Dong Khanh market

My little suburbia is all growned up! Within the recent years, my part of the ‘burbs has really started to flourish with more Asian businesses popping up left and right. Because of that, I’ve been making less and less trips down to Bellaire… which is kind of bittersweet, saving tons on gas but missing out on all the cheap eats… is it really worth it? :P I’ve been to this market a handful of times since it opened late last year, just to pick up a couple of ingredients here and there that I probably forgot to buy down in Chinatown. It’s much closer to home and it’s really easy to get in and out and back home to finish the dish I was most likely in the middle of making.
It’s a tiny supermarket, more like a convenience store. Two HEB aisles wide, but you know Asians, we are all about efficiency. Why be two aisles, when it can be FOUR. It’s dirty, crowded and everything is everywhere — feels just like the motherland. Don’t be afraid to bump elbows and don’t expect to get anywhere with a cart, because those little Vietnamese middle aged women don’t play no games, yo.
Dong Khanh has all the essentials plus more, the selection is pretty surprising, and actually fresh. My mom and I both think they have the freshest cuts of meats, much better than HK supermarket. I was surprised they actually cut beef bones right in front of you and let you pick out the bone you want. HK sells those precut and prepackaged in bags. The produce is also impressive. I saw a beautiful box of bittermelon come out from the backroom and old ladies swarmed around it, that’s always a good sign. They have a variety of herbs, leafy vegetables like rau muong, different kinds of melons, bean sprouts (!) and my favorite, Japanese sweet potato. Up front they have fruits, like rambutan, mangoes, young coconuts, papaya, guavas and more. They also have bags of rice, the brands that my mom loves to buy. Near the registers they sell snacks and fresh made foods like cha lua, banh bao, che, nem chua, banh it, fried tofu, green soy bean milk, etc. Sometimes they sell Asian sponge cakes, which I have yet to buy, but really want to. I love lightly sweet, airy cakes. Mmmmm.
Besides those highlights, they have all the standard noodles, sauces, condiments, seasonings and other ingredients you need to make any basic Asian dish. However if you are making something a little more complicated or need a specific brand, you might have to head elsewhere. Another downside is how disorganized everything is, the phở noodles are under the canned drinks, next to the soft tofu from san san and the cartons of quail eggs. Boxes of items are just hanging out on the floor willy nilly, like a random box of fresh pig ears out near the housewares and the bittermelon was hanging out near the canned goods. There’s really no rhyme or reason to why things are where they are, but I can deal.
They speak decent English, so no need to worry about any language barriers if you aren’t Vietnamese. My Vietnamese is terrible, so I can definitely vouch for that. The prices can be a hit or miss sometimes, but for the most part they aren’t that far off from HK supermarket’s prices, if not the same. Fun fact, I’m pretty sure I saw snail facial cream behind the registers near the other cosmetics and random items. You know, that weird Korean beauty trend, where you put snail slime on your face… That must be why all Asians look so young. The things you find in Asian supermarkets.

So glad the store is open close to home. They have a good variety of Vietnamese goods. Friendly & helpful staff. It’s not like the larger stores in bellaire but definitely very convenient if ur missing a few things

My first time in Houston and was dying to find an Asian market to try and re-​create some of my mom’s Thai dishes. I have never felt more uncomfortable in my life. First off, this is primarily a Vietnamese grocery store with Vietnamese owners and employees. I am half Thai and half white/​Caucasian. Oh, and also, not petite like «typical» Asians, I am 5’10″. I stick out like a sore thumb in this place. When I ask the «gentleman» behind the meat counter for ox tails (my mother recommends them for her homemade Thai soup) he acts as though he cannot understand me. Maybe, he really didn’t. He calls on the guy unloading their delivery truck to interpret for me. I ask him and he pulls out two entire tails from the freezer and tells me they will cut it for me. I only need four to six pieces. Normally, you will find ox tails cut up into round sections (picture a donut) and six pieces in a package. The tails get weighed and I am told it will be $ 25.62. I respectfully decline because I only need a few and assumed I could get what I requested. Six pieces at the most, not two tails. Then, I asked if they had any meat with bone-​in to use to flavor soup with and was told that no, they do not. When I go to check out, the completely 100% Vietnamese woman in front of me has a bag of what I just asked for. And the price was only $ 6.99! I could not believe it. I tried to convince myself *maybe* it was a language barrier, misunderstanding, miscommunication… that is why I went ahead and paid for the Thai ingredients I needed. But I will not be back.

New store, still building an inventory but stocked well so far with items straight from Vietnam. Prices are reasonable. They have fruit, vegetables, seafood, noodles, Vietnamese coffee, groceries, and have a freezer section full of strange things. Shopping carts are available. They have a $ 10 minimum for credit cards posted at the register.

Yay! Finally a Asian/​Vietnamese grocery store in Katy area! It’s a small store but they have more of the essentials for Vietnamese cooking. I am glad I don’t have to go to Bellaire if I need a few ingredients for my Vietnamese cooking days. The owner is a nice lady who speaks Vietnamese as well as Cantonese from the dialect I heard. They have a small seafood and meat department in the back of the store. The prices are slightly more then things at HK but hey the convenience of not driving to SW is worth the little more cost on some items.