C Mart Supermarket

Was a great little market place with good prices. So sad it closed :(
Edit: Found out they just moved and opened up a place called C-​Mart 2. Yay: D

There’s an even larger asian grocery market south past the hospital, but this one has most of the variety and is located closer to the T (chinatown stop on the orange line).

In the middle of bustling Chinatown, it’s easy to miss C Mart unless you’re intentionally looking for the signage. This market surprised me, coming from big states like Texas and California, where Asian markets are large, spacious and brightly lit. Compared to what I know, C Mart is kinda sketch.
Upon closer look, however, C Mart packs a lot into its small, first floor space. There’s a variety of produce, and many aisles of dried food products ranging from childhood snack-​faves to dried mung beans and teas. They have the trademark giant tanks of live fish and crustaceans, as well as an impressive array of seafood and animal parts. There’s also an aisle dedicated to housewares and everyday, household products (side note: get the rubber gloves here. They’re a million times more durable than the cheap, dishwashing gloves you get from Target.).
Most of their products are from China, which was to my Taiwanese Mother-in-Law’s dismay, but if you don’t mind the origins of your pre-​packaged, Asian food products, then it’s not a big deal. Prices are reasonable and on the side of good value (better value and quality than places like Stop & Shop), but not so money-​saving that I’d make the effort to haul the kids downtown to get my grocery shopping done. Of course, I don’t cook many Asian dishes (go figure), so it wouldn’t hurt me too much.

No more pink bag for me.
I love to shop for asian foods and ingredients, but my experience shopping here left more to be desired. Many parts of the frozen food aisle had empty or partially stocked shelves. I searched the produce section for some fresh looking produce but many of the typical greens like bok choy, cong xin cai, and chives were bruised or nearly wilted.
It looks like you can get some pretty cheap asian groceries here, but the experience isn’t all that great. The store inside is quite run down. Maybe if I were desperate for some hard to get asian ingredient, I’d come back, but I’d much rather hit the shiny waxed floors of H-​Mart first.

(score 1 – 100) — 77. The PINK BAG PLACE… yes all those pink bags you see in chinatown are shoppers coming from C-​Mart!
This is the old school supermarket that you find in Chinatown’s across the country. It’s big and offers ton of fresh produce, their fish market offers so many varieties of fish, many of which I cannot identify. The prices are much better here than any other place in the city. Their butcher offers many of the typical beef and pork cut but along with some things typical of a chinatown grocer … pigs feet, chicken legs and various livers. They have live lobsters and live crabs, and snails. The SMELL that most people seem to complain about.umm. well it’s not because something spoiled it’s because of the open water tanks and the snails.
This locations has a great selection of dried foods as well. If you looking for dried squid or dried sardines or dried seafeed, this is your place. You can buy a large pack of seaweed for soups for only 2 bucks! I pay 9 bucks for the same pack at Whole Foods. One thing to note of buying non perishables is to look at the manufacturing date. I was buying some dried umeboshi or dried plums today and the manufacturing date was early 2011. The expiration was sometime this year. It is ok for about a year out from manufacturing but becomes stale after that point.
They also have a variety of frozen dim sum that you can prepare. I am going to give this a try next time. Enjoy and don’t forget your pink bag!

Yes, it smells, but it does not smell as much as the elevators at Haymarket and Park Street Stations or the Goodwill in Central Square.
Yes, it is crowded, but it is not as crowded as Faneuil Hall, Mike’s Pastry, The Museum of Science or the Coolidge Corner Trader Joe’s.
Yes, it is nuts, but it is not as nuts as Downtown Crossing, Boston during a snow storm, any of the area’s parking garages or moving in weekend in Allston.
If you like to cook with Sriracha Sauce, soba noodles, soy sauce, mirin, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, nori and other basics, this is the place to pick up those necessities for the cheapest price in town. $ 2.50 for a month’s worth of soba noodles? How can you pass that up?
When I saw countless pink bags being carried around by countless people in Chinatown, I knew I had to track down their source, and I am now a regular customer. I stay away from the fish and vegetables, only buying the packaged, bottled products. It’s been super fun to learn a new way of cooking and this location is really easy for me, as it is close to the Boylston Street stop on the Green Line and not far from Downtown Crossing and Park Street.
Yes, it is fun to shop at a store like C Mart, but it is not as much fun as cooking up a feast with all of the things I buy there.

