Orange County: The Vietnamese Community

Westminster Boulevard is lined with strip mall after strip mall filled with bakeries, laundromats, hair salons, flower shops, banks, pharmacies and post offices that are owned, operated and frequented by Vietnamese. 

The blood of the community pumps through the largest store in the city and the one-stop shop for immigrants; it’s called “Sieu Thi Thuan Phat” or “The Westminster Superstore.”

It's about the size of Costco and it has tens of thousands of ingredients from all over Asia for immigrants looking to replicate their old lives. It's always full of shoppers walking around with carts full to the brim as Vietnamese music blasts over a loud speaker throughout the store. 

"pink grouper head, fresh yellow eel and goby fish" 

Just the produce department contains seven kinds of pears, ten kinds of apples, four kinds of bananas, three kinds of mangoes, star fruit, dragon fruit, lychee, durian, Korean melon and dozens of other fruits I've never heard of. Everything is about half the price of the regular grocery store and can be bought in bulk. It's heaven for vegetarians on a budget. 

The fish department is another story. It’s like an aquarium with tanks of live fish, crab, shrimp and lobster. 

The biggest tank is about twelve-feet long and full of catfish. The fish push against each other trying to find space to swim and instead get their lips pressed up against the glass as though they’re trying to kiss through a window. There’s also a row of fresh catches bleeding on exposed ice. Shoppers sift through with their hands in plastic bags looking for the perfect piece. 

Next door is the meat department where you can buy any part of the pig, cow or duck you desire.

The aisles themselves are long and full of many variations of the same product. There’s a section just for ramen, Sunny D (it’s a popular alternative to orange juice in Asia), obscurely-flavored canned drinks like glass jelly, chrysanthemum and aloe vera, bags of rice the smallest of which is 15 lbs, all the necessities to build an alter for ancestry worship and different types of dried seaweed. They also have designated frozen sections for dumplings, buns, fruity popsicles and dried shrimp.

fake money to give as an offering to one's ancestors

Just outside the check out area there’s a hallway of other essential businesses: an alteration kiosk run by a husband and wife with one sewing machine, a clothing booth with some cheaply-made outfits and knock-off designer shoes, a pho restaurant, boba to go, a jewelry case with miniature buddhas, pearl earrings and lucky jade bracelets and a cosmetics shop.

The Superstore provides insight into how so many immigrants manage to come to America and never integrate into mainstream society. We’ve all encountered people who have been living in the U.S. for over ten years and still have a hard time speaking English. I’m not judging those people; especially the ones who live in Westminster many of whom narrowly escaped death during The Vietnam War.

I’m merely saying that miniature countries have been built in this country. It’s actually quite incredible that we’re able to travel the entire world without leaving our own backyards. If you’re longing to go to Southeast Asia, start by spending an afternoon at the Superstore. It’s fascinating and you’re bound to bring home some souvenirs.