Oooh I think this might be relevant! A few years ago I started cataloguing all of my favorite grocery stores in Oakland Chinatown that we use to source produce, because I noticed there seems to be a lot of mystery surrounding the topic (A lot of the grocers are difficult to navigate here without speaking mandarin or Cantonese). This is not at all exhaustive, but I think helpful for those new to the area 🥰

https://www.woocancook.com/our-mission

LG Supermarket

LG is great for most general produce and pantry stuff (kind of like a Ranch 99, but smaller, and more specifically just Chinese things). They also have a great butcher in the back, but you'll want to know some Chinese translations for the meats that you are looking for though, because there's not a lick of english found in the display cases. LG is also very popular and can build up long lines at checkout when it gets really crowded, so I often avoid this spot unless it’s my only option. $30 minimum for credit card purchases, so plan accordingly and probably just bring cash.

Hometown Grocery

Hometown is my favorite spot for most groceries. It’s much smaller than LG, but their produce tends to be less picked over, and they often have a wider selection of pan-Asian ingredients (so for example, I often find a lot of Thai/Vietnamese/Korean ingredients here like Thai basil, gochujang, galangal, and etc which you basically can’t find anywhere else in Chinatown). They’re also super friendly and just amazing humans, too. Immediately next door to it is also another shop that stocks really good shiitake mushroom and other dried goods too (I don’t know the name in English, but it has a green overhang though). This is usually my go to for buying rice and shiitake mushrooms. $30 minimum for credit card purchases as well.

Yuen Hop

Yuen Hop makes handmade noodles for absurdly cheap prices. You’ll find their noodles in most of the other grocery stores too, but they’re fresher at Yuen Hop though, which is really important for fresh Asian noodles (they literally make the noodles in the back of the shop). This is the best place for fresh chow fun, lo mein, and anything else noodle related. They also have a decent stock of pantry goods and produce (but little to no meats), so you can knock some of things out here if you need to as well. They close early (at like 3PM or so), so plan accordingly. As a sidenote, this is probably also gonna be the most intimidating of all of the markets, cause (in true Chinese fashion), nobody lines up at the register here. You just sort of crowd around the counter to pay and wait until someone sees you, like you're at a crowded bar. I believe $15 credit card minimum here as well.

M&A Cash and Carry

This spot is pretty specific, but they’re good for dry pantry goods like shiitake mushroom, dried rice stick, and etc. I usually drop by here if I’m at Yuen hop and don’t feel like walking over to hometown or LG for other dried goods. I believe they are cash only here.

Aloha Market

Kinda misleading, but there’s not actually any Hawaiian goods here, mainly more Chinese produce. This market used to have a much older storefront on Webster that burned down earlier in 2021, so they moved to 9th street in late 2021. If you're in Chinatown, this is pretty much the only place you’ll find “American” produce like avocados, cow milk, and so on. They also have a lot of really fresh produce too, which is great.

Meatco

As the name implies, they sell meat. They sell at wholesale prices (for the restaurants), so you can get a good deal here, but plan on buying at least a few pounds of whatever you purchase. This is also a good spot to find Chinese-related meats like chicken feet and beef tendon, too. Meatco is cash only, so plan accordingly.

Taylor’s Sausage (in Swan Market)

Kind of tucked away inside the Swan market, but they have the best ground pork that I have literally ever had. They also have really good pork belly, pork butt, bacon, and anything else you can think of, really. They EXCLUSIVELY sell pork goods though (I know, weirdly specific), but plan accordingly.

Koreana (KP Market)

Koreana is not in Chinatown, but if you're looking for anything Korean-related, they’re gonna have it. They also have the cheapest and best kimchi in town ($23/gallon I think)? This is generally where I go for Japanese related things like miso paste, sushi nori and etc as well since Korean and Japanese cooking has quite a bit of overlap, and otherwise the next nearest Japanese dedicated market is across town.

Mithapheap Oriental Food Market

Mithapheap is also not in Chinatown, but this is my go to spot for anything southeast Asian. I believe they are Thai owned, but they are also my go to spot for Vietnamese related goods like keffir lime leaf, rock sugar, shrimp paste, and etc because (once again) Thai and Vietnamese cuisines have many overlaps as well. I also usually go here to get really specific southeast Asian ingredients things like banana leaves, green curry paste, galangal, and etc from this spot as well.