This was my first visit after driving by this store so many times. Easy parking and easy in-and-out on to Valley Parkway being next to a traffic light. The store was a lot larger inside than it looked from Valley Parkway. They had a lot more items than I had expected. The display was well organized by the kind of items, not by cuisine or culture. Overall it was a clean and pleasant place to shop. For those who regularly go to the Asian grocery stores in the Convoy area, this is not a store to replace them, but it serves the purpose as a neighborhood Asian store that carries enough basic items in a pinch. For that purpose, in Escondido and North county inland in general, this is a great store. You have to visit this store and see what they have that you may be able to count on in a pinch without going down to Convoy. The selection may be less compared to Convoy, but the price seems to be compatible. For those who may not be cooking Asian food, this store has ready to eat goodies like Asian sweets, snacks and ice creams. The produce was fresh. I was surprised to find some Asian culture specific veggies and fruits. People were helpful in finding the items I was looking for. Overall I love the store. Definitely going back! read more

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Craving my favorite Kimchi so had to run to the Asian Market in Escondido. This kimchi is the best tasting! (Photo added). Also need some veggies, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers and Udon noodles for some stir fry! If you have a hard to find item, these guys will probably have it! Great selections! Good customer service and a nice parking lot. Great meat offerings as well! Everything you need for sushi too! Cool store. read more

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The story of this market is that it was once a Hispanic store. La Sorpresa Barata however, many people would walk in asking for Asian products that they decided to make it an Asian Market. Whenever I make homemade pho I enjoy coming here to get my sliced raw meat. This place always has everything I need. Quick spot for all your needs. read more

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Nice to have an Asian Market closer to home then heading south towards San Deigo. Store is very clean and well lit. There is a wide variety of fresh produce, frozen speciality items, vegan products and home supplies. Customer service is great on the phone and in person. Knowledgable staff read more

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Great selection of food and items from different Asian countries that you wouldn't find in regular grocery stores. Conveniently located, lots of parking on site. read more

This place has the freshest produce & great meat selection. I always go here for the oxtail my dad likes to cook. I also see the greenest bananas every time I go here. Also if you're looking for Eden cheese for your Filipino spaghetti they have it here. They have renovated a lot over the years with lots more selection. Staff is always nice. read more

Been here a couple times now and this place is great. It is clean, organized and has a ton of stuff. My daughter likes coming here because she can find her favorite cake in this location and bonus for me that I don't have too drive far out of North county. Staff is friendly and easy parking in their lot. Not as huge as a seafood city or an H mart but enough to find Asian items you may need. Definitely worth a visit. read more

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When you need shaoxing wine or other hard to find ingredients for home made Chinese food this place has it, also necessary, vegetables, and other fresh ingredients that you will not find and a regular American grocery store. Absolutely crucial when I'm making Thai food, Chinese food, Japanese food, any Asian food. read more

selling bad fresh products even before expiration and refusing to accept responsibility for it saying " we did not put the expiration date on". Be very careful when you buy fresh products like milk, eggs, meet and seafoods. They could be bad even they are not expired on the label. You could get seriously ill if you eat them. This is my personal experience. read more

The best asian supermarket I could find in the Escondido area. It has a really good selection of asian products and produce. I always shop here when I'm in town. They always have what I am looking for in stock. The prices are really reasonable. They also carry different instant noodles including my favorite Korean brands. They also have housewares, like chopsticks and incents. Staff is really nice and helpful here. The store is really well kept and clean. It's much larger than the other small ones in the area. Parking lot is a very nice size. Easy to get in and out. Great market to shop for asian groceries if you are in the Escondido area. Highly recommend. read more

The Asian Market - To go food spot connected next door - Meat Shops Near Me - Escondido, California

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After a few disappointing visits in the past due to poor customer service, I hesitated to return. I'm very glad I did. The current employee provided fantastic service and was a pleasure to interact with. I am now a loyal customer! read more

I love supporting small businesses, but I will never come back here. I did cash back on my debit card, and after the transaction approved, they refused to give me my $20. They held my cash hostage at the register until they forced me to swipe my card a second time for an undisclosed $2.25 "fee" which they originally tried to take out of my cash back only leaving me with $17.75. Incredibly sketchy and completely unacceptable. Check your statements carefully if you shop here, or don't shop here at all. The owner was completely rude and unhelpful when I expressed how this is sketchy. read more

