If you can get past the fish smell when you walk in, this place is incredible. It has every kind of asian food you can imagine - from snacks, to noodles, to tofu, mochi, and everything in between! It's the best asian market in the city. read more

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Best of the best. Lowest price complete grocery. A must stop. Parking lot available for free. For all your Asian/ oriental food items this is the place to buy and stock up. read more

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I go to Spring Garden Market mostly for convenience. It's nice to have an Asian/Chinese market with a parking lot, and without having to trek to Chinatown. They have pretty much all of the staples you may need in an Asian mart, different rice, noodles, tofu products, etc. I don't eat meat so I can't comment on those sections. However - I have issues with their produce - very hit or miss, I would recommend you look at your produce carefully and look for expiration date on the boxed salad type items. There have been numerous times, the salad boxes that are on the shelves are expired. In addition, numerous times finding active moldy produce that are still on the shelves. Once, there were these beautiful looking green peppers - but when you looked closer, there was mold at the stems and also on the bottom - proceed with caution However - they're still OK to me, because of the convenience and I know how to shop around their deficiencies. The cashier is always very efficient and friendly as well I'd recommend the market for it's convenience if you need Asian ingredients, but look at your produce carefully. read more

Whenever H-Mart feels too far out of reach, this little gem is my go-to for my Asian grocery runs. I love there's a huge variety of goods that you can get from here, anything from fresh produce to seafood, shabu shabu meat slices to giant tubs of kimchi. The list is endless of the goods that you can find here, at prices that are better than many of its competitors. Of the numerous times that I've shopped there, I've only had to wait in line several times. For some reason, this place isn't as busy as the other Asian grocers in the region. I'm not complaining though. I love the convenience of being able to find a parking spot there anytime I want to shop, and I hope New Spring Market continues its business for many years to come. read more

Wonderful produce. Good variety of Asian foods. They have gluten free soy sauce and some organically grown products.

The Spring garden market is such a hidden gem in northern liberty, it has large parking lot so I don't have to worry about carrying multiple bags after grocery shopping. The cashier speaks English and they accept all types of credit cards. This market is huge which has all types of Asian food, vegetables, hot pot slides meat, sauces, fresh fish and all kinds of Asian snacks I could ever think of. Such as oysters mushroom, purple yam, fish tofu, lychees and many other food that I can't find in Wholefood or Trader Joe's. And the most important thing it's so clean, so does the fish section. Btw, they provides fish filleting service if you need help for the live fish. Look what I found! The green tea (matcha) and ube (purple yam) rice dumplings. I love this market. read more

Spring Garden Market - a bowl of soup with a spoon in it - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Love coming here to pick up ingredients when I feel like putting together a Stir Fry, Pad See Ew, Ramen, etc. A very blessed day is when they have Thai Basil in stock. Also they have a superior selection of cute Ocean Bomb sodas in more animes than just Sailor Moon! read more

Spring Garden Market - Ocean Bomb Soda - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Very convenient location, with parking. Entrance is also at the back of the store, and not on Spring Garden Street. This market always keeps a nice selection of fruits and veggies. They also have fresh meats, fish and shell fish. They also sell a nice selection of frozen meats/fish veggies, etc. . The store is fairly clean and easy to navigate around. You will find pretty much most Asian foods you are looking for. At the rear of the store that have a selection of kitchen gadgets, pots, pans, etc. The only issue with this business would be the complete lack of customer service. Don't expect any help or happy people here. Come in, get what you need and go. I respect there could be a language barrier/challenge, but just a little appreciation for your business shouldn't be that hard. Other than that, I still recommend this place if your looking to run in real quick for a few items. There are a few other Asian markets (South Philly, Cherry Hill) I would rather go to when I have more time on my hands. Give them a try. They're doing a good job for the Asian, and non-Asian shopping community. read more

