Are we ready for part two of spring break adventures? I’ve got to warn you, it’s going to be a very long, very food geeky post. But if you’re reading food blogs to begin with, I think we’re on the same page as far as the food geek business goes. And believe you me, this post has it in spades.
{Sweet Red Bean Bun}
As I had hinted in my previous post, the second part of my spring break mini vacation most definitely involves food. Even more so, in fact, than my single-minded lingonberry focus towards Ikea. This outing speaks to so many levels of my food-loving soul that it’s borderline unbelievable.
The highlight of my spring break was the beautiful, the yummy, the packed-to-the-gills-with-amazingness H-Mart.
{Fresh Sliced Kimchi}
{Pickled Radish}
{Adorable Tray of Japanese Bean-y Desserts}
Judging by my previous gushing about all things Korea—the food in particular—it can be of no surprise that the second I got the chance I made a beeline for this place. Part of a national chain of Korean grocery stores, H-Mart sells practically everything you need to make your Korean food dreams come true, with plenty of other goodies from all over Asia thrown in. There’s everything from a great fresh seafood section to clothing and beauty sections to prepared foods to plenty of produce to aisles and aisles of packaged munchies. It’s rawther heavenly.
However, beyond all of those, what stood out for me the most was the food court.
{Original Pepero Sticks}
{Almond Pepero Sticks (yum!!)}
{Banana Milk}
Yes, this grocery store has its own food court full of restaurants. Gimbap, bibimbap, pastries, Korean fried chicken, and soups and stews galore adorn a whole side of the store.
Truly, it was amazing.
And truly, I wish I had the willpower to take pictures of all the food we ate.
{My Favorite Ramen Ever}
{Microwave Steamed Brown Rice}
{Ddeokbokki (Spicy Rice Cake) Flavor Dry Ramen Snack}
Finally, for the first time, I tried jjajangmyeon (a.k.a. noodles with black bean sauce), a thick, savory dish made with filling, hearty noodles and a meaty, delicious sauce made with various vegetables and dark soybean paste. Served alongside kimchi and neon yellow pickled radish, it was by far my favorite dish of the entire day.
{Some Sort of Yummy Japanese Sponge Cake Roll-up}
{Pre-packaged Ddeokbokki}
{Barley Tea (Tastes just like coffee!)}
Beyond that, there was also a bunch of kimchi fried rice, shrimp tempura, and a healthy serving of spicy, garlicy Korean fried chicken in all of it’s savory-sweet goodness. Again, I wish you could’ve been there. Not only would you have been able to see all the dishes I’m talking about, but we also could’ve spazzed over the big screen tv at the Daddy & Daughter restaurant playing kpop music videos.
{Chocolate Marshmallow Cookie Pies}
{From Top: Soybean Paste, Gochujang (Red Pepper Paste), and Black Bean Paste}
{Makgeolli—love it!}
Beyond all of the awesome food items in the store, I have to touch on how much fun I had in the home section. While I already had some solid stainless steel chopsticks (which is what is commonly used, along with long soup spoons, in Korean cuisine), it was so great to be able to choose plenty of other cute utensils and accoutrement.
My level of excitement over locating a set of Pororo trainer chopsticks was only surpassed by my face-palming when I realized…
…they were meant for left-handed children.
While I am neither left-handed nor a child, I still intend to put these adorable chopsticks to good use. If my left-handed handwriting is any indication of my motor skills in that area, it should produce some interesting results.
Gosh if you are still here reading this I seriously want to give you a high five or something. Maybe a Starbucks gift card, too, cause that took some major patience and/or interest and/or boredom to read through that entire grocery shopping account. That being said, I hope you enjoyed! To me, these international adventures beat out a typical spring break trip hands down.
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