South Bay Markets with Thai Ingredients
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This is just a partial list of the many Asian markets in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The notes on these markets were provided by Amber, one of Kasma's advanced Thai cooking students.
* & ** – given for stores with a good (*) or better (**) selection of Thai ingredients.
San Jose – Asian Markets
| Thien Thanh Supermarket 455 Keyes St San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 295-1043 |
Had some Thai ingredients and frozen items. The produce was ok (kaffir lime leaves and even fresh pandan leaves were present). However, the frozen stuff really wasn't all that "frozen," and the salted mackerel I spotted in the refrigerated section was not worth buying. (Amber, March 2010) |
| Story Supermarket 1200 Story Rd San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 279-1200 |
They had interesting snacks (including those pineapple cookies, first time I'd ever seen them in the US) The produce selection wasn't very large, but they did have a good selection of frozen items (actually frozen!). These included bananas, thai galangal, and grachai. They did have kaffir lime leaves and also a nice meat counter. Good place to stop in and have a look but overall not a huge selection. (Amber, March 2010) - - - - [On a recent visit this market] was well stocked with good-looking produce, thai basil, frozen cha-om, frozen mackerel, Mae Ploy curry paste, Chaokoh coconut milk, pickled leeks (to name a few items) and still a nice meat counter. I previously noted that had Thai galanga but not this time. They had frozen galanga from Vietnam (not the reddish variety). (Amber, May 2011) |
| Manila Oriental Markxet 2812 S. White Rd. San Jose, CA 95148 (408) 414-9000 |
This is a really nice store that is very clean. It has a great meat and seafood counter. I did spot Thai ingredients and picked up a container of fried shallots (Nang Fah brand). (Amber, March 2010)
At long last... I finally visited this market on Saturday. There was a bit of a bad first impression with a scent reminiscent of cat urine in the kitchenwares aisle, but I only noticed it for a minute as I passed through. The produce section has a variety of Asian and Western items. On plastic wrapped styrofoam trays, there was galanga and huge (probably previously frozen) banana blossoms. The herbs all looked good, but the shallots looked awful. Oddly, no Chinese broccoli. On the shelves, there were a number of staples for the Thai cook: Jars of soft palm sugar (Butterfly brand); Nang Fah-brand fried shallots; Shark-brand Sriracha sauce (Medium); Chaokoh and Mae Ploy coconut milk (in two parts of the store); Kwong Hung Seng soy sauces; Squid-brand Fish Sauce; Golden Phoenix jasmine rice (new crop). The fish and meat counters were very extensive, and many kinds of fish were just piled up on ice for self-service. They also have Kopiko candies!! This market is off the beaten path and, according to a former resident, the neighborhood is best visited during daylight hours only. I probably won't head this far Southeast except in case of emergency, but it's nice to know it's there. They had the light colored soft palm sugar (that was actually soft!) in small and medium sized tubs. (Amber, May 2010) |
| Dai Thanh Market 420 S 2nd St. San Jose, CA 95113 408-287-3744 |
It was a very nice market with excellent fresh produce, including Thai basil. They had many staples for Thai cooking and in particular had Tra Chang fish sauce (no Goldenboy, though). This was the first time I found one of Kasma's top fish sauces in the SJ area.(Amber, May 2010) - - - This is still a very nice market with a nice meat counter, vegetable and herb selection. The selection of frozen items was also excellent. This market is definitely worth a stop if one is in the area. (Amber, May 2011) |
| Battambang Oriental Market 1091 McCreery Ave. San Jose, CA 95122 |
The entrance and sign are actually around the BACK of the building. Look for the Tak Food and Liquor store from the street. This market is in the same building. It is a small Cambodian market with a good assortment of sauces and curry pastes. They did have 2 packages of frozen Thai galanga, but they were very icy and rather beat up. The produce was just ok. This might be a place to check out if other markets in the area don't carry a hard-to-find ingredient.(Amber, May 2011) |
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San Jose – Of interest
These are not all-purpose markets
| TT Seafood 2517 South King Road San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 274-8210 |
Had great seafood and really nice produce. It is a small place with no dry goods, so it isn't really good for Kasma's recommended ingredients. They did have Thai basil and fresh red Thai chillies, though. (Amber, March 2010) |
| Lee's Sandwiches 2525 South King Road San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 274-1596 |
(next to TT Seafood) Lee's is an Asian sandwich chain, but this one in particular sells nice produce such as Thai eggplants, garlic chives, etc. They also have various sticky rice snacks, banana cake young coconut drink with basil seeds, etc. The main draw for me though, was the fruit. They had APPLE BANANAS! (I don't mean Manzanos, though they did have those too). Not sure where they came from, but it's the first time I've seem them here. They also had fresh jackfruit. My friends tell me to pass on the sandwiches but go for the fresh fruit and produce. (Amber, March 2010) |
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