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Sunset Supermarket
Categories: Food Grocery Food Specialty Food Ethnic Food Grocery, Ethnic Food [Edit]
2425 Irving St(between 25th Ave & 26th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
(415) 682-3738
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
137 reviews for Sunset Supermarket
Review Highlights
"...a nifty little parking lot across the street, so you don't..."
(in 11 reviews)
"Also, the produce quality is amazing."
(in 49 reviews)
"1 star for probably a hundred different kinds of live fish."
(in 10 reviews)
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137 reviews in English
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Review from Junel S.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012 3 Check-ins Here
Whenever I have the time, I always go here for produce. Maybe its because I'm a veggie freak, asian, and an enthusiast about places that remind me of home, but this place really is great. Their produce prices are much cheaper than the big chain stores like Safeway, and although it gets crowded, you end up saving a ton! Fresh for the most part, you just have to know how to pick vegetables. Also, even though it's busy a lot of the time, I've never had to wait longer than 3 minutes in line!
I can't say much about anything other than the produce because that's all that I get here, but I've glanced around at some of the meats and canned goods, and it seems like those are a bit pricier than the chain stores. But if you're looking for inexpensive produce, this is the place. -
Review from MLD L.
San Francisco, CA
1/22/2012
While YELP is a great forum sharing reviews about dining, food, and services, I feel the need to post this review about Sunset Supermarket.
Sunset Super seems to be the place to shop for inexpensive Asian food with access to a huge, generous variety of products. I go to this market maybe 1x a year to buy lucky money envelopes and candy for Chinese New Year since I live in the Sunset.
On a recent visit, I was horrified standing in front of the live fish tanks. The fish swimming in the tanks are forced to live in filthy water with dead and diseased fish. Overcrowding is an understatement. In the catfish tank, I saw bloodied mouths (from eating other fish and crashing into tanks); some were swimming frantically and literally for their lives, and others just wallowed at the bottom as if they were going through a slow, painful death. It's not a pleasant sight and it's just not right.
Customers are not buying fish from this market that is good for their health so you might think twice about consuming it. Sadly, a number of Chinese fish or supermarkets dump fish into crowded tanks. I grew up in San Francisco and my family shopped at Chinese markets all their lives except when it came to buying fish: live or dead.
While you shop and push your way through the crowd for your bargain soy or chili sauces, seaweed treats, dried mushrooms, or favorite Asian vegetables and candies, make the effort to let the staff and management know that the market should clean up its act.
Happy Lunar New Year Yelpers! -
Review from Binh H.
San Francisco, CA
1/16/2012
This place has everything I need for grocery shopping.
Their meat and seafood food are inexpensive. They have pretty much every part of an animal you can think of. Also, you can get the big live oysters for 79 cents each. :)
It's so hard to find cheap, seaweed salad (my favorite) but this place has it. It's right next to their meat section. You can get a tray full for 6 bucks, that's enough to last a week.
The cons? It's crowded, the aisles are small, you have to pay 25 cents to use the cart, and the place smells funky. -
Review from freshta m.
Garden Grove, CA
2/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
too crowded- no one speaks english and not enough variety-
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Review from Spike S.
San Francisco, CA
12/26/2011
I shop at Sunset Supermarket for my fresh crabs and sometimes meat and other items. The crabs are excellent, usually priced pretty well. I like it that they will let me tell them which ones I want, show them, and put them back if I don't like them. I look for really lively ones, I don't want something that's dead before I cook it, which has happened to me with crabs from one of the shops on Clement Street.
The downside is that, like most Asian markets, you have to fight your way to the guys behind the counter. Why don't these places put in number ticket systems? I feel like I'm back in New York. Also, while they have a parking lot, when it's full, it's very difficult to park. -
Review from sumeet s.
Middlesex, MA
1/23/2012
I fancy myself a pretty practical grocery shopper. I like to have cheap groceries, with lots of variety. and I want everything in one place. This place has very cheap produce and a lot of pantry items for really cheap. It does not have everything I could possibly need, (eg cereals, cheeses etc) but it can stock up all my produce needs and 60-70% of dried good needs, leaving me to make a stop at safeway every third week. this is worth it as i save almost $50 a week (for 2 people) as compared to an average stop at safeway (AKA ripoff-way). i also buy a lot of asian groceries, i eat asian noodles, dumplings and bok choy (50 cents a pound!!!) a lot.
