Tak Shing Hong Emporium

Came here with a friend who was actually looking to get some acupuncture done. It might seem weird, but really in the back of this Asian grocery you can get treated with Traditional Chinese Medicine, both acupuncturist and herbalist on staff.
First of all the wait time took forever, like 3 – 4 hours long on a Sunday. Imagine coming here after lunch and then by the time you are done you are almost ready for dinner! This is because there is only one acupuncturist with no assistant and only one table. So you come in take a number, wait a while and then get assessed: blood pressure, pulse, the color of your tongue and some invasive questions. Then you got to wait some more because the one table is being currently used by a previous client. It staggers on slowly for a while, so while waiting what else to do but some grocery shopping!
Great selection of spices, snacks and candies, I totally stocked up since some of the spices are harder to find or more expensive elsewhere. The instant noodle isle selection is fantastic, you can not only buy individual packets but in bulk by the box.
The downside is the long wait, but after all the waiting my friend that got acupuncture done said they felt immediately better afterwards. If it works… it works! No insurance needed, just take someone with you that speaks Mandarin.

Very poor customer service, especially the people in the herb section. I was inquiring the price of a particular herb right in front of my eyes they first said they don’t carry it, when I pointed out that it’s right here they said it’s already open so they don’t sell it when it’s perfectly sealed. Maybe they don’t care about their business since there is lot of traffic in & out their store.

People here are very rude, especially the people in the herb section. I was shocked the way they treat their customers. I had trouble finding dandelion, and asked the lady for help, she helped so unwillingly and made fun of you for not knowing where it is. I was like «are you serious, i don’t work here, girl.» And when my order is ready to pick up, they will called the customer like that, «Hey, YOU!» What the heck… I will NEVER EVER COME BACK AGAIN!

This is the smaller of the two TS Emporiums in Monterey Park. Apparently this is the «better» one to go to if you’re solely looking for Chinese medicinal supplies, like if you need to fill an order for Chinese herbal medicine. However, it is much more cramped and everything seems a bit more «old» with a thick layer of dust/​powder than the larger one. Also, selection of items is smaller.
Come here for Chinese medicine and less hectic parking! Go to the larger one for a larger variety of items.

People here are unbelievably rude… Reminds me of why I despise hating shopping around monterey park. I bought a wrong product for my mom (considering I don’t read chinese) and they refused honor their return policy printed clearly on the receipt, even tho the product was never opened and it was within one day of purchase. Never again!

great place for chinese herbal and medicinal product, has great collection of junk and miscellaneous asian products. some of the freshest vegetables around for great prices. and what could beat the 69 cent grass jelly powder.

I just love this place! It was suppose to be a quick in and out excursion to get red envelopes for my nephews, didn’t happen. I spent two hours in here. There are so many wonderful gadgets and treasures, what a sweet surprise.
But…yes there is a But.
The place reeks of chinese herb and yes, if I just stayed 1 hour, I would of been fine.
So it’s my fault really for staying longer, getting dizzy, feeling faint, yet so HAPPY with my four bags of goodies.
Damage? $ 299.57
Finding a rice cooker from Japan, online price of $ 150 for $ 47–
PRICELESS
well, almost.

for all my asian meds this is the place were you can find almost anything also herbal meds too. if you don’t speak Chinese they’ll look at you funny but if you do they’ll greet you and take care of you. plus they have most of your (bi-​sun) supply too

Came here with mom because she wanted some herbs. The place smells really strong but amazingly I am very sensitive to smells and I was not sneezing when I was there. They have a few choices of vegetables but I would not buy snacks from here. If you do, look at the expiration dates. They don’t have expiration dates on all their snacks. I picked up one of those pineapple cake packages and that thing looked like it was 5 years old. It was hard and the cake was falling apart inside the package. As far as the herbs, I guess it’s ok but definitely not the snacks.

last week i go to LA want to see herb chinnese medicine. owner duarte inn indroduce me and my hubby go to tak shing hong, she talk almost item have the price. me and my hubby buy lingzhi and shark fin and most herb too. most staff can not speak english, smoetimes i sad iam chinnese indonesia, but can not speak chinnese. but i happy one staff can help me she is name joann, she helpfull me and my hubby. if we dont understad about the herb, she always translate and recommend to try something. we buy most, joann friend gift us speciall because we buy more than they thinking, but i dont know she is name (thanks lady).
for the future, if i go to LA again, i can go tak shing hong. and see Joann again.

If an Asian places smells that non-​Asian people cringe even before they step it… you know you’re at an authentic Asian store!
This place carries the traditional Chinese medicine (hence, the smell) as well as many items that are used for vegetarian Buddha’s feast that families usually eat for Chinese New Years: bean curds, bamboo shoots, bean thread noodes, dehydrated mushrooms… one stop shop for all the items you’d need.
They have a huge section for Asian cooking gear like hot pot pots and you’re left alone to sift through their stuff. It’s an authentic Chinese place, so English is rarely spoken from the staff, so I don’t understand how people get offended that they don’t speak English… when the staff is in their mid/​late 50s+ and English would not be their first language.
Will definitely need to return here for the stainless steel bowls – so many sizes!

