When we first moved to East Lake, that amorphous area east of Lake Merritt and just outside of Oakland's Chinatown, it was was easy to be drawn to a supermarket with a really strange name. Sun Hop Fat #1. I imagine that Sun Hop Fat means something quite lovely in Mandarin. It's the #1 that is so amusing. Why not No. 2 or No. 3?
Is it the first store in a chain that never was? Or the number one Asian grocery in, er, East Lake? Who knows? But aside from the farmers' market, Sun Hop Fat #1 is a great place to buy food.
The main appeal of Sun Hop Fat is that it has everything under one roof, with a pretty good variety of pan-Asian products. The produce area focuses on Chinese vegetables and Thai staples such as lemongrass and galangal, and the butcher counter sells a variety of Asian and Western style cuts of meat and fowl. There's an ample fish counter as well. But the aisles of sauces, spices, condiments, teas, rice are the real draw.
Sun Hop Fat sells Kikkoman, as well as at least a dozen varieties of traditionally brewed soy sauces from China and beyond. There are bags of Chinese almonds, Chinese pepper, roots and rhizomes and goji berries. Japanese Pocky sticks and their varied knock-offs can be found here too, in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and strawberry flavors, to name a few. And there are numerous sauces, condiments and packaged ingredients used to prepare dishes like Vietnamese bánh xèo, or sizzling pancake. Some items may seem exotic to those unfamiliar with their traditional use, but they can be repurposed for typical Western fare. Vietnamese coconut "thin sauce" or molasses (n??c màu d?a), for example, can be just as delicious on hot Western style breakfast pancakes as it is with xiu mai, or Vietnamese meatballs.
The prices are good. Sure, you'll pay more than you would at the smaller shops in Chinatown, but you'll still spend a lot less than at a Western style supermarket. And discovering new uses for traditional ingredients makes Sun Hop Fat #1 so much more fun.
Comments
There are such great Asian markets in the Bay area! I wish I could find a good one where we are now. They just don't seem to have very fresh produce in my area.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!