Samway Market

The grocery stores in White Center are good if you are looking for Southeast Asian items. They have produce, meats and seafood items. Headed over to Samway Market after a lunch in White Center nearby. It is like the dingy Asian supermarkets in the International District, except even more dingier. The space is darkly lit and in need of some additional lighting.
Still, I do like the array of produce that they have here and it is reasonably priced like the I-D.They have Southeast Asian produce, but also East Asian and Hispanic items. Taiwanese sesame candy can be found near the tortillas and queso cheese if that gives you an indication of the global offerings at this store. Seems like this grocery is very tailored to the neighborhood that it serves. They also have a selection of prepared foods that you would typically find at a Vietnamese deli.
The space is a bit old looking. But if you can stand shopping in the I-​D at any of the groceries near 12^th Ave there, I think you will be fine shopping at Samway and get what you need here.

Probably the worse of the 4 asian store within a 2 block radius. First off the smell from the meat and seafood department was horrible. Almost as if something was rotting. Flys were flying around everywhere. Prices was okay, and everything was just rundown. Asian herb for $ 1 a pack. I’m not sure if I would visit this store again. Very unclean, almost like I was on the street of bangkok produce stand.

This is a friendly, family-​owned grocery store. The Yins are great folks and help you find what you need (which is a good thing, because I was overwhelmed by the product selection). So many yummy things to choose from in the entryway alone! Samway is where I tried my first longan fruit and snagged my first bag of duritos.
Wish i were more into eating seafood, because they have loads of it and it’s fresh — no fishy smell to me means fresh fish.
Specialties include homemade prahok. Good place to shop for Latin, Thai, Lao, Cambodian, and other dishes. Plenty of beans, rice, etc. in bulk. I grabbed myself a big bag of fresh tomatillos and a pork picnic at a fair price… and dinner was fab.