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Categories: Grocery, Shopping Centers [Edit]
Neighborhood: Allston/BrightonPackards Corner (Green)
Mon-Sun. 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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Super 88 isn't glamorous by any means. It smells off, from the fish, and isn't the cleanest places. However, you can get some great deals on noodles, soy sauces, and rice. They have a great variety of those items, as well as stir-fry sauces.
Not everything here is cheaper than in a regular grocery store; some of the canned fruits are significantly more. But if you shop smart, you can definitely save a lot of money.
The only real quibble I have is the cookware is quite lacking. I'm used to Asian markets that sell lots of woks. I wanted a carbon steel wok (try it; they are so much better than Teflon woks), and they don't appear to sell them. Super 88 maybe had 2 woks. I'll be back for food, but the lack of woks was a little disappointing.
As far as Asian markets go - Super 88 is pretty good but small. Cleaner than C-Mart, maybe the same cleanliness as C-Mart 2. Much more pleasant than either as well - no fighting four foot tall grandmothers for the best mangoes, like at the C-marts. (though to be honest, isn't that part of the fun?)
They have proved to be my best source for mangosteens. So for that I love them. Come August or September - they often have the impossible to find bastards. Until I visit. Then all the other mangosteen lovers weep openly as I leave carrying 20 of the delicious morsels. But they restock fairly quickly, so hold the tears!
Additionally, they often will carry dragonfruit, longans, or lychees. Of course, they also have all the more common fruits that you'll see at Star down the street. I've found them to be a great place to get Ataulfo mangoes - unlike other stores they typically put them out when they're ripe - so they're ready to eat as soon as you leave the store!
They simply don't have the selection of the C-Marts when it comes to general Asian grocery items - but I like them none the less. Avoid the back area - it can get... smelly. Well unless you like the smell of stale fish... Yummy!
So - go here for a quick shopping experience, decent Asian fruit selection, easy parking, and some awesome connected restaurants - especially Ken's Ramen House! But go to the C-Marts for selection. And try a mangosteen if you're lucky enough to beat me to them. Yummmmm.
Boba tea is delightful. Honey green tea bubble tea? And tea "slush?" Sign me the frick up. Now.
Take out Thai food was pretty filling. Take out Indian food was even more so.
This establishment appears divey and dumpy but most of the food is quite Asianly damn-tastic! (Whatever that means)
Tom-yum soup? Yum!
Ok, dorky lame review. But this place needs few words to describe it. An acceptable food court for Allston.
The store has been bought by Hong King supermarket which I think is a turn for the better. When I first shopped here about a year ago, the place was pretty sparsely stocked. The kimchi was always out, the dry goods were not always available (for example, when I went to go get rice vinegar about a month ago, they only had one brand. Thinking that it doesn't really matter, I picked it up - it smelled like feet and tasted even worse. I had no idea brand mattered so much, but today they had my favorite rice wine vinegar and a whole bunch of others)s.
Today's trip got me all excited because there are definitely more goods. The rice wine vinegar, as mentioned above, a lot more japanese sauces, and some more Korean stuff too. There are a lot more rice cookers as well. I think you'll be able to find much more and there's no need to go down to Chinatown, esp since this store is much more spacious and a lot less crowded. Of course the food court rocks too and there's parking.
The only thing that really hasn't changed is the quality of the produce. It's hit or miss. Today I found some awesome napa cabbage and snow pea sprouts (only 3.99 a pound! I've paid up to 6.99 a pound in the winter cuz I love them so much) but the onions were pretty disgusting.
Good shopping, good grub, all in one place.
Since I wrote t his review the store has been bought and sold (details here http://www.boston.com/...)
The shelves are stocked back up but everything seems a tad more expensive than it was before...
What happened to this place? Hopefully they bring back their stock. Most of the shelves are empty.… Read more »
HOW CAN YOU MISS THE HUGE SIGN. It's like a beacon for Asian groceries and ready made food.
I mostly spent my time in the back where the grocery store is. I was happy to see that they had all sorts of Asian market goods, including durian!
