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WOOHOO I totally support this ya know why? Cuz its Taiwanese thats why!! Plus it doesnt stink like Ranch99, HA! I go here like addict, what do I get?
1. Natto: If you know what it is, kudos to ya.
2. Milk tea's in steel cans, yes they're good and made in TW!!!
3. Korean noodles: Shin ramen or Neoguri.
4. Kikkoman brand soy milk, the vitasoy stuff just tastes weird.
5. BEER: Kirin or ASAHI that is thank you very much.
6. Taiwanese Cabbage, cuz it has a distinct peppery taste.
7. Dried guava's when I feel like it.
I even go up to the cashiers sometimes and freak the **** out of them by speaking some mandarin *Gasp* =P
Yea Yea!! I'm supporting TW by shopping here woOHooOO
I have absolutely nothing against the supermarket side of Marina Food. It's your typical Chinese grocery store with all the fixings from frozen foods, fruits, vegetables, dairy, spices, sauces, dry goods, utensils, fresh and frozen meats, fish, and poultry, and a bakery. Customer service is usually nonexistent with my own Chinese people, and if you bother one of the Hispanic workers, it's best you know your Spanish because they won't give you the time of day if you're a guy. Larger Asian grocery stores now have a dine-in and carry-out deli section where you can get fast foods, specialty BBQ and roasted items, and dim-sum. I buy all my necessities such as chinese greens, short ribs, udon noodles, canned longans, fried tilapia, and an arsenal of packaged candies and crackers. After you buy a certain dollar amount of goods, the cashier gives you deli coupons good for at least a month before expiration in their deli. It's an incentive to buy their deli items hoping you'd get hooked on their items to buy next time without coupons. For spending $98.25 over the weekend, I received $13 in deli coupons.
Then, this is where it gets shady. Health Department, are you reading this?
Me and the wife didn't feel like cooking this past Sunday afternoon and decided to use our new found coupon wealth. We went back to Marina Food expecting to take some deli items home to eat and pack for some lunches during the week. We got one half pound of Char-Siu, one pound of roast pork, one order chive dumplings, and one order Siu-Mai. The total came to $12.58 and I used the entire $13 in coupons and didn't pay a cent.
When we got home, the first thing I went to grab was the dim-sum. When I took a bite into the chive dumpling, it wasn't fresh and crunchy with a distinct chive taste. Instead, it was mushy and had a shrimp colored paste inside.
The only way this could happen is:
1) This is a new ingredient, or
2) It's over a few days old and rotten but they still decide to sell it because they don't want to waste food. Ewww!
On to the Siu-Mai, I took half a dumpling bite and before I could chew it, the taste in my mouth was overpoweringly salty. I looked at the exposed half and saw pink meat. Isn't raw pork bad for you?
This is my point of view:
1) The cooks didn't know it wasn't fully steamed/cooked before releasing them to the public, or
2) The cooks knew they were undercooked, and to mask the smell/taste, lots of salt was used as a cover up.
Double Ewww!
I spat the pork piece out of my mouth and immediately threw out these dumplings into the garbage.
*Mental Note: No more deli dim-sum at Marina Food*
On the positive side, the roast pork and char-siu were fresh and delicious. I still have some in the refrigerator.
3 stars for the supermarket and 1 star for the deli dim-sum averaging 2 stars. You can be the judge if you dare to try it!
"Absolutely Tendon-tastic!"
Marina Food has been a staple in the Asian grocery market scene on the Peninsula. Pre-dating both peninsula Ranch 99 locations (Cupertino and sparkling new Mountain View), Marina is admittedly getting a bit long in the tooth.
That being said, they stock reasonably fresh items at great prices and were among the leaders in bringing such Asian produce to the Bay Area. On my visit today, I was able to get an abundant selection of vegetables and simple produce. The most surprising find was a small selection of Kobe (though bred in USA) beef. I had seen similar steaks with equivalent marbling at Mitsuwa for over $25. Here? $6. Are they the same type of beef? Probably not. Do they taste similar? Maybe. I'll withhold judgment until I grill the steak tonight.