Spring Garden Market - shelves of food and condiments - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Love this place! Great prices and huge variety of Asian specialties. Mushrooms, greens, sweet potatoes have all been great

This was the first time in 10 months to visit this market today on Sunday morning. This market carries the vast varieties of plant-based soy protein products, not only regular tofu (soft, silken, firm, extra firm), dried (super firm) tofu, baked tofu, mock meat from soy, tofu skin, wheat gluten (baked, raw mochi/rice cake like ) by different companies in China, and US. If you are vegan like me, it is worth travel to this market. I bought two tofu skin sheets which I could buy in chinatown, but at higher price, two wheat gluten products which I am looking forward to try, and they are reasonable price. The problem with this market is lack of price tags and only person who can tell you the price would be one casher. Their vegetable and fruits are not as fresh as stores at chinatown due to volume of customers, I suppose, and their prices are more. They were selling half dried up golden kiwis for 99 cents, for example. The appearance of the store in non-produce section is clean, while fruits, vegetables, and other (fish and meat) section looks somewhat not as neat as you would like. It could be that this section is build old, lighting is not up to date, etc. My next trip would be when I finish those plant-based protein products, and have relaxed schedule. Overall, I was happy with their tofu, wheat gluten products which made my long walk worth it. read more

Spring Garden Market - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place has a huge selection of Asian products and random chips and drinks. Decent produce (lychees!!) and good prices. So many sauces and oils and interesting drinks (though I have found some expired seltzers) and yummy frozen things and about a million Hello Panda flavors. Solid and well-stocked! read more

Spring Garden Market - sauces galore! - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I'm so happy this gem is located in my neighborhood. That's an automatic 4 star lol they have everything that other Asian supermarkets in south Philly have. My mom was especially impressed with how clean the fishes are. She said the men who run the seafood section clean and cut up the fishes much better than the ones at other markets. Shout out to the seafood section! They also sell a good amount of organic products too, ginger, eggs, soy sauce, tofu, etc. Tip: like all Asian markets, this one runs very cold, like you need a jacket in the summer if you plan to shop for more than 15 min cold! read more

This is one of my favorite food shopping venues. Great selection, good prices and they even sell the brand of hair dye that I've been using for many years, which can be difficult to find. They also have a parking lot in the back, which is convenient. read more

Best tofu and rice without driving to an hmart... Good selection of asian cooking ingredients. Happy it is here!

Never in a million years did I think I would be writing a review for this place - and never did I think it would be for 5 stars. As far as Asian markets go, it's one of the cleanest I have ever been in. The selection is astonishing if I am being honest - there are few things they haven't had when we have been looking for specific items. So far, fennel is the only thing they didn't have when I wanted it. Prices here are more than fair, too. I didn't expect it to be as cost effective as it is! If you live in the neighborhood, or pass through, I highly suggest checking out Spring Garden market! read more

