Irving Housewares & Gifts

Came here by chance the first time. I was leaving golden gate park and saw this little store and stopped by to see what household goodies they carried, and I’m so glad I did! The last and first I me I came here I noticed they carried these dishes my grandmother bought a local Asian market in our area in the southbay. She was looking for new ones and we couldn’t find them anywhere in the southbay! I remembered they carried it here so I came here for the second time when I was in the area and they still had the dishes for a very cheap price! I bought about 6 of them! I was surprised they still had them and for a decent price! They have a lot of selections of Japanese little dishes, plates, bowls and cups. They also have cleaning items like dust pans, brooms and even squeegees for windows! I love their kid dish selection. They offer larger sized bowls and utensils for older kids in melamine plastic rather than the usual glassware other stores carry. So it’s perfect for my son whose 9 years old! They also have a few random items like school supplies and small fireworks– pop it’s and sparklers! This is a great little store to find little household needs. I will come back if I’m close by!

Came here for a small rice cooker for college. Found a good looking one for $ 20. Also picked up two sturdy looking bowls. This place has so many asian houseware and cookware. if you didn’t find it then you dont need it. Haha. I’m sure one of those fancy zojirushi rice cookers or fancy water heaters that I found here will be sure to impress your asian mom in law if you’re trying to look for a gift for her.

Hahah.3 stars? Give these folks a break. haha how can you give this store a 3 star? I just don’t get. Did you come in to get some anal beads?
Say your in the kitchen and you’re frying some chicken wangs for tonight’s sausage and taco fest with t a brand new bottle of frying oil. After using it, you wonder what can do with all that oil. Well, you can use it for next time but you just need to put it back into the original bottlle without getting any of the particles from the chicken in. I wonder if a funnel with a filter exist?
I came in to this shop and found a funnel with a filter for like 4 bucks.
Say your in the kitchen and you’re brewing some beer. And you accidentally cut a hole in your grain bag. Damn the stove is on so I need a grain bag quick, not a cheese cloth cause its too fragile. I wonder this is place got it?
I came in to this shop and found a reusable grain bag for 1 dollar.
Say your in the kitchen… I probably got 5 more stories like this. And yes, this store got it.

Initially, I came here to purchase cheap laundry mesh bags, which averaged $ 2 – 3, depending on the size. That is cheaper than what you’d normally pay for at Bed Bath & Beyond.
But after browsing the store a few times, I notice that Irving Houseware & Gifts carries a wide variety of kitchen utensils, cookware, and small appliances — strainers of all different sizes, springform pans, muffin tins, mugs, tea cups, cute decorated small plates and bowls, pots and pans of different sizes, kettles, thermal containers. The list goes on and on. Above all, everything is so cheap and affordable here!
Any imaginable small or mid-​sized household item probably exists here at Irving Houseware & Gifts. You come into this small, cluttered store with a list of items you need. But don’t be surprised if you leave with handfuls of miscellaneous items you didn’t want. However, my advice is to wash or wipe down everything as soon as you get home. Dust accumulates on everything from this store.

Irving Housewares sells everythng one would want to place into an house:
–ceramics
–utensils, cutlery
–ricepots & rice items/​pots/​pans
–tea paraphernalia
–stools, stepping stools
–trash bins, storage bins, etc.
–much, much more
plus lotto tickets, medicines, lucky bamboo plants.
took a quick walkthrough, nothing popped in my head theat screamed: «I need this»
so i just bought some lotto tickets and left (always can use extra cash. :))
notes:
–friendly, lady cashiers.
–place was packed, everything neatly organized.

This is the place to go if you need a rice cooker, induction cooker or tea warmer. The prices are unbeatable– cheaper than the internet in almost all cases. Service is helpful and they also have a nice aisle of Japanese dishware and sake sets.

