Seven Seas Trading

Surprising a really wonderful experience. Diamond in the rough. I haven’t been here since there recent relocation. Still one of best Asian markets in the area. Now they have a small eatery inside. Only 3 tables that can seat 12. Few selection on their menu. But if you know or don’t know what your looking for, Phở will never stir you wrong. Nor the pork belly…

For whatever reason, the business info is locked. The new address and phone number is:
4680 East 9 Mile Road
Warren
(586) 619‑7233

While I enjoy ethnic food, I go out somewhere it is prepared for me… I do not usually shop at ethnic grocery stores for the ingredients to make it myself.
But, I have been on the hunt for a crab & corn soup that I have only had when my friend brought it back from the Philippines. They did not have it, but they did have a soup that was close. In fact, all I bought was $ 20 worth of various Asian soup packets. Mostly because, like I said, I generally don’t go all out with the cooking thing.
So, keeping in mind that I have nothing to compare this too — and that I only went, found my soup, and left… I liked it. It kind of looks like a warehouse, from the outside as well as inside. But everything is well organized, and the cashier was super friendly to me, and gave me a few suggestions of how to improvise my own version of the soup I was looking for (which he said he is unaware of anyplace that stocks it in the area).
Be mindful that although the address is on Hoover, it is tucked away off the rode a bit, and you need to turn down a street called Toepher to get into the parking lot.

Finally– an Asian market that doesn’t smell like wet rotting butt.
Above and beyond all else, I was impressed with their prices. Over the past few months the Little Asia Trifecta of Madison Heights (Saigon Market, Kim Nhung Superfood, Chinatown Market) has gone a little wonky with their pricing. Maybe it’s the new hipster foodies wandering in there, maybe it’s just the price of doing business– all I know is that the price of coconut milk in a can is almost $ 2 there, and still hanging at .99cents at Seven Seas.
Awesomeness:
–Grass jelly cubes
–Corn and cheese ice cream
–MASSIVE mortar and pestle for under $ 20
–Fresh noodles
–Fermented/​stinky tofu
–Pick your own tofu (dip into a tub and get however much you need out)
–Plenty of herbs
–Nice frozen meat selection, including plenty of sausage and rabbit
–Plenty of wholesale boxes of noodles
–SACK of dried mushrooms for $ 40 (serious on the term «sack»)
–Canned bamboo caterpillars
-.79cents for a bag of baby pak choi (this price is normally over a $ 1 elsewhere)
–super cheap mixes for the kimchi I’m fermenting up tonight
–Nicest looking long beans I’ve seen anywhere
–Fresh breads
Speaking of fresh breads… I got some sweet rolls, apparently from someplace called «TropCal Bakery» on 3020 E Grand Blvd in Detroit. They are levels of amazing above and beyond anything else I’ve put into my mouth, EVER. The taste is like the most indulgent, smooth, moist cheese danish– a mellow sweet. What’s inside these rolls? PURPLE YAM. How have I never experienced this before? The yam is what really sets this apart, and makes it mind blowing– it’s a taste that I can only really describe as «comforting». I’ve already eaten 3 from my bag of 6.
Where I think they can improve:
–I’d like to see fresh meat, but maybe the lack thereof is what keeps down the stink?
–I didn’t see much in the way of fruit, but I know someone that got lychee there earlier this week, so maybe I just had bad luck
–I’d like to see more freshly prepared foods besides just the breads
–they close early in comparison to Saigon Market, 7pm on weekdays
–no milk tea, and I had a major hankerin’ for some
–paltry kimchi selection, no buckets of pickled delights for you to dip into like Saigon
All in all, this is a huge find for me, as it’s a quick trip along 8 mile to get there. Now I just have to restrain myself from finding this TropCal Bakery and snarfling down these rolls until I need a crane to cart me around. I can’t say that it’ll be a replacement for Saigon Market, but it’s definitely high on my go-​to list.