There's not a lot of Asian markets around in my area, but I really appreciate this place and all the things that they have available here. It might go to place! read more

Miguel was the best today helped me find everything in the store gave me a basket and showed us food we were looking for and then I met Chris and he was super chill and awesome best cashier I met in my life. Definitely would come here 1000 stars read more

Absolutely essential. Everything you need is here. The owner of La sorpresa is an amazing guy who always treats you like family. The vibes here are so welcoming read more

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We absolutely love this Asian market. They have a great variety of frozen meals, dried noodles, and snacks. Service is good, it's a very small shop with only a couple of registers for checking out. read more

payed cash to avoid fees but they wouldn't give me my pennies. very dishonest place, cheating a customer out of their change. on what planet is this good customer service read more

Love this little Asian market... they have most everything you need. Produce, Frozen items.... Vegan options.

An absolute wonderland of goodies - so excited to have such an amazing Asian market in Escondido! The cashier was super helpful, too. Go check out this amazing location! read more

The Asian Market - Meat Shops Near Me - Escondido, California

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Do happy we discovered this market. No need for me to drive 30 miles to Mira Mesa to shop. Staff is very friendly and polite.

Have been to the adjacent Son Tra for banh mi sandwiches but never stopped here until the other day. The market aisle is a bit cramp, but it is clean. They have a lot of your basic Asian groceries from produce to dry goods to sauces. Overall, the place is actually a lot bigger inside than what I had expected from the outside. Prices are a little more than the bigger Asian markets but the proximity to my place will definitely bring me back. Stop by and support your local shops! read more

I like this place! It's very convenient considering the distance is way closer to me now that I live in North County. Sometimes it's not worth the drive to get a few items. Now that I'm limiting my outdoor travels, I've been coming here once or twice a month for the essentials. Today, I picked up a few varieties of mushrooms and a nappa for soup. The flies that were on the nappa were still alive when I took it out of the sealed bag and looked like there was a baby cockroach in the oyster mushrooms. I had to wash the vegetables with salt water many many times before I feel safe to consume them. The vegetables that were prepackaged by the suppliers were fine. I would pay extra close attention to the store packed items! read more

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Amazing asian grocery store! The cleanest and most organized I've ever been too. I was very impressed. It has all the necessities. Products, meats, fish, and fruits are fresh, people are super friendly and prices are pretty decent read more

The market looks clean ang prices are not bad at all if I have to come here for a quick errand run for some Items. Seems like they have 90% what we need. Will come back and hope they can expand in the future read more

I don't really like how they treat their employees. Not a very comfortable environment to shop at.

Where to begin.. the sign outside just says "Asian Market". It's simplistic name sounded promising so I decided to check it out. Upon entering it was easy to tell instantly this is mostly a Mexican market with some Asian foods. 2 employees were having a rather loud conversation in Spanish and I quickly felt like I was shopping at a gas station, from the smell of the store to the selection and size. The prices aren't good and nothing was "on sale". On Google and Yelp the business is called "La Sorpresa Barata Asian Market". So a Mexican name first followed by Asian Market? Rather bizarre. The layout was strange, one isle was just soap and ramen, again, very strange. The prices are sky high for things like popsicles and ice cream and the selection to choose from was small. Overall avoid at all costs. read more

Really great spot!! I'm glad I found this little market on accident :) I'm a big fan of Asian snacks and food, so seeing that there's a bunch of variety in this store is awesome. The service is okay, the cashier didn't really greet us or say anything while checking out but it doesn't really matter since she made up for it with getting me checked out at reasonable time frame. As for the ambience, I love it. I love their variety of small plates, tools, ice cream, drinks, etc. The way they section out their layout is pretty much understandable and easy to find things. read more

I always love finding more small asian markets in North county! This one is particularly clean and offers a wide array of options from snacks, baked goods, meat and produce. Parking is fairly easy and it's easy to find this in the heart of Escondido. Some of their items tend to be a little overpriced compared to other asian stores. But hey, they also sell Filipino broom and dustpans which I don't always see in a lot of other places. read more

Not many Asian groceries in the Escondido area but La Sorpresa is okay for grabbing something when you really need it now. You'll probably come here when you have an Asian recipe in hand and need an exotic ingredient not found at Vons.. . I came in for a specific item, which I found. Clientele were Asian so maybe their needs/experience might be more positive than mine. For me, it's a specialty grocery and not somewhere to go for your basics. Notes - Dunno, not really the cleanest place. - It's also hard to find some expiration dates on some products. - There's an attached hot-food kitchen, but you have to access it from another door on the outside of the building Positives - Plenty of Parking. - Durian Candy makes for great office pranks. read more