— lunch tiffins
— trash cans/​buckets
— pots/​pans/​woks
— cutlery/​kitchen items
— plates/​bowls
— tupperware
— kettles
— anything tea related
— stools/​small step-​ladders
— chopsticks
you walk in here looking for one thing & pick up 5 other things that are useful that you simply forgot you needed (but you don’t get punished price-​wise like Target tends to do to you)
and best of all?
awesome selection of BAMBOO PLANTS! — easiest lil’ buggers to take care of hands down!
(apart from chia pets)

There are a number of cheap housing stores on this stretch of Irving, but this family business is the best one. I got my blue tea pot and cups here, over on the right. It’s a great place to buy a cheap pair of scissors, over on the left behind the bamboo. Right by the counter they sell silverware by the piece; I keep mine at work. In the backroom I picked up a steel wok we still use, but my favorite is the occasional gem I find amongst the ornamental plant pots in the back. Like most sunset businesses, cash only below ~$ 10.

Have you ever wondered how much low priced housewares you can pack into a small shop? If you are anything like me, you never did but would be interested. This little shop has every inch crammed with useful dishware, pots, pans, containers, bulk take out boxes and almost anything else you can imagine (except for spice jars, the one thing I came to get).
If you want a tiffin for your lunch they have them cheep. If you want a tea set, they got it. New kettle? yup. If you need a giant industrial wok, yep that too. All the prices are good there.
Check it out if you need something for your house, you cant go wrong with the prices here.

very reasonably priced housewares & products neatly displayed on shelves. all of the items here are comparatively priced to target and c-​town. this is not your $ 1 crap store. the products’ quality is way better!
i’ve found/​bought sink drain filters, dish racks, kid spoons $ 0.39-$ 0.99, cart with wheels $ 12.99 and etc

I was looking for Chinese Wedding Tea Pots and Wares and I found two sets. Too bad I didn’t have a camera with me.
The Red Pot Kettle/​Cups/​Holder — $ 22.99 (set of 4) (SEE PHOTO)
The Golden rimmed/​White Porcelain set — $ 25.99 (set of 4) (SEE PHOTO)
Individual Pot $ 6.99
Individual Tea cup .59/​each

I came here when I was moving into my new place.
Sure, you won’t find some more major (and larger) accessories/​appliances, but the things this place seems to lack are found pretty much anywhere anyway. Come here for those little seemingly-​insignificant household things you need, and can’t be without. You shouldn’t have to spend much on these sorts of things, and here you don’t. Cups, cooking utensils/​appliances, cleaning stuff, organizing thingies, hand/​dish/​cleaning towels, etc — they’re all here.
It has sushi dishes and other Asian appliances/​things for a decent price, like heated water dispensers, woks, blah blah, which is quite nice. Everything’s pretty cheap.
They have a credit card charge minimum, and don’t take refund/​exchanges. However, when I got my water dispenser (which works great, still), the lady there took the time to take a new one out and show me how it works, and told me to keep the receipt so I could exchange it if anything happens. They kept my card safe too, when I stupidly left it there by mistake, and returned it after asking me to identify stuff on it. Most stores are shady about safety and returns, but the ladies that work there made me feel confident about my trip there.
Hmm, spend 3.99 at Safeway for that random scrubby cleaning dish sink gadget thing you need, or go here and buy it for 1.50? Think I’ll go Irving: D

I’m surprised there aren’t more reviews given the volume of reviews for Kamei. Irving Housewares is the place I go to when I can’t make it to Kamei. Irving Housewares has the widest variety of affordable Asian housewares on Irving St.
They sell laundry baskets, trash cans, plastic stools (popular in Asian homes maybe because some Asians are short and they need a boost to reach their cupboards?), colanders, Japanese cast iron tea pots ($ 49.99 and up), ceramic tea pots, tea canisters, tea cups, porcelain bowls and dishes, soy sauce containers, rice storage dispensers, bamboo steamers, rice cookers (I dream of having one with a porridge setting), soy milk maker, baking sheets, water boilers (another very popular item in Asian homes), trays, vases, toothpicks, keychains, socks, scarves, underwear, pots, pans, woks, cheap slippers ($ 1.99), etc.
You can also buy Muni passes, lottery tickets, cigarettes and prepaid calling cards there. The selection doesn’t seem to change much over the years but they’re constantly cramming in new things. I don’t remember seeing underwear (shapeless panties) there before.
Interesting find: hideous visor for those who shun the sunlight but aren’t fashion conscious at all
Good choices for gifts: cute bowls and plates with monkeys, bunnies, and pandas for kids, water boilers or tea kettles for tea drinkers, fancy rice cooker with porridge setting for yourself (or me).

