One of the places I visit most often in my daily life in Rowland Heights is 99 Ranch Market. It can be considered one of the grateful markets that offers affordable goods.

When I first moved to this neighborhood, the most welcoming sight was this market, which feels like a blend of a large Korean supermarket and a traditional market.

99 Ranch Market is an Asian supermarket chain operated by a Taiwanese company, and it is already a representative Asian market in Southern California. The Rowland Heights branch is particularly lively with various languages spoken, including Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, making it feel like an international market on weekends.

The biggest charm of this place is the fresh ingredients. As you enter, the fresh fruit and vegetable section immediately catches your eye, where you can easily find seasonal fruits like pears, persimmons, and sweet persimmons that you used to eat in Korea, as well as Southeast Asian fruits like dragon fruit, mangosteen, and lychee. Especially in the vegetable section, there are essential ingredients for Korean cooking, such as crown daisy, perilla leaves, and radish greens, which are very useful when making kimchi or buying ingredients for soup.

And the iconic space of 99 Ranch Market is undoubtedly the seafood section.

The service of selecting live fish and having them cleaned on the spot always attracts a crowd. Seeing lobsters, crabs, and clams moving in large tanks fascinates children and reminds adults of their dinner menu. I often buy yellow corvina to grill or fresh shrimp to steam on weekends, and it feels like visiting a fish market in Korea.

The meat section is also not to be missed. You can find various cuts of thinly sliced beef for Korean-style bulgogi, pork belly, and ribs, making it an essential space for those who often cook Korean food. In fact, if you stand in the meat section on weekends, you can often see Korean families discussing, "Let's have pork belly today."

Another interesting spot is the deli section.

With Chinese BBQ pork, roasted duck, various dim sum, and side dishes displayed, it's perfect for a quick takeout to enjoy at home. I also often buy char siu or roasted duck from here when I'm too lazy to think about dinner while grocery shopping, providing a different satisfaction from buying fresh ingredients.

99 Ranch Market is more than just a grocery store; it is a space that fulfills both culture and nostalgia for immigrants.

Listening to the mixed sounds of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and English inside the market makes you momentarily forget that you are in the United States. Standing in line at the checkout, it's fun to look at the items in the cart of the person in front of you, where you can catch glimpses of someone buying kimchi ingredients, another person buying fish, and yet another person loading up on Asian snacks, reflecting their lives and cultures.

For me, 99 Ranch Market is not just a supermarket but a place that feels like a small journey every time I visit.

It is a place that naturally allows me to bump into neighbors in Rowland Heights and feel a sense of belonging, as if we are living together in this neighborhood.