Sunset Super, San Francisco

Sunset Super storefront: try saying that five times fast!

After Irving and 22nd Market, the Sunset Super is our favorite food store in that neighborhood of the City. Only about three and a half blocks from the first, on Irving between 25th and 26th Avenues, it’s very convenient to go to both when you’re visiting the Sunset District. That’s what we usually do, at any rate.

Sunset Super is very large compared to other shops in this area. It really looks like a “regular” supermarket, if there is such a thing anymore. They have carts on wheels, conventional cash registers, aisles with overhead signs describing what to find there, etc. Beyond that, this market is completely atypical.

Primarily focused on Asian products, especially Chinese and Southeast Asian, it’s always very crowded with customers and products to the point that the stacks of things almost reach the high ceilings. The aisles are narrow, too, which adds to the excitement: will I bump into that baby carriage or elderly group of shoppers, again, with my overloaded carry basket or can I manage to avoid the collision after all?

products floor to ceiling at Sunset Super

colorful canned goods at Sunset Super

live shellfish for sale

They have a produce section and sell lots of live fish and shellfish as well as various meats. Since we go to the other market for vegetables, we focus on the dry goods at Sunset Super. This is a great place for soy products of all kinds; Asian noodles; rice; various prepared sauces like chili and garlic, spicy black bean and others; as well as those hard-to-find things like tamarind paste for instance. They have an extensive selection of tofu in various textures from multiple producers all at very low prices. We like some of their tinned sardines and other canned fish. There are some Western foods, too, as well as a large selection of sake, Chinese wines, some made from rice and some from grapes, as well as a number of Cognacs.

lots of Asian sauces to choose from

pre made fish balls at Sunset Super

Shopping at Sunset Super is a sensuous experience. There are unusual spices wafting through the air. The crowds are stimulating. The products are displayed to excess in such crowded and colorful ways that it’s memorable. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen them offer samples, like you find at Whole Foods, but at these very reasonable prices you can simply buy the thing and try it out at home on your own. As corny as it sounds, this place truly has the perfect name because it really is “super” in the Sunset.

Sunset Super carries many kinds of soy sauce

exotic Chinese wines at Sunset Super