Being a fan of the food network, I constantly want to try new things, and I definitely see myself coming back here. It's a great diversion from the normal Shaw's or Trader Joes.
I didn't try any of the ready-made/fast/restaurant food. But I'm sure I will at some point. They seem to have a wide variety, from dim sum, to lunch, to bubble tea. etc.
Ladies, if you are ever having a good hair day DO NOT GO TO SUPER 88. Every time someone opens a door, a strong gust of air blows through the cafeteria, knocking plastic silverware, napkins, and on occasion, entire pieces of food from your table. I recently lost an entire shrimp!
If you think you can brave the wind, I highly recommend eating at the Super 88. The food here is as authentic as it gets. Americans, do not be fooled by the food court style layout commonly found in malls across the country. Super 88 does not lend itself to this category. Further, if you are one of those types of people who frequently dines alone, you can make it in and out of Super 88 in less than twenty minutes without having to look like a total loser. There are some quiet little tables off to the side where lone diners can stuff hot pad thai into their mouths while awkwardly pretending to accomplish important tasks on their iphones and blackberrys.
When I was first introduced to Super 88, it was to visit The Food Connection, a food court that serves Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Indian food, if I remember correctly.
After trying many of them, I began to gravitate towards certain cuisines. (As an aside, Boba/Bubble tea is always a solid accompaniment to any meal. Jasmine Green Tea FTW.)
The Korean place across from Kantin Chinese is always solid. My favorite from them is their Okdol Bibim Bap, a steaming pile of rice, veggies, and meat served to you (still cooking!) in a hot stone bowl. Pure bliss. I can imagine now the toasted flavour of the rice that crisps against the bowl. Mmm.
The meat at any of these places tends to be a bit on the fatty side; if you're not a fan of it (I'm not...) I would recommend going for a veggie option.
The Pho from the Vietnamese place is pretty good, but once again, fatty meat. If you don't mind picking at it, the flavours are good, and it's an awesome way to stave off crazy/windy/cold Boston winters.
Now, for the grocery store.
When I first started going to Super 88, I noted that much of their inventory was expired/on the verge of expiration. However, they have recently downsized their inventory (both a good and bad thing, I suppose) which has resulted in a more orderly shopping experience.
If you need something for that Asian meal you're cooking up, this place is likely to have it. The majority of the food seems to be Chinese, with some Korean, some Japanese, less Vietnamese, and very little hailing from the Philippines. They sell ricecookers that seem to be a bit expensive (though I'm no connoisseur, I'll admit).
They have an awesome frozen food section. Maybe today I'll hit them up for those Chinese Pork Buns I've been coveting in the freezer cases.
This review is for the food court area.
There is a wide selection of various Asian cuisines, from Dim Sum to Lamb Curry - and don't forget the funky bulba(?) drinks. The place gives off a more authentic feel of what food court dining is like in China. The prices aren't cheap, the food is OK, but it's a great place to indulge in Far Eastern cuisine, with the selection and all. There's parking in the adjacent lot too, so no parking headaches.
Finally, an update on a once great place to shop. I gave it 1 star again but it doesn't rate anything now.
http://www.boston.com/...
I go back every 2 weeks in hopes of the store returning to it's fully stocked favorite place to… Read more »
I used to go here often with my parents, but for the past few years... no thanks.
Their quality has definitely decreased, and nowadays the only thing worth buying from here are the snacks.
I got some soy milk from there a while back, and it made me sick for 3 days! Trust me, Super 88's food is /not/ good. And it smells weird. Backing awaaaaaay.
This place is going down the drain. Since they renovated the place, I thought the horrible smell will go away, but it did not. The shelves are half empty and I dont get many stuff I used to get from that store. The prices have gone up and its not worth the visit since I don't get most of the stuff I usually buy.
The food court is great and I love bubble tea and awesome Samosa's from the Indian food place.
The food is not bad- you see some fun food stands- like the Korean one. My only problem is that this place has som serious sanitary problems. So, the last time I've seen a cockroach was at 88 2 weeks ago....ew where do you see coackroaches these days. And esp at where you are supposed to be eating and people cooking your food... And.. the last, LAST time I've seen a cockroach before was also at 88 foodcourt. I saw it by one of the foodstands a year before. so if I only saw it once, maybe we can say eh. but twice?...