While I may have scored on the pseudo-Kobe, Marina missed the mark on another butcher favorite of mine: pre-sliced and frozen shabu shabu meats. The pork, beef, lamb, ribeye and chicken are all way too dark in color and suffering from obvious freezer burn. Ranch 99's selection looks MUCH fresher. Save your hot pot runs for Ranch 99.
But I digress... Back to the "tendon-tastic" comment. Marina was a pioneer of food coupons and their popular practice made competitor Ranch 99 do a similar thing. For every $10 of groceries you buy, you get $1 to use at the hot deli or BBQ counter. (for some reason, this only works at grocery stores. I can't envision Safeway giving me a sandwich for buying $20 in groceries)
I took my $6 in coupons and decided to order a beef and tendon noodle soup at the hot deli. I didn't expect much, but how bad could it be? It was free.
My soup arrived minutes later and was piping hot. Surprisingly, there was an extremely generous amount of tendon and beef. I'd say they easily overpowered the noodles.
I hate to say it, but this grocery store bowl of soup tasted pretty darn good. The abundant tendon was absolutely fantastic. Soft, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. The beef shank was a tad tougher, but definitely passable. Finally, the noodle and broth, though likely MSG laden, tasted so good and right going down piping hot into the stomach.
I have no idea if it was the early hour of my ordering that I got all the ultrasoft tendons that had been boiling over night or if I just was lucky, but this beef noodle soup (esp. tendon) delivered. I know for a fact how mediocre the dim sum and even rice porridge can be here, so it was a pleasant surprise. As for the fact it was free with grocery coupons....Icing on the cake.
Utter chaos.
Go to any Chinese grocery store anywhere near Chinese New Year (this year the…
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I just came here today . I like this place . I like it more than Tin Tin Market . Marina Food sells snacks , sauces , poultry , etc. They have a very big and good selection of beverages . They sell some beauty products near the checkout lanes . It would be nicer if they had it in an aisle , but I guess they put it there so you're tempted to buy the items when you check out ... because you know how when you wait in line , you tend to look at and pick up stuff on the side of the checkout lane . They even sell pads from Japan and preserved duck eggs !! The produce is okay but the produce is overpriced like Imahara and I saw of the same items for cheaper at Ranch 99 which is why I am giving this place 4 stars instead of 5 .
I don't know why people give Marina bad reviews. You can't honestly compare this place to Safeway. And unlike Ranch 99, it seems that they make little effort to cater to non-Chinese patrons. However, they get points for redoing the produce section so that it looks less ghetto now.
The fruit and produce here are cheap, although the prices seem to be increasing. One thing I've noticed is that the fruit/produce here are sweeter/flavorful than that of Safeway/Ranch, but spoil much faster. As an example, the romaine I get from here wilts in less than a week, while the romaine I get from Safeway still looks green and pristine at week 2.5. I don't know which one I should be more concerned about...
I like Marina more than Ranch 99 because it has more products from Taiwan and Japan. The Ranch 99 in Cupertino Village has more HK products which I'm less familiar with. Their food court is not as good as Ranch 99's though. They're quite liberal with the grease.
All in all, a great grocery store. I love their cashiers. They look almost disgusted to be at work. Hey as long as you keep your prices low, your cashiers can scowl at me to their hearts' content.
It's da Beef No' Guy again.
So yes the hot food deli section still has made to order beef noodle soup (just for the sake of the Beef No' List)
But the real joy comes from Marina finally being able to import Taiwanese bottled teas sold at 7-Elevens (and supermarkets) across Taiwan/Taipei that I have come to enjoy over the last several years, so Chinese and Japanese bottled tea enthusiasts, please take note.
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The brand name sounds Korean, but it is 100% Taiwanese. In Mandarin, called Cha Li Won. They're currently on sale at the Marina San Mateo branch for 99 cents a bottle, just a fraction higher than in Taipei (but what the heck still a bargain compared to $2 bottles of Ito-En green teas at Nijiya or Whole Foods).
There are upwards of 5 to 6 flavors at this time, but the ones you want to focus on are the more natural tasting teas without added sugar (so if you see White Oolong, it is sadly sweetened).