I go to the Spring Garden Market almost weekly. There is a lot to like at the store and some things to improve on. For starters, this is walking distance from my house and also has a parking lot for about 40 cars. Unlike the Asian groceries on Washington Ave, I've never had trouble parking and it doesn't take 20 minutes to navigate in and out of the lot. This store is in a convenient location for a couple big residential neighborhoods (Old City, Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Olde Kensington. The selection of Asian shelf stable ingredients, frozen food, and vegetable is very good. Even though the owner and staff are chinese, they carry a good variety of pan-asian incredients. They have at least 30 different kinds of soy sauce, a half dozen fish sauces, ten kinds of nori/seaweed. Most things that you need for standard East and Southeast Asian recipes you can find here. Japanese ingredients may be somewhat limited in selection. I think their selection of fast-cooking convenience food (frozen dumplings, breads, and buns; instant noodles) tends to be pretty good. The leafy green vegetables and things stored in the refrigerated sections like mushrooms are usually in good condition and high quality. However, the fruits and veg that sit at room temperature are more hit-and-miss. Eggplant, squashes, cucumbers, citrus, apples, etc often have softs spots or big bruises. Sometimes you'll have slightly molding or rotting produce sitting next to others which can cause them to spoil more quickly as well. I'm much more careful about selecting these items than I am with the snow pea shoots and bok choy, which often seem to be in great condition. The store used to have a much busier butcher and seafood department before COVID, but the butchery now is almost all in-house pre-packaged meat and not cut or processed to order, which is a shame, because you used to be able to get a full, uncut pork belly or larger cuts of meat. The prices and quality are still good, but some of the flexibility is now gone. I especially like the variety of different pork cuts that are available, especially stuff like neckbones for soup. The seafood on the other hand has probably taken a step down in quality. A lot of the whole fish looks kind of dry like it's been sitting out for a while and when I've check the gills of some fish, they tend to be brown and slimey, which indicates they are not fresh. It seems like much of the "fresh fish" has been frozen before (not necessarily a bad thing), but has been thawed for days sitting on ice. The only fish that seems to be turned over with any regularity are the shrimp and salmon filets. Before COVID, there were over a dozen different kinds of whole fish available that were fresh. Recently, I started buying my fish elsewhere. read more

Killed time in here before going to the Starlight Ballroom last night. It was definitely bigger than I expected and I liked the variety that it offered. it definitely had the best kitchenware section in any supermarket that I've seen in awhile. Due to everyone being into the seafood department here I was really psyched to check it out. It definitely had some pretty damn good prices. But I wouldn't jump on calling it totally fresh. I worked behind a seafood counter before and a lot of the pieces they had looked liked they could have benefited from being iced down a lot better. But the fish that looked good where definitely a steal of a catch. and I didn't get to scope out as much of them as I wanted to because the frogs where looking at me. But overall it's a great place to go for meat and produce. the selection of soups and noodles couldn't be beat either. And they even had plenty of regular items that you won't find in to many other Asian supermarkets like coca cola. I think I'll be back. read more

I'd like to give Spring Garden Market 4 stars but they get deductions for their produce (which is a large part of the market) which I feel is inferior. They do have a huge variety of fruits and vegetables, and it looks perfectly fine, but I've gotten vegetables there (cucumber, mushrooms, etc.) that tasted really "off", in a scary sort of way. I'd recommend getting your produce from Reading Terminal. The only thing I consistently pick up when I'm here is ginger and the baby bok choy that's bagged up and ready to go. That being said, they have an EXPANSIVE selection of Asian staples. They have just about anything you could possibly be looking for if you were preparing any kind of Asian dish. It's almost overwhelming. You know when you're looking for a new toothbrush and you can't decide which one to get because there are like 87 different kinds? That's how it is with the soy sauces. Or the rice wine vinegars. Or the udon noodles. You get the picture. They carry a large selection of vegetarian/vegan items like that fake pork in a can that personally kinda freaks me out. They also have that veggie ham you know and love from the restaurants. It's hidden away in the last freezer that usually has stuff stocked in front of it that you'll have to move out of the way. If you're vegan, as always, double-check the labels. You've probably deduced by now that I can't really comment on the meat/fish department, but it seems the other Yelpers have that covered. I will mention, however, that this is the spot you should be getting your tofu from (if you're into that sort of thing). They sell giant 6 LB TUBS of tofu for $4.49. And it's made by Nature Soy right here in Philadelphia. I divide it up in old takeout containers and freeze it and have tofu for the next month or so. read more

Spring Garden Market - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I love love love it here. The selection is large and offered at a good price for good quality. Although things are a little unorganized, you'll still be able to find anything you'll want/need from an Asian supermarket here! The staff is also very nice and they sell anything from pots, bowls, and snacks, to fresh meats, fish, veggies, and fruits. Will 100% be going again!! read more

