Vua Kho Bo

This is the second time I’ve been here. I read all the reviews before going and I did not have a problem with pushy sales people either time. Sometimes when one person writes something, others tend to chime in, I don’t know.
I traveld from San Francisco to buy the mushrooms, dried squid and curry beef jerky. Always worth it when something is that good.

Why there’s no negative star? So pushy. Will never go there again.

They are the only people that I know that sell Nature Land Inc tea which I cannot get enough of. I will give them 2 stars for that because no one else sells the tea. As for being pushy, everyone is pretty much right about that. I wanted to buy spicy squid jerky but got turned off since they wanted to bag it for me and wouldn’t let me bag it myself. No thank you.

Like what everyone else said here, it’s extremely pushy. Although they didn’t push me around since I’m a teenager so they thought I didn’t have money, they pushed my mother around.
Gnats. Everywhere.
The fruits are good, but the gnats. Agh. I do gnat want them in my fruits lel. But really, it’s gross.
They force you to try something, and if you actually want a bag of something they do it for you, meaning that they fill it up as much as they want you to buy, not how much you want. So yeah I got 4 bags of dried fruit for $ 36 bucks. I only wanted a little bit, but naw, I guess I have to get a few pounds. Overall a pound for anything here is over $ 10. Good luck if you come in here.

Super pushy — like everyone said. You need to push right back. The sales person gave me a full bag of beef jerky when I asked for only a quarter pound. When I objected, he said — «Oh this isn’t much.» «Who’s eating it, you or me? I’ll be the judge of how much is too much.» And he backed off and let me stuff my own bag. After all, that’s why they have bags around everywhere, right, for self-​service? I mean, c’mon, people!

I really want give it 0 star if I could. This store and business is not honest at all. products are way overpriced and some of the products are might way too old. I went this store and trying to find something to easy my cough, the sales recommend some sort of dry herb fruits which is $ 27/​lb, I told them I can buy quarter pound to try, but end up the put over one pound in the bag…
After tried one day and my cough got worse and I started having diarrhea symptoms. then my husband found something looks like mold on that so he throw it away. if he didn’t throw it away, I might take it to City health authority to report it. if they do have some way too old or moldy products in the store to sell, then the business should be checked by city health department.
Just be cautious on their products especially meat jerky!!!

I have been buying snacks since 1996. They have chains all over CA.
I agree with all the negative reviews about how pushy they are. However, if you can resist and be firm about how much you want and don’t give in, they will back off.
I am giving 1 star because the dry sour plum items have gone from 10 dollars to 20 dollars in year. I don’t quite get the doubling of the price.
It seems to me they are too greedy and while they claim their product is natural and I don’t see any proof of seals of any sort. Not even Taiwanese government issued ones.
Nothing. I will not go back to support greedy business.

Ugh… walked in and then walked right out. Ridiculous prices! :(

Let me preface this review by saying this: if you’ve never lived in Asia or have never experienced the pushy salespeople in Asia, then this place will drive you nuts. As other reviewers have mentioned, the people who work here are SUPER PUSHY (albeit politely pushy) and will try to get you to buy as much as possible. Just remind yourself that you don’t need 2 lbs of pork jerky… the key is to be very firm and no-​nonsense about what you want.
And yeah, they do offer you 489 372 943 samples, but I personally enjoy the endless supply of samples to try… and then still not buying everything that they offer :)
Other than the pushiness of the workers, I’d say this is still one of my favorite places to shop. Their pork jerky/​beef jerky is really well-​known, both in the States (esp. SoCal) and in Asia. Their dried scallops are really good too!
Taking away two stars for pushiness and being slightly shady.

