Minh Phat

With so many Asian groceries around Melbourne and ESPECIALLY on Victoria Street, it’s hard to really know which one should be your top spot to make your purchases. What attracted me to Minh Phat was how extremely large it is compared to other tiny and cramped stores that quite often smell.
Ambiance:
Like I said, this store is massive. If you’re looking for variety, Minh Phat is the place to go. I love the selection in comparison to other Asian grocery shops. For instance, there would only be one specific brand of rice noodles I can buy at say, Laguna Market. However, with Minh Phat you can choose been 3 – 4.
Customer Service:
They don’t really speak English. So if you don’t speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or Vietnamese you’re probably out of luck and won’t be getting any service whatsoever. Go in knowing exactly what you want to avoid horrors. I should note that even if you CAN speak one of those languages, they still aren’t very friendly. I asked a man in Cantonese if he knew where to find Hoisin Sauce and he said «sauces are over there. Just look yourself!»
Minh Phat gives you decent prices as well. You can find cheaper elsewhere, but when it comes to a huge store where everything you’ll need is in one place, it’s still worth the few cents extra.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Minh Phat for your Asian grocery shopping. It’s large and spacious, the prices are cheap, and it’s never that crowded. Expect to have a decent shopping experience rather than trying to dodge people in a narrow maze at a smaller store.