Vinh Hung Supermarket

OK, so this is an extremely strange place to shop as a white girl. The people who work at the counter do not like to look you in the eye (I have to ask myself if I am wearing a scarlett letter or is blonde hair an egregious crime?)
Anyway, the reason this place gets three stars is because I absolutely love to make Thai Curry and this place has excellent Massaman curry paste and super cheap coconut milk. The vegetables are also totally reasonable.
Fellow white folks, it is worth the weird stares. Your taste buds will thank you, just do it!

I’m surprised there aren’t more reviews of this place given that it’s pretty hard to miss. Vinh Hung is basically an old Edwards Cinema, complete with marquee and huge chandelier, retrofitted to house a Vietnamese supermarket. Weird, but interesting enough.
Maybe I’m just too Americanized and white to be here or something, but every time I’ve come here I’ve gotten some serious lip from the people who work there for whatever the reason. I don’t really get the attitude, man– I’m just here to buy some tapioca balls and get out, you know?
Not only that, but this place seriously reeks of rotten meat. I remember wandering around into one of the side corridors where I’m pretty sure they have some small shops set up that sell clothes and bootleg videos, but I didn’t have enough time to check it out before getting hit with the most awful smells I’ve ever had enter my nostrils. As somebody who’s done taxidermy a few times in my life, I’m pretty familiar with the smell of rotting flesh and the subsequent ability to hold back my gag reflex when I catch a whiff of it, but I seriously thought I was going to vomit if I stayed back there any longer. Jesus christ. Not only that, but it just kind of looks unsanitary? If I saw cockroaches scurrying on the floor or hanging out on the walls, I honestly wouldn’t be too surprised.
Unless you absolutely need to come here to pick up some Vietnamese snacks or coffee or whatever, I’d avoid this place and go find somewhere else. I’m surprised it’s even managed to stay in business all these years, honestly.

For a Vietnamese market, this place sure is all sorts of Chinese. From the goods, to the music, it has a big China label on it.
The veggies are fresh (enough so that there was a live fly in the bagged salad), and it was pretty empty. I’ll agree with Cindy W. — this place was sort of creepy. Turn the music Halloween-​esque, add a fog machine, and you’ve got yourself a good ol’ horror film setting.
Fly salad!

Not very clean, in a rather sketchy area and there aren’t many options when it comes to fruits and veggies. I was nervous the entire time I was there. Didn’t help with the big guy behind the butcher’s counter with a gigantic cleaver. I felt like I was in a scary nightmare and the place wreaked of rotten meats or something. I found the tea I wanted though but that’s about it. Not coming back.