even the slicker ones (e.g. Lion) have a decent supply of live fish, crabs, etc. Fresher is definitely better. In San Francisco Chinatown, if you bring a live chicken in, they'll butcher it for you (I'm not sure about bigger animals).

I think there may be some smaller, independent stores around that are closer than San Francisco (most likely San Jose), so I'll have to check them out. The only Korean grocery store close by is too small.

I've noticed that the Lion supermarket's selection vary on the market, e.g. the Warm Springs store (heavily Chinese area) has a distinct Chinese orientation, while the Newark store has a Vietnamese flavor (while still having a lot of Chinese stuff).

Tony