Ehh… please refer to my previous C-​mart review on 50 Herald Street. This is, in every way, inferior to its larger cousin just 5 min (walking distance) down the street. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a decent place to shop, but if you have a car, just go to the other C mart as it has ample parking spots and it just opened a parking garage dedicated to C-​mart shoppers.

Typical Chinese supermarket in Chinatown. Very dirty and smelly, nothing new here. However, I can’t complain about the products they offer here. I live very close to here so getting produce and most Asian products is pretty easy. Also, they have two entrances but recently closed off one. Not sure why. The other entrance is in some sketchy looking alley…
Anyway, there’s a larger C Mart about two blocks away and if you can walk there, I’d recommend it. It’s much larger and somewhat cleaner.

I used to come here so much when I was at MIT! Ahh — the nostalgia.
I visited C-​mart again a few weeks ago on a trip back to Boston, and everything suddenly came rushing back — the memories of a poor college student looking for deals on fruit and snacks is one that remains with you for a long time…
It’s a Chinese supermarket — what else is there to say?! Instead, I shall leave you with some PROTIPS.
PROTIPS:
–You can use the back entrance to get in and out of the store. The back entrance is usually more accessible if you’re coming from Chinatown proper. It opens into a sketchy alley (Knapp St. apparently?) if you’re coming from Beach.
–Across from the cashiers near the Washington St. exit, there’s a little area where they sell vegetables that are starting to go bad — each bag is $ 1. Yes, UN DOLAR. Before you start berating me, let me remind you that you can simply go home, throw away the quarter that’s going bad, and the other ¾ is as good as new. Definitely check out this area before you start shopping for veggies, as you probably can get a decent meal out of it.
–They have the biggest selection of Asian dried fruit (mi jian) in Boston. A general rule of thumb is to try to sift through and buy the ones that are produced in Taiwan, not China (due to questionable sanitary standards), but this can be hard without knowing Chinese. The Taiwanese dried fruits are usually hanging off in a center aisle, away from the main conglomeration of dried fruit that’s next to the $ 1 discount veggie pile.
–Check the expiry date on everything packaged that you buy.
–Buy enough fruit for a week, but not more. They go bad quickly.

Umm C Mart is OK. It’s fairly dingy, but then again it’s a supermarket in Chinatown…
Brags (+): The produce is gigantic. I think about 75% of the fruits and veggies must be of some sort of mutated strain. The prices are definitely cheaper than American supermarkets. Also, they have all of the weird Asian cooking stuff that is difficult to find elsewhere.
Beats (-): Like I said, it’s pretty dingy. The floor is usually some sort of white swirled with brown. The flies buzzing around are probably also a mutated strain, and there is no shortage of fruits to feast on for them. The produce is pretty hit-​or-​miss, as some will rot within a couple of days, or they’re already in the process.
Variance (~): The prepackaged meats are unambiguous in their labeling: «Chicken.» This one says «Beef.» That’s all you get, though. At least you know what animal it’s coming from!

