H-Mart

371 N Central Ave, Hartsdale, NY 10530

Ok, we cheated, H-Mart is technically in New York. But it’s just over the border, and worth the drive from anywhere. Imagine if Whole Foods and Korea had a baby (and then sold everything at regular grocery store prices) and you’d be somewhere near imagining the joy of H-Mart. Vast enough to do all your grocery shopping in, but an unfathomable wealth of Korean (and many other East Asian) ingredients, you can find everything from shiso leaves (both Japanese and Korean varieties) to about 25 brands each of gochujang, gochugaru, and doenjang. Our favorite part of H-Mart by far is the meat department, which uses Korean cuts and techniques to provide impossibly tender, marbled, and flavorful cuts of pork, beef and more (one of our favorites is thin cut pork shoulder, which we use to make daeji bulgogi). They also have a great selection of prepared foods, from kimchi to banchan – the snack selections commonly served before Korean meals. Many H-Marts, including this one, also have food courts where you can get everything from spicy pork over rice to seafood noodles with black bean sauce. They also have pretty bomb pastries and bubble tea. Any place that lets you snack while you shop is alright by us.

Favorite Items: Daeji bulgogi (thin cut pork shoulder), gochujang, shiso leaves, banchan.