Truong Thanh Grocery Store

If you are a Vietnamese-​American living in Minnesota, there is a very good chance you grew up going to this grocery store. This place has been around for as long as I can remember and for a grocery store that is super small, it actually has everything you could possibly need if you are trying to cook any Vietnamese, Chinese, or Thai cuisine. There’s also a traditional Asian medicinal herb shop so the entire store smells like those dried mushrooms or whatever the OG elders boil to fight a cold. They have sweet treats like Pockys, Panda Cookies, and a bunch of those Korean sweet crackers, and salty snacks like dried seawood and shrimp chips. I’m a big fan of their fresh meat area because they always have a good supply of pork belly and spare ribs. Their produce section is small but they always have a good stock of their Phở veggies (bean sprouts, jalapenos, thai basil, mint, etc) and Chinese egg plant. I feel like those are kind of hard to find so this is a great one stop shop. I’m usually not a fan of reviewing grocery stores, but I’ve recently gotten into cooking more Southeast Asian inspired dishes and through many trials and tribulations of finding the correct ingredients for things, this grocery has been the best at having what I need when I need it.
There’s plenty of free parking in the back and overflow parking in the street. I don’t suggest going here on a Saturday or Sunday because it is crazy busy and can get a little overwhelming. All other days are pretty chill though. There is this guy who has been there forever and he knows the inventory like the back of his hand. I don’t really know how to describe him other than I am pretty sure he is the only white guy who works in the store…

I haven’t been in this grocery store in AGES, so it’s pretty much a first time visit for me all over again. It’s located in a pretty hustle and bustle part of Minneapolis so it was great they had a pretty decent sized parking lot! It is a smaller Asian grocery store and surprisingly they had a lot of the things we were looking for. Firstly i am so surprised how helpful the cashier and store clerk was, not to mention how attentive they were! Also the back store employees greeted us too! That’s not so common in the other grocery stores. Prices were decent and the only downer was that their fruit section isn’t too big. And they can run out of things pretty quickly, for example we inquired on durian and they ran out morning of. Definitely will be back since it’s closer to me than the Asian stores in saint Paul.

I think a review update is due!
Aside from buying phở-​related goods, I visited Truong Thanh last weekend in search for a nice cleaver and butcher block. My girlfriend cuts various meats (chicken hearts, ox lips, etc…) to feed our dog, and when our current cleaver couldn’t do the trick anymore, she sent me searching. (Gangsta, I know.)
I didn’t know where these things were, so I asked — I think the son of the owner — and he showed me two badass cleavers: one four and half inches ($ 9) and the other six inches tall ($ 30). I went with the cheaper one.
He also directed me to a massive butcher block, which is essentially a small slice of a tree. ($ 22).
He was super friendly with showing me everything. Also, I ran into Yolanda, the owner of Tea House. Apparently, she’s a regular.
The cleaver and butcher block both work great! I’ll probably visit, again, this upcoming weekend!

Surprisingly great gem of an Asian grocery and right on Nicollet. Convenient and clean, it’s got almost everything you could need for any experimentation I can come up with. I came in looking for some Japanese eggplant, and found it in abundance and CHEAP! Their produce is great! Can’t recommend it enough. Skip the big box groceries if you’re looking for vege and come here instead. Fruit not so much, but the herbs and greens were fresh and plentiful.
Also, the service here was great! My friend was going to try some spicy shrimp crackers and they wouldn’t sell them to us. For good reason, seems another customer had just remarked that they must have been a bad batch. We would have NEVER known, so many thanks for the heads up.
Great market, and wish I were closer.

Found my Bi (shredded pork skin) here today for some Broken Rice action.
They have a myriad of offerings much like other Asian Grocers. A decent sized meat counter, freezer counter and fresh veggies.
Nice people and clean store. I will be back to support them.

The only place to get good fresh produce within walking distance of my Loring Park digs. Very happy to support this family-​run place. They have everything to put together a piping-​hot bowl of udon soup, perfect in the winter.

Well I would consider this the ugly step sister of Shuang Hur. Why? Because no one thinks of this store for their Asian cooking supplies. It is located roughly 2 blocks north of shuang hur on Nicollet.
Oh does it have some nice things. Fresh veggies, fish, chicken and pork at a fraction of the big chain prices. I am always finding new things here. (Update: prices on meat have been bumped up a bit).
I usually load up on things like shallots, baby bok choy, canned coconut milk, fresh shrimp, and chinese long bean (like a green bean but each one is 3 times the length of a normal green bean).
One time I found some veggie greens that looked interesting. I stuffed some in a bag took it to the counter and said «what is this?» «pea shoot tips» the clerk replied. Yeah another interesting find! the pea shoot tips were great in a salad.