I really really love this grocery store. It's a local store that is stocked to the fullest with fresh produce, all kinds of cuts of meats and grocery essentials that I cook with everyday. They have plenty of snacks as well and aisles on aisles of spices. H-Mart is my usual go-to for my groceries, but sometimes it's too inconvenient to drive out to my closest one and it can also get really crowded. Spring Garden has been a live saver especially during this time - please make sure if you're visiting now to wear a mask as it's required as a COVID-19 safety measure by the grocery store. Their hours also are abbreviated from 9-5. The grocery store also has a small parking lot and some street parking at the front. read more

Spring Garden Supermarket has a good selection of food, drink and household products but what really does it for me is that the market itself is relatively clean compared to other Asian Super Markets I've been to. This place also carries a range of foods outside the Asian realm, which is nice when you're in the area and you need to swing in to grab something quick rather than driving to your nearest Shoprite. Yeah sure, there's a chance of you walking out smelling like you just swam with the fishes (literally) but hell, what do you expect? Take it for what it is- a killer selection of produce and seafood at some pretty legit prices. read more

Spring Garden Market - seafood dept - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Love this place, so many fun and interesting ice cream, snack, frozen food and drink choices. Ever since the pandemic started i've stocked up on their big frozen bags of dumplings and shumai and every one i've had has been great. The place isn't overwhelmingly large either so you can get in and out pretty quick. I recommended everyone try the Assam Oolong Milk Tea cartons and the brown sugar boba popsicles. read more

This large Asian market has good and not so good features. There is an excellent variety of seafood of all types. The seafood prices are very reasonable... in particular the salmon fillet and shrimp are priced well below other outlets. They will fillet other types of fish if you request it. Of course, there is a wide variety of Asian specialties including all types of noodles and rice, eg red and black rice. There is also various Asian oils. The fresh meat section is laid out similar to Reading Terminal. The meat is not USDA graded as far as I could tell. Produce here is a hit or miss proposition depending on what they get in and when. Sometimes their are good deals. Be careful to pay attention to freshness when selecting items. And eggs are a real bargain here... being the cheapest I've seen anywhere. On the other hand, milk prices are high. Spring Garden market does not accept American Express. And there is a ten dollar minimum on credit card purchases. The market has a large parking lot for free parking. read more

I love Spring Garden Market. When I go to the supermarket, what I wanted number one and number two is produce, a lot of it and a lot of variety, and to have it be REASONABLY priced. Spring Garden Market hits these out of the park. It's also a great source for most of my (Chinese) Asian food needs. Dumplings, etc. It's not all that great for Japanese or Korean needs, with fewer products at usually a greater price. Downsides are a lack of Western foods (obviously, and what you should expect coming in), a noticeably fishy smell, and staff who are somewhat unhelpful (though well meaning) for those that only speak English. But I come here every week because the produce is so bountiful and cheap. read more

First time here, although many of the shelves were empty due to the pandemic, I felt the store disorganized. Overall, they seem to have a lot and there is free parking. read more

This is a nice little Asian market at 4th and Spring Garden. Their food is pretty cheap ($8 for a whole duck!), but their produce isn't all that fresh, and they don't sell butter for some reason. Their meat is good, though, and they have good frozen seafood, and the fresh seafood is so-so. However, the live fish don't always look so healthy. The big drawback is that the store smells really fishy because of all the fish tanks. Given that the only other grocery store near me is Whole Foods, the Spring Garden Market comes to the rescue for my limited budget. It's good for a lot of shopping, but not everything you need. It's good for cheap meat and Asian food that you can't buy in regular stores (hello, mochi ice cream!). As far as Asian markets go, I still like H Mart in Levittown better, but SGM is definitely worth the trip if you live in the area. read more