East coasters: this is like our H-Mart. Awesomeness, with a capital A. -
Review from Tammy C.
Updated - 10/15/2011 2 photos
(See pics)
They have great prices for live seafood such as black live cod, Boston lobsters, as well as other live fish, clams, geoduck, etc.
The supermarket is very Hong Kong style that they already carry a large selection of import goodies from Asia. Great place if you are cooking for a Asian dinner and you can find all the ingredients here!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/2/2008
The more I shop outside of downtown area, the more I think I have been ripped off. Is it really just… Read more »
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Review from Jude N.
San Francisco, CA
12/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Come here every time I need to stock up on vegetables or simple grocery items. It always has on stock common vegetables and asian unique items like bok choy.
This supermarket has been here since I was a kid growing up in the sunset and its a relief it is still around, though not sure management has always been one owner.
Prices are nice. Nothing is overpriced here. Everything is properly organized and there is a wide variety of candies, cooking ingredients, and even a counter near the front dedicated to vietnamese desert drinks. ;D -
Review from carol y.
9/29/2011 15 Check-ins Here
Sunset Supermarket is like Chinatown but in a store.
Crowded lines.
Not a lot of walking space in aisles.
Packages everywhere - not even stacked nicely. Its like a treasure hunt.
Fresh seafood, veggies and fruits.
Dont expect friendly but QUICK service at Sunset Supermarket. A lot of people just want their stuff and leave. -
Review from Patrick C.
San Francisco, CA
8/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's cool...they ALMOST have everything I need here to help me cook a good dinner but they don't have gingseng!! A Chinese market that doesn't have that...??
Anyways, I like their seafood section the best. Look out for special sales on their crabs!! -
Review from Heather W.
Cambridge, MA
7/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Another in my collection of "why the Sunset isn't so bad."
Absolutely the cheapest produce out there (basically just walk these few blocks of Irving and take your pick). The other day I got two pomegranates and both were a $1 a pop. Beat that, Andronicos!
Yesterday I got a thing of strawberries and whipped cream canister (yeah, don't judge me) for $4.50.
It's wonderful. Yeah, it sort of smells. Yeah, I tried asking a question once and a woman working there simply said "No speak English" but who cares? Pointing and cash are universal! And if you want cheap, they've got it! -
Review from Rylan C.
7/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I like this supermarket for their pre-packaged items and their meats behind the butcher counter. I love that there is a wide selection and that they have a private parking lot.
However, there is a distinct smell and is surely not for anyone not used to Asian Markets (with the exception of Japanese and Filipino markets because those are usually very clean). I would never buy produce here nor would I purchase the pre-cooked items or the pre-butchered meats.
Also, I thought all large grocery stores were required to use paper bags and not plastic. This place definitely still uses plastic, which is annoying. -
Review from Marina G.
San Francisco, CA
6/12/2011
This place makes me wonder if there is really a Health Inspector in San Francisco. I know there is, LOL, but this place makes me wonder if its maybe exempted.
I live a few blocks from Sunset Super, but rarely shop here anymore. I don't mind the stinky smell, I grew up in the Philippines and is used to stinky and dirty wet markets. The smell is worst back home, if you are not used to it, you might throw up.
However, Sunset Super is not just filthy, most of the produce it sells are not fresh anymore (moldy) , and the meat and seafood's freshness are questionable. I even saw a mouse running around here once too (it came under the sacks of rice) . I rather shop in the smaller produce stands in Irving. Although the selection is very limited in these smaller stores, the produce they sell are fresh and of good quality. For meat and seafood, I rather go to Safeway in Noriega or go all the way to Pacific Super in Alemany.
The quality of produce in Sunset Super are just not worth the money. You can buy the same produce, for the same price, but better quality in the smaller stores in Irving.
UPDATE: 6-29-2011
Bump up to 3 stars!
Went to Sunset Super yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to see the store cleaner and not smelly! The floor is whiter and the stainless meat shelves are shinier. Woohoo! Somebody there must be reading Yelp reviews. They now just need to work on the quality of their produce . :) -
Review from Pierre B.
