A8 Market — Local services in Wallingford

A friend and I stopped into this place unexpectedly and were surprised to find that it is absolutely a hidden gem in Wallingford. It is located in the same plaza as the movie theater and a few other restaurants and shops, but if you aren’t looking for it you might otherwise drive right by. I was dismayed that I hadn’t been planning on going in, because I didn’t have enough bags on my person to carry out all of the stuff that I wanted to buy. They have every type of dumpling, Gyoza, soupy bun, and frozen delicious thing you could imagine. Dozens of different delicious kinds of prepackaged soups and snacks, Fresh vegetables (Including chives and scallions which were sold out at local stores every time I have walked in for weeks), a million different types of seasonings that I can’t wait to try. There was even an entire section of the freezer with whole frozen fish, and a fresh basket of live crabs right when we first walked in. I will be going back for holiday shopping and I am sure again and again after that. Fresh types of noodles and every single thing that you could need to make yourself a delicious pot of soup or any type of Asian meal that you might want to eat at home.

An added bonus is that both owners noticed that we didn’t have any bags to carry our things to the car and offered us a box. That would’ve been enough for me to write a stellar review of their customer service alone, but then on our way out the door the owner handed us two fresh steamed buns as a snack. It is definitely a much smaller store than those in New Haven or West Hartford, but for a local quick stop treat you can’t beat it.

PS it took me a while to figure it out but there are English translations of a lot of the labels, on the white barcode labels that they use to set the price. Since a lot of the things in the store are imported, prepare to spend time browsing and reading labels so that you really decide what you want before you go up to the counter. The reviews saying that selection was limited or that it was hard to find what they needed, didn’t take the time to learn how to do so like I did. This would be a cool place to visit for some cultural exposure with your...

Very nice store. Love the decor, huge selection of things, and the lady is sweet. However, i think she took advantage of me being a regular customer there. Every time I come here, I wonder why and how I spend so much money. I would only buy three items and the total will always be over $20 and I don’t even buy food. I just buy snacks or cute little trinkets. I always thought her stuff was overpriced, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt since i assumed the items were from Asia it would be more expensive. I would’ve gave this review 4 stars or maybe even more but today I visited again. I asked her how much the snacks were and she said $3 dollars. She scanned 4 items and claimed it was three dollars and the total came out to almost $30. I was so confused so I started pointing my fingers and counting the items and she immediately re-scanned everything mid count without me saying anything. And it came out to $19 and some change. at that moment I walked out the store and thought: “has she been scamming me this whole time??” because I always walk in so excited- willing to support this business. Its like she took me for stupid almost. This store is very nice, but please check your receipts, watch how she scans and how the total comes out. You might be getting overcharged and wont even know because the receipts...

UPDATE: I saw this woman screaming like an ape at the poor female owner (hey kid, I'm sorry your mom had to act like that when all you wanted was a bottle of kimchee). If you are an EBT/food stamps user, ALWAYS use your EBT card FIRST before using cash or card. The stupid customer somehow swiped her credit card twice and had the nerve to scream and start getting handsy with the owner by trying to grab the receipts out of her hand, when all the owner wanted to do was help! It's hard with language barrier since they mainly speak Korean so be patient and kind towards these owners!!! One of the best places to get asian fresh produce and staples!! Lots of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Thai ingredients and treats. Our first time yesterday, we were greeted by the owner who was a lovely, upbeat Korean lady that was sweeter than the mooncakes they have! She put all my purchases in a box for me, carried it to my car, and wouldn't accept the $$ I tried to give her as a way to say thank you for the wholesome experience, but she gave me a hug instead (^: will definitely be back to check out more they have! The best part is that they accept...