I'm not gonig back there for a while. I HATE COCKROACHES!
Latest news is that the owners have fled the country, abandoning their creditors and having "sold" the business to several different companies..
No reason to come back here now.
This chain appears to be nearing bankruptcy. There's almost nothing left on the shelves; what little… Read more »
Pretty sure Hong Kong Market has bought out Super 88, at least at the Allston location. I've seen little signs that say "Hong Kong Market Coming Soon." So, I dunno what that means about prices, but I think the quality of goods will improve.
First of all, there's hardly anything on the shelves. I looked around the store, but there wasn't really anything worth buying. I was hoping for more of a selection of Japanese stuff, but there was hardly anything to begin with.
The food court is ok. Service is bad though. One time my boyfriend and I were trying to order something from one of the stands. It looked like there was only one guy working there, and he looked directly at us a couple times, but didn't bother to talk to us or take our order. Nice. After five minutes of standing there waiting for someone to help us, we walked away and ate somewhere else. The girls working at the frozen yogurt place are pretty cold too. Ken's Ramen is the only place worth going...they're awesome. I would give this place one star if it wasn't for the variety in the food court.
You can find almost Asian food you're looking for here. I'm from Thailand and I was surprised to see durian both fresh and whole as well as in a ready-to-eat form in the frozen section. They even have KaoLam(sticky rice in bamboo sticks) which I could never ever find anywhere in SF, where I used to live. Things are a bit overpriced here but given the variety of choices you have, it sorta cancels itself out. There's free parking and a food court that serves just yummy food!! One thing about the parking lot though, be very aware that the stereotype about asians not knowing how to drive probably originated from this parking lot. If you could, park as far away from other cars as you can.
Super 88 is celebrity chef Ming Tsai's favorite destination--and no wonder. If you're looking for anything exotic,it's the go-to place. However,since much of the stock is refrigerated or frozen,I couldn't take anything back to California! Sheesh!
Super 88's highlight is the food court--it's got Thai,Japanese,Chinese--you name the Asian cuisine,it's there. I got a filling lunch there. It's overwhelming. It's the East Meets West that foodies dream of!
It seems like a lot of the good reviews here reference the food court, while the less flattering focus on the actual supermarket. Mine refers to the latter.
I had heard about Super 88 from a question I had asked on the message boards. I was looking for a good, inexpensive place to find good seafood, and this place was recommended. So I got on my bike today and headed out, hoping to have my bag loaded with good stuff. Sadly, no dice.
Super 88 is located right in Packard's Corner, with a big (for the location) parking lot. So convenient, offers parking, AND offers good prices. So far so good.
Sadly, once you walk in, it all falls apart. I walked through the produce section first, and found mold in at least a third of all the section. You can actually smell it before you get to the aisle.
In the back was the fishmonger, and you immediately see the "live" fish tanks. I probably should've also written "see". Because the water is so clouded, you can barely see the fish. Right as I got to the tank, one of the striped bass coughed up something fleshy. To the right of the tanks are the shellfish. Equally cloudy water, and the stone crabs had 5 or 6 dead among them (that I could see). The lobster tank was so clouded, I couldn't see any of them at all. Both tanks had feces floating on top of the water. The "freshly" dead stuff wasn't any better. Cloudy eyes and discolored skin on all of the fish. Not to mention the incredibly potent fishy smell (a sign of old, spoiled fish).
I've always been of the opinion that a place is much dirtier than whatever you can see. And with that, I nearly ran out of the place. Somebody needs to send a health inspector in here, pronto. The sucky thing is that there's a very real demand for what Super 88 could provide. They need to up their prices a bit, throw out things that are not in condition to be sold, and hire a few people who can actually clean the place up!
The supermarket looked vast and rather empty... but the food court was the reason why I came here. Almost every Asian cuisine you can think of is offered here- South, South East, and East. I was feeling the Cantonese Crispy Pork on Rice that day, also got Curry Chicken for a friend...