The best ones so far are
- Shizuoka Green Tea
- Alishan Oolong
Each bottle holds about 480 ml. The Shizuoka Green Tea is definitely the Shizzleoka, really smooth and refreshing
But what worries me is all these other "chemicals" that go in the tea on the FDA required nutrition American label...
e.g. Shizzleoka has
Water, Roasted San Cha, Green Tea, Tea Leaf Extract Powder, Sodium L-Ascorbate, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate.
Not sure if I want to imbibe the 'shizzle frequently with all these sody, Bi, and stuff that ends in 'bate. But a slice of Taiwan 7-Eleven's is currently my world like an oyster as they say.
'Scuse me while I finish my bottle containg sody and 'bates...
Spotted at the hot deli food section of Cupertino Marina Food Supermarket recently:
- Ja Leung (made…
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Okay, before you go this place, you need to keep a couple of things in mind: 1. It's an Asian grocery store. 2. It's an Asian grocery store.
That being said, I think this place is great! It has everything you need, from live seafood to pots and pans to instant noodle to shampoo and facial skincare products. You can get your fill of yummy Asian snacks and curl your eyelashes at the same time! Did I mention this is an Asian grocery store??
Sure, it's not the cleanest grocery store in the world and the aisles aren't neatly organized, but hey, that's not the MO of a grocery store, is it?
Of course I could be biased because I grew up with Marina Foods, so it will always have my heart.
This is one of the best and biggest Asian food markets in Silicon Valley. This place is located behind a bank near the Valco mall. The store has a large variety of many types of Asian food from Chinese to Japanese food. There is also an Asian bakery and Deli area inside the store with a large area to eat in.
They sell whole duck, roasted pork, and Asian baked goods. One of the best things about the place aside from the selection is there is NO tax on just about all food items. I bought about $30.00 worth of groceries yesterday and only paid .20 cents in tax since I bought a huge bottle of Chinese beer. It was Tsingtao and was only $2.09 for a big bottle. I don't often drink regular beer, but this is good and I was stressed from a long day so I deserve one!
Anyways, I also got some low-fat fried tofu for around $2.00 a pack, a five pack of low-fat instant won ton soup flavored noodles, a few frozen beef udon bowls for $2.99 each (I got the low-fat kind and it tastes almost as good as the beef bowl at Yoshinoya beef bowl), a teriyaki chicken bowl, pickled ginger, some fresh strawberries for $1.99, two pounds of yellow cherries for $3.00, some gummy pineapple candy for $2.69 (very tasty and better than gummy bears), green tea for around $1.50, and some Asian vegetables. There is also a huge selection of live and packaged seafood. Unusual cuts of beef, chicken, and pork can be found here too. The selection of Asian vegetables and fruits is large as well.
They also sell large bags of jasmine rice upfront, rice cookers, Asian cookware, teas, herbal medicine, beauty products, and they even have a small selection of American food such as chips, beer, brand name dairy products and soup. Not much though as it is an Asian market.
One other thing, parking here can be a problem especially late in the day or on the weekends. Watch out for people in the parking lot as a lot of people don't seem to be paying attention to other drivers around here.
I grew up going to Marina so it has a special place in my heart. Sometimes we go to the deli in the morning to buy dim sum. It's not top quality; but c'mon it's a supermarket deli. There's also a bakery inside the store - note that the bakery is not park of Marina so you can't use their deli coupons at the bakery.
The food selection in the market is pretty standard for Chinese markets. Obviously, Ranch 99 at Cupertino Village is newer, bigger, and cleaner. Marina does have its loyal following though. It always seems crowded whenever I go. Because it's in a smaller plaza, parking is much easier than at Ranch 99.
Impressed with their wine aisle, well I really didn't walk down it just saw it from the front of the store. I was too tired to roam around. Did make it over to the vegies and saw some fresh bamboo shoots. Takenoko. Amazing.
Still on a mission to find this random supermarket but to no avail.
I spot rats, two huge rats at its deli section, along with a line of passengers awaiting their bentos.
