Good Fortune Supermarket

It has the annoyances of most Asian supermarkets here in NYC: filthy floors, loud out-​of-​style Chinese music, and disgusting stench. If you can overlook those things, then you’ll find some excellent prices and great variety of goods.
The single thing that has made Good Fortune one of our weekly destinations is the parking lot. I’ve never been frustrated with the parking situation. The lot is large enough and turnover is high enough that parking has never been an issue here. Can’t say that about a lot of other Asian supermarkets; just look at US Supermarket Inc in Elmhurst on Broadway/​45^th Ave.

Their mini food court is so delicious! Tasty authentic Chinese food for cheap :)
We love their shrimp dumplings, shrimp or beef rice rolls, chicken feet (tender and tasty).
For cooked food, the white fish, fish and tofu, chicken in brown sauce, fried fish fillets and lightly breaded shrimp with the head on are spot on.
It’s a bit difficult to communicate cause they only know basic English but it’s all good, and it’s cash only.

This is our to go grocery store. Their products are not cheap but not also expensive. We buy our vegetables, fishes, and snacks here. They not only sale Asian goodies but also American products.
All the way in the back of the store, if you are coming in from the parking lot entrance, there is a small dining area. It is cheap and ok in taste (if your taste bud is high quality then this isn’t for you).

I live for their egg tarts. They’re filled with eggs, not as much crust and soo delicious, creamy and not too sweet. Their egg tarts are so authentic. Will take a photo of them next time! One time I bought it just to try it the other time I bought for my mom so I just gave it to her I didn’t open it. Their shrimp dumplings are hella good. There are chives in it which is a vegetarian /​pescatarian option in the sea of pork buns, pork dumplings pork ribs, basically pork everything. So sad. I try to eat and live a vegan lifestyle. The egg tart isn’t really vegan I’m sure but the dumplings sort of are. 3 for $ 2.75 egg tarts are less than $ 1. I wish they made all vegetarian dumplings. I found a store in Manhattan near 23^rd street that has vegetarian dumplings but they do have egg in it. It’s so hard finding good vegan food that’s also delicious. But we out here trying lol cruelty free lifestyle is the best

The good: In all my life I have never seen such fresh meat and produce or such great prices. We’re talking pennies on the dollar for every fruit, vegetable, and meat (both domestic and ethnic) that your heart could desire. Even looking past the butcher/​produce, these guys somehow have what seems like every product from every corner of Asia ranging from Philipino pancit caton (around 35 cents a pop) all the way to Thai udon noodles (under 1 $). The Asian food diversity here is unreal. There is also small hot food area tucked away in the back which is a «point-​point-​point» style cafeteria serving a mix of traditional and Americanized Chinese takeaway. It’s lumped together with a small bakery counter. Whether or not you’re getting groceries you can pick up some cheap bread, donuts, and other sweets or just grab a Styrofoam container of standard issue meat and vegetable hot lunch. The service at all the registers is lightning fast and no matter how long the line they work their tails off to get you out of there fast.
The prices here are mid 90’s grocery store prices and I can’t stress that enough. I used to lose the parking spot every week (and YOU KNOW how serious that is in Astoria) just so I could drive there and load up my car to the brim on groceries. We would spend under 60 dollars and walk away with nearly double the amount of higher quality fresher food than the places the dumb&*^ hipsters flock to in Astoria. They have several aisles of delicious candies, cookies, and assorted Asian junk food which blows away most American stuff in both price, quantity, and quality. Good Fortune is definitely Bad Fortune when it comes to selling organic, locally grown, pesticide free, ethically farmed products but I don’t give a s^&t nor does anyone else who isn’t a smiling overly privileged white hipster girl who works for a non-​for-​profit and drinks Sangria and smokes weed on weekends. I haven’t seen a single one of those phony mother&^%ers in the place yet and let’s hope it stays that way.
Protip: They have an «American products» aisle with the familiar fat#$$ American s*^& like Frosted Flakes and Squeezy Cheeze (collecting more dust on the shelves than my sex life) but I call it «the parking aisle» because nobody ever uses it so I just park my cart there. Also worth mentioning is if you drive here avoid the private parking lot and just look for street parking. The high turnover of customers means you can usually find a spot on the block. You’ll see what I’m talking about in my remarks below.
The bad: The hygiene in here is as questionable as the legality of some of the livestock. I’m not sure how they get away with selling live turtles, frogs, or half dead live eels in filthy tanks that have several inches of scum on the bottom. My mates and I have a theory that they skirt the law by telling anyone who asks questions «on paper they’re pets but we can’t control if someone should buy them and throw them into a pot of boiling water».
The parking lot is a chaotic disaster and I was always nervous parking in there because I’ve seen cars smack into each other, nearly mow down pedestrians, and/​or hit the parked cars. There’s a definite language barrier with the staff and an obvious coldness to the workers but to be fair they’re probably paid crap. If you’re not Chinese speaking or aggressive you WILL get boxed out of or flat out ignored at the butcher counter. The butchers give zero f*&ks and I don’t recommend talking s*& to a man with a sharp knife and a hose. I say this in all my reviews about non-​Americanized Asian spots in Queens: It’s nothing personal; it’s down to cultural differences.
The customers are no bargain either. Don’t expect happy overly privileged white hipsters prancing around and smiling with Little Wayne on their I-​pod on as they peruse organic items a la Trader Joe. Instead, expect to see gruff old Asians and unemotional looking young/​middle aged Asians. (Here and there you’ll see the odd Elmhurst Eastern European because they can get ethnic stuff here cheap and easy). If you’re like me you’ll be the token white guy in the whole place and that’s fine by me. If you leave your cart unattended people sometimes will glom stuff from it that they’re too lazy to go get. If you only have a few items in there they will think nothing to jack the whole cart. You need to be on point in here about always having someone on cart detail.
The ugly: If you’re used to prim and proper WalMart style Americanized supermarkets with smooth jazz playing and everything in neat little bins then this place will most likely shock you. You’ll see fresh meat being chopped up with blood splattering everywhere and live animals being slaughtered in plain sight. If you think I’m exaggerating watch how they club and slice up live fish. As a man who has had people die in his hands, even I found it a little hard to take.
In conclusion: Superb price and quality with poor service. I will absolutely be back!

