99 Ranch Market

Martha Burr

Citysearch

The Scene
This Asian market is clean, modern and vast. Hours of diversion are tucked into its shelves and crannies: live fish, a profusion of colorful gummy candies, an intoxicating array of Chinese liquor in porcelain decanters, an immaculate produce section that transcends the best Western markets.

The Goods
99 Ranch offers a dazzling mix of familiar foods and obscure delicacies for incredibly thrifty prices. The produce section is an adventure: pea sprouts, asparagus lettuce, and perhaps a dozen other Asian greens. Longbeans, bitter melon and green papaya are fresher than fresh. Ditto live seafood like Dungeness crabs and lobsters. Or venture into uncharted waters and try something exotic. Micropogan unducatus, anyone? Beef, pork and poultry are bountiful and beautifully cut. Dozens of aisles are loaded with Asian goods, from staples like Jasmine rice, soy sauce, oils, hot sauces and bean curd products to special treats like roast duck and Hello Kitty Dream Cakes.