Manila Oriental Market — Attraction in San Francisco

The Manila Oriental Market remains true to its DNA in serving the Asian population, especially those who still have nascent roots in their home countries.

There's live fish in tanks, on ice, fresh meat still being cut up to specs or custom desires, lots of packaged stuff in Chinese characters, aisles upon aisles of imported canned food and labels you won't find in any ordinary stateside market.

And the crowd is as Asian as ever, you can hear all kinds of languages all over the place, it's cacophonous in there, like an orchestra tuning up before a performance, but it's music to my ears as it embodies an authenticity you can't fake.

Yep, and there's the shuffling crowd overstuffed in limited space all driving their carts with reckless abandon, no signal lights or any hint of direction they're going. Sound familiar?

Nonetheless, all those are positives, unique experiences where aesthetics take a back seat to functionality, no space wasted, stuff to the rafters as you shop with music wailing a bit too loud on blown speakers.

This place is diversity on steroids...

Items are out of place, so it's hard or impossible to know the prices. I finally identified the item with the bar code, but when I asked for a price check the price was almost 50% more. So, instead of buying 2 packs, I only bought one. The second time I arrived at the checkout, I saw the posting that said credit card purchases has a $10 minimum. I had to scramble for cash in my pocket. This market does sell thicker "longevity" incense and 7 color clothing paper both of which are hard to find outside of Chinatown. I ended up buying most of the items at Ranch 99 after being frsustrated by not knowing what the prices are for the religious offerings. Also, my vehicle isn't that low, but it was the first time that the bottom was scratched in the parking lot. I did not find the cashier rude, but she didn't really know what to respond when I told her that the items are out of place. Also, I did not see any fresh lychees or longans, or lotus roots when they are all in season at this time. Prices are not competive except for the...

When it comes to their safety, expect them to be decked up as much as possible to avoid risk of Covid inside. Outside will be at least one person with a sanitary spray who will also take your bags (to prevent theft mainly but sometimes one of them sprays the bags as just in case) before you enter.

Be advised as this is from a back-handed memory, but most of the spacing in there can be considered as 'cramped'. You could fit two people side by side or one person with a cart. This causes increased chances of contact as people will try to pass you or backtrack...which also leads into encountering another person. Be prepared to speak clearly to avoid conflict of interest or people who just can't pay attenyion. The areas containing seafood or vegetables are a little more wider and mostly avoids such issues.

The amount of cashiers the time I visited number three and I was lucky enough to get in and out fast to avoid any...