Saw Oriental Market — Local services in Spokane

The owners are Burmese (Myanmar). I'm Korean-Am. This review is written for an East Asians.

The people working in the store are always pleasant & helpful. I only know how to speak English, no Burmese, so there's some language barrier, of course.

For 23 years, I lived in Oakland/SF, where there are a lot of Asians. In comparison, all the Asian grocers in Spokane are disappointing. It's not their fault; there just aren't enough Asians here to make a big profit, no matter what ethnic group they're trying to cater to. Unless you're Burmese, you can't visit here expecting to find all of your particular ethnic group's staples. But if you live nearby & are without a car, the bag of gochu garu they have there may just save your life.

The kimchi they carry is kinda awful... It's sweet & made for USian palates. That's my only real complaint of the place. We Koreans know good kimchi. 😜

This store has mostly Southeast Asian products, with a sprinkling of East Asian & South Asian products. It's fun to explore all the different foods I'm not familiar with. It's fun to google new-to-me foods & think of how I could incorporate them into my current Korean-Am+healthfood repertoire.

The produce section is small, but what struck me is that most of it seemed very fresh - fresher than most of the produce at Best Asian.

So, while I'm still pining for the Bay Area's vast ethnic-specific stores, I'm glad this little market popped up where it did. I'm making it a weekly ritual to browse here after my acupuncture, which is next door.

So, my fellow Asians... Please visit here, and support our local Asian...

The couple here are so polite and nice! And they will ask you if you need something so someday if they purchase and get stocks they can get it. They serve you with a smile always. If they have new stocks they will let you know. And the place is so clean that you will not get tired of going in there, no bad smell inside the store. I would love to come here to buy all the stuff i needed especially products from Philippines. I would recommend this store for cleanliness and hospitality of the owner!...

Small market, BIG variety. Every time I get in for King of Ramen, I can never avoid this place. They have such an amazing amount of products for simple, single drinks and snacks, to spices, produce, frozen items, noodles, and other miscellaneous items. Never a bad time, everyone that works there is very kind. Take your time to walk through and see each item. You'll be surprised by what you can find. I'm still finding new items every...