were super friendly even though they closed while I was grabbing the last of my items.
Great prices on Kaffir lime leaves**, lemongrass*, fish sauce, thai chilis* and galangal! Most were between $ 1 and $ 2.
**Only available frozen
*Fresh and frozen

The problem with most of the markets in the Mission is that they cater mostly to a Latin American crowd. Since most of what I cook is either Indian or Asian, I have a hard time finding anything useful at most markets.
This place has everything I need in a market :
* Cheap and good selection of produce
* Meat and fish section
* Asian spices & sauces
It’s not a huge place but I was able to find everything I needed for a Basil Thai chicken dish within 5 minutes. This is now my go-​to market for my groceries — outside of processed food like cereal, I can find everything I need here.

typically i don’t rave about grocery stores but having serendipitously passed by this grocery store on the way to 16^th mission bart so many times, i have to. they have super cheap and fresh produce. i started with buying just grapes, which are only $ 1/​lb! they also have other fruits at very affordable prices. lastly, they have yummy viet pork patties and the owner is super nice :)

I come here whenever I have a few extra minutes waiting for transportation. It is a convenient location right at the busy 16^th and mission. The hours are relatively limited and they do not accept credit or debit cards but the staff are pretty nice and the bananas go on sale for 49 cents a pound sometimes. They also carry basic Asian veggies and meats.

This place is small, but it has saved my ass several times when I was cooking Thai/​Vietnamese and realized I was missing an ingredient but didn’t have time to go to Clement St.

This is my «go-​to» place for practically all the items I need when I’m preparing ethnic Asian or Southeast Asian dishes. Yes, it’s at 16^th and Mission and it’s a trade-​off rubbing elbows with the hookers and crackheads but the little hidden treasures is worth it. And the down-​home humble Vietnamese, Thai, Filipina, Chinese, and Latina moms and grandmas that shop there more than make up for the sordidness. And, there’s also free parking in the lot around the corner on Capp Street.
When I need items like bittermelon, longbean, bok choy, green papaya, green mango… Hwa Lei is it. As I live on Potrero Hill, I always kick myself when I opt for the more convenient Safeway at the Potrero Center because I know I’m paying dollars more when I’m done. Okay, the chicken is not Foster Farms at Hwa Lei, but I’m not that picky. The meats are always a good deal and you’ll save tons on produce and fruit. When in season, yellow honey mangoes, or mangos de manila, are less than a dollar each, 89 cents. If you’ve never had these, you’re missing out. In my opinion, they are ambrosia and Hwa Lei will sell a whole box of them (I think at least about 16 count) for $ 12.
I’m not crazy about their fish selection, although when I make my mother’s version of lumpia with ground pork and chopped shrimp, I will go ahead and get the shrimp in the shell when I’m at Hwa Lei. They also used to carry a plastic sealed baby milkfish (bangus) marinated in vinegar, pepper, and garlic imported from the Philippines. So convenient to just place under the broiler for a couple of minutes… but apparently the price went up a dollar or so (even then, less than $ 4) and apparently the Filipina manangs (respectful address for older female relative) couldn’t afford to buy it anymore. Sigh… props to seniors on a fixed income, but I miss my baby bangus. My choice for fresh fish in the Mission is Sun Fat Fish Company on the East side of Mission Street near the corner of 23^rd. It’s really Sun PHAT!
One great find at Hwa Lei: they sell already peeled, cloves of garlic for $ 1.00!!! Look in the produce section: they’re in individual small plastic baggies and I swear, there must be three whole heads of garlic in each little bag. that have been broken apart into cloves and peeled
Another great find: in the back section you’ll find small plastic jars full of whole black pepper or whole white pepper for less than $ 3 each. Do you know what you pay for a little jar of Schilling or Spice Island brand whole peppercorns at Safeway? …Fuhgeddabowdit!
In the same section, check out all the premade Thai curry sauces or concentrated curry pastes: green, red, panang.. grab a can of coconut milk, some chicken breast from butcher and, there are sealed plastic packets of whole bamboo shoot even further back from the curries, and you’ve got ingredients for a simple Thai curry dish.
The frieezer is a trip! I always go to Hwa Lei for my lumpia wrappers. I get the Anahaw brand from the Philippines. The Chinese or Vietnamese wrappers don’t really work for me. They’re too eggy while the real Filipino lumpia wrappers are thin and drier and fry up to a perfect crispy goodness. But besides the wrappers, they have kaffir lime leaves to use in Thai cooking; there’s frozen green tamarind (sampaloc) which I use for a Filipino soup/​stew called sinigang. It’s a savory, spicy, sour brothy beef stew type dish. Boiling and then simmering the fresh frozen green tamarind until soft through and through and straining the contents into its water through a sieve is a great alternative to the pre-​packaged Mama Sita’s powder which is so high in sodium.
Also in the freezer are frozen quail, six to a package; there’s different types of fish balls for soup as well as tocino, a marinated pork.
All in all, I am definitely a regular. But shhhhhh! Don’t tell too many people about this place. Let’s keep the prices down!

Cheap, good produce and fun mexicatessan items abound here. I got 3 avocados, a bunch of bananas and a pre-​cut and fresh pineapple for under $ 5! I would have liked to have browsed the meat counter and the other grocery items but I was on a time crunch. Definitely worth stopping in and stocking up. I wish there was one in my ‘hood. Then again, I think I have a lot less crime so it probably evens itself out.
Tough call though: Crime vs. Food
Can’t a girl have it both ways?