Manila Oriental Market

Manila Oriental Market serves as Glendale's primary Filipino grocery store, providing the local Filipino community with essential ingredients, specialty products, and hard-to-find items needed for authentic Filipino cooking. The market functions as a cultural hub where Filipino-Americans can find everything from fresh produce specific to Filipino recipes to packaged goods imported directly from the Philippines. The store carries comprehensive selections of Filipino staples including various rice varieties, frozen seafood like bangus and tilapia, Filipino sauces and condiments (patis, bagoong, banana ketchup), specialty snacks, and cooking ingredients that mainstream American grocery stores don't stock.

The meat and seafood sections cater specifically to Filipino cooking needs, while the freezer aisles stock items like frozen lumpia wrappers and specialty cuts. Beyond groceries, Manila Oriental Market typically carries Filipino magazines, newspapers, and sometimes even remittance services, functioning as more than just a grocery store but rather as a community resource. The store allows Filipino home cooks in the Glendale area to prepare authentic dishes using the exact ingredients they would use in the Philippines.

For second and third-generation Filipino-Americans, stores like this provide access to ingredients needed to recreate family recipes and maintain culinary traditions.