If only they weren't too cheap to turn on the AC, we would have probably stayed in the food court and gotten some bubble tea too...
Reviewing Food Court Area:
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If u r 19 & poor and and/or hungry - this is like a food pantry/kitchen. $5 can get you a meal alright - but can't guarantee what you're eating is indeed what you asked for. Stuff is questionable - but hey, that's life when you're in college. At least its better than your shit*y meal plan option at BU or BC.
Avoid that Indian food place. It's not even Indian food - I am not sure what it is. Just gross!
The Yogurt place and the Tea place rock. They are consistently fantastic and serve as really great healthy desserts.
I went back and was horrified to see a roach crawling under my table.
And then I saw another roach.
omg, cheap Asian produce!
mmm, shrimp-filled rice noodles!
omfg, somewhere i can eat near my…
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This place is so cool. There should be a Super 88 like this in all cities.
Think food court, but without the greasy, mediocre American fast food you usually see. Instead, imagine all different kinds of Asian food, including Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Indian and Thai. Attached to the food court is a really large, brand-new Asian grocery store. This place is great for small groups and large, considering everyone can get something different that satisfies them.
I noticed several people mentioned a bad smell. I would agree that there is a slight fish smell in the grocery store, but I think it's just types of fish we are not used to here. I never got the sense the place was dirty at all, just culturally quite different. And about the roach someone saw, they are everywhere, and so are mice. Believe me, I've worked in a number of restaurants....
Ugh. I hate this place. It's dirty, the people are rude and the fact that there is practically nothing in there while they're "renovating" is terrible. I think I was about 12 or so when this 88 first opened up. My mom bought meat from there and came home and on top, the meat looked incredibly fresh. When she opened up the package, all of the meat at the bottom was spoiled and ruined. I wrote to 88 and told them about the ordeal and was replied by the manager who gave us a $100 gift certificate as an apology as well as a plead to not tell others about the incident. The great customer service was shocking to us and we returned, of course.
A couple months ago, my mom bought a watermelon and when she got home, she cut it in half and it was rotten and disgusting inside. She WENT BACK to the store and asked to be refunded since she was sold a bad product and instead, they yelled at her in Chinese (we are not Chinese) and refused. The watermelon was like...$3, but it's not about the money. It's about the fact that at this point, they don't really care anymore.
The fact that they're open while renovation is annoying since over the last 4 months, I have seen no difference in the renovation. The lack of space leads to a lack of food and it's a pain because I end up having to go to Chinatown to get whatever products I need. Oh well, it works out better because this place is overpriced and sucks anyway.
An extra star for the convenience, but I took it away because I hate them.
Recently, they had renovation. That mysterious stingy odor still exists. It did *feel* it's bigger but it *looked* that everything was pushed back. Work still seems to be in progress.
Since everything looks to be pushed back, each isle seems to be shorter than before. And I noticed that less variety on item on tea section. They use to stock Japanese brand tea but now they have none. Damn you, Super88.
My personal "candy store" section - "Rice Island" section has been pushed away and located toward rear with reduced space and selection. Damn you, Super88 #2.
Noticeable and favorable change is produce section. With existing section, they are using more floor space. Variety of produce hasn't really changed but quantity has.
Unfortunately produce isn't really something I care about. When I started shopping here, I remember how excited I was about produce being so cheap. But, after hearing horror stories of tainted Chinese food product, I've become suspicious and paranoid. But don't take my word for it. Again, this is my personal paranoia. Not yours.
So my first visit to Super88 after renovation was concluded with purchasing two Japanese curry roux instead of 2 shopping bagful of stuff as usual.
Still good thing about this place is its location. If you couldn't find something that you want here, go to Shaw's next door.
At first, I was excited with very cheap grocery. It's cheap. Too cheap to be true. Although I… Read more »
I set foot in a supermarket once when I was a kid. It surprised me that there weren't any dried-out cow skulls with squadrons of flies dive-bombing into the meat and produce. I was also amazed that it was both a food market and a library. You could buy Laughing Cow cheese and a Tintin comic book! If whoever I was with hadn't been rushing, I would have spent the whole day there.