San Francisco, CA
6/14/2011
I would say that this supermarket is awesome for the number of food selections, the prices and the veggies. I give it a four stars since at times they need to maintain a bit tidying up of the store's interiors. I'd give it a five if it were as spick and span as Foster City's Ranch 99 Supermarket.
I do like that they have soy milk as well as black soy bean milk, also the Thai chili and sesame anchovies snack. I also like the prices of their fruits and veggies, very reasonable, especially the strawberries, tangerines and grapes. What I also come here for is to stock up on my canned goods of oriental food when I don't feel like eating out or just plain too tired to cook. I do see that they have a wide variety of seafood and that's awesome, actually that's what many buyers go here for other than the fruits and veggies as well as the selection of rice.
Overall, this is a one stop supermarket to go to whenever you're from here or like to buy oriental goods for dinner. -
Review from Susan K.
Anchorage, AK
4/17/2011 22 Check-ins Here
It's great having this place next door! Generally speaking they have a nice variety of products available, like fresh kale and Durian(for other people) and quirky items (Durian ice cream) as well as a freezer section lined with various dim-sum and the like. There's also a lot of beef jerky. Half an aisle dedicated to an assortment of asian dried snacks, dried bean curd, bbq, fruit, or "hot fruit" flavored beef jerky(in individual vacuum-packed bags or in enormous boxes to take to housewarming parties) as well as Japanese seaweed sprinkled chips and snacks. If you're a tea fanatic, there's an aisle for that as well.
Although the produce can sometimes be questionable in terms of freshness, you can find great deals all the time. Once I bought a peach and it didn't taste like a peach. Rather, it was more like a genetic mutation of a mushy russet potato crossed with a watermelon rind. Not very appetizing. Also, more recently, while perusing the pre-bagged clementines I saw a dead bee clinging to the bottom of one bag. While it was a bit disenchanting and drained the color from my face for half a second because I had bought these bags before, I did what anyone would do - quietly put it back where it was and grabbed another bag from the back. Other then those two occasions it's always a great place to get stuff at a VERY reasonable price(especially meat/produce.) No debit minimum = awesome. -
Review from Julie D.
Berkeley, CA
2/14/2011
You never appreciate what you have until it's gone. When I was a little kid living in a predominantly Asian-American community, supermarkets like these were a dime a dozen: huge, overstocked, cheap, questionable smelling, and filled with the strangest things. True story: once I saw "beef pizzle" being sold in the frozen section at one of these stores (not Sunset Super!) -- don't ask what it really was, just know that my mom and I were giggling at it for a good 5 minutes.
I was usually unwilling to go to these types of supermarkets when I was younger, but now you can't keep me away! After a trip here, my boyfriend and I paid pennies but had NY steak, potatoes, and kale for dinner. My student-sized wallet thanks me every time I go here. -
Review from Jane J.
Martinez, CA
10/11/2010
Sure they have a big selection of Asian foods. So do places that actually comply with the health code. if you must shop here, stick with the dry goods and produce.
Fish heads in a box, with no ice? Live fish that are visibly dying in the tanks just aren't that appealing. And that smell reviewers talk about could be the stench of improperly handled perishables. I deal with the food industry and have yet to see less sanitary conditions behind a meat counter than at Sunset Super. Yuck! Makes me wonder if the health department's ever visited.
Caveat emptor! -
Review from Olivia L.
12/25/2010
Prices kind of suck for what you can get at a "white person" supermarket, but for Asian stuff, this place cannot be beat in price or selection. Last I checked, there were 3 types of vacuum sealed roasted chestnuts (mmmm) and like 10 types of tubers (potatoes, yams, taro, etc). Uhhh...not that I really like yams or chestnuts a lot...
I also love the fresh seafood. There's nothing like a fish that you get to approve (live and kicking) before they take it in back and give it a good whack (and clean it for you). Also, you've never had shrimp until you've had live shrimp. The stuff you get frozen (read, every other shrimp you've had unless the restaurant has a tank of shrimp in the front) really won't qualify as shrimp after that. Also, they have a full butcher counter where you can get bone (for bone marrow or for soup).
There's also a counter by the front door where they sell the dried Asian treats (think salted plums, sweet plums, sweet salted plums, etc) by the pound.
