Mountain View Market

Looks like the market is dead with a new tenant. An old school Chinese grocery that has all the stereotypical things. Cheap household goods, Asian produce, canned goods and the like. A slight off odor in the air and not so great service. I welcome the new market paradigm…

It is so nice to have a local market. For those times when I need something in a pinch and don’t want to get in my car I can just walk to the local grocer.
And they just recently changed owners and I have to say it is great. The produce is so much fresher and they carry a good selection of wine and beer.
The new owner seems to be there every time I have stopped in, he is very friendly. I wish him the best of luck with the store.

Note that «Mountain View Market» no longer exists as of 2012.
It was succeeded by Ava’s Downtown Market & Deli at this address, with new owners, new focus, and a new Unilocal listing.

Management changed and now there is a nice person managing this place. I used to go just for the lobster and clams before because other things I bought were spoiled (including milk! yak!), but now I can do some of my grocery including organic produce which is really fresh, and organic milk! a plus that the store carries gold fish and fruit in a pouch for my kids, so i don’t have to drive to get them… now, if I miss something from my pantry I know where to go with just a a nice walk. Finally, a grocery store in downtown Mountain View :-)

They have great fish here, very fresh and delicious, and have new owners that I personally think are really turning the business around for the better. They will be carrying a wider variety of food items apparently soon.

The kinda place where the owner knows you. :o)
I always bought salmon sashimi for a great price, lots of korean dried seaweed, chinese cooking supplies, chinese snacks from my childhood. #SupportSmallBiz

They carry Haw Flakes in its original packaging (which Island Pacific in Union City used to do, but not anymore) so for that I give them three stars. It’s my favorite childhood candy so I gotta have it. I’m FOBulous like that, all right.
I would not come here otherwise. I encounter the same problems every time I come here: 1) the store is always freezing, whether it be winter, spring, summer or fall! I think their air con is stuck on high, 2) there is an Asian man who works the register who is always on his iphone talking loudly in his native tongue while the line waits for him to end his conversation. Hmph! Actually no edit that. When I came here last Tuesday, he wasn’t on his iphone while I was standing in line. However, as soon as it was my turn to get rung up, his phone rang. He answered it and talked for a few until he heard me sigh out loud. He then placed his phone down, rung me up quickly for the 10 packages of Haw Flakes, and as soon as he gave me my change, he was yakking away on his celli.
BUT as long as they carry Haw Flakes (in its original packaging), I will keep coming back!

It’s an Asian market — reminds me of those markets I used to go to with my parents when I was a kid. They all seemed to smell the same…
Heed the advice that Flor D. and Keiko S. write in their reviews — check the expiration date before you purchase. If there’s dust on the can or jar your consider purchasing, you can probably bet that it’s been there for a while.
They do, however, have some good bakery goods — just check the expiration dates.
We do frequent the restaurants on Castro Street and this market’s location is conveniently located when we’re in the area.
I was very underwhelmed by this market — I’d only come here in a pinch.

Buyer BEWARE! Make sure you absolutely check expiration dates on items, especially produce. They consciously sell spoiled produce here.
Two separate incidents (one was with me and the other with my fiancée)
I bought Mochi Ice Cream and as soon as I took it home, I got into it, but the Mochi was old. VERY old. As in completely stale, chalky, and inedible.
At a different time, my fiancée came in to buy mushrooms. He grabbed a package on the front and went to pay. He started to pay with cc, but was told he would have to pay with cash since he didn’t have the minimum amount. Then he noticed the cashier do a double take at the mushrooms, after which she curiously reversed what she just said and told him that it was ok after all to pay with cc. He paid and left. You know where this is going. He sees later on that the mushrooms were spoiled and moldy.
WHERE’S THE HEALTH INSPECTOR??? Any quality control happening in this place??? I don’t think sooooo. I’m not sure it even meets 3^rd. world standards.
This market is pretty much a travesty, with a stunning disregard for their products and the customer.
:-(

The cashier at this store tried to shortchange me when she gave me my change. She handed me a bunch of dollar bills with the coins hidden inside the dollar bills. I dropped the coins on the counter to count my change and she immediately reached into her cash register to give me another quarter once she saw my puzzled look.
She knew exactly what she was doing by hiding the coins in the dollar bills. If you shop here, count your change carefully.

I shop here and at Ranch99, and if I can go here, I really prefer too. They have a great selection (often having things, like Sichuan Peppercorns, that Ranch99 does not have). Meats and produce are so much more reasonably priced than say compared to Safeway.
Also, a BIG plus is that as a English only speaking amateur Cantonese cook, the help here is great! They always speak fluent English and can help you find what you are looking for. This is SO invaluable and just absolutely ABSENT at Ranch99…
As for smelling? Weird, smells just fine to me – I mean, Mountain View Market is a bit dingy, though I would not call it «dirty» or smelly…

Nice deals on kimchi here. While other spots I shop at usually ring you for 6 – 7 bucks a bottle, you can get bottles twice as big as the aformentioned here for a buck or two less. If they aren’t already sold out of it.
Nice vegetable selection too, and good quality. Lots of Everything else you might want to cook Asian food. And a few western staples, also. Like, Worcestershire sauce and green Tabasco sauce are available here, also for a couple bucks off what you may pay elsewhere.
And if you have a taste for candy & crackers & snax, etc, there are a couple aisles worth. Large meat section as well, though it left me scratching my head…