Super 88 is just as wondrous. I can never decide how many bags of pork dumplings I should get or whether I should try to pork-and-leek for once. Boxes of Mi-Goreng fried noodles are an adventure to find, whether of not I enlist the help of someone on staff who doesn't quite understand what I'm looking until that "Eureka!" moment.
First of all, the space is immense not only because of the square footage but the number of items that are new to most of us who shop at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. The produce section includes white carrots, the meat/seafood section includes every type of fish that swims in the ocean, and the snacks section is like opening a door to Narnia.
The only thing I wouldn't buy here is dairy. I once opened a carton of eggs to find that two had been cracked open and leaked. And the milk is always suspiciously close to the expiration date.
It's all about the food court. Where else can you get dim sum (dim sum any time you want it!!!), bubble tea, Vietnamese food, a samosa (admittedly, not a great samosa-- but still, a samosa!) and Korean pancakes in the same place. The addition of the dim sum chef has made the food court insanely good - their turnip cake, shrimp dumplings, and taro cakes are outstanding.
The grocery store is a different story... it's pretty bleak, especially recently. Over the last few months, there's been a noticeable decline in the quantity and quality of inventory- the produce section has gotten a lot smaller as has the fish market (which has low-priced, not-great fish). I think there are some real concerns about the quality of some of the food here- especially poultry and fish, although I've also ended up with a bad batch of veggies on a number of occassions. Apparently, Super 88 has plans to build anew and improved larger food court - which could be quite nice.
Since Im well rounded person, I love to learn about other peoples cultures. That is mostly done by visiting their ethnic stores and restaurants and an occasional History Channel Special.
On the particular occasion that I visited the above mentioned store I was not looking to learn about the culture or the food. I was longing for my own cultural necessities. Such as persimmons. I love good Israeli persimmons. The Russian store usually satisfies all of my cravings, but this time they had these tiny little persimmons, 8 little ones for $5.99. That was a little to expensive for my taste. So, I asked around and a few peoples suggested that I go to a Chinese store. So I did.
The bad: The first negative thing about this store, its on B line. I try to avoid the B line for obvious reasons, but here we go, gotta take the B line.
The second negative thing, it is actually kind of hard to get to the actual store. First there was some sort of a restaurant, which I heard is good, but its really confusing. They need to put up a sign with some directions. Also, its kinda dirty. Maybe its because of the construction, but still, its dirty.
The store itself is huge and it looks a little empty, I mean they have a lot of stuff, but the space is huge.
The good. There were my persimmons. The same exact 8 persimmons bundle for $3.67. Things were looking up. I got 4 bundles and decided to look around. They did have a lot of cool "ethnic" stuff. But, I had no idea what the stuff is for. But still, pretty cool and all. Definitely have lots of unique items.
The smelly. It smells. I dont know what that smell is, but it smells. Not horrible, but pretty bad smell.
Overall, pretty good, I will be back.
Where can you get 15 amazing lunches for 15 people in your office for less than 50 dollars with tax? Super 88 food court.
Because of the affordable price, 10 minutes or less wait time and tasty factor I give this place a solid 5 star rating.
Ended up her for lunch on a Monday afternoon. Odd choice, but ok. I thought the people were helpful, since I obviously had no idea what i was doing. There are so many choices, most of which have the photo descriptions which always helps me a lot. I went with Chinese food because I know what I like, and wanted a healthy option. The lady at the counter immediately told me about the healthy options. I opted for Chicken with Mixed Vegetables, which just had a light sauce with some garlic added. It was a little pricey. The food was good, but because I really wanted Sesame Chicken, I was mad at myself for a plainer choice, so ended up not eating it all.
Overall, though, I think there are a ton of choices, and everyone's food seemed to be very good.
I'm not exactly sure what the renovation did exactly, but really the food court is what keeps bringing me back here. You can choose from a variety of places including Korean, Thai, and Indian! Yo, Berry! and a bubble tea place are also here. I can make a whole meal in one little area. Perfect!