Disappointed with the service from the meat section of this store (Good Fortune Supermarket of Elmhurst).
We had been patiently waiting for our turn to be served, but this one gentleman-​the attendant/​server– kept ignoring us. When Chinese-​speaking (sounded-​like) customers approached the section, they were served right away. When we tried to call his attention, this particular gentleman dismissed us totally with a wave of his hand.
I am Asian and I understand this is an Asian (Chinese) store. Am I expected to speak Chinese as a customer to be served or the attitude of this gentleman should be corrected?
I will visit this store again, as I like their food/​meat/​fruits selections, but I will continue to point out the rudeness of these servers/​attendants.
I hope this message reaches the manager of this store.

Great place for lunch when you want 3 sides, rice and soup. Great place for buying groceries.

I truly enjoy grocery shopping but it must be on my terms. The place must be well stocked and have clearly marked aisles; have moderate to little crowds and good prices. When I go to GF, I am usually looking for a particular ingredient or restocking a staple which I was doing yesterday, late Saturday afternoon, Passover day and the day before Easter. Normally, this time of day is synonymous with shopping cart bumper derby time. This is also the weekend of the Chinese holiday, Ching Ming so many folks might be at the cemetery sweeping their family’s grave sites so I was pleased to see I had the space and time to explore the store which I could never do on a normal weekend. The mustard greens I came in for were super fresh as were the cilantro and scallions, all the garnishes I needed for my oxtail soup. I managed to find my tapioca starch, an essential to making shrimp dumplings which I plan on making again soon. I was also happy to see fresh ramen available and a variety of other kinds of Japanese items. There are not the esoteric brands found in Japanese markets but there’s enough to get you started. Sorry to see the Calrose brand of rice no longer available as it was a few months ago. I am a little skeptical about their meat section where you can get pork products of all kinds and ginormous chicken wings. I’ve bought their pork belly but their oxtail is pre-​frozen and too dark for my taste so I go somewhere else for their beef items. I have not gotten any fish at GF yet but everything looks fresh (maybe a little too fresh) as some pieces look like they were just butchered as evidenced by the gratuitous blood.
I have my preferences for brands but if I don’t recognize the many trademark infringed imports from China, I don’t buy them, no matter how cheap the price. It might sound funny given I come here to shop for Chinese groceries but there have been too many stories of tainted Chinese products. I opt instead for Made inTaiwan goods (perhaps naively as I am sure the Taiwan companies buy from China and repackage for export).
Didn’t even visit the bakery or prepared food area this time but good to know it exists for a quick bite or takeaway for the next time.
The fruits and vegetables are well priced but probably all GMO produced. If you want organic, go to Whole Foods.
I also noticed more non-​Asians shopping here as I suspect they have discovered the good prices and variety, too. You can also get «American» goods along with Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese and of course Chinese.
Still satisfied and conveniently located at the border of Elmhurst and Maspeth with ample parking.