I think this has to be one of my all-time favorite places for shopping for food. It could be yours too :) Here's why: RICE: 25 lbs of fantastic rice for $20-$25. All the thai brands you could ever imagine, and Nishiki, Calrose, etc. for awesome deals They also sell 5 lb bags for $5-$6, and carry 10 lbs too. A great variety, and also sweet brown rice. SOY SAUCE: huge containers of soy sauce (Kikkoman) for pennies, as compared to anywhere else in town. VEGGIES: A huge assortment of a vast array of veggies you don't find at Whole Paycheck. Fantastic prices too! Fresh green Papaya, lotus root, fresh water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, basil and other asian herbs, bitter melon, taro root, mustard greens, etc. COCONUT MILK: Don't come here looking for a deal, but enjoy the huge selection. They also sell tiny cans of whole coconut milk for small dishes, so you can save in this way. CLAY POTS: nice large and small clay pots for $5.99 WHITE CHOCOLATE: All you white chocolate fanatics - they sell the most amazing Green and Black here. And there are perugia here too. BIKE ROUTE: It's on spring garden. Don't be afraid of a 25 lb bag of rice - it's really not too heavy (the 50 lb one, might be... ) Awesome place all-around. I love their huge layout, and it is quality stuff without all the crowds and read more

this is a new asian market that opened up at 4th and spring garden. it is relatively new. i was happy to enter this new, shiny store, it's "grand opening" streamers waving in the wind. being a card carrying asian, i am totally picky about asian marts. this one totally exceeded my expectations. the store is big and clean. which is quite a nice surprise, because most asian markets tend to be cluttered and messy. this one is neat, they have shopping carts and baskets for your convenience as well. there is a medicine shop at the front of the store. they have kimchi, tons of hot spicy noodle soups, frozen dumplings, lychees, happy plums, dried squid and that is just the front of the store. go to the back of the store and there is a fish market, meat market, and tons of fresh veggies and fruits. the fish is fresh and everything is pretty cheap and good quality. they have almost everything the stores on washington or chinatown have, but located in the northern libs hood. the staff is friendly and helpful. i recommend buying the seaweed chips and kimchi. also, they have all the cute yogurt drinks and strong vietnamese coffee. there is a parking lot in the back and on street meter parking. the meters are on every day, including weekends, so pop in those quarters! there is an adorable little girl who since my first time at this store remembers me and comes up to me and says in her cute broken english, "you have been here before!" she is the hardest worker. she is crushing boxes and she bags all your groceries. i always tip her for her hard work. no benjamins for her, but i do give her a few washingtons! :) each time i have gone, i am greeted by the smiling cashier who always tells me, "aha, you like seaweed!" and the darling little girl who asks me questions and likes magic tricks. going here to pick up my groceries is always fun. i leave here with a huge, goofy smile and happy that my tum tum will soon be filled with dim sum. read more

Spring Garden Market - International Grocery Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is my favorite grocery store in the area right now. Reasonable prices, they actually have everything I need in stock, and they are serious about quarantine precautions- you must have a mask to come in the store, and all the employees are wearing surgical masks. Their frozen dumplings are soooo much better than the ones you can find at regular grocery stores, and they have a lot of hard to find grains much cheaper than at Whole Foods (millet, buckwheat, whole oats). Produce is hit and miss, you have to check stuff carefully, but the prices are always good. read more

I have to admit this market intimidates me. I wish I was better versed in Asian cuisine and more sophisticated in my knowledge of Asian-centric products - if I were, I think I could take more advantage of the stuff they offer here. That being said, this is a totally hit or miss kind of place. Don't let the strong odors keep you out. Hit: for a never ending choice of condiments, oils, vinegars, sauces, insane variety of dried noodles, teas and exotic products galore (dragonfruit, fresh bamboo, mushrooms I've never even heard of...) The fish section is impressive - so much variety (whole fish is cool and all if you know what to do with it!) and so affordable (look for deals on Lobster, shrimp, crab!) - and the meat/poultry is reasonably priced (although you're not quite sure where all this stuff originates from....) Miss: check your produce thoroughly - for the most part the items are rarely fresh (except those that have longer shelf life), check expiration dates on those that have them and just be mindful of what you buy. I'm not quite sure how often they rotate products. All in all this place is super inexpensive - as much as half the cost of shopping elsewhere. The only drawback is that I'm not sure whether this market has the same standards as your local supermarket. As I mentioned with the 'misses', on average, their inventory isn't as 'fresh' as it could be. (is that why we're getting such a bargain?) Also, as I was perusing certain items in the Western section yesterday, I noticed certain cheese packets covered with mold on their underside (not the right kind) and looked above and found the ceiling tiles above this and the the freezer sections to be covered in mold. Yuck. The bottom line is that this is a good place to pick up inexpensive last minute items, milk, eggs, etc, boxed or canned goods and all the hit items I mentioned above. As for everything else, be vigilant and buyer beware. read more

