Asian Supermarket — Local services in Champaign

Update: I am knocking off a star because this place is going downhill. It smells terrible now, the produce is NOT fresh, there are flies, and there are rarely people to help at checkout. I was totally ignored by a male worker this week who I know saw me standing and waiting at the register. He looked right at me and went back to whatever he was doing behind the counter in the front. He got up and acted like he did not see me only when the manager came out. However, they still have the biggest selection in town.

I love this place! They carry a lot of things I have not been able to find at the other Asian stores in town, my two other favorites being Green Onion and AmKo. For example, they have a really nice selection of sweets, ice creams, and other snacks and a HUGE selection of beverages not seen at the other places. I was also able to find dried galangal, which I was not able to find elsewhere. Great selection of pickles! They lean heavy on Chinese products, but there is also a lot of Korean, Thai, and Japanese stuff, too. I have not purchased any fresh seafood yet, but I did buy a hunk of pork belly and it was decent. Honestly, I prefer the meat from Green Onion, though. I think it might be a bit fresher, and it comes in smaller portions, which I prefer. The only downside is that the store has a lot of empty shelves and they are almost always stocking during store hours, so the aisles can be difficult to navigate. Otherwise, this place has been great for me as I learn more about Asian food...

I like this store. Anyone with a mind for new things and novelty who like to hunt for thier most loved kitchen staples will enjoy thier trip here. Theres not labeling in the isles, there are price tags. But the isles have numbers and the store is small and if you need to there are two people who run it plus workers from the fresh fish area and stocking jobs to ask for help. There arent many fresh options, but there are so many asian products that are hard to find elsewhere. Also. Idk if it's just me but the size of thier carrots are exciting. Imagine a regular carrot, bundle that with three more and you have the width of a carrot here. Hilarious and delicious. Lots of nice ingredients for making asian dishes. The owner will always help you find things she is very proud of her reputation and a hard worker and very knowledgeable. This place also sells really nice dishware and typical appliances for asian cooking as well. I bought some dishes last time I was...

Before you read: there's another store called Far East Groceries. Do NOT go there! They are rude to customers.

About Asian Supermarket: They are the most friendly people I've ever met in an Asian grocery store. When I checked out I said that I didn't find a particular brand of soy sauce, and was not expecting anything from the cashier lady. But she became serious about it: she called on the guy who was selling cigars, and asked him to find that soy sauce for me. So the guy hurried out of his country and rushed into the shelves, and brought me the kind of soy sauce that I wanted.

Turned out it's not want I was looking for. The cashier lady told me that if I can't find what I wanted, I might as well try the one the guy got, because it is what her family uses, and it is very good even if you just use a little bit.

What else could I do about her suggestion? I took it...