Too bad most people who would go to this place probably won’t think to check Unilocal reviews first. I’m glad I finally found this listing so that I could write a review.
I left so confused and so annoyed after spending $ 65 on 3 items that I asked for «half a pound» on each. I ended up with 1 pound of each. Didn’t feel like arguing with them, just know that I would never go back.
Pushy staff that doesn’t know when to STFU and get out of your face — I will warn all of my friends and family away from this place. Like Fenny said, «I know everyone needs to make a living but…» this is not an honest living.
Sure, their pork jerky and dried fish were pretty good. The product itself is no joke. But you will find yourself annoyed to death by the sales there — I got surrounded by 3 people who kept cutting samples off and shoving them into my face when I declined the sample, insisting «it’s really good, it’s a new product we just got in…» etc etc.
And again, I can NOT stress enough that they are completely dishonest about how much they put into the bag, always sneaking in more when you aren’t looking. It’s pretty much what everyone else already said. Ten times.
I will never go back here, and I hope no one I know, even as an acquaintance, will find themselves inside this place’s devilish clutches either. Yes, their products ARE good, but… do you really want to cave in and give your money to people like this?

Pushy pushy sales people here. They try to tell you that you are not able to buy less than a ½ lb. of anything.
I told the lady. If that is the rules, we don’t want to buy your stuff.
Talking to their other staff in their language (Mandrin) thinking that the customers can’t understand them. They said «I can’t stand them» to eachother. We might be back just to piss you off. Bit*ch.
BUYER BEWARE!

I know everyone needs to make a living but this place is ridiculous. I have been here three times and I am not coming back. Ever!
First time, I did not expect I would spend $ 55. I just want to get quarter pound of variety of dried fruit. $ 55 later, I was not a happy customer. Who in the hell would eat that much of dried fruit?
Second time, they did the same thing. I was wondering if there was a language barrier. So the next visit, I made sure to clearly communicate how much I needed and they still scooped more than what I wanted.

Reviewing this place can go two ways. Since most everyone rated this place on its pushy service, I’m going to rate it on the products they sell.
Whenever I’m in town, I make it to Vua Kho Bo for certain items that I know I like. For example: the dried white grapefruit and the spicy jerky. Sometimes I get tea, sometimes other dried fruits. But the key is to go in, head down, and when they start shoving stuff at you, turn them down and they’ll leave you alone. The only time I sample is if I know it’s something I want to buy (like if the spicy jerky looks a little different than the last time, I’ll try a piece to make sure it’s the right stuff.)
Since they scoop and fill for you, they tend to over fill bags and then act like they don’t understand when you tell them it’s too much. Don’t bother fighting that fight. If you want one pound, tell them half pound. If you want half pound, tell them quarter pound. Seriously. The product is worth the hassle. Just best to get in and out as quickly as possible and nobody’s feelings get hurt.

Like the products but gate how they scoop the products and have no choice how much you really need. When I asked to half the portion the guy got mad and became argumentative

I am generously giving this joint one star. Perhaps that is because I have to give them something. After all, they gave me so much when I walked in…
They gave me some tea.
They gave me some samples.
They gave me 3.2 inches of personal body space.
They gave me more samples.
They gave me a lot of anything I wanted.
They gave me more than anything I wanted.
They gave me a bad time when I said «too much».
They gave me a reason to never return.
As I said, they gave so much! It is too bad, as their snack and offerings are actually really good. I enjoyed everything that I was practically forced to sample. But, there is no way that I will return after such a brutal visit.
I liked the dried mushrooms as I was offered one when I made a quick glance in their direction. I asked if I may have ½ pound. The lady grabbed the super scoop and filled the bag for me. I told her that looks like a lot for a half pound and she told me that they are «dried mushrooms. Very good». I agreed that they were good, but that was too much of a good thing. She walked over to the register and sealed the bag and then weighed it. I never saw the actual weight, but since the bag price was $ 26.80, I assumed it was well over a half a pound as they were priced at around $ 17.00 per pound. I told the lady again that she had given me too much. She told me «$ 26.80. Dried mushrooms.» I told her that I do not want that much. She literally looked at me like I had just threw poop at the cash register. I asked if I may get what I asked for, which was a half pound of dried mushrooms. Again, I got the poop look and then a bag shake. I once again said that I do not want that much, which at this point was mere principal as it was like dealing with a bad used car salesman. She said something in her language that I did not understand. She shook the bag again. For a moment, I thought I was on a TV show. Then a man showed up from the back and spoke with the lady and the lady again shook the bag. I laughed as I walked out of the store. The front door was propped open and I heard shouting as I made my way to QQ Noodles two doors down.
I actually laughed a lot at this bizarre scheme. So, I will add to my list of things given to me. They gave me a chuckle. Be on guard and fight for your order to be what you ordered or be prepared to walk out. Cultural or not, this place is beyond pushy!