We were lining up at the deli section for some quick fix, and the crowd saw two almost foot-long rats rushing from outside right into the kitchen. Sudden silence fell upon the crowd, some left the line immediately, while some still remained there waiting to order their bento. What the hell are these Chinese customers thinking?
I am a first generation Chinese immigrant and I really dislike this store. I shop at Mitsuwa or… Read more »
I've been putting this review off for awhile, since there is really no nice way to say this, but I figured I should since all the unsuspecting ladies out there deserve to know.
So I've had two bad experiences with the male staff here and by 'bad' I mean it was physically inappropriate. The first time I was caught completley off guard. Then the second time, I decided to just quickly pick up a few things(since it's so close to home!) and was trying hard to be careful the whole time, but alas while maneuvering through a crowded aisle--someone(staff) managed to get me again! I'm aware that when you are in a crowded place, people might graze against you accidentally, but when it's a "grab" it's definitely deliberate. Since the only people around were little grannies and the stockboys---it wasn't rocket science. There were other unpleasant experiences before, but those were just verbal or like lingering inappropriate staring. I've sworn off Marina for good. It's just not acceptable behavior regardless what your cultural background is.
So ladies, stay far far away. For the guys, knock yourself out. The grocery store itself is mediocre and okay for dried goods(anything else is never really that fresh). Just keep your gf in the car!
I guess this place is okay. Asian supermarkets usually don't smell very good. This one is stocked full of merchandise everywhere and has some pretty good deals. I have some reservations about the cleanliness and seeing some items displayed in open air (rather than under refrigeration) that I think need to be refrigerated, but okay. The selection of herbal medicine on the front wall is nice and the pricing is reasonable. I come here for one particular item that I have had difficulty locating in other large asian supermarkets though I have been told by friends it is available in Chinatown in San Francisco. Anyway, the produce department is also nice and large, with all kinds of interesting items and overall pretty good prices. I don't understand why asian supermarkets wrap certain produce items such as kiwi up in meat packages.
1. this is not whole foods
2. this is not whole foods
3. this is not whole foods...
there are 5 or so marina foods in the bay area
the first "marina foods" was actually a mexican mercado
marina foods opened in cupertino in 1991. there was no ranch99 then, no cupertino village, maybe tin tin.. and my family were coming saturday mornings before we even moved here in 1992...
anyways.
great cheap "food court"
for the price especially on weekends when they have:
yo tiao (chinese doughnut), fan tuan (chinese doughnut wrapped in rice w/ chinese pickles and dried pork), jo tsai huh (fried calzone thing filled w/ egg chives and tofu). and cheap dim sum
great produce section
went to whole foods on 7/4 and came here instead (and i worked there for 6 months long ago). you pay a 1/4th the $. you need "shuen" (pick the good stuff) which takes some work, but thats how it works at any market. live insects are a sign of FRESHNESS people and a sign your food hasn't be masterblasted w/ pesticides. and organic? chinese people live a long freaking time eating "conventional". so stop getting ripped off (except for milk and some other veggies you should buy organic)
great butcher/fish area
short ribs are regularly $2.99. you'll see LIVE dungeness crab for $3-$4 during crab season. not the $10 for DEAD crab at Safeway.
they are happy to let you pick the pieces of meat you want and gut/scale your fishes
they have a sheng kee bakery
sure the mexican stock workers don't speak english and won't be able to tell you which aisle the raisins are. sure its not crazy clean and new like whole foods. but if you know how to shop around, not get ripped off, and basically think.. you'll do fine. oh yea you get credits to spend in the "deli" if you spend over $20.
and yes, parking sucks here.
p.s. please stop effing trying to speak cantonese to the people who work here that speak MANDARIN!!!
aHHHHHhhhhhhhhh
WARNING: BEWARE THE WEEK OLD WATERY RICE PORRIDGE & MUSHY FALLING APART DIM SUM.
I'm not Chinese and most of the food vocabulary I do know is in Cantonese. So when I went up to the counter a few weeks ago and asked for "jook", I received a rude pseudo puzzled response from the old lady. So I said "porridge". Then she understood. Wow, she understands more English than a well known Chinese dialect. Go figure.
