Seng Hong Oriental Market — Local services in Philadelphia

Rare food items for Southeast Asian cooking!

This market is one of my favorites in Philadelphia. It's not as large as the Sino-Vietnamese markets on Washington Ave, but it has some very specialized inventory for mainland Southeast Asia cooking (Thai/Lao/Cambodian/Vietnamese). I've been going there for about 5 years, and it's a regular stop on grocery shopping trips.

If you've ever traveled to mainland Southeast Asia, you'll know that fresh herbs are very important in making or breaking a dish. Seng Hong's well-stocked herb selection in the refrigerator is a particular strength. At any given time they have around 10 different herbs available.

The freezer section is exotic. Lots of interesting new imports from Thailand there, including "sour fish" ปลาส้ม and lightly fermented gouramy ปลาสลิด. There are frozen yanang leaves ใบย่านาง and frozen sour flesh of the krasang fruit for making funky Cambodian dips. They now sell Isaan sausages (Northeastern Thai sour pork sausages), alongside Chinese and Cambodian sausages.

This is where we usually get our green papayas and ingredients for papaya salads, and there are new product lines of jarred dips and sauces in a pretty steady stream from Thailand.

They also have a pretty good selection of Southeast Asian cooking implements (rice steamers, mortars and pestles).

The staff are very helpful. One clerk speaks Thai and Lao in addition to Khmer, and the owner's...

Using our experiences in Thailand for context: If H-Mart was the towering Big C Supercenter in town, then Sen Hong Oriental Market is the local Asian market tucked into the nooks of every neighborhood – always familiar, always stocked with what you need. The owners? Think of them as your personal culinary guides, armed with warm smiles, and ready to guide you through the task of transforming that mysterious herb into a symphony of flavors in your stir-fry.

Sen Hong is a rare gem in the neighborhood and having it within a short walking distance is like finding a four-leaf clover on a Tuesday – absolutely lucky!

Alright, let's talk dollars and cents. The prices might seem a little high at first glance. But when you consider the sheer convenience of finding hard to find sauces, pastes, and herbs that you can't find elsewhere, well it's practically a bargain.

Walking into Sen Hong is like stepping onto the set of a culinary 'Indiana Jones' adventure – you don't know what treasures you'll unearth, but you're certain to discover delicacies you didn't even know your palate was craving. It's a little like pulling a five-course meal from a magician's hat.

So, if you find yourself in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia, visit Sen Hong Oriental Market. It's like having a flavor passport for a...

Original old school Asian store that’s been around for decades. Location is off the Main Street but on a corner which is easy to locate. Off street parking is a problem if you’re visiting during peak shopping hours. Has enough variety for all your necessities. Although it is jammed packed due to the limited space inside. Prices are fair....