Mainland Market Co

I love the remodel! The store is now a hapa haole east-​west hybrid market with nice aesthetics. I love the potted greenery on the sidewalk. I also love that they’re open until 8:30pm. And it’s so much cleaner than Evergreen’s ever was.
But what I really love is the butcher counter so that’s what I’ll review. I shopped here when the store was Evergreen Market, and am glad the new (?) owners kept this butcher. He’s a jolly fellow, full of character, and a bone fide butcher who cuts and trims meat, poultry, and fish every single day. Back in the Evergreen days, I once watched him take apart a whole pig. He’s got skills! And it’s good to know my food didn’t arrive on styrofoam rectangles.
My go-​to chicken breasts and legs are super fresh, skinned, trimmed of excess fat and ready to cook. Huge time saver. When I ask for pork for jook, he knows the cut I need. (They have the thousand year old eggs, too.)
Last week, I bought tendon, tripe, and paper thin sliced steak for phở. The steak was so amazingly fresh that I cured half of it in lime juice for bo tai chanh (raw beef salad).
Yesterday, I saw beautiful fish heads with bright, clear eyes, and immediately I think they’ll really add flavor to soup stock. Grab fish steaks, and different kinds of shellfish and maybe sea urchins from the freezer and you’ve got bouillabaisse. To me, this is the way to eat– by buying what’s fresh. Ideally the fish should be swimming and the birds should be flapping around, but I don’t always have time to leave the neighborhood for those things. This place is 2 blocks from home. I wonder if the butcher will cut marrow bones for my dogs? I’ll have to ask my mom to write that in Chinese since that’s way beyond my ability.
My one (non-​meat) wish is for gluten free bread in the freezer, something standard and not sweet like Ude’s Whole Grain. I asked the cashier to tell the owner and checked back a couple of times, but alas, none… yet?

I couldn’t remember what this store looked like before the face lift, but all the positive reviews after the remodel and change of management got me curious! I also like to support the local stores in my neighborhood and make them a priority before I track over to Safeway or Lucky to fulfill my grocery needs.
And I’m so happy I decided to give Mainland Market Co. a chance! It is a little chaotic because for its size they really do try to offer as much as possible in terms of variety of items in a grocery store. This means that there are piles of items and in a semi-​organized fashion. When I’m not in a rush to get in and out, I think I will enjoy continuing to shop from Mainland to discover what they have to offer.
The cleanliness of the store is absolutely a major plus because it almost takes you out of the realm of the standard «Richmond Asian Store» category, where you just accept some grime for the more affordable prices and ingredient necessaries. I did say almost, didn’t I? This is because you snap back to reality once you’re at check-​out. No friendly smile or small talk. Not that it’s necessary in a grocery store, but it will cost a star because in order to earn a 5-​Star Review, Unilocal’s standard is «Woohoo! As good as it gets!» Go ahead and try it. Hover over the fifth star, and that’s what you see.
Now, back to what I was saying. Friendly customer service would have allowed this store to be «as good as it could get,» but they’re just not there yet. I do have hope though!
So far, I’m happy with the produce purchases and a few things from the «snack aisle.»
I’ll be back to check out the meats later.

Whoa! I’ve lived right down the street for two years; this place suddenly got way classy.

After a few back and forth messages with the owner I have agreed to come back and give the store a try. Will update my review after that

Highlights
— After their recent remodel and name change, this market definitely looks more appealing with their new décor and they have upped their game with the produce display.
— Fruits and vegetables are cheaper than other produce markets around the vicinity and chains.
— They have Asian and American offerings, which is super helpful when you are in a pinch on time and just need to grab something that none of the other markets carry nearby.
Improvements
— Quality of produce is not always fresh, hence the cheaper price compared to the other places around.
— Limited selection of produce and market items, but enough if you need to swing by to grab an emergency item.
Tips
— The old market used to sell Muni Parking cards, but this market no longer sells them.
— Parking can be a pain unless you are lucky enough to find a parking meter in front or parking in the neighborhoods.

This is the up-​and-​coming Asian market in the Richmond. The current management is transforming this store day by day. It’s very exciting to see new products and the effort to display them in attractive and fresh ways. There’s a real country store feel to the bins and baskets of produce. And the variety of produce is great. You can find heirloom tomatoes as well as Asian ingredients like winter melon, enoki and other mushrooms and lemon grass. There is a pretty good «meat» selection including thin-​sliced lamb and I love the pompano fish you can buy whole and get it cleaned at no extra cost. What’s really great, though, is the diversity of the Asian food items including Burmese Tea Salad and a lot of Japanese items such as Tonkotsu Ramen, edamame, gyoza, miso and more. And, it’s not expensive! The store is clean and cute and the service is great. It’s right on a major bus line, so it’s really easy to shop there. Clearly the new management is working hard to turn this into the go-​to-​Asian market in the outer Richmond.

The deals are CRAZY good here! I randomly stopped by the other day and picked up the yummiest mangos and blueberries. The sale was so good that I felt *somewhat* bad for buying my fruit at such a low price. The best thing about it was that it wasn’t the about-​to-​expire fruit like how the other asian stores do it with their super cheap fruit but the new stuff!
Definitely going to be my go-​to place for groceries now :)

In the hierarchy of Asian Markets in the Richmond District (a very rigid hierarchy, led by the iron-​fisted Richmond New May Wah), Mainland Market stands right at the middle (somewhere between the Seraphim and Malikim, although I’d place them closer to the latter than the former). While this market is clean, well organized, and has a pretty decent meat section (including ground chicken, offal, and other crowd-​pleasing favorites), its open-​floor plan (reminiscent of a low-​grade corporate store) makes it difficult to find more obscure ingredients. Produce seemed fresh and plentiful, and hand-​pulled noodles are available for the connoisseur. No alcohol, plenty of fish sauce.
Three Stars (first to review happy dance).

Love getting my produce from this market. I cannot speak to anything besides the nice employees and the produce. I have to admit I have avoided this place in the past even though it’s the closest market to my house because of the outside appearance and the constant group of bums that love to hang outside. I went in one day after work for some lemons and the was very surprised! Been going back since!
Early morning before work I stopped in for a couple things for lunch and was greeted by every employee on my way to find my items. One of the produce replenishers even suggest a different type of item because I mentioned the ones they had were too big and it would go to waste. Prices are great and so far everything has been very fresh.
This has become my go to for produce.
Nice employees, fresh and great prices.

This is my go to market for vegetables, because they are on par with Safeway, but at a fraction of the cost. I actually like their green apples much better, because they have way less wax on them, they taste better, and are far cheaper! They also have some hard to find items, like okra, in great shape, and at a low price point. Evergreen rocks!

I think this place is under new management because they’ve really stepped it up cleanliness-​wise, because I before I think they had a cat as pest-​control. I went in their recently and it’s way better. I’ve noticed that they have more Japanese stuff now too, and their snack selection is great. I was in the crazy mood for homemade Thai food and this place came to the rescue. If you were put off by it before I’d try it again.