Then when I asked for "siu mai", she corrected me and said "shao mai". Wow, should I have said pork and shrimp dumpling? I wonder how a Cantonese person would have felt.
Fast forward to today, I came here before working OT to get my breakfast fix. So it seems Saturday is mainly a dim sum menu. But wait...there's a FREAKIN CANTONESE LINE and a FREAKIN NORTHERN LINE. WTF!!!! Some of the items on both sides were similar too. This was freakin hilarious. Is it really necessary to segregate the lines?
This is even funnier though, there's a white guy in the "northern" line in front me (no one was in the Cantonese line so I chose the northern). He says to the cashier, "Can I get jook and a chinese doughnut?" She's like huh? but proceeds to get the doughnut. Then he repeats, "jook", but then adds "porridge". Then she's like OHHHHHHHHHH, and mumbled the right term in Mandarin while laughing.
So when I ordered, I learned my lesson and just said porridge. No questions asked. Good ol' English eh?
But I'd still like to know how the hell you say pork and preserved egg porridge in Mandarin? And what's with the segregation??
**edit - Courtesy of Grace Y, "Pi dan sou rou zhou".
So for all the non-mandarin peasants, now you know. Oops did that just slip out? JK!! Just a little cynicism!**
I've been on the hunt for Cantonese Jook (rice porridge) served in the early mornings and a tip from… Read more »
Did I say, "I smell fish"? Also, the women are very attractive.
Marina Food is my grocery spot for buying Chinese groceries and the occasional lunch special for work.
The market has everything that I could need for groceries. The service is average, but, don't have high expectations for that....
It's just on a different scale than Whole Foods in general, but it works for me.
They know I'm an outsider here. I'm talking about the other customers and the staff there.
I know I'm an outsider here.
Who cares?
I picked up some great catfish fillets here last week for $3.97.
I had my reservations, but they were non-fishy smelling, good quality with great texture , pretty fresh to boot. I was a happy guy.
Home-made crispy fried catfish on a budget
Gotta love it!!
It's not bad, my parents used to take me here shopping all the time. I like that they have a Sheng Kee inside the supermarket but for the most part I'm not utterly impressed or unimpressed by their selection of produce and foods. It's just another normal Chinese supermarket to me.
Yes, it does smell though!
You know those giant 5-lb boxes of grapes they sell at Costco? I go through those in a week. I know my grapes. I lurve my grapes.
What I definitely don't lurve is the produce at Marina. Their grapes are often moldy (eww), peaches are rubbery, and when I took bananas home, I got fruit flies (I never have fruit flies)! I had to strategically kill them with the help of Google, a bowl of balsamic vinegar, and dishwashing soap.
Every once in a while I succumb to getting my weekly groceries here, since it is literally 1 minute away from work. Almost every time I regret it. The veggies, fish, and meat are fine, but never good either.
Remind me to not go here ever again, and spend the extra 2 x 8 minutes it takes for a Ranch 99 trip.
Sure the grocery store might not be too different from other places in the area but their breakfast is pretty gosh darned good.
I was craving some shao bing / dan bing yu tiao in the morning and my host knew just the place to take me to. This place hit the spot. Their soy milk is delicious as well with the slightly toasty flavor that you sometimes don't get in a lot of store-bought brands.
I don't know if these sorts of places are common across the area (a quick search shows that they are, but not many are open for breakfast O_o) but I'd drive a good distance to come here in the morning to get my dan bing you tiao fix.
Sort of non sequitur: every so often I come across someone who's like "Oh I don't like soy milk. I tried Silk in my cereal once and it was disgusting."
No shit.
I have to say, it's relatively hard to even find a good brand of soy milk with that aforementioned toastiness (I secretly suspect that the pots are never cleaned) but at least try the stuff that doesn't have any additional flavoring aside from sugar. Unless you're a fan of the salty kind, that should be the only thing in there. If you still don't like it at that point... alas. Nobody's perfect.
*Some questions prompted some linkage:
You Tiao - http://www.youtube.com...
Shao Bing - http://en.wikipedia.or...
Dan bing you tiao - This is actually a much better version than the stuff offered at Marina but it gets the point across: http://www.youtube.com...