This has to be my FAVORITE grocery store, and that is saying a lot since I really love checking out new/different grocery stores! I love to cook, love to eat well, but need to do it for about $25/week. The selection of fruits/vegetables are amazing, and usually half the price of any standard grocery store. I love that I can get a wide variety of fresh gourmet mushrooms for $$ less than anywhere else. The meat/seafood is also a lot cheaper as well. For instance, ground hamburger at $2/lb as opposed to $3-4/lb and you see them grind it right in front of you. I've never had issues with the freshness of the produce or meat/seafood, but I also inspect everything. Who shops without looking at what they are buying?! It goes without being said that the Asian condiments, dried mushrooms, rice and noodles are amazing in variety. They also have a small edited selection of American condiments, soups, etc., but you will likely pay a premium for these things. Get these elsewhere like my other favorite grocery store Bottom Dollar Food (see review). If you live in Old City or Northern Liberties this is within walking distance or park your car in the free lot behind the store off of 4th Street. Don't bother with the PPA nonsense by parking out front. Also close to the Spring Garden stop on the Market-Frankford; just 2 1/2 blocks west. read more

Fish. Rancid fish. This place overwhelmingly smelled... I breathed through my mouth the entire time I was there. Ok, I'll let it slide, there's quite the selection of fish, it's bound to smell. Great selection of produce. But, the blueberries were growing mold. The strawberries were leaking everywhere, and the avocados were hard as a rock. I picked up two tilapia fillets and brought them home to cook that night. they were frozen. Hardcore frozen. After thawing and cooking them, it was the fishiest (also know as not fresh) tilapia I've ever had in my entire life. To the point that I couldn't finish eating it. I don't think I've been this disappointed in a place in a very long time. Sorry Spring Garden Market, I won't be back. read more

I can't believe it has taken me over 6 months of living in Northern Liberties to finally go to this place! Meant to "stop in" after a visit to CVS but ended doing an entire grocery shop. There were so many great deals here compared to Superfresh. The seafood was very fresh and the fruits and veggies looked great. My only issue with this place is that it doesn't have everything that I can get at big box grocery stores, but maybe it's me who should be changing my shopping habits. Overall, if you haven't been here, you should go! read more

I got a fish to oven roast at home. I thought a live fish from here might be a good option. Boy was i wrong. Not sure if the person behind the fish counter was having an off-day because I cannot possibly imagine he does this to every fish he fillets... He left the scales (which I had to clean at home); he poked the organs when he was cleaning it (it spoiled the fillet and it was really gross when I bit into the fish...I have put some nasty things in my mouth and this rivaled some of those things...like chinese stinky tofu). **shudder** Next time, for things that are not in cans, bottles, or canister, I will go to more respectable grocery stores. read more

