Seafood City Supermarket

Reviews 5

MI

Mike Tumilty

I read the negative reviews. To those expressing disdain for the delays and service gaffes they experienced, please--lighten up! All you had to do was look around to see the enormous crowd of people stressing the capacity of both the property and the structure. The majority of visitors were likely there for one of two reasons. Either they were there to get their hands on something familiar, something of which they had been deprived since their last trip home, or they were spectators, there to catch a glimpse of just what all the fuss is about. I, myself am among the latter. During my days in the USAF in the late 70s, I was exposed to the unique nature of Filipino culture and cuisine thanks to the considerable number of coworkers who had been stationed at Clark AFB on the island of Luzon about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. I first drove by Seafood City last Sunday in the middle of the day and was unable to get anywhere near the place! The access roads were intermittently gridlocked and all I could see were cars in the nearby roadways with drivers trying to do whatever they could to switch places with people departing their perimeter parking spaces. One thing was conspicuous, though. Regardless of the chaos or whether they were arriving or departing, everyone was smiling. To me, that says everything. Yesterday, I stopped by before 9:00 a.m. to have a look around and as anticipated, I arrived just ahead of the frenzy. I walked in to see approximately two dozen people in the Grill City queue anticipating the opening bell at nine. Once again, a big unforced grin was on every face. On my first tour of the aisles, I discovered shelves neatly filled and properly faced with products that were intermittently foreign and familiar...sardines in jars, Spam in different flavors (Teriyaki, Jalapeno, et al). There was a well-stocked and well-staffed meat department, not to mention the fish. The fish!!! There were ice-packed tubs of some of the freshest looking, most appetizing fish I had ever seen. Much of what Seafood City offers would be more familiar to Pacific Islanders who were well-represented among the throngs of happy, smiling faces I observed three days in a row. My level of unfamiliarity mattered little as there is something for everybody here. To the detractors, I saw some of the things you did and I also saw a dedicated management team holding meetings with store associates, trying to get the message across that they need to follow processes. They also need to learn to do things the right way in order to keep the trust of their customers. There is no easy way to harness lightning in a bottle, but give them a little time, a little patience and maybe even a little forgiveness. Theyll get it and get it soon. They have a goldmine here and I am supremely confident that for them, failure is not an option...and by the way, the grilled Pompano was spectacular!!

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ER

Eric H

Love it here!! As a professional cook Im thoroughly impressed with this place. For me the highlight of the entire store is the produce! So many fun things to choose from, all fresh and cheap! I especially enjoy the frozen produce section with harder-to-find veggies like zucchini flowers, bamboo shoots, palm hearts, banana leaves (for grilling/wrapping) and more. If youre vegetarian or vegan and youre looking for inspiration, this place will provide it! The seafood is great too, of course - finally somewhere to buy good fish in this city! The last time we went, we got a bluefish and a red snapper, both of which were fresh and fairly priced (12 bucks for both)! Especially popular are the little blue crabs dancing around in a bucket, ready to fight you but also ready to be eaten. The whole bucket was gone in half an hour. Other great things about the seafood department: - The staff will gut and clean your fish for free. If youre there on the weekend when its busy, I recommend choosing your fish, dropping it off for cleaning, doing the rest of your shopping, and then picking up your fish when its ready. It should take around 15 minutes which is totally understandable. - The fish selection is huge. I havent even heard of a lot of the varieties - but I wouldnt hesitate to try anything. I have always known bluefish to be brash and pungent and the one we bought was fresh, sweet and mild. - They will hook you up with ice in a nice thick plastic bag to keep your fish cold on the way home. - And theres a fun frozen section, which comes in handy if youre looking for shrimp or squid! The dry goods selection is equally great - every condiment, oil, noodle, and broth you could want. Overall the place has a great vibe, and its super cute to see folks lining up for the sago drink bar and playing bingo (featuring a bilingual host!) while eating their snacks from the food court. Very fun shopping experience, must go!

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PE

Peter Mui

Small, slow, crowded, expensive, and hidden advertisement. I was in there waiting for Grill restaurant for a hour only to have my order taken by 1 person and 10 person packing then another 10 minutes to paid. Then only to be told there is 30-40mins to get my food. Besides that, the supermarket is small and people move at snail pace. I signed up for their membership and only to be told I am $2 dollar away from getting a pack of ramen noodles for me. I didnt even know there was a promotion nor I had to spend 35 dollars. If I knew I would gladly spend 2 dollar more but it was not advertised anywhere. Finally got back to the restaurant after 30 minutes shopping to find out my order not ready yet. By the time I got my food, it was luke warm and the taste is average. Its your typical BBQ. I had never spend 3-4 hours at a supermarket waiting. They need to hire better staff or train them better. I constantly see the manager yelling over the counter to tell them what to do and why there is only person taking order when you have 10 people packing. I could been in and out Hmart within the hour. Dont waste your weekend here.

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GG

gg taruc

Very good overall. Glad such a place opened. Chicago has a very large Filipino community and this is certainly a welcome addition. We were there last Friday for the first time. The food court is great. The supermarket is well stocked. We especially liked the seafood section. Lots of popular ocean fresh fish and shellfish. We brought our cooler so we took some home. They will also fry any fresh seafood you buy. As a feedback, since we were probably the first ones that day asking for the fish to be fried please make sure the fryer is up to temperature before putting the fish in. As it was, the fish was soaking in oil when we got home. Thats a sign that the oil was not ready yet. Other than that, everything else was great. UPDATE 01-24-17 Of course, I would rather wait for the oil to be ready than try to eat fish soaked in oil. Why even ask that question?? And btw, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, PLEASE DO NOT USE THESE REVIEWS AS A SOURCE FOR CONTACTING PEOPLE IN FACEBOOK TO SOLICIT FOR SERVICES LIKE INSURANCE, ETC. Using this method is not networking! Its harassment!! its not cool!!! Its not ethical!!

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BR

brian ramiro

Whoever is working at Crispy Town got my order wrong even though they checked the box to see if it was right or not. I didnt find out it was wrong until I got home. I wouldve gone back, but dealing with the parking there is a nightmare on its own, like trying to park at the mall on Christmas Eve except its not Christmas yet. The shop itself is just nostalgia. Their "seafood" isnt even worth purchasing. Fish farm raised from China (probably in polluted waters), Mediterranean bass not even from the Mediterranean Sea, and others from the US but no idea where in the US its been caught. Id rather go to a reputable fish monger than shop for seafood here. Oh and by the way, I noticed the "owner" only gives feedback to those who write "nice" things. Well, heres a tip, if you only focus on the "nice" and dont improve on the negatives the business will never be as successful as it should. Fix the problems!!!

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