This place may be dirty but... that just makes it more authentic lol. Reminds me of China... not that I am Chinese or that I have been there...
I am giving their food court three stars because as inconsistent as they are, the food can be really good at times. Their bento or lunch box combination is super cheap and you got a ton of food.
I prefer their lunch combo over panda or mr. chow. At least it's more authentic. It can be a hit or miss but this is much more preferred than the Americanized watered down Chinese food.
Plus their duck is excellent! They have beef tongue and all kinds of other nasty stuff on the side as well for those with exotic palates such as mine.
I came here really late this past weekend because I needed to buy some extra mooncakes for that night. Luckily they were still open, and lo' and behold there were mooncake abound in the bakery! Having only looked around the store, I immediately categorized it as one-step above Golden Phoenix (albeit closed) and a cross-between Tin Tin and Ranch 99.
The place has a wide variety from which to choose, but that's because they are large. I was welcome in the store, even though I was white. I especially turned heads though when I responded to the bakery clerk in Mandarin. I think she spoke Cantonese, because she replied in English, yet with a tinge more detectable enthusiasm than before.
Regardless, I would come back if I needed something, but I wouldn't go out of my way for this place, yet. I would need to navigate the aisles to see what they have that is worth the drive.
This place gets 5 stars because they sell Apple Sidra. Apple Sidra is my favoritest drink in the entire world. It is like apple juice but carbonated and better. The red bean popsicles are pretty good too.
Food court sucks.
The one and only time I came in here there was a rat running around the produce department.
There is a clean, well-kept 99 Ranch just a few blocks away (10983 Wolfe Rd).
'Nuff said.
It's bigger than Tin Tin, and is open later. other than that, I cant say much for it. they have a pretty wide selection of stuff, but they seem to be more expensive than the other asian markets I frequent. they have german kinder eggs, which is a little weird.
there is a sheng-kee bakery inside, as well as a strange little deli. I imagine that's what a lot of dining is like in China.
Tin Tin has my business for fresh fruits and veggies. I dont know how they manage to sell stuff for so cheap. I prefer hankook or galleria market for other asian stuff.
If you need some red meet and shrimp on a budget for BBQ. You'll find some non-packages red meat and shrimp at a great price. That's comparing with Luckys and Safeway
ok... so recently i learned that japanese shampoo/conditionar
works better for my hair. it makes my hair softer, silkier giving
you very happy me.
so, i started hunting for japanese shampoo/conditioner. did a
lil research to see which shampoo is good (not so good),
which shampoo is suited for my hair condition, etc.
and for shampoo/conditioner, i recommend you making your
purchase at "marina food." why?
1) they constantly have sales on diff shampoo/conditioner.
2) comparing to marukai / mitsuwa / ranch99 they have good
selection and very competitive price
for those interested, here's the price breakdown (of the few
shampoo/conditioner i would consider using)
marina / marukai / ranch99
umi no uruoi: $11 / $11 / $11
tsubaki (white): $14" / $17 / n/a
tsubaki (red): $10* / $13 / n/a
suibun pack: $14 / $14 / n/a
asience: $13* / $16 / ?
* items currently on sale (@ sale price)
" items available as gift set (and on sale @ lower price)
as for me, i bought myself the "red" tsubaki for $10/ea
used them this morning and am very VERY content. (*^-^*)y
My first time to the Marina Food Asian grocery store in Cupertino. I thought it was ok. Across the Street from Mervyn's shopping center, hidden in the back.
There's Shen Kee bakery, take-out Chinese food, & aisles of Asian food.
I got:
1 gallon of Berkeley Farms Fat Free Milk which was $4.69 - this is $1 more than my Lucky's store in Fremont. That's Evil!!
A friend told me the best brand for soy sauce is Wei-Chuan Luscious Soy Sauce so I had to buy it to try. 18.6 fl oz for $1.69 - might be sale price.
I also got the Wei-Chuan Low-Salt Luscious Soy Sauce $1.69 (18.6 fl oz)
I saw Taiwanese Honey in a tall glass jar for $6.99 - need to compare price before getting it. 99Ranch in Cupertino also sells it.
