Asian food is one of my very favorite cuisines and for that reason I find myself at this store many times looking for that Asian ingredient that one can not find at your usual supermarket. 99 ranch market is located in Chinatown so it goes without saying that driving and parking here may be an adventure on itself where rear view mirrors are only used to hang cute ornaments for good luck.
Once you make it to the store you're on your own, chances are better to find Waldo shopping here than an employee willing to help you. This time I was looking for kaffir lime leaves that a Thai recipe required. I asked a lady working the produce where I could find it and she simply said NO. I thought she didn't understand what I was asking for so I tried to show her a picture of it from my phone and without looking at it she said NO. I continued looking for the rest of the items I needed and when I asked her again for another item she said NO. It was then that I realized That I might have been getting a recorded answer or that it was the only word she knew so I went in search of the rest of the ingredients on my own.
Yes, there's a bad smell towards the back but you have to keep in mind that although the employees are not very lively they do keep live seafood and they kill, clean, and fry it for you on the spot.
Having found only one of the ingredients I needed, I gave up on my tom yum, I paid for my fried tilapia a bottle of soy sauce and drove home with some of the smell with me.
Famous Chinese proverb not used at 99 ranch market. "A smile will gain you ten more years of life." (Or nah!)