Their veggies are fresher than the ones in other super markets. Actually the prices of the snacks are cheaper too, they also sells herbs and dried goods, abalone, fish meow and shark fins… Well, well, well, I am quiting the shark fin soup after saw the Gordom Ramsay episode about how cruel when the fishermnan slice off the shark fin and throw the shark back to the ocean…

This tiny market is crammed full of stuff, from the usual Asian food items, to small appliances, various utensils and table wares, herbs, etc… My grandmother loves coming here, and will spend 2 hours here sometimes. Much to my dismay and utter boredom.
Checkout at the registered by the entrance. They don’t have the convenience of modern checkout stands, so if someone before you is buying a lot (or is chatty, or is old…), be prepared to wait.
There are some nice selections for Asian snacks here though. Yum. ;-)

A security guard followed me around right after I took a picture.
And he made it so obvious. He followed me then he stopped right behind me. I turned around and he pretended to look away. So I went to the next aisle and he followed me again. I was loud when I said «hey, that security guard followed me». I turned around and he was still there. So I looked at his name tag and stood next to him. He got embarassed and turned around. so this time I followed him around the store.
The store smells like a typical Chinese herb store. They sell traditional Chinese medicine and other Asian snacks also. You can also find stuff that you find at Chinatown.
It’s actually a decent store… but sweetheart I don’t like it when people follow me around. Do I look like a thief to you? Learn to tell the difference between a thief and a Unilocaler.
2 stars! Not a fan. not at all

This place consistently provides traditional Chinese medicine and other imported goods at a reasonable price. You can find things like slippers, rice cookers, gummy candies, red envelopes, fresh groceries, etc. The parking can be pretty bad at times and the workers do not really speak English.
One brush I had with their employees is when one of their storage boxes fell on me from their shelf and their contents (snack packages) spilled out. The workers who accidentally pushed the boxes over to my aisle simply came around asking «What happened?» in Mandarin. In a few minutes, more workers came around asking «What happened?» I didn’t even get an apology. It would’ve been dangerous had an elderly person been there instead of me. I simply left while they slowly cleaned up all the mess. oh well.

I would never come here on my own. But my parents do so I just come with them. As soon as you walk in you know its a Chinese store cos it smells weird.
My parents usually come for herbs, medicine, goodies and what not. I come because I have nothing else to do so I just follow them. I am not sure how much this type of stuff is supposed to cost, but I’m thinking the price is good since it is crowded every time we go.
Since my parents like this place, 4 Stars.

CHEAP MAHJONG TILES WARNING!!!
So overall, this is a good place for cheap produce and other Chinese knick knacks. There is a wide variety of small appliances and the herbal side of the store seems extensive, but out of my realm of expertise.
I do give this place only 2 stars due to my family’s experience with their cheap Mahjong tiles, which are sold in the back counter of the main part of the store. I bought a Hong Kong sized Royal Blue set and my aunt bought a Hong Kong sized Green set.
Within 1 year, both sets started a patchy fading on the backsides of the tiles which make them identifiable.
No good, and the sign on the counter states once you remove the plastic, its all yours, so we’re stuck with patchy Mahjong tiles.

4 stars because of the herbologist and 3 stars for the actual location. Inside and outside are both pretty run down. This place’s been here for a long time. But they do carry a large selections of asian goodies although u do occassionally have to search thru boxes.
The herbologist hidden in the back corner more then makes up for this place :) He’s helped a few of our friends out with a variety of aliments. And they all swear by him.
As far as personal experience we saw results within the first week. Honestly the stuff tastes bitter and awful but according to ancient Chinese history… the more bitter the taste the better the results. And he claims his prescription is THE bitter-est…we second that :) No appointment needed… walk in is fine and did we mention «he’s da man!!!»

There are actually two Tak Shing Hong on the same street and I am surprised this one has yet to be reviewed.
Compare to the one on 122 W Garvey Ave, this TSH is smaller. But more convenient in terms of street parking.
We came here today and found a variety of mooncakes available. Mostly imported from Malaysia, Thailand, HK, China and Macau. Famous bakeries from that part of the world that I never knew would be sold here in the US.
We picked up the infamous Lian Xiang Lou (
), which has a tie to Anthony Bourdain and our last trip to HK.
In the HK episode of No Reservations, Bourdain visited a dim sum place called Lin Heung Tea House. Lin Heung is Cantonese for Lian Xiang and translates to Lotus Fragrance. The word ‘Lou’ refers to ‘Tea House’.
The original Lian Xiang Lou was from Guang Zhou and dates back as far as 1889. Ah yes, that was when Guangxu was t he Emperor of China during the Qing Dynasty.
I never knew Lian Xiang Lou’s mooncakes are sold in the US. That is because I don’t see them at Ranch 99, Shun Fa and other grocery stores in the area. It does seem that TSH is the only place that imports mooncakes from this 120 year-​old restaurant.
Price at $ 24.99 for 4 moon cakes, each measuring about 3.5″ diameter and 1.5″ high, these are expensive pastries. But oh my, the delicate taste on the first bite, thin ‘skin’, lightly sweetened lotus paste with the savory salted egg yolk in the center is unbelievably imperial.
And btw, the calligraphy of the Lian Xiang Lou was written by a scholar from the Imperial Academy during the Qing dynasty.