Asian Food Stores

We went to Santa Maria to look for the Costco there and to investigate other Asian food stores in the area. We visited a small Asian market run by Filipino owners. The store in SLO is small and doesn't have much in the way of fresh vegetable or prepared foods like you find at A Dongs in WH. You'd think that being here in California there would be a huge selection of Asian markets. As it turns out on the central coast there are not that many Asians. There were many more in the early 20th century when they were building the railroads but for whatever reason many of the Chinese people have moved away. The owners of the little market in Santa Maria said there were many Filipino people there, enough to support 3 Filipino social clubs. This store has fresh produce on Tuesdays and Fridays and they said they get many of the more popular Chinese vegetables.

Asian markets have a kind of "dirty" feel about them. It reminds me of the markets in HK and the Philippines where everything was at least a little untidy, if not in disarray and the shelves looked dirty and the display areas and floors all looked like they need a good washing. I don't know what it is about these markets but they all seem to be the same. Although I must say that the one in SLO runs counter to this impression. The owner there is very friendly and tries to get things you want if he can. They say that to get good Asian food (vegetables and prepared foods like roast pork, duck and ribs) the closest place is in San Jose.