Last week I ventured deeper into the belly of Good Fortune Supermarket and uncovered a great little dining area.
Twenty plus hot trays of genuine Chinese food served up as fast as you can point to the unlabeled food selections. Yo all you exotic eaters, the pigs feet is served up daily.
The slabs of BBQed pork hanging to the left of the register is easily ordered. Just point and the hog slab is quickly removed, hacked up into little pieces, weighed and sold which costs about $ 5.00 and is a great appetizer for two.
Under 20% represents the seafood options, come to think of it, figure under 5%., The pork, beef, tripe, chicken and vegetables round out the remaining percentage amount. Three selections atop a king sized bed if rice along with a 12oz soup will cost you a mere $ 5.50.

never been here
My previous review was intended for a European market place. Unilocal won’t allow me to delete it so this is the update
Sorrrryyy

Take out dim sum! Because I’m too lazy to travel to the city or Flushing! If you’re looking to just spend a weekend dining in, but still wanting dim sum, look no further. I’m not sure of the prices per dish, but my last order of 4 items came out to $ 9.50, so at least it’s cheaper per dish than restaurants. My favorites are the siu mai, ha gow, fried turnip cake, and both sticky and fried rices. Just point to things and let the workers pack up the goods for you to take home.
Although I haven’t taken the time to peruse, the market itself is huge. A classic Asian market with large rows of veggies, aisles of Asians goods, and of course the obnoxious smelling seafood department that leaves you gasping for air.
Consider this review your warning about parking inside their lot. It’s congested, and throw in awful Asian drivers who live up to the stereotype and cannot park correctly… just go park on the side streets to save your own car.

An Asian grocery off the Queens Blvd southeast bound side of the road.
Large parking lot in the back (there is a small entrance to the lot on the front, too).
You start in the front area where they keep the carts, and a fruit selection. Then it goes past the fresh & frozen fish, a small meat counter in the back, right is a large selection of fresh vegetables that are hit-​and-​miss in quality, but can be cheaper than some of the Flushing and Chinatown stores. A liquor space in the back. People also clustered around one area where they were selling extra vegetables bagged up as a dollar a bag.
Interesting on the fresh fish — some prices are better if you buy more (check out the signs, they’ll tell you what you need to buy more of). An example: One fish was $ 1.39/lb, but if you bought 5lbs or more, they sold it at $ 0.99/lbs.
Overall the canned/​dried/​refrigerated/​meat goods tended to be slightly more expensive and less varieties stocked than their counterparts in Flushing (like Skyfoods) but the fresh veggies are a good selection and some are cheaper. If you live in the area, it probably makes sense to shop here, but if you end up having specific wants (brands, etc.) that aren’t the normal mass-​market brands or if you want more organic choices, you probably are best-​off going elsewhere.
Overall, probably not a one-​stop-​shop for me, so not likely to visit regularly (also out of my normal driving path), but if you’re in the area, it’s likely to be very convenient.

Not only do they sell grocery food items, but they also serve breakfast and lunch items. There is a mini bakery that I had brought their bubble milk tea. I don’t know what they added into the drink, but it tasted nasty. I also did not enjoy chewing the bubbles. I rather go to Broadway to buy bubble milk tea for a real bakery store than here.
I also went there to buy meat because I had rice and vegetables for lunch, but I need a meat dish to go with the rice. I love the roasted pig, because it has a crunchy outer layer. The meat was good, but the guy serving it gave me an attitude. He got annoyed because I only wanted the roasted pig without the rice, and he usually serves it with the rice. Along with the attitude, he gave me very little meat and charged $ 5 for it.
So, Good Fortune and I will take a little break. When I’m ready to come back and give it another chance, I hope I’m treated better.

For the longest time this Supermarket has been my backup plan for lunch and occasionally dinner. They’ve recently changed hands but all the prices seem to have lowered. The produce is always fresh and the seafood is well priced. The locals in the neighborhood have taken well to this establishment as evidence by the mixture of different clientele that frequent their aisles.