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fresh seafood? check. oxtail and tripe? check. same-brand condiments and grocery items half the price of harris teeter? check. overall, not a bad market.
okay yes, it smells fishy - what asian market doesn't? (and there are plenty in town that smell much worse.) at times, some of the refrigerated items can be a little sketch (love their fresh noodles, but i've wondered if that case is kept at the right temperature), and fine, the random ready-to-eat "section" on the tables near the cash registers looks like a serious violation. (room temperature spring rolls anyone?) but there are so many other things available, it's really not that big of a deal to me. (i do have to admit i only went for shelf-stable items the first few trips, but i've warmed up over time)
the fresh produce is nice - a lot of things are cheaper than HT (bell peppers, bok choys, mushrooms, chili peppers, fresh herbs, lemongrass), but some things are about the same. (scallions are 89 cents there, 79 at my HT) my condiment queen self can always finds jars of new sauces and toppings to buy, their dried pasta section is huge, you can get great bases for soups (I'm partial to the pho flavouring cubes) in the aisles of bouillons and dried spices, and their freezer section (which wraps around about 1/3 of the store) is ridiculous... from squid, oysters, krab sticks, ducks, quail, and an obscene amount of dumpling/spring roll wrappers to prepared pork buns, filled dumplings, fish balls, meat balls and the occasional frozen spices and produce.. you want it? they probably have it. and most likely the equipment to prepare it more authentically if you so wish to purchase that as well. plus teas, chocolate, candies... really, it can be a little overwhelming.
although this is an international market, in comparison to the asian I really see very little latin/other ethnic food groups represented. (or maybe i've just missed that aisle?)
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