168 Asian Mart — Attraction in Madison Heights

If you are looking for a great selection of foods from a very large cross-section of Asian cuisines, this the best place I have found within a reasonable drive from Detroit.

One thing I like is that instead of having too many brands of the same item the focus is a little narrow on individual selections...but...the better and/or best brands seem to be represented. So it's really a non-issue. I was quite happy with that.

My first time here, I was very happy to find a market of the size and variety that I was used to. The vegetables are of good quality and the prices are reasonable. There are a good variety of meats to choose from and you run into some of the items Americans would consider "odd", like Pork Liver, Duck head, etc.

I am only giving this a 4 star for two reasons. First, and this has happened almost every time I have been there, most of the staff stocking the shelves are not English speaking and when I ask them a question they seem irritated. The same thing at the fishmonger, they do not come across as friendly. I have been there several times and it always feels awkward. It's a vibe thing, and although I don't expect them to respond, maybe perhaps point to someone who can help? Some of the items on the shelves do not have a translation and it would be nice to have a translation on the tag so I can verify what I am interested in purchasing. Maybe it's just me, I tend to be very sensitive to social interaction, and possibly on the times that I have been there maybe it was just an 'off' day.

Also, the "odd" bits I mentioned are a little lacking other than some of the pig parts. Not many odd parts of other animals that I usually look for. I do realize there is limited space, but the other good part is that the fish area gets some odd items, like live turtle in, so in that sense, it balances a little.

UPDATE 04/08/2019.

We stopped in here on Saturday. I was excited to find “fresh” Durian and have always wanted to try it fresh so I splurged. It was really expensive, but I was trusting that it would all work out. Come home and when I went to cut it up, first I noticed the label said “frozen” and then I noticed the best by date of 2/11/2019! Not cool!!! I have posted photos of the tag which came on the fruit.

Also I stood at the fish counter, that is the worst run part of the business. There were three employees chopping up lobsters and a woman who appears to be management speaking with them. I was totally ignored. I stood there patiently, there were no other customers. The ones speaking Mandarin walked up and got served. Management you need to address this. Put a service “bell”, tickets...

Come for the large, cheap vegetables, stay for the enormous selection of quality Asian food!

I really cannot say enough good things about 168 Asian Mart! I started shopping here as a way to start experiencing hotpot at home with traditional Asian ingredients, but the more I shop here, the more new, delicious foods I discover.

The vegetables are large, cheap and great quality. That section of the store is always busy, but always well stocked too! It's almost paradoxical, but despite the business I always am able to find the veggies I need.

Then there's the dry foods section. You can get an enormous bag of dried mushrooms for bargain! Those are great to have on hand to spruce up any soup or whatever. They have a great selection of noodles too. I recommend the fresh belt noodles by the tofu. Last time I went, it was the only thing I was looking for that I couldn't find. Must be popular...!

The fresh fish and seafood area is so well stocked I don't know where to begin. Live tilapia, sushi grade salmon, fillets of all kinds. I only wish I knew how better to prepare fish. I will have to find a good Asian recipe.

Not only does 168 Asian Mart have excellent food selection, but they also have some cookware and utensils. I ended up getting a bamboo steamer basket from here and ever since, the steamed pork buns have been a household favorite. I cannot recommend those steamed buns enough!!! They are just past the vegetable aisle on the bottom shelf of the chiller.

The glutinous rice balls with sesame were so savory and good the last time I got them. These can also be prepared in a steamer basket.

Hot pot also has a dedicated section. I love hotpot because it brings everyone together to eat and it's dead simple to prepare. Always have some king oysters for your hotpot, and get an assortment of the fish balls! Just be warned, some of the hotpot stocks are quite spicy for someone not accustomed to Asian cooking, so if your family is not a family of spiceaholics, you may want to stick to the mild or unspiced variants.

Please try this place out. It's a great way to experience other culture's culinary tastes, and it's not expensive at...

We drive from toledo to primarily to buy fish here, we usually buy fish for more than $100 almost every month here, but today we got very disgusting behavior by a person who worked in the fish area. His behavior is very humiliated for us. We planned to buy about 10 live fishes and other fishes as usual and asked the young guy there “would you able to cut the tail for us while cleaning the live fish?” Before he answer suddenly a short man with headphone screamed at me as “no tail cutting” “no tail cutting” and without asking do we still need the fish, he skipped us and went to another customer, we were shocked and the young worker also. It was so embarrassing moment. The reason I asked for it if they offer the help, that would be more easier for me to cook as I am full term pregnant, even if they don’t offer the service that is also okay, I thought asking won’t be a harm. But never thought just asking a question make this much embarrassing situation for us. I was still standing there and waiting him to come but he skipped us and went to one after the other. I don’t understand what kind of customer service you guys have and training your employees. I also went and complain about this at the customer service counter where there is a lady who was identified as the manager of the store. She told the guy who screamed at me is the In charge of the area and she will talk with him. But we didn’t get any update or even a apology. Language barrier is not a excuse for his attitude, if language barrier is the problem, he could have ask “no tail cutting, you still want? “ Or something else to make sure we want it or not, but he skipped us and went to other customers one after the other purposefully while we are waiting there to order. Dear owner of this shop, customers are the backbone of any business, when your employee purposefully humiliate a customer with their religious background or race it would be a big impact on your business. Because we just skip buying enough stuff today and came with heavy heart all the way to Toledo. Make sure you train your employee properly to...