The Asian Market - Durian candy - Meat Shops Near Me - Escondido, California

Mexican chicharrones? Japanese udon? Thai sticky rice? Filipino sweets? Chinese oyster sauce? Vietnamese banh xeo batter? Check check check check, all in one spot. The place does... have a bit of identity crisis. It used to be a Mexican market and got transformed into an Asian store, like a Mexican kid adopted by Asian parents. It's just fun walking around the store to see what neat products they carry. So far, we like their deli chicharrones, the Asian vegetables like bok choy and choy sum, enoki mushroom, Asian mock meat (like what they serve in curries at Thai restaurants), all the different sauces we need to make Asian food at home, etc. Out of curiosity I tried their Filipino sweets and I'm never gonna touch them again because it's so sweet that ants might drown in those things. Not for me at least. We're so glad there's a wide selection of Asian products in this corner of Escondido. We will be back for sure! read more

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What a great find! La Sorpresa Barata is a small store, but packs a great variety! It's very clean and the employees are helpful and kind. Really fresh produce too! read more

The Asian Market - Really fresh produce! - Meat Shops Near Me - Escondido, California

This Asian market has all the ingredients I need to do Asian style stir fry, soups and stews and grilling. I would usually go to HMart or Seafood city, until I found this awesome store in Escondido less than 10 minutes from the house. Fast and friendly folks here make it even easier to visit! read more

If you're looking for Asian specialty food you can't find at your local "western" supermarket, this is the place to go. Not necessarily the largest store, but the selection is good and the price's reasonable. We just discovered it and will be going back regularly. read more

Authentic imported products, clean store, excellent prices. I highly recommend checking this place out. Service was good which is hard to find in stores. read more

Service and selection is great here! Fresh herbs for spring rolls, great meat for pho, and the entire selection of rice and noodles. Best Asian market by far in the immediate/local area. The service is what stands out too - everyone is always very helpful and I've had staff on multiple occasions help me choose better options. Thanks so much - will be back again read more

I want to say I didn't have a good first impression looking at the pictures from Yelp. To add, the English translation of the store "The Surprisingly Cheap Asian Market" rubbed me the wrong way. On the sign in the small parking lot, the Spanish part is faded out so only the "Asian market" sign on the front doors are visible. The font is somewhat off putting, and made me have my doubts walking in at first. But it's so clean inside, always organized, and the staff is kind, respectful, and eager to help with any questions! Though it's a small store, they have such a wide variety of cultural foods. This store came in clutch when I needed Lao Gan Ma chili oil, or banana leaves. The vegetable selection is small but my essential veggies like eggplant, long green beans, okra, and bok choy were there at reasonable price. There's also a mini wok section on the side of the wall that caught me off guard and a decent selection of my favorite soju and sake brand. I know that if I want to make gimbap, I can get my pickled radish and imitation crab here. Even though the English translation gave me a bad first impression, I'm absolutely impressed that I can find everything I need at the price I'm expecting it to be. read more

Great fesh asian herbs meats vegetables and noodles. And great prices. It clean and neat

Vietname restaurant attached to La Sorpresa Barata 'oriental-hispanic-western' grocery shop. Very good customer service, in particular that Vietnamese young girl with shiny diamond in her teeth and gracious smile who, to top it off, speaks Spanish to the mainly Mexican customers. If you are too picky about the type of people you can encounter there, remember this is not a deluxe restaurant and I saw some very rural deep Mexico folks there (Frida Kahlo style skirt, ranchero hats...). The reality is that the food is good and the price is damn cheap. For less that $4 I took a to-go order consisting in rice (Chinese style) with deliciously marinated pork, with the exact stickiness level I like. The Vietnam sandwiches are betwen $2.99 and $3.00 (cheaper than Submarina or Subway!). Combo plates range from $3.99 to $6.99. I am not into Pho, but they offer 7 different types. Not bad for a modest place. read more

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This store is amazing; has everything I was looking for to put on my table in CA between my trips to Korea. Fresh produce, sea, meat, etc.! Staff is very friendly and helpful. Love it! read more

The selection of vegan options is awesome and continually growing. I see new, quality, vegan items every time I go. Plus, they have so many different kinds of mushrooms and other vegetables that you won't find in most stores. read more