The Spring Garden Market is pretty near perfect. While there are definitely a few things you might not be able to find if you're expecting your average American Grocery store... there is so much other stuff that you probably never see elsewhere to make up for it. There are fruits and veggies here that I rarely see anywhere else. I've tried several things for the first time thanks to Spring Garden. One disappointment is that some of the produce isn't always the freshest. You might have to pick through to find the best, but considering the lower prices it's worth it. I wouldn't buy any less than beautiful produce unless you plan to use it in the next few days, but if you keep that rule in mind you'll be very happy with the selection. I know I said they don't have quite everything that a Giant or Super Fresh might have, but I've actually been impressed with the number of more western type groceries that can be found in certain aisles. They have a good selection of seafood, a lot of which can be purchased live and as fresh as possible. But my number one favorite thing about the market is the super low prices on some of their meats. I've often drifted towards the organic is better mindset, but at this point I've realized that just cooking for yourself is better no matter what type of meat or produce you can afford. Chicken thighs and drumsticks for so cheap! It's like magic. And if you cook them well they'll taste just as good as any other chicken you'll find at a store charging twice as much. I've never had any complaints or seen any signs of poor quality. So yeah, I love it. It's a cool place with good prices and a vast variety of options. read more

Finally! A grocery store in the Northern Liberties area! Wait, what? It's an Asian grocery store? Okay, okay. That's better than nothing. This place is better than most grocery stores in the area, in my opinion. The aisles are nice and big and full of stuff. The only problem is that it's specialized so if you're looking for a loaf of wheat bread, you're in the wrong place. But, for produce or meat or especially fish, you can not do better. All of these things are fresh and really cheap. Usually fish is much cheaper than at any local supermarket and the dude who serves it up is so smiley and nice that even though he can't understand you completely, he still manages to cheer you up if you're having a bad day. Otherwise, it's cool to know that there's such a good resource for green tea ice cream, tofu, soy milk and aloe juice. I just wish there was an American grocery store just like this place next door... read more

This is my favorite asian market in the city. Like most asian markets, you need to study up a little before you go in there, but unlike some of the markets in Chinatown, people don't yell at you if you ask for help with something. Its also very clean and doesn't smell. The produce section of this market is outstanding. If you need exotic mushrooms, this is the place to go. The fish market is also excellent-I bought some fresh fish for sushi last week, and the fishmonger gave me great advice and let me taste cuts of salmon before I decided. I get nervous about buying sushi-grade fish, and this market is my new go-to. read more

My mom (your typical hard-to-please old country Chinese foodie) gives this place her biggest stamp of approval. Initially, she was worried that her little ex-pat daughter was going to be deprived of the ingredients needed to make a proper homestyle Chinese dinner in big bad Philly. Thankfully, her fears were settled. Spring Garden Market is as authentic as it gets, from the lingering fish smell all the way to the half-aisle of different soy sauces. For months, this was the only place where I could find pork belly, beef shank and smelt until That Organic Supermarket clued into the demand, and even now the price per pound is hard to beat. This is also the place to look for hard-to-find vegetables like Japanese sweet potato, taro, daikon, Thai basil, lotus root, etc etc... and while the size of the produce reminds you of some nasty genetic food experiment down the King Kong path, prices are staggeringly affordable. Every visit unearths another surprise, whether it's the frozen scallion pancakes, the wide selection of tofu from Nature Soy (a hug to my locavore heart!) or the packaged preserved mustard greens. The only reason why they're getting a minus-star is because of their intimidating staff at the butcher counter, their parking lot is difficult to maneuver, and they don't ever have my favourite Lotte chocolate koala biscuits. Okay, I kid -- four and a half stars, but I really wanna see those koalas in the candy aisle next time I visit. read more

Great selection. Knocking off a star because I'm forced to calculate my cart beforehand since you have dishonest staff.

This place has a lot of what you might need, but it is surprisingly missing a number of Asian ingredients that I have been able to find at the Asian Market on Washington. It also doesn't help that literally no one speaks English in the store. Yes, it's an Asian market, but I couldn't get help when I asked for a very specific item, showed them a picture, and they couldn't point me in the right direction. Regardless, it is very convenient to my house and they have a lot of veggies and other items I do need sometimes. read more