88 Asian Market

Go here to buy everything you need for Phở. But the flank steak for Phở was old. It came from the back. Cooked it the same day and you could tell the difference.
I don’t know how they get their business. Seemed like half of the refrigerators were either broken or out of commission because they didn’t have inventory.
Tip: ask the owner lady for what you need. She’ll walk in the aisle and give comments about everything. It may be a bit much for some people.

This place makes me feel sad. It feels like visiting a mortuary or cemetery. It’s old, musty, dirty and it feels dead. I feel sad for the owners and wonder if they are in dire financial straights?

This weekend, I went on my little Asian market mission to find all the necessary ingredients to make my chili sauce and my tofu salad. I usually go to H-​Mart down in Aurora but I was NOT in the mood to make that drive this weekend. I stopped in at the Little Saigon Market because of all the great reviews and quickly realized that they didn’t have everything I needed. Then, I made another stop at another Asian market down Federal and they didn’t have the dried tofu either. Finally, I decided to go into 88 Asian Market (which I previously drove past because of the dirtiness of the building and the emptiness of the parking lot). I totally judged the book by it’s cover. This place had everything I have been looking for and they even carried the brand of dried tofu I like! Aside from that, I also found the dried plums that I’ve been looking for! Given, it was not the cleanest, but it was definitely cleaner than Little Saigon and less cluttered. The produce was, by far, cheaper than H Mart, Little Saigon, and that other random market. I will be coming here next time I go shopping on the weekends.
Here is what I am afraid of…
This place was EMPTY. So either this place is rockin’ busy during the week or their stuff sits on the shelves forever. I’m not quite sure what to think yet but their dried fruits were pretty good.

Medium sized Asian market that needs a good cleaning. If you like instant ramen this is your place since some go for 3 for 1 dollar.