Phuock Dat

No, I am NOT trying to be nasty. Phuock Dat is a popular supermarket in the very east portion of Garden City on Highway 50. Years ago, Jack Rodrock built a convenience store in that part of town. Soon after, he built a strip mall on the north and west side of the convenience store. Today, Phuock Dat is in that mall.

Over and over, we have driven by the superstore but never stopped. That all changed this afternoon. While in Garden City for business today, Stan and I ate lunch at the Golden Dragon which is a popular Chinese restaurant. While we were there, I noticed one of the restaurant's employees sweeping the floor with an unusual-looking broom. When our waitress returned to our table, I asked her for more information on it. It was the first broom that I have ever seen that requires only ONE hand to operate efficiently.

The waitress went back to the kitchen and returned with the broom so that we could take a closer look at it. There is NO wood or plastic in it except for a handy plastic tab at the top of the broom so that it can be hung in a convenient location. The rest of the broom, including the handle, is constructed of some kind of broom GRASS. The handle is thicker than most brooms that I have ever seen before. It is very soft. As you look towards the very bottom end of the broom, you notice that there is a curve in the structure. The grasses are then braided at one point. It actually resembles the notorious brooms used for witch transportation. LOL! Anyway, it is actually considered to be an unusual work of art in the United States, I found out. They are sold alot in places like Chinatown where if fo no other reason, people purchase them to hang on their walls for decorative purposes.

We bought ours for practical reasons. When we were still in the restaurant, I tried it out. It flowed so easily. Once we were home with it, I used it on our ceramic tiled kitchen floor. Our particular floor tile was constructed with pits throuout it. The new broom cleaned the floor easily and quickly. I'm totally impressed with our new broom! It is lightweight and easily maneuvered.

So, the broom brought us to Phuock Dat. Once inside, we found MUCH more than just brooms. We found lots of meat and fresh seafood, a bounty of beautiful and LARGE fruits and vegetables. There were all kinds of noodles and pasta made out of rice which is healthy. By the checkout counter, you will find many FRESH farm eggs. Some were your basic everyday white and brown chicken eggs of a large size. But right next to them, were gigantic eggs that I believe are probably turkey, geese or duck eggs. All were beautifully clean and waiting for you to take them home! They sell candy and pastries that I have never even seen before. They also have a nice selection of dried and candied fruits.

The store not only sells groceries of all sorts, they also sell beautiful pans, bowls, dishes, fireworks, bedspreads, floor mats that we call area rugs, oriental religious items as we see at the fronts of Chinese restaurants. You know what I am talking about, they hold fruits for their god, inscense, etc. They sell toys. The thing that rather creeped me is that they also sell paper clothes to dress their dead before they are buried.

Anyway, prices are more than fair, they're really good. Only one man was working while we were there. He spoke very good English and was very friendly.

They are open 7-days-a-week from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., CST.

This was not our last trip there. We'll probably be returning often.

Check it out. I think that you'll be impressed!

VLE-B