Every time I come to SF, we have to make a stop so I can stock up and ship stuff back to myself in on the East Coast. -
Review from Peter L.
5/4/2010 2 photos
The aisles are narrow and can fit one shopping cart, a small shopping cart. You'd have to dodge one another if met inside the aisles. So, it's really a three-star Asian grocery store with decent pricing (http://static1.px.yelp...) - more so during sales (http://static1.px.yelp...).
But, it's out of the way to get to and has limited parking, although its own parking lot across the street helps (otherwise, metered parking as this is Irving St.). I'd return only if in the area and needed to grab something for home. -
Review from david b.
San Francisco, CA
9/6/2010
Where else have I found vegan Durian, Taro, Red Bean, etc creamy popsicles, 4 for $1.50, jack fruit, durian, all kinds of tropical/exotic fruit for CHEAP, & pretty much everything good for stir-fries & smoothies all in one place?
Nowhere.
Vegan Thai iced tea? sold
Consistently find gems here & that's what keeps me a customer -
Review from Terry Y.
San Francisco, CA
3/28/2010
I shop here every other weekend. Today was a special day indeed; I saw the cutest little mouse running down the sauce aisle. There was a grandma there yelling "mice mice mice" in Cantonese too. Usually, you would think you would be disgusted by such a site, but the mouse was just too cute. It was about an inch long and it was running around with its tiny little paws. I was about to get my cell phone camera out when it ran under the shelves. ::snap:: Maybe next time, I'll get a video of that cute critter and put it up in Youtube. Oh, there were also three birds in there too, eating all the flies near the window. I felt like I was in a petting zoo. Love it! Shopping + entertainment all in one.
Only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars is cause it's really crowded with no walking space, but the salmon is really fresh. -
Review from Herra Chink y.
San Francisco, CA
3/23/2007
SUNSET SUPER IS AMAZING! Despite the fact that I almost died here.
Let me proceed. Sunset Super is my personal one-stop shop for all my Chinky needs. I find it funny that when everyone else's parents come into town, they take them to nice restaurants, go to Alcatraz, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. My mom? She wants me to take her to Sunset Super. "You fridge, I dunno how you live. Ees no food dere!"
So we go and she throws all the normal Chinese items into the bag.
Smelly Black Bean Sauce? Check.
REALLY BIG Knife suitable for cutting oxen thigh and also rusted poles? Check.
Fresh noodles? Check.
Chicken Feet and Head? Check.
Fish thrown violently on dirty ground in order to stamp out all remnants of life? Check.
Thousand Year Old Eggs? Check.
Deep Fried Preserved Shredded Pork and Squid? Check.
Lychee Jellies? Check.
Except, uh oh, I'm diabetic.
Momma M: You can no eet deese candy. Ees sugar! You know, you no eat sugar! Dats why you fat.
Me [regressing to 5 years old]: Mommy!! Pleeeeaasseeee. Just one!
Momma M: NO! I dun like. I dun like dis. You die! YOU DIE! I no want only son die. Den seester will be sad.
Me: Mommmyyyyyy! I promise I won't die! They're sooooo good!
Momma M: No.
She won't let me get it! Oh my gosh, why is my Mom able to say just one word and send me one sideways glance and immediately transport me back to my awkward pre-adolescent phase?! I went to college! I have a job! Mommy, I want candy!!!!!!
But she wouldn't budge, and as pre-adolescent kids who want candy are wont to do, I stole it. My mom actually drove me to steal a freaking lychee jelly. So I walk out of Sunset Super with a lychee jelly candy in my pocket. Glory! I win! I outsmarted my Mom! And she's HELLA (HERRA?) hard to outsmart. Her eyes may be slanted but she sees ALL. ALL! She hides stuff up there. We ALL do. FYI, my slanted eyes hide quarters, you know, for Muni change or something.
I step outside, it's actually sunny in the Sunset. And when my mom is not looking, I pop a lychee jelly into my mouth. And it is so good and sooo juicy and tasty and sweet and all sorts of wonderfulness and - oh god. Oh god. OH GOD. It's STUCK. I'm choking. I'M CHOKING ON LYCHEE. OH GOD.
My arms are flailing. I start sweating. I can't breathe. I'm choking. I'M GONNA DIE.
