Lion Market — Attraction in San Jose

Somewhere along 2022: I had come to get some meat from this location and the clerk slammed the meat as it was going to get weighed out. From the way it was done, I was charged more than what it was worth. Another lady had ordered 1lb of ground meat and was shorted as well. I have been avoiding the meat area from this shop due to the fact that I felt cheated out of my money.

NEW EDIT: 1/8/24

I decided to come back and give the place a try again after 2 years. I'm glad I made that choice today.

I was in need of some quick groceries and ordered some meat. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the meat clerk who helped me did not slam the meat on the scale while weighing to print the ticket as the clerk who helped me before did. They patiently assisted me with choosing the select meats and gently weighed each item with a smile. This experience was a huge 180 degree turn in terms of service from the meat clerks at Lions.

I originally vowed not to return after my previous experience there but this made me want to come back. Knowing that I wasnt being cheated on the scale and finding out that they had some rare produces/goods made for a positive experience.

I found awesome fresh curry leaves and dried kaffir leaves in the store. It was also nice to see fresh flat rice noodles and grinded down frozen lemon grass (perfect for some lemongrass chicken!) as often times I'd have to drive far to find these. Some bonus stuff is that they have Taiwanese beer, a beautiful selection of Filipino/malaysian/indonesian section, and a rad kitchen/earthenware cooking ware.

Got sucked into buying some cheap but reliable kiwis knives (my 2nd pair!) As I love the brand due to its sharp edge.

Overall this location has won my trust back and i will be coming back as a...

I’ve been a loyal customer at Lion Market for over 12 years and live in the neighborhood, but today I experienced one of the most disrespectful and humiliating encounters I’ve ever had at any store.

After I paid in full for all my groceries using my EBT card, an Asian cashier very rudely told me that Frankincense (which is a natural edible resin used traditionally in food, medicine, and tea) is not considered food — and unbelievably insisted that I return all of my items so they could reprocess the entire transaction over this $6 product.

My family had already taken the groceries to the car, but we were forced to bring everything back inside. It was degrading — like being treated as if I were stealing — even though I had paid for everything legally and properly.

To make matters worse, the store manager backed this nonsense, showing zero understanding of what Frankincense is. A manager who doesn’t know that Frankincense is commonly consumed in many cultures as a food-related product should seriously educate themselves before humiliating customers.

After 12 years of loyalty, this experience was deeply offensive and shameful. Lion Market should be ashamed of how they treat their community — especially long-time neighbors and customers like me.

Unless they train their staff to treat people with basic respect and cultural understanding, they’ll keep losing the trust of the very community that...

Please be warned, this place blatantly sells expired food! Like FOUR YEARS expired!!

Like many people reading this, I don't normally review places. I expect most stores and restaurants to be generally acceptable and to at the very least practice some form of safe food handling. I thought Lion Market was another decent Asian grocery store along the lines of 99 Ranch. However, I was proved shockingly wrong today and feel I have to warn any other potential customer about Lion Market's unsafe, deceptive practices!

I purchased a box of pineapple cakes which were on sale. After I paid, one of the employees stopped me from taking the item, questioning the manager on duty. After some back and forth with the manager in a Chinese dialect I didn't understand, she let me leave with the cakes. When I asked the cashier what was happening, she told me that the sale price had seemed too low, so they wanted to check with the manager. Fine, I get it. I left with the box of cakes. When I got home and opened the box, lo and behold, I saw the expiration date: 2016.10.27!!! These cakes have been expired for nearly FOUR YEARS!!!

I have absolutely no doubt that the manager and Lion Market's owners knew exactly that and put the items on sale knowing that the product was expired. Based on the other reviews I've seen, Lion Market has had an ongoing practice of selling...