I just came here today looking for a quick refreshment and noticed that they didn’t really offer that many good Asian drinks. But I did eventually find some sugar cane drink. I guess I really can’t complain because it is the only Asian grocer in the area, but there is a CVS just down the block. The place offers most of what you’d find in a small independent Asian market, although the prices here are generally higher than what you’d find in SJ.
The place seems to be old and maybe a bit dirty on the inside, but it has probably been here for the longest time. And the produce here doesn’t seem all that fresh, somehow it doesn’t seem like they have enough customers to buy their produce… so it just kinda sits there too long. I guess it is perfect for the locals here who want Asian products and ingredients.

This is an OK place. I go there regularly, and there are good and bad things.
The good: Good choice, especially sea food. I like their fish, and it is fresh. I enjoy the variety and all the asian products.
The not so good: The produce are not always the best there. could remove the bad stuff. And the owner should not talk to customers… definitely some room for improvement there.
Good place to go to, just be shop wise.

Some positives:
Basically the only grocery store in downtown.
I’ve always found the cashiers to be nice, service to be fine.
Good meat selection, good prices there– get it from the case.
Locally owned.
Decent spice/​sauce selection.
Carries konnyaku noodles, though their freshness is marginally dubious.
Some negatives:
Produce isn’t very fresh and is sometimes on the verge of going bad. (Eggplant isn’t supposed to be wrinkly.)
Expensive for a lot of things. Bananas were 79 cents/​pound here compared to 59 at Safeway and 49 at Milk Pail, for example.
I’m sure the smell would detract for some people, but I’m kind of used to that by now.
If you can’t make it to Ranch 99 or another grocery store, this place will do. I think if they cleaned it up a bit and made sure the produce they carried was fresh, it’d probably get more business. Castro St. is unfortunately not a good place to reach many people who don’t mind a somewhat grungy grocery store.

Was ready to walk in earlier this morning, then noticed the sign at the front of the store stating that outside food or drink isn’t allowed. In a grocery store? Well hell on me for grabbing a cup of joe and deciding to pick up a needed item here. I ended up going to CVS around the corner instead. Sure, I’m all for helping out the local guy, but when they make it a little bit draconian, I’m not so sure about that helping part.

Sushizzle Guy Here.
For numerous other perspectives, please read the reviews of other Unilocalers.
MVM changed ownership some years ago and at a glance nothing is remarkably different about the products they sell as well as the interior and upkeep (perhaps more fresh seafood tanks).
Seeing fresh pork bones for sale by the pound at the butcher section (not the prepackaged meats refrigerator) brought a small smile to my face.
But you are not here to read this run of the mill brou haha.
Sometimes a review is as easy as reporting what you see (much like the discovery of natto soap at the Japanese dollar store)
At the right end corner of the refrigerator section of prepackaged meats and fish, is the raw fish section.
Two things
Every piece of packaged raw fish was interestingly labled as BASIL
even the packages of raw tuna were labeled as BASIL that suffered multiple degrees of freezer burn to the point it looked pale red pink and the frost around it had shades of yellow brown around it. You have to be really brave to partake (arguably tuna from Vietnam which they also sell at some 99 Ranch markets).
and how can you not love this tongue twister spelling of the Japanese word for «raw fish»
But wait! I thought they were selling orange and red colored blocks called BASIL?
If you look closely at the 2^nd photo, the other items in the lower shelf which I believe are shrimp balls and squid balls for DIY home cooking, are also labeled as BASIL.
What’s next? I’m guessing maybe a Shushi section, next to the Shashime (that almost sounds like a Hokkienese/​Taiwanese person trying to say «sashimi» with a heavy native accent…). I think whatever will be sold there will also be known as BASIL.
Shushizzle Guy — you know you love me long time!

I hate to add another negative review to this place, but really… the only thing that’s going for this store (and maintaining a constant stream of customers, including myself) is the LOCATION. It’s on Castro Street, next to all the great downtown shops and restaurants.
Finding fresh VEGETABLES AND FRUITS is a major challenge here. Once in a while I try to pick out fruits and veggies, but normally can’t bring myself to bag any of them. Once I got a few apples that looked okay from the outside, but were actually half rotten inside. Trash!
The entire store is poorly organized, dirty and smelly. They have a variety of products, mainly Asian, but I question how newly stocked they were… As Miss Flor D has already cautioned, first CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATES!
SUM: Two stars for 1) the location and 2) the service.

it’s like a Mexican market… but Asian
They have good cookies and plants…
…just check the shelf life and expiration.

I like this place. I can get my Asian vegetables, reasonably fresh if I come on the right day, I can get fresh rice noodles (the wide ones), and also live fish. All of the prices are good. They don’t have the turnover that Ranch 99 does, but it’s pretty decent and much closer for me.
I can also get most of the ingredients I need for a variety of Asian dishes, including Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai and of course Chinese.
And they get Filipino baked goods brought in from somewhere.