Total was $8.07. Paid by Credit Card.
If you would like to have live rats with your food this is the place to go. As my girlfriend and I are checking out the different items in the store, we see a rat run from under their food shelves to under the freezer cases...
Mmmm... Rats with dinner tonight...
WE ARE NEVER GOING BACK!
Cheap cheap cheap! (No, I'm not imitating a bird!)
The only reason I ever come here is either to run errands for my mom, get something for another family member, or if I'm really craving some cheap Asian snacks.
Having been to China many times, I can say this place is as clean as markets are over there. My mom shops here every week. I don't know how she does it because it's always sooo crowded. I don't envy the parking situation at all either.
BUT... again, CHEAP is what rules here. Special note on the selection - they stock tons of Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and even Korean goodies here. Most of the Japanese stuff is waaay cheaper here than at Mitsuwa.
I'm starting to like Marina more than Ranch 99 and Maxim. If I had to rate these three Chinese markets, I would say Marina #1, Ranch 99 #2, and Maxim #3. I think Marina's fruits and veggies are fresher than the others. Also, the store seems cleaner than Ranch 99. I love the fresh bamboo and the exotic fruits (star fruit, longong, etc) that you can't get at traditional markets. You get a lot of food for $20 bucks, compare that to Whole Foods. If your looking for european, american processed food, cheeses, wine, etc., your not going to find that stuff here. I go to Whole Foods for that stuff.
This place smells like a cows ass once your inside. I've bought food here several times and have noticed that most of the items have passed the expiration date. Also, I've noticed mold on most of the fruit and dirt inside their packaged sashimi and other fish items. The good thing about this place is that lots of items are cheap, but I really think the the local Health Department needs to really do a thorough inspection of this place.
Occasional sweet deals, no loyalty card needed, and a decently well stocked super market. I can't say much about Marina's produce and meats since I doubt most shoppers even consider getting that stuff from this market. Why? Well... it's definitely not the cleanest grocery store in the area but it's generally cheap and a step above Tin Tin Market over on Blaney. While the dirtiness of the market may turn off most customers, it's hardly a deterrence for most Chinese people (excuse the generalization), where being thrifty and scoring a great deal allow one to overlook mediocre conditions. I guess that explains why Marina Foods is continuously packed and parking is near impossible to find during peak hours.
The one major perk this supermarket has going for it is all the various small stores located within. There's the popular bakery chain Sheng Kee inside the food court as well as a deli. As you exit Marina, you'll also find the cell phone store/kiosk and a Chinese video rental store along with some random kiosk.
-+-Quick Overview-+-
-Sheng Kee Bakery: Wide selection of Chinese breads/buns, popular throughout SJ.
-Deli/Food Court: Decent made to order meat section but avoid the greasy, bland cheap bentos on the other side.
-Cell Phone Kiosk: No clue.
-Video Store: Great for finding the obscure or popular chinese/foreign asian soaps & series.
Uh, I grew up in Cupertino with TinTin as the only Asian food source. When Marina opened, my family was soo happy because it had a wider selection, especially for Taiwanese people.
I don't really know why it's getting such bad reviews on yelp. I've always loved going to Marina-- the biggest flaw to me is the damn parking lot.
Sure, it's dirty, it's smelly, and females regularly get sexually harassed, but c'mon, it's not THAT Bad. Not 1 star bad. They have a wider selection of items than Ranch 99-- for example, they sell about 12 different brands of miso while Ranch 99 only has about 5. I guess that's not the best example, but it's one I remember....
Their seafood varies. Clams and Mussels are usually cheap and dependable. The other day, I bought a suuuuper fresh red snapper at Marina. Of course, their selection isn't always as fresh, but it's sure better than that of Ranch 99 and Tin Tin.
Also, their deli is fantastic for Taiwanese styled breakfast. Today, I had a bowl of noodle soup with two plates of shiao tsai (side dishes) for 5 bucks! Technically, it was free because Marina gives out those wonderful deli coupons when you spend money on groceries.
Their lunch deli food is also a lot better than Ranch 99, unless Ranch 99 re-vamped since the last time I went.
