Double Dragon Food Market — Local services in Des Moines

There are several Asian markets in Des Moines, and while I feel that Double Dragon only has the second best selection (behind C-Fresh Market), it is nevertheless my favorite Asian grocer in town by far.

Why? The ambience. C-Fresh is clearly Asian market repartee placed onto the shelves of an abandoned generic American grocery store. There's even still a bust of an Italian-American stereotype of a chef looming over what is now a Phó restaurant. I mean, the place has got it where it counts, with the best selection in town, but the ambience just sorta wrecks the experience, and makes it all seem so "plastic".

Double Dragon has the atmosphere, the ambience, and the vibe to make it all feel so much more authentic, and is a close enough second place in terms of selection to warrant the bald hedonism of going there just for the experience.

I'll go to C-Fresh if I strike out at Double Dragon, or if I'm in too big of a hurry to go two places and am after something really niche, or if past experience has told me Double Dragon doesn't have it.

But for everything else, I'd much rather go to the place where walking through the door feels like you're walking through a portal to the other side of the world, than to the place where walking through the door feels just like....well....walking through a door, and you half expect Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" to come on over the P.A. at any moment.

Double Dragon is my first stop shop for Asian culinary delight and adventure nine times out of ten. And if you haven't been there....you really need to fix that! With all the things going on in Des Moines these days, especially in and near downtown, it may seem a strange pick indeed to call a rundown old Asian grocery store on the near north side "one of my favorite places in town"....but what can I say, I just love it there! Culinary delight and adventure on offer on every shelf, with the atmosphere to match.

Cheers!

p.s. occasionally, I'll hit one of the other markets in town - and there are other good ones such as Jung's or the one in the East Village. Once in a while, I'll do it just for the change of pace. But most of the time it's only if I'm in the immediate vicinity without the time or the opportunity to drive to the DD/C-F area. But the reason this review treats DD/C-F as the only games in town is because collectively they so dominate my time...

This place is a total mess. It stinks big time. The IOWA Department of Trade and Industry should visit this place and this store should follow an ordinance to make sure that this place is clean. How could you expect their products are safe if the place itself is nasty??? They should hire more people to clean this store, to arrange well the items like walmart, hyvee and other grocery stores in the country. With the amount of the asian products they are selling, they are over-priced, they should spend more on work-force. I can't even hardly stand the smell of this store. It is awesome that Asians like myself could found the kinds of foods we want, but, we sure want a clean place as well where we could feel the need for the foods to be...

I originally went to Double Dragon Food Marker to look for some mochiko (sweet rice flour) to make Hanami-styled dango even though it's way past Hanami season. I ended up purchasing a few things (some Mogu Mogu, udon noodles, and some snacks) but was unable to find mochiko. I felt a bit like a fish out of water as the isles weren't marked, food was placed in various places and it was rather disorienting to try to pinpoint where anything was. I felt they desperately needed to re-arrange the store to make things a bit... less harsh on the eyes. Haha. The isles were a tad bit small and the place had quite a strange smell (aside from the fishy odor), but aside from that everyone was kind and had a big smile on...