Momma M sees me, I'm asking for her help, and she smacks me on the back of my head. No Heimlich. No fancy Western technique. JUST ONE SWIFT SMACK OF HER PALM ONTO MY HEAD.
And I cough the lychee jelly out. And it falls to the sidewalk. I'm still breathing heavy. Momma M sees the lychee jelly, and suddenly, her eyes are not so slanted anymore.
Momma M: WHY YOU TAKE CANDY?! I SAY NO ALREADY!
Me: ....
Momma M: You GO, YOU GO PAY, you make mahney, you go pay, and you help me buy new deeshwasher too. We need new deeshwasher!! WHY YOU DO THAT! YOU DIE!
I walk back into Sunset Super, hand them a buck (no change) and mumble "I'm sorry" in Chinese.
Momma M: I go, I go buy new deeshwasher. I go to Best Buy. You geeve me mahney, I go buy.
Me: A dishwasher, Mommy? It was just a lych -
Momma M: You worst son, you lie to me. You lie to you Mommy! Ees like, I dun have son. And you die. And I save you. So deeshonorable. I die soon! You lie to dying Mommy!
Me: I'll give you a blank check when I get home.
A lychee jelly candy nearly cost me my life and also $300 + $1 dollars.Listed in: I Like Me., I'm Bringing Ch*nkyBack., Ed and the Family M!
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Review from Sara M.
San Francisco, CA
1/16/2008
Vegan. Mock. Meats.
Yes, sometimes you might have to squeeze in tightly packed aisles. Yes, there are live frogs and fish and everything is pretty fragrant. Yes, it's crowded and loud. No, these things do not bother me in the slightest. I would probably like coming to Sunset Super even if they didn't have the best selection of "is that really chicken/pork/duck?" vegan mock meats. Actually, it warms my cold dead heart to come here because its sheer size and volume reminds me of going to Oakland's Chinatown when I was a little, little kid. People that complain about the "smell" here are probably just used to eating instant mashed potatoes from a box that their mom made for them. Food smells are part of eating, don't be a cry baby when your fish actually smells like fish. Get in touch with your food instead of making the whole experience as lifeless, dull and bland as possible.
Again, what is the most important part of shopping at Sunset Super? (For me, because I'm not only talking about myself but maybe even to myself).
Vegan mock meats. Helluv kinds. In the back. To the left of live animals. In the freezer.
What's there? Oh, how about chicken logs, ham logs, and the ever-endangered chicken-ham logs. Spicy chicken, chicken drumsticks, smoky duck, beefsteaks. All of these wonderful things await. They are frozen, they are wonderful, I am thankful.
(the produce is alllllllright - nothing amazing but not bad either. Sometimes I get noodles or sauces here but usually it's the just old in&out for me to grab the goodness in the back freezer) -
Review from S L.
San Francisco, CA
8/24/2009
I've always hated the rude shoppers in Sunset Supermarket. I feel like I should've walked in with a bat so that I could actually safely walk through the store. If it weren't for all the pushy people in there, I'd give sunset super 5 stars. Sure, it's dirrrrrty! And sure, it smells. Yeah, you find dead frogs and fish heads in the back with the rest of the seafood and meats. But this store is filled with a wide array of items.
My favorite items to pick up there include:
Shrimp Chips
Dried Squid
Strawberry Pocky
Strawberry Yan Yan (I have a thing for strawberry flavored asian snacks)
Pretz
Red Bean
Fresh soy milk [find the cartons near the aisle closest to the meat]
Vita soy (of course)
Frozen Red Bean and Coconut ice cream bars
RANT warning: Some lady put her half filled basket in a line and just left it there while she went back and forth, dropping items in as she shopped the store, "saving" her spot. RUDE!!! Yes the people who shop here really ARE that rude. Please do not take this to be a representation of all Chinese people. But goodness, you might come out frustrated and annoyed.
The snacks are worth it though. I love my soy products and asian snacks too much to stop going to sunset super!! -
Review from Wes M.
San Francisco, CA
3/14/2007 1 photo
*** Updated 11/11/09 ***
The definitive Asian supermarket of the Outer Sunset. Sure, you can find more pleasant places (like New May Wah in the Richmond), and the Daly City mega-stores have more selection. But Sunset Super is large, well-organized, and their pork and seafood counters are the rival of any specialty market.
