Apparently a chain primarily in DC and surrounding environs.
Better and more well-kept aisles than the former Hong Kong Supermarket, plus they have an organic section.
And there’s actually customer service. Greeters, and even baggers offering to help you to your car.
What’s the world coming to.
Well, the gigantic 99 Ranch in Alhambra had people that’d do anything short of paying for your groceries their first week or so. Now I roam the place unnoticed, unloved … and they STILL don’t carry Red Boat, so the hell with them.
Was that the HK on SG Blvd? I get down there so seldom these days, I feel like I’ve abandoned my beat or something.
Yup
You can get Red Boat Fish Sauce at Trader Joe’s.
This is such an odd reason to not shop at 99… But ok.
I’m guessing that Red Boat would be the outlier of fish sauces at places like 99 Ranch or anywhere else with a representative fish sauce inventory. The average shopper in the SFV is used to $3-4/24 oz - maybe $5-6 for 3 Crabs.
At $8-16 for a bottle third the size, Red Boat is WTF to so many shoppers at the Asian markets. Not doubting the quality or price of Red Boat - it is good but different. It seems more refined - literally - and users of more traditional versions may not get its flavor profile at any price.
So market placement for this product is imperative. And places like 99 Ranch would fear Red Boat sales would be relatively idle, taking up valuable shelf space.
megachef fish sauce in the blue bottle may not have the cache of red boat but is also pretty good and widely available.
Thanks for the tip.
Sigh! Sorry for not reporting back, but I’ve been aware of this for more than a month (two?). I believe our own Chandavkl tweeted it first. I’ve been in twice since. Quite an inventory of stocked items. Definitely lost some of the funk from the old HK, along with some hard to find (or see anywhere else) mainland items. The former HK on Duarte in the Mon-Arc Plaza in Monrovia has also become a Good Fortune.
Much like the Der Weinerschnitzel turned duck place, I apologize for my slacking here at FTC. I have managed to tweet some and I managed to tweet one on the Der Weinerschnitzel transformation, but it didn’t seem to go out. It’s been beyond hectic for me with a horrific twist thrown in for good measure. A true spanner in the works.
Speaking of new places, did you or @chandavkl notice that a new Singapore chicken rice place is opening up on Las Tunas Blvd just east of the 168 Market plaza?
Hawaii Supermarket has been stocking Red Boat for years.
Been paying <8 most places; did find it for $7-some at Hawaii Superstore. Bought the little bottle at TJ and then 2 for kinda cheap from Amazon. It’s just so smooth and good, makes all the cheapies taste like fishy brine … which of course it is, but then Côtes de Brouilly and Welch’s are both grape juice too.
@ TonyC: It’s not so much the reason, it’s what it’s a symptom of. The top-shelf offerings in there are either seafood or things rich Asians like to spend money on, but the produce is pretty sad compared to, say, Ralphs even, though of course of broader variety. SG Super Store is better.
Yup, that’s the one. Interesting info. Thanks.
No, I hadn’t. Sadly, it’s been the longest stretch I’ve been away from the SGV and sadder still, that’s not likely to change in the future.
Definitely nicer than the HK Supermarket. I’m starting to feel a bit out of place in these nicer places…
I dunno, maybe it’s just me (and it probably is), but having just come back from a foodbinge tour of Singapore 3 months ago, I am kinda “over” the whole Hainan chicken rice thing.
On that last trip to Singapore, I must have tried 5 or more of the most highly touted Hainan chicken rice places all over the country (small city-state that S’pore is). But surprisingly, none of it was truly magical. No ‘A+’ or even ‘A’ places on this trip. I mean, there were some ‘A-’ places, but most were ‘B+’ to ‘B-’ plates (and don’t even get me started on how far Tian Tian Chicken Rice has fallen in quality recently, given its newfound social media fame).
Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled programming…
Y’know at the end of the day, it’s just rice with chicken broth and some chicken meat.
Hell, I used to make my own Hainan chicken rice every time mom made 蒸咸鸡 (or steamed chicken).
You commie.
just lazy, sometimes the pen pad feels like an anvil
