SF Supermarket

Want to start off saying I like this food market, and its in walking distance to my place. However I leave my place at 8:45pm get there at 8:50. Thinking its still open until 9pm. Getting there to have the little rental cop telling me its closed. Im sure hes following the protocol, but theres a certain way to say things. As you can see I dont leave much reviews. So this really doesnt break down the business. Bottom line this place closes at 8:50. Also must add I would of been out of this place by 8:55. Either way I need to share my experience at the sf market.

The location is convenient. It’s in a plaza with all over goodies like Starbucks, Jamba Juice, you name it. It may be worth driving a few blocks to go to Ranch 99 if you are looking for fresh produce.
They have the basics and it’s really like Ranch 99, except there are no customers and everything just seemed older/​dirtier. Didn’t feel safe to buy the meat here.
Forget about customer service. I always notice the bored looking security guy right when I walk in and the workers usually talk amongst themselves when checking out.

With the high cost in vegetables due to the drought, I was surprised they had some Bak Choi here for $ 0.99 per lb. the quality on them was pretty good as well.
This place is great if you are looking for ground chicken. Ranch 99 down the street doesn’t sell ground chicken.
Checkout is ok and they still provide reusable plastic bags here for free.

I keep on coming back here because it is within walking distance from home but, sometimes I have to call management and show them the spoiled veggies inside the packages — as if they didn’t know — they mix fresh and old veggies in a pre wrapped pack so you don’t notice the over ripeness of old ones. Unfortunately, you buy thinking it’s cheaper, then you come home and get to use just half of what you brought in. It’s happened to me a few times. Now, no more, I fix it right there.
Also, they do not have any organic options and their ground beef are sold as lean when it’s not.

Leagues cleaner than typical Vietnamese supermarkets. Plus that this one seems to be owned/​operated/​employed by Vietnamese, instead of Chinese Vietnamese. +
Some items aren’t the best quality, but I just don’t buy them!
Also, turnover isn’t the best as they don’t get as much business as other markets. But I’m cool with that, less crowds! +
And finally, the prepared food on the right of the market is great. The fried rice and noodles aren’t the most flavorful, but the other items are always super tasty. The ladies that work there are usually really nice, except one or two. Careful, English is a second language here. ++

My mom likes to come here because she says its cheaper and they give a free bag always (being in SJ, that has been an issue with some groceries). However if you are not careful you are actually paying more because we bought some veggies (ongchoy) which is priced 99 cents per pound. We had it weighed and it was 2.12 pounds total. If you would do your simple math you would think you would be paying about $ 2.10 but we were charged 3. 60 for it. I told my mom that she eventually paid $ 1.50 for the bag.
Be AWARE and ALERT!
Shame on you SF!

it would have been 2 stars but as other reviewers have mentioned, they are one of the few places that sell kaffir lime leaves ($ 1.99 for 20ish leaves?).
they had pandan ice cream but I was looking for ube =(
was going to buy a packet of fried tofu but the cashier, while bagging (no extra charge for bags, fyi) noticed a spot of mold on a piece of tofu. so this place has a significant problem with moldy food still being sold =/​since the cashier was the one who pointed it out to me (as I obviously missed it) and refunded the cost, this also helped round the rating up to 3.

I went there for the first time today. I was pleasantly surprised by the large size of the store. They had many types of friuts and sweets. I wish i had more time to look around. The fish smell is particularly strong throughout the store.

Just went in to buy orange juice and all I have to say is that it was expired last month. I then proceeded to get bread and it was also molding. What type of supermarket that is this big will have rotten food. Never going back there again. The prices are as well outrageous

More or less a typical Asian supermarket, but that’s not where my complaint is. The chubby cashier I encountered was simply rude and possibly racist. She was extremely attentive to the person before me, and was already greeting the person after me while I was still in line. But she didn’t even bother bagging my groceries for me. I honestly can’t think of any reason except that it was my first time there, and I was the only one that didn’t speak Vietnamese. Since I felt totally unwelcome there, I have no plans of going back. But I do hope she gets fired nonetheless.