Then there's the whole issue of the prices. By riding my bike a mere 12 blocks farther than Andronico's, I can get meat for a fraction of the price. Which is a little disconcerting, because either yuppies are paying like 90% of the price for atmosphere, or I'm going to die when I eat a chicken here. Actually, the chickens taste just fine, and besides, I'm pretty sure those dainty Asian grandmothers out here are as picky as the next guy about the quality of what goes into their stock pots. Now, whether you're mortgaging the planet's future to buy chicken here is another question; you certainly won't see any ads proclaiming "organic" this or "locally farmed" that. But that's a debate for another day.
Oh, and if you're wondering what "Headon" chicken is, it means "Head On", as you'll discover when they pull one out of the ice for you. So have a big cleaver handy.Listed in: Mid-Outer Sunset
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Review from Stanley K.
San Francisco, CA
1/9/2009
I suddenly have this craving for some udon ( Japanese noodles )
Normally, I go to Lucky's or Safeway for groceries, but I wanted to buy some udon noodles and I'm sure Safeway wouldn't have much of a selection and would probably charge an arm or a leg.
So I venture out to my local Asian grocery store for the first time...yes...the first time... something about this store didn't excite me at first. Maybe due to the crowdedness or the fact they only carry Asian foods. I was wrong, they have produce which seems uncanny low in price and quality yet savory when cook.
Entering the store might be tough, first you must walk through the people and the stuff they sell on the isles. It doesn't make sense when you have produce outside the store, it makes it look cheap although it seems to work. Cheap veggies and fruits and a hungry mind is all it takes.
Before I get off track, I was aiming for udon, some bok choy, and some meat balls for my soup. I stayed away from the tofu, just not right having it open for anyone to grab. I tried really hard not to go to the snack isle but miss badly when I saw choco snacks along with those coin-like red chips or something rather. It was a childhood memory when I used to go to my babysitters and she would always give me them. I gave in to Pocky too. I know, I'm bad.
Upon leaving the store, I couldn't believe I spent less than ten bucks..AMAZING! I'm a fan.
FYI: Although they have low prices, sometimes the line and crowdedness gets me. Come early if you wanna avoid this. -
Review from Patra B.
12/25/2008 21 Check-ins Here
Where else can I go to get all my Asian goodies without venturing far from home?? I can be lazy, so I don't want to drive or walk very far to get my groceries.
I finally decided to dust off my kitchen and whip up something for dinner, so I made a pit stop at Sunset Super to pick up my ingredients. Anyone who shops here knows the aisles are TINY! I don't bother getting a shopping cart anymore because there's barely enough room to get down the aisle without bumping into some old lady.
But carrying around a basket is no picnic either. I had to buy ingredients for my dinner...Thai green curry( http://static.px.yelp.... ).... and the papaya salad( http://static.px.yelp.... ) I needed to make for Christmas day. After loading up my basket with everything, my arm was about to fall off. I don't know what's worse....carrying around a heavy basket or using a shopping cart and running into everybody. At least the checkout line went pretty fast.
This place is definitely a mini-version of Ranch 99...all crammed into a smaller space. I can get my ramen, pocky, shrimp chips, rice, veggies and meat here....all at pretty cheap prices. And they have a nifty little parking lot across the street, so you don't have to pay for street parking....I don't need to be giving the city anymore of my money! -
Review from Matt G.
10/12/2006 1 Check-in Here
We were here at another wifey's favorite Asian Market just within moments before the store was closing for the night. It was a good thing we came here on a weekday as oppose to coming to this nightmare Irving St. strip on the weekends.
One of the biggest store along Irving St., this busy store carries a lot fine gourmet Asian specialty items and fresh produce. Some of the items are slightly overpriced. Matt was surprised to squeeze his big gregarious body inside that tight and cramp store. Even with Matt's big girth, we still manage to buy a ton of items. It was a good thing wifey, who speaks 5 fluent languages was there, because store-workers were talking in there own language about the big Chinese Panda inside the store, which was Matt. WTF! -
Review from Bill F.
Fremont, CA
5/30/2009
I came here after visiting my cousin, who lives, a couple of streets away. It was convenient to pickup a couple of Chinese items, which I needed but did not want to go to Chinatown for.
