One of Tiffany's favorite places to shop for groceries and other items is H-Mart which is a Korean supermarket.
It's a HUGE store and the prices are quite reasonable.
We even saw jack fruits there. We have jack fruits in Hawaii but have never eaten it and have no idea how it tastes.
Even at 88 cents a pound, can you imagine how much one of those fruits would cost?
Fish balls? I thought that was rather interesting.
Then there were cheesecake flavored Kit Kats. I took a pass. I really need my Kit Kats to have some kind of chocolate to make it worth my while.
I have no idea how you cook one of those squids. I only eat the sort that have been dried.
I do like these gloves which are super long and strong. Tiffany has kept me supplied with them in Hawaii.
I did buy this little wire basket to bring home to Hawaii to dry my thermos rubber parts by the window.
We have an Asian grocery store called Don Quijote in Hawaii, but H-Mart is larger and everything somehow seemed more foreign. I guess because I just wasn't familiar with a lot of the things that were being sold there.
One thing I was familiar with within the store were little restaurants selling bi bim bop and other Asian food. I really enjoyed that! (This bi bim bop photo was not taken at H-Mart but a different restaurant that Tiffany and my son-in-law took us to.)
I think it's rather funny that we enjoy coming to Chicago so we can go to a Korean grocery store.
Granted, we did go to Trader Joes later.
It's a HUGE store and the prices are quite reasonable.
We even saw jack fruits there. We have jack fruits in Hawaii but have never eaten it and have no idea how it tastes.
Even at 88 cents a pound, can you imagine how much one of those fruits would cost?
Fish balls? I thought that was rather interesting.
Then there were cheesecake flavored Kit Kats. I took a pass. I really need my Kit Kats to have some kind of chocolate to make it worth my while.
I have no idea how you cook one of those squids. I only eat the sort that have been dried.
I do like these gloves which are super long and strong. Tiffany has kept me supplied with them in Hawaii.
I did buy this little wire basket to bring home to Hawaii to dry my thermos rubber parts by the window.
We have an Asian grocery store called Don Quijote in Hawaii, but H-Mart is larger and everything somehow seemed more foreign. I guess because I just wasn't familiar with a lot of the things that were being sold there.
One thing I was familiar with within the store were little restaurants selling bi bim bop and other Asian food. I really enjoyed that! (This bi bim bop photo was not taken at H-Mart but a different restaurant that Tiffany and my son-in-law took us to.)
I think it's rather funny that we enjoy coming to Chicago so we can go to a Korean grocery store.
Granted, we did go to Trader Joes later.
Kay, jackfruit tastes wonderful, and you will get a huge amount of it when you extract it from the whole thorny fruit cover. the individual jackfruits are delicious and golden yellow, but it is a chore extracting them after you cut this big stuff open. Here in India it is a summer fruit , and since the entire big thing is too much, the vendors often sell the extracted fruit by the kilogram. You have to oil your hands well before you sit down to extract the golden yellow fruit from inside. Each of these little yellow fruits will have a seed inside . We roast these seeds or steam them and enjoy. I hope you get to taste it . I am sure you will love jackfruit !
ReplyDeleteArt tells me he used to eat jackfruit on the Big Island when he was young. He did say it was rather funny when somebody would give them a jackfruit because it was so big. Their neighbor used to even roast the seeds. Now I'm really curious.
DeleteI read somewhere once that Juicy Fruit gum is supposed to be based on the flavor of jack fruit. Jealous of your trip to Trader Joes! Winnie
ReplyDeleteJuicy fruit? Seriously? Hmmmm... I shall have to try some next time the opportunity presents itself. We do always enjoy those trips to Trader Joes. :- )
DeleteDavid likes bi bim bap, but I don't. So funny when you consider I am Korean and he is haole.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing is spelling bi bim bop or bap. I've seen it spelled all kinds of ways.
DeleteWe have a lot of Asian grocery stores in the Toronto area these days, anything you could want or imagine.
ReplyDeleteI have visited Uwajimaya in Seattle a couple of times, a huge Asian store that has wonderful things! I love it and was fascinating by all the things I had never seen before. :-)
ReplyDeleteIn Poland we don't have Korean supermarket
ReplyDeleteWe have H-Mart here in MD. We also have Lotte another Korean grocery chain. They are across the street from each other. I go when I need Oriental ingredients. Grocery shopping is not my favorite thing to do so I limit myself to a store which has everything I need. Neither H-Mart nor Lotte fit the bill.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding? Maryland? I'm amazed you have H-Mart there. Actually, I'm amazed they have it in Chicago. And we don't have it in Hawaii which is closer to Korea.
DeleteThere is an Asian market near me, but it is quite small. I have not been there yet. It is easy to get Asian inspired dishes so I don't tend to cook them at home. The closest restaurant is a Vietnamese restaurant.
ReplyDeleteAnd you would think that there would be an even larger store on the island. Thanks so much for taking us shopping with you. :)
ReplyDeleteNo kidding, right?
DeleteI am used to small Korean/Asian markets. Even more sights and smells to be lost in.
ReplyDeleteYes there are things at home that we never go to but when you're away you try it. We certainly learn a few things by trying out new things.
ReplyDeleteNow I want you to get one of those Jackfruits and show us what it's like.
ReplyDeletethat place is huge
ReplyDeleteTalking of Kit Kat, our daughter brought a bag of the Green Tea flavoured ones back from Japan. Different yes the chocolate coating had a green tea taste to it but Like you I like chocolate tasting chocolate
ReplyDeleteInteresting stroll through the market. The jack fruit is frightening but the squid is more frightening.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour. I doubt I would have ever seen the inside without your help. I'd be curious to hear about how some of the items are prepared.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Kay! One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to visit local markets, whether it's supermarkets, small grocery stores, farmers markets, etc. You get a better feel of the local culture through the food.
ReplyDeleteFrankie's Nursery has a stand at the Sunday Farmer's Market at Windward Mall. They have a variety of exotic fruits and sell it in smaller cut-up portions. It can be expensive, depending on the fruit, but at least it gives you a smaller piece to try (e.g., 1 lb.). We did try jackfruit - it was mildly sweet and had an interesting familiar flavor. Unknown (above) was right - it does kind of taste like Juicy Fruit!
Hello Sunnyellow, nice to meet you. Thank you for your comment. We love going to markets when we travel too. It's so interesting to see the traditions, food and everyday items that reveal a lot about the culture of the place you are visiting.
DeleteThank you for the tip about Frankie's Market. We'll keep that in mind. No kidding? Juicy fruit. Now that really peaks my interest.
I like jackfruit,but the man who sells it at the Hilo Market hasn't had any lately. There was a nice little restaurant downtown that had bim em bop,but they went out of business ages ago.
ReplyDeleteWe have soursop and grapefruit from our yard now,and a few avocados.
The autocorrect changed "breadfruit" to grapefruit. It's breadfruit we have.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried breadfruit either.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting spot! We are so white in Lanark County! :-) It irks me, as I grew up in multicultural Toronto, and had a rainbow of friends!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun!
ReplyDeleteI like to eat Jackfruit and we have lots of them here. Since Hawaii has them, I am just curious, why you did not try them?
ReplyDeletewe have good asian markets but nothing like h-mart. it reminds me of my favorite stores in korea. i can't get all of the cool korean kitkats here, i wish i could! i need your daughter to visit my spice cabinet!
ReplyDelete