Nice alternative to Ranch 99.
Less crowded.
Clean.
Really good prices.

Update: no more plastic bags (⁰¹⁄₂₀₁₆). Guess this market is not mine favorite anymore.
I am from L.A. so I am not used to carrying bags when I go to grocery store in San Jose. I went to a couple stores in SJ. It was so annoying that all of stores asked to charge me money for bags, either plastic or paper, except S.F. I was surprised when the cashier was nice enough to put all my grocery in reusable plastic bags for me without charging. I don’t understand but I will come back to this store just because they don’t charge money for bags. I gave it 5 stars for that reason, and of course, the goodies here are good enough for me to come back, which is needless to say.

Huge and good looking supermarket that I discover some weeks ago when I took my car to service at the AAA close by. I was seduced by the green and light blue color of the shopping carts, that coincidentally matched with my clothes that day and were the perfect combo for a series of selfies (markets are colorful for that purpose). This store is mainly Asian related, so anything related to any type of Asian cuisine can be found here. I liked how clean everything looked and the coloring of the walls (light pink for the meat section was so retro-​chic!). I did not find this place to be cheaper than Ranch99 or similar grocery stores, but I will go back because or the surprise factor for me of always find something cool/​yummy/​prettyly packaged and ‘exotic’.

This is like your typical Asian supermarket… except it’s fairly clean. Also, doesn’t get crowded like Ranch 99 which is down the street or Lion’s Supermarket. I love how you can come here, browse through each aisles without bumping your shopping cart into others or impatiently waiting for people to go through first. Typical asian place so the customer service is meh. I expect asian markets to have Matcha Green Tea powder for my MGT cupcakes and this place does not have it –_​– I have to go all the way to Lion’s Supermarket and/​or some Safeway stores for it. And no, Ranch 99 doesn’t have it either which annoys me even more. Lol. Oh wells. I still like going to this place for the things I need and just get out of here once I’m done.

Convenient location to get fresh fish and seafood. The store it spacious and tock quiet a large variety of oriental food.

As many times as I’ve been here I don’t know why I haven’t written a review for this place yet! I come here at least 1 or 2 times a week for my weekly grocery shopping.
I used to go to lion but it’s much farther away and plus some of them are blended with a Mexican grocery stuff and it just doesn’t feel right, because they don’t have all the Asian ingredients that I need.
At SF they have EVERYTHING I ever needed for any Asian dish! Everything looks very clean and the staff knows exactly where everything are located if you need help, the fish and meat guys are very nice not perverted like the guys at lions. If you’re cooking a dish and don’t know the exact meat for that dish don’t be afraid to ask! They’re very nice. I usually get my groceries done on a Monday or Tuesday because on weekends they do tend to get crowded an waiting for your turn to get your fish/​meat is an ass when you have people always trying to skip you in line. And the cashiers are very fast also. There’s this one guy he always double check my vegetables and make sure I didn’t pick a bad one! Thank you!

THEY SELL KAFFIR LIME LEAVES!!! Where else can you buy these? NOWHERE. EXTRA STARS FOR THIS.
Okay, actually there’s an itty bitty market somewhere in Menlo Park called «Nak’s Oriental Market» that sells kaffir lime leaves, but who wants to drive all the way there to buy kaffir lime leaves for like, what was it, $ 4 a pack? Kaffir lime leaves are $ 0.99 to $ 1.50 at SF Supermarket. FYI they are located in the produce section, against the wall on the top shelf next to the curry leaves. They’re in an unlabeled package, so you’ll just have to recognize them yourself.
I usually get my groceries from Lion Market, Ranch 99, and SF Supermarket. This place isn’t the best, but overall I do find myself coming back here several times a week because Lion Market is too far, and it does beat the nearby Ranch 99 in a couple of areas:
–Ranch 99 tends to be way too cramped and crowded, but SF Supermarket is much larger, so there is actually a lot of open space, and never too many customers inside.
–I also love the variety of products you can get here. They sell a lot of the stuff you can find at 99, like Chinese and Japanese foods, BUT you can also get a lot more Vietnamese, Thai, and Filipino foods here.
–Certain things you can usually only get in frozen form are FRESH here. You can buy FRESH frog and EEL here. What. What. And I recently discovered fresh durian and mangosteen in the produce department. WOOAAAHHH.
–The vegetables are kind of a hit or miss here, but I can always count of the bok choy and choy sum to be fresher than 99 down the street.
–The prices tend to be lower here compared to 99 (at least for the fresh vegetables)
–Butterfly brand Crispy Rolls from Thailand. omg.
Overall, SF Supermarket is pretty great for the variety and, most importantly, the KAFFIR LIME LEAVES