The store was crowded and isles were narrow - maybe a good sign. Prices for items were good but the produce was a bit cheaper at the produce markets on Irving Street. Meat and fish selection was very good - prices were good.
Customer service by the cashier was OK but a smile would have helped.
If I lived in the area, I would patronize this store for my Asian grocery items but would not specifically drive there for my grocery needs. -
Review from William S.
Philadelphia, PA
1/21/2009
I love Sunset Super. And not just because I'm Chinese. It's because I love how cheap everything is there. ok maybe those things are one in the same, but the fact remains that this place has some of the best, cheapest produce in town.
Also, the familiar stench of a Chinese supermarket just reminds me of my childhood and memories of buying fish and playing with the blue-shell crabs while my mom bought meat and veggies for dinner.
They also have beef short ribs there for 2.50/pound on a regular basis, you just have to ask them to slice it obliquely and ta-dah you got kalbi meat!
If you need anything Asian for whatever you're cooking, do yourself a flavor and run far away from the Asian aisle at safeway and come here. I guarantee you'll spend at least 25% less than you would have there.Listed in: THE OUTER LIMITS. I mean…
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Review from graceypoo m.
Boston, MA
8/27/2006
The place to get real cheap produce and meats. I spent $20 on 2 whole chickens (cut up for free), a dozen eggs, onions, garlic, and a container of fried garlic. Can you guess what I'm going to cook (sans the eggs... but the eggs may be used as a side compliment too) today?
I basically have enough chicken arroz caldo that can last my household for a week and enough chicken to cook a batch of chicken adobo that can feed at least 7 people. Oh yeah, I'm cheap.
This is no Ranch 99, so you WILL smell the freshness of the seafood and freshly slaughtered animals at the meat section. I'm glad they carry some Filipino spices and sauces, Skyeflakes, Knorr cubes, etc., but minus one star because they don't carry my favorite brand of shrimp paste. You cannot be a claustrophobic at this place because they use up as much space as they can, and the aisles are not that wide. THere are also a lot of moms and their children, so you have to watch out you don't step on any kids during business hours. -
Review from Yasmin K.
San Francisco, CA
4/5/2008
$2 Dollah for a bottle of wine? (Up front by the meat) F*ck yeah!
The taste? Meh. The hangover? Ohhhh maan. These wine are awesome for cooking though. Mmmm, white wine mushroom sauce for game hens! Yum!
For you alckies who are not ready to quit this is the place. Stock up you loser.
Don't drink and drive. Please drink responsibly.
They have instant Thai Ice Tea!
Ovaltine!
Check out the frogs in the back climbing over each other. Kinda sad. Why don't they hop away? Can they? Or have they lost hope?
I only love this place because they have authentic Asian goodies that I need, especially when I need to make my shredded chicken pho, and rare, exotic foods. The prices are very low too. Other than that, it can get crowded and difficult to maneuver the aisles, especially if you have a stroller or shopping cart. The meat/seafood section smells like a whore's ass on a busy night and the floor looks like last call for alcohol lights on at a hoppin club. -
Review from Teri C.
9/15/2006
This is my local Asian supermarket in the Sunset district. You can find me here buying fresh fish, sashimi, salmon eggs, fresh veggies and fruit. I'll pretty much pick up everything here that I forgot (or was too lazy) to get while I was in Chinatown.
Sure, the aisles are super cramped and you definitely have to maneuver your way through when you're using a cart. But you kinda expect this when you get here, so there are no surprises.
In the few times I had planned an Asian dinner (from a cookbook), my friend and I headed straight for Sunset Super to pick up our groceries. The sad part is they close a little too early for me. If I'm coming home from work, there's just no way I'll make it back in time to shop there.Listed in: My Hood
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Review from Aspasia s.
San Francisco, CA
3/18/2007
Somewhere in the inner Sunset lies a huge Asian grocery store with a vast assortment of oriental ingredients laid out in a messy, yet very Asian sort of way. It's a place where other shoppers shove and push, so you should be prepared to elbow and shove. Parking is a struggle, yet my rock star parking karma did not falter as I found a spot right in front of the door.
