Whether you’re familiar with Asian grocery stores or not, Hmart is a destination for all serious foodies. We spent a Saturday wondering around the Paramus location like two kids in a candy shop. Between the market eatery, the marinated meat bar and extensive seafood selection, we didn't know where to begin!
We kicked off our day at the Market Eatery, which is currently only located at two of the Hmart stores; one in Paramus, NJ & the other in Austin, TX.  The eatery has industrial lighting, graffitied walls and exposed brick, which creates a very stylish environment that makes you forgot you’re in a grocery store. Our first stop was at the Ondubu Tofu stand, where we slurped down a delicious bowl of tofu ramen stew.  Ondubu Tofu specializes in variations of soft tofu stew, and they also sell delicious hot stone pork udon and kimchi pancakes! Next up was the Boom Boom Chicken stand, which has some of the best fried chicken we’ve been able to get our hands on in New Jersey. Serving up large, moist drumsticks and tender chicken breast in a variety of sauces, including our favorites the soy garlic and spicy! Our last stop was at Sang's Kitchen for some yummy BBQ ribs and and beef rib soup. Each stand was better than the last with the common theme that this is definitely not your average grocery store food court!
After devouring *almost* everything in the market, we grabbed a food basket and did our weekly grocery shopping. The marinated meat bar is a complete dream, making us wish we drove up in a refrigerated truck so we could take it all home! To say the seafood selection is impressive is an understatement. It has basically anything you can think of, from crawfish, prawns and live king crabs to a huge tuna being filleted right out in the open. We also stocked up on some sesame oil, which we love to drizzle over vegetables and chile paste, which we add to our homemade soups! We're also big fans of Japanese biscuit-like chocolatey snacks, including Pocky and Every Burger cookies, so we were sure to stock up on our favorites as well. The produce section and the endless selections of noodles, ramen and spices makes you just want to try everything. So when you go to Hmart, give yourself plenty of time to eat and explore all that they have to offer.
