I was looking for a fast, cheap, healthy, portable lunch to take on a picnic to a nearby beach or…read morescenic viewpoint in Monterey and Kim's Oriental Market delivered on all counts! Thanks to my YouTube habit, I found this quaint, tiny, family-run Korean grocery in a travel video on inexpensive meals in Monterey. The travelers praised the freshness of the ready-to-eat refrigerated banchan dishes and the just made kimbap rolls availabe for purchase on the checkout counter. Perfect for my use case. I parked on the street around the corner which was easy to find & free for 2 hours. The store is small and packed with anything you can imagine from an Asian grocery. The upright cold cases are toward the back left, and the frozen proteins are in a deep freezer near the checkout counter. When I arrived around 1pm on a summer Tuesday, no one was in the store, but I could hear Korean voices in conversation from the back room. I did my shopping in the banchan case (pickled cucumber & kelp salad - yum!) then poked my head through that open doorway to ask, "May I purchase kimbap?" The grandmother / proprietor jumped up to say, "Sure! Are you ready to check out?" The plastic-wrapped roll was about 7-8 inches long and stuffed with typical kimbap ingredients: nori, rice, krab, carrot, daikon, tofu). A filling meal for me at $2. With my $4 salad, the whole cost was $6 and I had leftover salad for picnicking the next day. Sorry, I failed to take any pictures (bad Yelper!), but if you've ever had ready-to-eat foods from a Korean grocer, you know what to expect.

Fantastic selection of goods for all meals, snacks, and treats. Yum yum! Wonderful service and good…read morevibes always.

The owners are always welcoming and I liked the great selection of side dishes…read more Their Homemade dumplings are the best!! And their ready to eat sections are always fresh and delicious. Get them before they are all sold out!

We haven't been here since the started offering hot foods and prepared foods in the cooler. Its a…read moresmall store but their prices are very competitive with other Asian stores in the area. The owners are so nice and helpful. We ordered 3 kimbaps at 2.50 each are she went straight to the back to make them for us. I liked the addition of fresh cucumber in the kimbaps. I also had some warm veggies pancakes 7.99 for 4. They were packed with an assortment of veggies, so good! Served with some soy sauce and chop sticks. I'll be back just for these but I look for to trying all their banchan which looked so good. They keep adding new prepared foods and they sell out quickly. Today I tried the Spam musubi which is popular, I got the last one. and a bean sprout banchan. Both were good the bean sprouts were slightly spicy. This is our new favorite spot.

This market will always have a special place in my heart. I grew up coming here with my dad,…read moreespecially when he was cooking Filipino food, so stepping inside again after a few years felt incredibly nostalgic. I was genuinely impressed by how much it's been updated. The remodel looks great -- the new flooring alone makes the whole space feel cleaner and more modern. The front entrance feels more open now, and I love that the cold goods are immediately to the right when you walk in, which makes browsing much easier. They've also expanded their selection quite a bit, especially when it comes to Filipino desserts and breads. Seeing items from Valerio's Bake Shop was such a nice surprise and brought back even more memories. On top of that, they often have a variety of "exotic" fruits displayed out front, which is always fun to browse and not something you find at basic grocery stores. It still has that familiar, comforting neighborhood market feel -- just refreshed and elevated. If you grew up shopping here like I did, or if you're looking for a solid local spot for Filipino ingredients, desserts, and unique produce, this market is absolutely worth a visit.

Good variety of Asian foods. But watch out for pricing. Seems like they charge whatever they want…read moreat the register despite showing them the right price on the package. They don't honor it

Have been stopping by for specialty products and kimbap for the last 16 years, the staff is amazing…read moreand the prices are great. It has become my 3 year olds favorite place to get Korean/Japanese treats and continues to be my go to for ice cold Orion and Cass beer at a third of the price of any other place!

The owner old guy is kinda Rude. I ask him for something…read more but he just looked at me and didn't respond.

Mi familia and I like the old-school vibe of La Reyna's because its nothing fancy on the outside or…read morethe inside. It just have the neighborhood feel about it. There's street parking right on Merritt in front of the store and you'll see everyday merchandize like brooms and mops displayed on the side walk. Beware, just because they're displayed along the side walk does not mean they're cheap. To me, they're quite pricey. Walk into the store, you'll notice it's nice, well stocked and clean. The vegetable/fruit sections are to your right behind the cashier. The prices on these produce are very decent, and did I mention farm-to-mouth fresh. In the back of the store is the meat and food counter where you can buy a variety of Mexican food i.e. tacos, burritos, menudo, posole etc. However, the Mexican coffee was vale la pena el dinero. If you desire to eat food there, there's only one tiny table in front of the food counter. The counter staff are very friendly and accommodating. Oh, I forgot to mention, it's almost literally next to the famous new Phil's Fish Market & restaurant.

Located inside La Reynas Supermarket. All the way in the back right corner, you'll find a little…read morekitchen. One person working. Order from the back, pay at the cash register in the front. I ordered 3 tacos. $4 a piece. Twice the size of a street taco. Chili Verde (Pork), Birria de Chivo (Goat) and Birria de Res (Beef) all on top of home made corn tortillas topped off with cilantro and onions. Seasoned perfectly, fall apart meats, fresh veggies. Salsa roja was ok. The home made tortillas were ok. Fell apart as soon as I picked it up. Ended up using a fork and knife. I still cleaned the plate so that says a lot. Maybe, it was just that day, the home made tortillas fell apart. Have to try again. Meats - 4/5

Really nice Mexican grocery. They have a great meat selection, little sit down taqueria and their…read moreshelves are stocked with everything you need. Will come back again.

Great hidden taqueria w freshly prepared seasoned meat from their grocery store Carnicería, quality…read morechorizo, heaping scoops of real guacamole & sour cream w yummy roasted salsa verde for less than $11 ! This burrito brat is very happy

La Viña es un pequeño mercado que ofrece bastantes opciones. el dia de ayer compré arrachera…read moremarinada, al llegar a casa para consumar, la carne tenía un olor no muy agradable. Me dieron carne vieja y la verdad eso no está bien. Fue una pérdida de mi tiempo y mi dinero. No reclame mi dinero, solo les llamé para decir que eso no está bien y que no vuelvo a regresar a esa tienda y siempre quedará esa mala imagen. Espero si alguien aquí busca información esto les ayude a decidir si eligen este negocio.

In has always been my go to Mexican market,but the last two visits I was overcharged. I suckrd it…read moreup the first time,but today I purchased salsa,1 bag tortilla chips, and 4 pieces of pan dulce. The same woman from last time rang me up for $32.99. When I questioned her in my broken Spanish she corrected it to $15.00. Now I may try someplace else. It's too bad.

I highly recommend shopping here, they have super friendly and helpful staff. They have a variety…read moreof high quality product and delicious snacks. If you are looking for authentic Salvadoran food then this is your place to shop. Could not recommend this place more.

Una gran variedad de productos latinos, fenomenal servicio al cliente. Un lugar muy amigable y…read morealtamente organizado