Photos by Emma Marie Chiang

MING MING STORE

永明食物市場

MING MING STORE is one place to behold a wide variety of Chinese candies, dried fruits, snacks, and grocery items. Before Asian supermarkets opened up throughout the Bay Area, Chinatowns were one of few places to buy Asian snacks and candies. Many Chinese Americans have fond memories of eating chewy white rabbit candies, sweet nickel-sized wafers called haw flakes, and salted plums or mui and olives or lomm. Mui have a special place in people’s hearts, particularly those who witnessed in Guangzhou vendors dressed as clowns in rooster costumes, tossing brightly-wrapped mui up three stories in the air to customers waiting in their windows.

Ming Lee Trading Company sells dried fruits and candies includes tung gwa tong, a winter melon candy, and chun guang, a classic coconut hard candy. Chinese tradition calls for eating dried fruits and seeds as they symbolized wealth, long life and family. During the lunar New Year, families display eight-sided trays with traditional seeds and fruits such as preserved kumquats, plums, sweet melon pieces, sugared coconut slices, red dates, and red-colored melon seeds. During the lunar New Year, visiting guests are offered this tray, called a chuen hop, which is a homonym for "everyone gathered together" and/or "everyone in harmony." If young kids in the family serve this tray, they are sure to receive a lai see or lucky money. 

Signature items: Candies including white rabbit candy and haw flakes as well as dried fruits, drinks and other products.

Proprietor: Steven Kwok and Fanny Wan

Address: 759 Jackson / 759 傑克遜街

Hours: 9 am-6:30 pm

Phone: (415) 217-0088

Cash only