We come to visit at least once a week. There is always something new to try (although I tend to stick to my pad thai from Smile Noodle) and can satisfy almost anyone.
Without the presence of the food court, I'd want to give this location *0* stars right now. There is NOTHING in the store. Items which I consider basic staples (canned items, dried items, etc) were not available, and the produce selection was PITIFUL.
Of course, they are re-modeling, so I'm in high hopes that I will be bumping the review back up. But for now, I'll be taking myself to South Bay Super 88, unless I'm just wanting to pick up a to go order from the food court.
Not the best organized Asian grocery. But the selection of foodstuffs and the food court definitely… Read more »
I did it. I finally did it. Terrified from the horror stories I had read on Yelp about Super 88, I was EXTREMELY hesitant to step foot in here. But, I grew some balls and decided to try my luck.
So, I walk in, and HOLY HELL does it smell bad. Remember when there used to be GOOD cartoons and whenever something smelled terrible it would make the sound of a foghorn? http://tvtropes.org/pm... Well, if I had my own personal soundtrack, it would have played that. I tried not to let the smell get in my way of purchasing numerous sauces and noodles for my dining pleasure, so I kept going. The vegetable/fruit section did not look as rotting as some of the Chinatown markets I have been to, and a good chunk of ginger only set me back $3.00
I was most impressed with the selection of noodles. I grabbed a few different kinds, especially since the prices were laughable they were so cheap! I bought maybe one bag of Vermicelli noodles for maybe $1.25. In fact, they were selling single servings of vermicelli noodles for $.25! Amazing! I also bought a package of wonton wrappers for maybe $2.00 and they were enough to make about 60 delicious pork dumplings.
I also got some of my essential Asian snacks. Pocky, those awesome marshmallow circles with the fruit jelly in the middle, and I stopped myself from purchasing the fruit candies that I am addicted to.
I got some delicious sauces, including my VERY OWN cock sauce. I know, for those of you who know me would have thought I had a hoard of cock sauces in my closet, but alas! I did not. But now I am the proud owner of my VERY own cock sauce.
I still couldn't bring myself to go to the meat counter. I will need to grow some big hairy balls before I attempt that feat...however, you will see me here on a weekly basis getting my noodle (and pocky) on.
the most bipolar grocery store ever! just went recently for the first time in several weeks. the supermarket is now BETTER THAN EVER! how do you figure? definitely in the manic phase. the place is now stocked with goodies to the hilt, the tanks are clean and filled with crabs and lobsters, the aisles are jampacked with snacks,condiments, teas, bottled beverages. they've even added more aisles in the back for instant noodles.
of course, the food court is thumping with activity, like always. the super 88 is back... who knows for how long, though. although there is now hope that it will stay like this for the long run, cuz it seems the place is now under a completely new management (hong kong supermarket... yes the same one as the ones in socal).
5 stars for the food court
1 star for the supermarket
= average of 3 stars for the whole place.…
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They have the cheapest groceries, especially when it comes to Chinese vegetables and meet. I love their butter bread, too!
This place use to be full of everything you could find in Chinatown. This is not the case now...the shelves are bare. What's happening????
The first time I went into Super 88 to explore the exotic goods inside, I didn't get past the front entrance. Why? Because I made the mistake of carrying in a Shaw's bag that contained, of all things, bread and potato chips. The security guard stopped me and informed me that I'd have to check my bags at the register before being allowed in.
Riiight. Like I'm going to leave my belongings with some random person at a store that believes crime is a problem. So I left.
The second time I went in there, I was looking for a bamboo planting. Shaw's bamboo were unsatisfactory, and I had seen the bamboo in there while arguing with the security guard the first time. They didn't have the size or shape planter I wanted, but they had the healthiest bamboo plants I have ever seen for the cheapest price I've ever seen! If I ever start making my own bamboo planter arrangements, I would definitely go to Super 88 to get bamboo. (Hence the 2 stars.)