Anyways, for those who are comparing the cleanliness of Marina to the cleanliness of Korean or Japanese markets (Nijiya, Mitsuwa, or Han kook), COME ON! There are cultural differences that make the comparison pretty invalid. Not saying that Chinese people are dirtier than Japanese or Korean... okay.. well.. yes I'm saying that.
I've been here before, but not enough times to make an assessment. After tonight, I feel a bit more confident in my decision.
Tonight I went to both Marina and Ranch 99, within a half hour. I was looking to price compare a few specific ingredients for dishes I'm cooking this weekend. Mushrooms and kumquats specifically. (No, not in the same dish. :P )
At Marina the kumquats were $5.99 lb .... the same for oyster mushrooms. At 99 Ranch it was $3.99 lb for kumquats and $1.89 a pack (or therabouts) for oyster mushrooms. (A pack being several good sized mushrooms, perhaps 6oz worth? Maybe a bit more.) Shitake mushrooms were also a dollar or so *more* at Marina. Maybe other items are a better deal at Marina but eh... I'm not so sure.
Plus...Marina was dirty. Dirty floors, as others have mentioned. Ranch 99... spotless. I dunno...whatever.. my house isn't even all that clean, but given the choice... ya know?
I can't speak for the parking... I always park way the hell out in the middle of nowhere because I have a brand new car.
If Imahara can't beat their pricing tomorrow (or if they don't have what I need) I'll go to 99 Ranch... or maybe I'll finally visit Han Kook. Sorry Marina. Nice to know you're there, just in case, but I think I'll be hitting Ranch 99 first from now on. Especially for fresh foods.
Update: Imahara had kumquats for $2.99 lb. Sold.
They sell Korean Hosui pears (3 pk) for cheap, about 7 bucks.
But I will never again touch them even with a 10 ft pole!
I have reason to believe their korean pears have some artificial ester injected to it.
Juice near the core smell / taste like plastic model glue and u get a strange after taste to it.
I used to take ceramics classes at De Anza College during the summertime. Whenever I'd get hungry, I'd come to Marina for their large bread and deli selection.
If you purchase $20 or more, they will give you food coupons which you can spend on the takeout deli food. I always like to get the soy sauce eggs because while they don't taste as good as Ben's mom's, they taste better than my one attempt at it (with a recipe I found online).
Marina Foods is one of those places that I love and hate at the same time. I am Chinese and I am happy to find my favorite Chinese comfort food/groceries there. They have fresh produce, meat and seafood for good prices. They even have fish heads for $1.99/lb (It sounds gross, I know. Why would anyone need fish head? For fish/seafood soup, of course.) They also have Chinese snack food that I so so so love. Chinese Moon Festival is around the corner and we recently came here to get some moon cakes to celebrate the season. Marina Foods has a plethora of moon cakes and we picked up a tin of medium-size low sugar moon cakes. I did not even know those existed until coming here. Another thing I like is the free Chinese deli coupons for every $20 you spend in groceries. Most of the time we redeem those coupons immediately in their in-house Chinese deli and pick up half of a soy-sauce duck for cheap or free sometimes. You can also redeem the coupons for lunch there and there is a seating area for you to eat. The food is ok, passable.
Things that I hate about Marina: too crowded in parking lot and in store. Coming to Marina Foods is more or less like a war battle. It is hard to find parking space. For some reason drivers there don't see you or acknowledge you even when they see you and drive in all the ways they desire. Same thing happens with the shopping carts in store. The whole thing is a big mess. The deli seating area is always crowded during lunch hour on weekends so I don't suggest having lunch there. Well, I guess all small popular places are destined to be very crowded and somewhat chaotic.
The supermarket part is just like any other Asian grocery store. But in the deli part, they have some decent food, especially the roasted duck. It's swimming in oil, like most of the deli stuff, but it's SO good.
Tapex is next door, if you want to wash down all of the grease.
Union City, CA
Category: Grocery
Cupertino, CA
Category: Grocery
San Mateo, CA
Category: Specialty Food
San Mateo, CA
Category: Grocery
Cupertino, CA
Category: Grocery
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