Confession time: I’m a white guy who shops in Asian grocery stores.
No, this white guy doesn’t just come here for Pocky, soy sauce and cheap produce; I’d like to say I know a decent bit about Asian cuisine. Granted I’m nobody’s Chinese grandmother, but this white guy can cook up a pretty good Szechuan-​style stir fry. Seriously!
I know at the end of the day there will still be non-​believers. So, take this review with a grain of salt, if you wish. Or with a whole heaping tablespoon of the shit; God knows there’s no shortage of sodium in Chinese cuisine. Just like C Mart isn’t supposed to appeal to white people, this review kind of isn’t supposed to appeal to Asians. I’m writing for horribly pretentious white people such as myself. Does that sound like you? Then read on, my fellow snobby comrade.
I get that they’re trying to cram as much shit into a little crappy spot, but man is this place disorganized. There are some things I come to this C Mart for that I cannot simply find, even if I am 90% sure they have it, or have even bought it in previous visits. Like, where the FUCK is the star aniseed? Chili pods? I know they’re here, but for the life of me I cannot find them. Also, the selection is almost exclusively Chinese. I believe it was Yoda who once said, «make one a generic Asian grocer, seiyo wasabi and nori do not.» So good luck finding anything you might need for Japanese and Korean cuisine here.
Yeah it’s messy, smells a little weird… it is a Chinese grocer, it’s practically expected. Shitty quality meat and produce too, with the exception of the fish and choys and daikon radishes and a few other select things. Again, all expected. The upside is that it’s dirt cheap. The «get what you pay for» mantra rings true when you’re shopping at C Mart. (Personally for cheap produce I prefer Market Basket and the Haymarket farmers’ market; just as cheap but way better quality.)
Also the cashiers and even sometimes the shoppers can just be flat out rude to us white people. I get it, we don’t adhere to your culture, we white people don’t know shit about Asian food, we’re loud and annoying, we’re invading your space, gentrification, cultural appropriation… I get it! But seriously, just because I’m an annoying whitey you don’t have the right to just cut me in line. What the fuck, random C Mart patrons? I’ve never received this treatment at other Asian grocers.
I try to forgo this C Mart as much as possible and go to other Chinese grocery stores. It’s not that this C Mart is absolutely horrible, but the selection is a bit more limited, things tend to be ever so slightly more expensive, and I hate accidentally rubbing up on people’s genitalia more than, say, five times per grocery store visit. Unfortunately this C Mart is tempting because I work nearby, so despite my overall negative review, you’ll still see me there every few weeks, as reluctantly as possible. On a day where location doesn’t matter, I much prefer Ming’s, Hong Kong Supermarket, and even the other C Marts around the area. This place is pretty shitty, but then again, what do us white guys know?

Decent Asian market that has the usual selection of produce, snacks, condiments, etc. Prices are okay and the place is good for cheap groceries for those in the area.

If you want some Asian goods C-​Mart is pretty much the Boston equivalent to Hong Kong Supermarkets everywhere else. There’s actually 3 – 4 in the Chinatown area. And yes this one’s entrance happens to be in a side alley but who cares. I mean if you want affordable Asian groceries I’d go to this C-​Mart over the Super 88 in Allston or the über pricey Cherry Mart in Back Bay. There’s also a Korean place in Central Square in Cambridge but I only ever go there if I’m being über lazy and the variety there is limited compared to this C-​Mart in Chinatown.
Am I expecting something fancy like the Whole Foods or Trader Joes brands? No.
Do I want a place that sells Pocky, various Japanese snacks, and 2 dozen different kinds of green tea? Yes.
Does it matter that the cashiers don’t speak a lot of English? Money talks in all languages so I don’t see the problem.
What you have is just another business out there serving the Chinese community. Nothing creepy about that. The food is affordable and cheaper than your average Shaw’s. Most of the food has pictures so I don’t really care for translations. But a lot of the packages do have a translated nutritional information on the back. But again if I’m shopping here I probably know what it is I want to get and all the prices are marked. I know I’ve probably said this somewhere else but it’s best to come with cash if you aren’t planning on buying much as they do have a minimum purchase for credit/​debit use.

People be hating on C Mart for being a nasty-​ass grocery store. Boo hoo, bitches! This is your typical Asian supermarket — in Chinatown, no less! — so don’t expect to be walking into the sparkling clean Whole Foods from your nice, middle-​class, suburban neighborhood. C Mart is going to smell, it’s going to be claustrophobic, and the aisles may get so cramped that you will have to shank your way to your favorite Thai curry paste.
I love these types of supermarkets because they are so nostalgic but there are still so many things that are foreign to me. All in all, C Mart is a great place to find many of your Asian ingredients at an extremely affordable price.

