Do you go to the Chinese market?

elaborate on this, they are just selling shit that you don't have to buy

The only reasons I really go to Asian markets is for price and if you want an obscure ingredient they're most likely to have it.

Don't worry about not speaking the language, they often don't speak English perfectly and they're usually nice.

The prices are great but hows the quality? I'm tired of eating these shitty supermarket ""tomatoes"" that taste like nothing.

Yeah, as long as you're polite and patient, things can work out well despite the language barrier.
I go to Asian markets for weeb snacks, miso, and tea mostly.

The items you find in an Asian supermarket that are also available in a regular supermarket are generally the same quality you'll find elsewhere. The main reason to go to Asian markets is for the low prices and wide selection of things you won't find elsewhere.

just have your friend hold a video recorder and steal a bunch of shit while staring directly in the camera and talking about the fragrance.

As long as you act calm nobody will mind. People are probably aware that you don't know the language.

t. Chinese guy who sometimes goes to local Asian market

I'm not sure if you'll find tomatoes lad.
That being said, I do always get their oranges because they're the only place I can find that still sells the variety with seeds. The navel (seedless) oranges in the regular market are so depressingly bland and not juicy.
For the rest, the superior size (giant-ass carrots and celery!) bulk items (huge amounts of bird chilies, fresh herb bundles, sleeves of 5 heads garlic, packages of fresh mushrooms that usually sell 500% more etc) for super cheap prices is always a win.

The only thing to avoid is garlic that was grown in China. Pic related, it has no flavor whatsoever.

>nobody would mind

Why would a business owner mind if someone intends to spend money at their location? Seems racist you'd even think that way.

You think they're looking at their books right now thinking "we're really falling short, but at least the filthy white people don't shop here, who wants their money anyway!"

Come on now

I live around the corner from one of the cheapest, highest turnover Chinese markets in Brooklyn's Chinatown. About once a week or so I join the clusterfuck of shoppers there, side stepping strollers, slow moving old people and getting jostled by pregnant women pushing by me. The women behind the makeshift counter laugh at me for bringing my own bag, saying, "Oh, No Bag, thank you!" like my name is No Bag. But Going there allows me to get almost a week's worth of produce for about $15. So I'm pretty happy to shop there. Stuff I buy:
various types of cabbage
eggplant
ginger
cucumbers
spinach
scallions
zucchini
broccoli
cauliflower
various mushrooms
lotus root
bitter melon
peanut oil
tofu
bean sprouts
chicken (they have much better chicken than the supermarket)

Yeah I go all the time. Great place to get spices, good produce, and meat/seafood. The place near me has a whole wall that's all tanks of live seafood- abalone, shellfish, different types of crabs and prawns, as well as actual live fish. They always have lots of good-quality pork and ducks, and they sell fat, bones, off-cuts (cheeks etc) too. Pretty great. Also a good place to buy tea- I drink pu-erh tea a lot and it's the only place i can reliably find it other than online.

cheap meat, cheap veg, mystery azn food.

they smell like rotting seafood though

yeah its pretty much the opposite of what you think op, people are happy if people of other heritage show respect for what they are doing, no matter if its eating at their restaurant or shopping at their ethnic supermarket.Basically, because you might stand out, the owners will be happy about the new customer, the white guy shopping at a market where he clearly shops for the first time w/e. All of my best travels have been in countries where you wont find anybody speaking english, because people just interact with you less indifferent most of the time.

I don't give money to subhumans

My experience has been that shopping at places that cater to "outsider" groups (Asian, Middle Eastern, Latino, Caribbean, South Asian) is a more fun experience than going to the supermarket. The supermarket is either dreary and depressing or shiny and overpriced. While supermarkets are getting better and better at fresh food offerings their focus is still on shelf stable value added products and ready to eat foods. When you shop at a market aimed at a specific immigrant group the focus is on ingredients, specifically ingredients that might be hard to come by at a typical supermarket. This makes for a more fun experience for someone who likes to cook.

Also these places tend to be independent small businesses. There's a good chance the owner and/or members of the owner's family are the people staffing the place. Which means they take pride in the business in a way that underpaid supermarket employees generally do not. They often bask in the customers being pleased with the shopping experience there. You get a vibe very unlike the supermarket, even if you don't speak the language. It's often friendlier.

Produce is generally good. Meats; however, I wouldn't buy from a Chinese market. Quality seems bad. Meats at Korean supermarkets are good but overall, their prices are higher than Chinese markets.

I don't like chinks so I avoid them

Where I live the chicken at the Chinese places is much better than supermarket chicken. I found out why: they have their own network of farms raising heritage breed birds that are more in line with Chinese tastes. They sell them with the head and feet still on for just over $10 a bird.

Just give it a try, I lived by one for years and just drove past it thinking the same kinda things.

>Finally go inside

>Shiitake mushrooms for 99 cents a pound as soon as I walk in

>Huge produce section with a massive variety of crap I've never even heard of.

>Presentation is great and they actually have people working to restock stuff in real time

>They have super friendly Korean ladies giving out free samples freaking everywhere

>Get some really nice pot stickers for a free sample, try some really nice unagi, nice lady keeps feeding me so I can try all the sauces.

>Have an entire aisle dedicated to freakin ramen, it's like heaven

>Get everything for extremely cheap

>No one gives a fuck that i'm white, business is business

You just 100% described the H Mart near me. That place is fucking awesome and they recently doubled the size of the store by buying the place next door and knocking down some walls.

>Go to an Asian store near town.
>Literally the only guy in the 500 sq ft building.
>Friendly lady at the counter smiles and waves as I come in.
>Only came here for a steamer pot, but end up exploring everything.
>All the shelves end at my shoulder so I must have looked like a mercat popping its head over the isles from time to time.
>Ended up with my pot, quail eggs, crab sauce and fried chili paste.
Asian markets are awesome.