I was wandering around on Irving and strolled in to see what I could find. This place sells everything for your home at cheap prices. Shelf liner at Target was $ 8, and I’ve found it here for half the price! Need a wok, car air freshener, kitchen utensils, chopsticks, storage bins??? No problem… they’ve got it all!
They have super cute Asian kitchen gadgets, and I’m always tempted to buy some, but how many soup spoons and chopstick holders can I possibly need? =P I was good this time and only bought things I needed. I picked up a drain cover for my shower and a 9 quart Sterilite trash can.
The receipt says «No Refund or Exchange» so I would just stick to buying the cheap stuff.

they have a display of chinese calling cards and lists of how many minutes you’ll get for which countries on each card. make sure you get the correct one or you won’t be able to call your desired country.
they also sell the sf parking meter cards (SFMTA) here — they come in $ 20 and $ 50 increments and they don’t expire. i’ll never need change again! cash only for these.

it’s a cleaner version of a chinese flea market. you can find all sorts of useful junk here. i bought a bucket for 3 dollars.
there’s something for everybody. slippers, woks, chinese red envelopes to stuff that cash, toilet bowl scrubbers, skimming strainers, rice cookers and more!
next time i need a feather duster to whack someone on the butt (not to dust with of course), i’m definitely coming here.

This place sells everything from cookware, hound’s-tooth scarves, to shopping carts, all for an unbeatable Chinatown price.
I needed a portable shopping cart to push around my laundry to the laundromat. Found it here in three sizes: small ($ 11.99), medium ($ 13.99), and large (don’t remember the price, did not even consider getting this size). After 15 minutes testing the small and medium carts up and down the aisles, I settled on the medium one. It was a smart decision. The perfect size and durability to drag 2 loads at a time through mean streets of broken concrete and ADA-​ramp-​less curbs.
I’ll be back to get that hound’s-tooth scarf, maybe an ear pick, and some other household essentials.

My man absolutely hates it when I go to this store. I will find a use for any product they sell there.
Checkered toilet seat covers — Of course we need it! It’s pretty AND sanitary.
Chopstick place holders — Duh, doesn’t everyone want to know where they should place their chopsticks?
20 inch. wok — You know. for that party of 100 people we may have one day at our one bedroom apartment.
I have brought home some ridiculous things. but I also have purchased the most useful household goods from there as well. This store has everything you can think of and more. It is like Target but so much cheaper.
Always, always go there before going to Target, Walmart, or any of those other household goods stores.

*** Updated 11÷20÷09 ***
Naturally, I don’t underestimate the value of being able to get kitchenware just 5 minutes (by bike) from my house, and for far less than Yuppie Standard Prices. But make no mistake – this place is much smaller than Kamei in the Richmond, and if you’re a Western chef looking for something in particular, you may find it doesn’t overlap with canonical Asian cookware (for instance, despite the dozens of beautiful clay pots, I couldn’t find a single ceramic dish appropriately shaped for pie). Still, it’s definitely worthy as a first stop for locals. Besides, you can always browse the wide selection of elegant, cute, and affordable Asian tea sets.

More a houseware store than a gift shop, this store sells Japanese and Chinese-​style crockery, cooking utensils and plastic containers. There are little knick knacks which you might not find elsewhere so take the time to not miss any little nook and cranny. The store is cramped with stuff so be careful not to knock something over when browsing through the aisles.