I LOVE eating Chinese food. I half attempt to cook Chinese food. Although certain stores, such as H Mart, have similar produce as C Mart, sometimes, you just need to go to a Chinese grocery store to pick up the Chinese vinegar and other ingredients.
Admittedly, the prices at C Mart are pretty great. The quality of the produce is pretty good given the prices. So if you’re shopping strictly for food, and don’t care about the experience, maybe this place will suit you just fine. BUT really, my experiences here have been less than optimal.
I don’t know if grocery stores need to pass any type of health code or health inspection. My suspicion is that it does not. Why? Look at the condition of the store. It looks pretty, well, filthy. The floor is just dirty. The shopping baskets are dirty. And the grossest thing I’ve found? A live fly inside a bag of cut jack fruit. Thank goodness I looked inside the bag right before checking out. There it was, me and the fly, staring at each other. Let me repeat, the jack fruit had been cut – the flesh is the fly’s eating and pooping grounds (or however flies manage to execrate their waste. That pretty much makes me distrust any pieces of cut veggies and fruits, whether it be this jack fruit or winter melon.
And another thing? Rude customers. I guess you can’t help it. Sometimes, there are crazy b., well, people, who shop here. Aggressive people. Like the lady who started a fight today with one of the ladies who was bagging longan. Yep. A lot of screaming at the top of one’s lung. Around ten minutes of yelling in fact. You can hear it from one end to the other. Right by the check out line. OMG. Awkward factor? Check. A big red check. I went to the other side of the store to use another check out line and I could hear Chinese being yelled at the top of their lungs. Yes, that would be the across the ENTIRE store.
So I’ve put up with the dirtiness and bitchiness all to get some decent Chinese veggies and condiments. But given that there are other Asian/​Chinese grocery stores, I think I will avoid this C Mart for as long as possible.

I work in the neighborhood of C Mart Supermarket, and I’ve started going here at least once a week for staples and fresh vegetables before I hop on the T and head home.
I’ll start with the obvious here. This place has an incredible selection of inexpensive produce. They’ve got lots of leafy greens, sweet potatoes, lotus root, more types of bok choy than you can shake a stick at, and a whole lot of other asian vegetables you’d be hard-​pressed to find elsewhere. Even if you only need garlic and ginger, you should pick some up while you’re in the neighborhood. For about $ 2 you’ll walk away with 6 heads of garlic and over a pound of ginger.
Lots of fish, both alive and dead. Most of the dead ones look pretty good too, way better than the stuff you’ll find at Shaws. I’ve begun to seriously distrust fish fillets from major chains, so I’m going to start buying seafood here as soon as I find a new recipe for crab, catfish, or whatever else is in the Chinese cookbooks I’ve been buying lately.
Good meat, everything you need from pork ribs to chicken thighs, two kinds of tripe, and more exotic offerings which you can peruse for yourself. I’m not Andrew Zimmern and I’m not interested in titillating you with exoticism. They have cuts of meat that you won’t find at other supermarkets and are ideal for cooking dishes from several Asian cuisines. Weirdly, they have these chickens that don’t look like they were raised for Tyson or Perdue, I wonder where they get them?
I bought some boneless skinless chicken thighs there two days ago. According to the label, they were packaged on the day that I got them, which is awesome. I opened the package after it sat in my fridge for two days (usually I use meat by the second day, so this is unusual for me), and I took a deep whiff. What did I smell? Not much, none of that fishy smell you get from stuff bought at bigger chains. The thighs were cut a little differently than I’m used to, a slightly larger cut with some more dark meat on the underside. I was breaking them down further and cutting them into chunks for a stir-​fry, and I was pleased with the quality of the meat.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they break down whole chickens at this place and wrap up the different parts for sale. This is good in my book because it means that the chicken parts are probably not processed as much before they hit the coolers you grab them from. If they’re not processed at C Mart, they must be processed somewhere pretty close by.
Keep your eye out for ingredients with different names than you’re used to. You think you want some Sichuan peppercorns? WELL THINK AGAIN! Here they’re called «prickly ash». That’s right, prickly ash… don’t make me write it again. You want some goji berries? WRONG! Here they’re called wolfberries. You better come correct when you come to C Mart because wolfberries are no laughing matter! They travel in packs and they’re packed with antioxidants.
OK, yeah, the place is a little dirty. But really, it’s just the floor and not the food you have to worry about.
Shop here. Buy good food for less. Eat it and be healthy.
:-)

Kind of the de facto supermarket when I need basic Chinese ingredients like satay sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, and a case of spicy seafood Neoguri ramen (best. ramen. ever.). Definitely not of the polished, clean variety as has happened to the Super 88s (I mean, Hong Kong Supermarket) but more convenient to get to than trekking all the way out on the green line.
C Mart also has a decent selection of sweet Asian nibblies to keep the boyfriend occupied while I shop for «real» food. Last time, we came here to buy only 2 things – 45 minutes later, we walked out with 5 bags containing cookies, coconut drinks, almond jellies and cake rolls!