Waltz’d over to this place after having lunch at Pepper Lunch to sample the tea offerings displayed at the front of the store…
Just as I was sipping, two ladies rushed over to the tea barrel (where they kept the bulk of the tea cubes) and opened a bag ready to make a sale. I inquired how the tea cubes were sold by with a quick response of $ 16/​lb. I wasn’t planning on spending $ 16 on tea so I agreed to ½ a pound since it was tasty.
As I motioned over to grab a bag so that I could self serve my own purchase, one of the fobby sales ladies cut me off and started to fill up a bag that she had already had in her hands with the tea cubes before I could even do it myself. Her hands were so quick as she began tossing tea cubes one by one into the bag; immediately weighing the product and then sealing it. Same sales tactics with the dried mushrooms too. Damn lady kept tossing more and more mushrooms into the bag telling me «mushroom weigh very light-​mushroom not much heavy» even after I re-​iterated that I only wished for half a pound. I ended up with the damn bag nearly ¾ of the way full & my tea weighing in at 1.6 pounds when I initially only asked for ½ a pound.
I walked away from this store $ 34 poorer. The dried goods and teas here are of great quality and are dee-​lish but that does not justify the need for their pushy sales antics. It’s NOT the $ 34 that I am bitter about either, I just felt like I had zero control over my purchase. Customers like myself are the ones that are paying… Not them. Let the product speak for itself. They should allow the customer (s) to make their own selection and give us the leeway to control our own quantity for purchase. Just that alone would easily increase the return of more satisfied customers.
Prepare to be hustled before entering this place.

I concur with what all the other reviewers have said. The second you step foot in the door, the salespeople are all over you like cats on meat. They ply you full of samples, sneak more goods into the bags than you request (they bag it for you), and make you feel cheap and guilty for not purchasing what you sample. Their sales tactics are extremely aggressive.
A ¼ pound of dried mushrooms, a ½ pound of dried okra, and 1 pound of tea made me $ 50 poorer. They did give me a free chilled bottle of green tea. The person ahead of me got 2 bottles, but they bought $ 300 worth of dried goods.
The products themselves are pretty tasty though.

If I could give this place a zero star, I would! This place force you to buy more than you ask for!!!
I went there to buy some snacks, I specifically ask them to give me about half a pound of the snack. Total price should be around $ 20 but the total came up to be $ 60.
They weighed each bag super fast for you to see the weights read on their scale. I was so surprised by the price and asked them to put them back on the scale. Turned out they put 1.7lbs of that snack in the bag!!! I asked them to take out the snacks coz I only asked for 0.5lb. The cashier and the staff at first argue that it’s close weight and were not willing to take out any snacks from the bag. I was so mad and found it very ridiculous. If I were not buying this for my family I would have totally walked out the store. They only gave in the took out the excessive snacks from the bag after my insisting on it, with too obviously unhappy looks on their faces!!!
The whole experience was too ridiculous and absurb that I never went back.
Be prepared to get «robbed» when you go there!

If you can ever get killed with kindness this is the place. I come in here exploring and saw the chinese beef jerky my dad and I love. I ask for a sample and I get offered a sample for 5 – 6 different things. I asked for a half pound, but they gave me a little over a pound. When I was paying they gave me a tea and I told them it was ok for the half pound.
So after going to Unilocal everything seems to make sense. I think everything is pretty accurate.

Reason for visit: Tea samples!
Visit date: March 25, 2012
First time? Yes.
Uh…get out of my bubble! I’ve been to tea/​snack shops like this before, but this was a whole other experience. I came in for some tea samples because I knew they carried a tea I like. From the moment you glance at the shop, they have scary workers following you around and trying to stuff your face with samples. It’s a little too in-​your-​face. You have been warned. But if you’re looking for some free snacks, go for it!