Turn that car around — yes, I did. I spy an Asian supermarket. After visiting the shopping center across the street, I spied SF Supermarket out of the corner of my eye and made an artfully conducted U-​turn to take a peek.
Now, call me crazy, but I eat about three kabocha squashes a week. To answer your question. Yes, I am turning certifiably orange. Anyway, kabochas have a nuance in that every time I eat one, it tastes slightly different — some are a bit sweeter, starchier/​denser tasting, crispier. So I’ve started buying ones from different supermarkets to conduct a test. The brand here was the same as those they offer at 99 Ranch in Mountain View. Which brings me to…
Prices: 79 cents a pound for kabochas! That is the cheapest of the area yet. 60 cent cantalopes! The prices here did seem to vary, though. Some things were slightly cheaper than I’ve seen elsewhere, but other things were noticeably more expensive like my seaweed snacks and some fruit and vegetables.
Selection: Whoaaa. They had some cool things I’ve never heard of. One fruit was like a giant apple the size of a watermelon, they also carried jackfruit, and the usual produce selection. The sauce aisle is highly expansive and spices are some of the best I’ve seen. There was also a random selection of completely Americanized foods — think Jiff PB and Lay’s chips. There was even a woman asking if they had mole sauce… umm what?
Parking: The lot is kind of compact and there are a couple businesses in there, but I didn’t have trouble finding a spot.
Anyway, walked out with three squashes (two the size of my head and one double the size), two medium sized seaweed snack jars, and one huge one on sale. Under $ 20! Fun, fun, fun at a new supermarket!

4 stars alone for being the only grocery store in SJ that sells kaffir lime leaves (at least in June). Not too pricey either, about a buck for a package of 20 – 30 leaves. Find them in the refrigerated produce section near the herbs. It’s a good idea to call ahead to check, although it may take a bit of patience to get an answer depending on who picks up.
«Hi, do you have any kaffir lime leaves for sale?»
«What?»
“Kaffir lime leaves — do you have any right now?”
«Huh?»
“LIME LEAVES. FRESH. LIME. LEAVES?“
[Silence]
«Yeah, yeah. Lime leaf.»
«Do you have any today?»
«Lime leaf, yeah.»
«Okay. So you have lime leaves for sale today.»
«Yeah, yeah.»
«Okay, thanks! Bye!»

SF Supermart is huge with wide aisles. the emphasis here is on southeasian food. .
the usual produce, fresh seafood/​meats depts. present. cooked food also.
just glanced in the dried noodles section. on the pricey end. large section of korean, Hk, and vietnamese brands.
phở/​dim sum/​fresh food section on the right.
eats: chicken feet (1.99)
–tender orange colored feet, flavorless
rice roll w/​shrimp (2.65)
crêpe plastic like, not silky, shrimp crunchy, tasteless
2 stars
notes:
–phở available (5.99+)
not sure i want to try.
probably packed on weekends, parking lot too small.
–dim sum available (1.99/order)
–2 food items with rice, 4.99?
items not labeled. mostly ethnic eats, not mainstream americanized chinese food.