Its dirty, smelly, crowded and I would recommended paying with cash, but they have the cheapest veggies and fruits in town. For those on a budget, i.e. poor law students and alike, this provides some healthy foods at pretty good prices. I’ve only purchased veggies and fruits here, but they have all kinds of authentic asian staples.
Dont go on weekends, it will take 3x time as it would on a weekday.
Dont buy more then you can eat in a couple of days, you never know when its going to go bad. Sometimes it can last, and sometimes it just cant.
Avoid older angry looking little cart carrying asian women. They have ran over me on multiple occasions. Im not sure if there is some cultural difference or misunderstanding, but beware Im 5’7″ and ¾ and those ladies can take me down.
Cheapest persimmons too! I love persimmons!

As a Hong Kong –raised person who went to school in Chicago (which has a pretty lousy Chinatown grocery store shopping scene), C Mart is an upgrade with plenty of selection.
Yes, it’s on the dirty-​side and the fresh fruit/​veggie/​seafood isle has wet black streaks of water on the floor, and there are usually a ton of people packed into the store… but the fresh produce variety and the price for goods makes going there worth it!!! Fruit-​wise, you will find everything from dragon fruit, to nectarines, to kiwi’s, fuji’s and melons. Veggie-​wise, you have all types of root vegetables, broccoli, and ALL the greens you’d possibly order at a Chinese restaurant for like, 20X the price. They also have live eels (ew), lobsters, and fish at a fair price.
Fridge section has frozen seafood, dumplings, steamed buns (sweet and savory), as well as tofu and eggs. I like their sauce section a lot, as there’s not only Chinese sauces, there are also malay, Thai, and Vietnamese sauces/​soup mixes. The ramen selection is extensive, and they even have the fabulous unbreakable Chinese noodle bowls for $ 4 a pop. Go on a limb and purchase yourself some interesting cookies or crackers or pocky… they don’t disappoint too often!

Hello everybody. My name is Michael N and I’m a fruit addict. Now — I know what you’re saying — that you can’t be addicted to fruit. Don’t get me wrong, you’re entitled to your opinion — this is America after all — even though you’re wrong. Yeah, you heard me.
C-​Mart fuels my fruit addiction. I love coming here to find fresh tropical fruits that most people have never even seen pictures of. They seem to always have the king of fruits — the durian. Depending on the season, you’ll also find longans, lychees, mangosteens, and various other tasty treats.
But the employees here are equally awesome. The first time I walked in to C-​Mart, a group of crustaceans made a break for freedom. 15 or so little lobsterish guys started scurrying across the floor, while a very old Asian man cursed after them while chasing them on his hand and knees. (OK I’m assuming he was cursing — they did not sound like loving coos, though my Mandarin is a bit… rusty). This was amazing. The employees are actually pretty helpful too, in their own way. English is not exactly spoken here… so don’t expect to be able to ask them questions. But when I’ve been standing in front of the longans picking out the good ones, more than once I’ve been joined by a C-​Mart employee helping me to find the good ones. It’s always been wordless, and when my bag has gotten its fill I just smile and nod at them and they nod back. Charming.
Of course — they have more than fresh fruit. They also have… wait for it… canned fruit! (did I mention I’m a bit fruit obsessed?) They have pretty much *everything*. I was so excited to find canned attap seeds (a sweet fruit from attap palm trees).
You’ll also find a wide range of other Asian goodies here. There’s always something new and strange to try out.
Complaints? Language barrier is definitely a bit of an issue… you can’t really ask questions. Somethings are labeled in English… incorrectly. It feels just dirty… I mean it’s in Chinatown, which ain’t the most spotless part of town, but it’s more than just that. Just the overall look of the place says dingy. Also, as many others have mentioned — it can be a warzone if you go at the wrong time. Oh my.
But the fruit makes it worth it. Especially the mangosteens.