Yesterday, I found the final ingredients needed for my chicken adobo dinner evening with a kindred soul: Datung Puti vinegar, canned quail eggs and straw mushrooms. They even have Rufina patis! The only disappointment was that Silver Swan soy sauce was no where in sight. Silver Swan is my preferred soy sauce for adobo, it has a thicker consistency perfect for an adobo sauce base. -
Review from Miika m.
7/26/2006
Not bad when you are in a hurry and a rush to obtain some fruit and dried goods for a picnic in Golden Gate Park. I've been able to procure some fresh and good looking fruit and produce here, as well as Asian dry goods. Make sure to pick through the fruit, however, as I have come across some rotting ones near the bottom of the boxes. Prices are pretty inexpensive as well.
Good service and quick checkout. The lady there always makes me laugh, even though she warbles at me in Korean :) -
Review from Amy L.
2/19/2007
To live near this place is to hate it. Seriously. The passion and fire of a thousand suns.
Why, you ask. How could anyone HATE a supermarket that much? Well, it's quite easy if this supermarket makes your neighborhood semi-uninhabitable. Between the traffic being clogged by inept mini-van drivers all waiting in line for the tiny parking lot directly across the street from the Sunset Super and the way the massive delivery trucks rudely block off the streets around this store, it's a huge burden on this neighborhood.
But the worst is the relentless honking caused by these traffic snarls. Anytime there's a long line of vehicles waiting to turn into that tiny lot (and there ALWAYS is during Sunset Super's hours of operation), there are idiots laying on their horns in a road-ragey attempt to get the idiots in front of them to move out of the road where they're blocking off traffic. The noise nuisance that this causes is most accutely felt by people like me who are actually home during the day...it's enough to drive anyone mad!!
But there are other reasons to dislike the Sunset Super, like the way it smells like rotting fish inside, or that their produce are waxy and underripe and poor quality. The aisles most likely are not up to ADA standards, and the people who work at the meat counter pretend not to speak any English at all when they don't want to have to bother helping you (I know it's pretense because the same guys speak different amounts of English each time I've been dragged in there by friends)...and even if you CAN get someone to help you out, their meat handling practices leave much to be desired (like cleanliness standards).
I know a lot of folks in this neighborhood love this grocery store. And I certainly wouldn't want it to go out of business. But it WOULD be nice if they'd put up a "No Honking, Please" sign by the parking lot (in English, Cantonese, and Russian) and would try to improve a bit on their cleanliness standards.
The insufferable annoyance of that infernal honking is almost unbearable some days... -
Review from johnny a.
San Francisco, CA
11/14/2010
Haven't been there in a while, but I do recall when someone bought a live fish and the clerk killed it putting it on the floor and smacking it with mallet, which was impressive. I guess that's just how it's done.
I don't shop there much, I once bought frozen unagi here -- it was fine, but it was probably caught with drift net and treated with some chemicals before being shipped to the US.
This store features really narrow aisles. -
Review from Yanny S.
San Francisco, CA
1/21/2008
Asian supermarket filled with Asian (mostly Chinese and Japanese to my uncultured eyes) foods and kitchenware. What more do you need to know? Oh, of course, it's cheap.
I come here for the produce (a box of 8 large mangos or 15 manilia mangoes for about $7? heck yes!) and stuff for my slowly growing asian pantry. Definitely get spices here, larger and cheaper than safeway. About $1.25 for a large glass jar of ground white pepper (for jook!).
This location may not be for squeamish people. They have live fish and you can smell it. I grew up in a restaurant where raw chicken came in by the truckload, so this doesn't bug me in the least. Like most places where the aisles are small, I prefer to use a basket rather than a cart.Listed in: Cheap, cheap
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Review from jon b.
San Francisco, CA
6/29/2009
Dollar for dollar, this has to be one of the best places to shop for produce and meat in the city.
1 star for ridiculous music blasted through the speakers
1 star for great produce at dirt cheap prices
1 star for probably a hundred different kinds of live fish
1 star for the Chinese booze
1 star for making sure I can get Durian fruit whenever I want
-1 star for not always having balut in stock -
Review from Anthony W.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 5/28/2011
Good, decent Asian market with reasonable produce prices. Very convenient for those who life in the neighborhood.
1 Previous Review:
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8/29/2010
Store feels very cramped, but it offers a very complete selection of Asian food and goods.
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