That being said, the store absolutely reeked of rotting produce and dead fish. I've seen a ton of reviews that said that is par for the course in a Chinese market, and that may be the case; however, that is not sanitary. Chinese markets must abide by the same health codes as regular supermarkets, and a stinky supermarket is clearly not doing so. Between that and the constant number of foodstuffs tainted with poison coming out of China, I would definitely not buy anything edible in Super 88.
The food court smells delicious, but I heard an unfortunate story involving rats crawling on the cookware there that I'd rather not risk verifying for myself.
Since this is really my only option for a decent grocery store to find my Asian goods, this will warrant a 4 star. Although, it's not like the stores I have back at home in NY, this suffices for what I need to get when I live in Waltham.
Only 20 minutes away and with a parking lot. I can find most Asian products along with my fresh veggies which is the most important aspect. I don't eat any of those crazy Asian snacks so that doesn't make a difference to me. However, the fact that I can find my potstickers and most importanly my Xiao Long Bao (Mini Steamed Pork Buns) in various kinds makes me extremely happy. I used to have to drive all the way down to NY to get this before I knew of Super 88 'cause I hated going into Chinatown (mostly because I don't know my way around or any of the stores).
Super 88 has become my one stop shopping when it comes to Asian grocery shopping. Plus, the food court is fantastic. I'm also happy that I can find my Char Shiu (Roast Pork) - but for $8/lb. I personally think it's way too expensive, however, since it's my only option, I don't have a choice.
The store is for the most part pretty organized for what it is, shelves usually have what I need and rarely ever empty of what I need, fresh veggeis and meats, oh yeh, live lobsters to take home.
P.S. They have pork and beef for Shabu Shabu. =D
Sadly, the Allston Super 88 is a pale shadow of its former self. The "renovations" have spiffed up the supermarket quite a bit, but half the stock has mysteriously disappeared.
Even fit into a space half the size of the previous market, many shelves are empty. Gone is the wonderful variety of canned goods, frozen foods, sauces and asian cooking gear, replaced by a paltry selection of sauces and snacks, some fresh fish and meats and a pathetically empty freezer aisle.
This used to be the place where you were guaranteed to find that rare ingredient you needed for your mee krob or buy all the fixings and trimmings for a complete Taiwanese breakfast, from shaobing to steamer baskets. Now, sadly, it's not really worth going here at all unless you're already in the neighborhood and want to get a value-sized bottle of soy sauce. Very sad and perplexing.
SUPERMARKET ONLY:
Previously, my experience with this Super 88 was either just passing it by on the train, just buying Asian junk food or waiting by the really windy door that leads to the market in Food Connection, waiting for my goodies at Dim Sum Chef. Why is that doorway so damn windy?!
Recently, I needed to get a bunch of items for a chicken curry dish we were making and figured Super 88 would be the place to go as Shaw's would likely list prices in denominations of arms and/or legs for the items I needed. So I made my way past the poorly lit produce section, to the unlabeled shelves of various cans and bottles. Usually, just going by pictures, I slowly gathered what I needed (water chestnuts, bean sprouts, coconut milk, fish sauce, etc.). Each part of an aisle prensented a new smell: from briny fish, salty soy, and this one little 3' X 3' area that smelled like cow shit for some reason.
Prices were nice and low with the most expensive item being the 24oz bottle of fish sauce at $1.49 and the total of my purchase coming in at about $9 or so. The staff is virually non-existent and not even close to being helpful, so don't bother. The freezer section is often half-empty for whatever reason and I'm pretty sure, on my most recent visit, that the junk food section has been cut down in size.
As long as I'm living on this side of the river, I'll probably be heading back to Super 88, not only out of convenience, but because this is one of the few places in the immediate area that carries this stuff at a decent price. So, in that case, I'll be back, despite the roller coaster of smells.
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
Category: Convenience Stores
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Dorchester
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: South End
Category: Grocery
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
For times when you don't feel like cooking (or…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
This is where I eat every freakin day of my life,…
Most people are addicted to drugs, booze, or…
Asian foodies... the greatest, the good and the…
What to do when your fate lies in the hands of the…
Ube (or ubi) is also known as purple yam. In…
