Our Mission
The Woo Can Cook pop-up was born out of Wesley’s desire to uplift Taiwanese comfort food while also supporting the Oakland Chinatown neighborhood that it was born in. Nearly all of our food and produce is purchased locally in the Oakland Chinatown neighborhood, with as much of our profits reinvested into the community as we possibly can.
For those interested, we encourage our followers to explore any of Oakland Chinatown’s many grocery stores and markets. They can be a little bit intimidating and difficult to navigate (since often times, English is not spoken in many of these markets), so below are a few of Wesley’s thoughts as a quick guide to help folks navigate which markets will best suit your needs.
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 root, and etc., many of which are ingredients that you basically can’t find anywhere else in Chinatown). They also carry a handful of American ingredients like peanut butter, milk, beans, and etc. too, which is useful if you need something in a pinch.
As a bonus, the Hometown grocery folks are 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, but I usually just try and have cash on hand here.
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 too (but little to no meats), so you can knock some of things out here if you need to as well. They close early (at 3PM sharp), 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 but again, it’s gonna be wise to have some cash 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, vermicelli, 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, but I’m not positive.
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 to browse out on their sidewalk parklet, which is great for quick shopping.
Meatco
As the name implies, they sell meat. Meatco sells 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-specific meats like chicken feet and beef tendon, too. Meatco is definitely cash only (I made this mistake before), 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), so plan accordingly.
As a bonus, the butcher/owner is also super friendly and helpful, which is very useful for for meats because he’ll help you select the right type and cut of pork from the display case if you tell him what you’re making. Taylor’s Sausage accepts credit cards, but I believe they have a minimum though. Again, probably just bring some cash.
Sincere Seafood (in Swan Market)
Sincere Seafood is my favorite spot for fish/seafoods. Obviously you’re in chinatown, so you have a LOT of choices (right down the street is Green Fish Seafood, which is another great option), but the fish…monger? (is that the right term? fishmonger?). The fishmongers at Sincere are super friendly and helpful, which again, is really useful for fish if you’re not sure what you need. Let them know if you’re pan searing, and they’ll help you find the right cut of skin-on salmon. Let them know that you’re deepfrying, and they’ll help you find the right piece of catfish, and etc.
They sell out pretty early (usually before 1 or 2pm) which I respect, because it means that they only stock enough fish to sell for the day, which means that whatever you do buy there is gonna be fresh. Not sure if they accept credit, but I usually just bring cash here.
Koreana (KP Market)
Koreana is not in Chinatown, but if you're looking for anything Korean-related, they’re gonna have it. 13 gallon tin of gochujang? They got it. 10 gallons of kimchi? Yep, got it. Dried Kombu and anchovy for dashi stock? yep.
This is also generally where I go for Japanese-related items 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. No minimums for credit card here.
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 great for Vietnamese related goods like keffir lime leaf, rock sugar, shrimp paste, and etc because (once again) Thai and Vietnamese cuisines have many overlaps. I also usually go here to get really specific southeast Asian ingredients like banana leaves, green curry paste, galangal, and etc from this spot as well, because you won’t find any of these ingredients in Chinatown. $15 minimum for credit cards I believe, but I usually just shop with cash here.