A World of Bargains
Asian Supermarkets Attract Chefs and the Budget-Minded

By Melissa McCart
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, January 7, 2009

It's a busy Saturday morning at the Super H Mart in Fairfax City, where scores of people navigate carts down aisles, stocking up on the week's groceries. In the center of the seafood section, Yoon-Hee Heather Choi, a native of Seoul and a Fairfax resident since 1993, holds court as she leans over ice-filled bins showcasing the day's catch: silver mackerel, shimmery saury and whole squid, eyes aligned like dominoes.

"That squid looks great for calamari," says a man next to her.

"No," she says, then points to the fish counter behind her. "Go to the fishmonger and ask for small ones. They're sweeter." Whole squids slightly longer than a man's hand sell for $2.99 a pound, while smaller calamari the length of a finger cost $1.99, either size a fraction of the price at a Whole Foods Market ($5.99 a pound) or Giant ($8.99 for a frozen 13-ounce box).

As a resident foodnik who gives tours to users of the message boards Egullet.com and Donrockwell.com, Choi, 47, knows the ins and outs of this store and others like it, such as Grand Mart in Falls Church, Fresh Mart in Springfield and H Mart in Merrifield. Although the stores, all Korean-owned, cater to the suburbs' Asian communities, they're attractive to anyone looking to save a few dollars without compromising freshness.

First opened under the name Han Ah Reum, which loosely translates to "warm heart," H Mart was founded by Il Yeon Kwon in Queens, N.Y., in 1982. The name eventually was shortened to H Mart, and the products in individual stores were diversified according to the demographics of the neighborhood. Each of the company's 32 stores nationwide covers 25,000 to 80,000 square feet and stocks nearly 25,000 products.

The newest H Mart in the region opened in Gaithersburg in December, several months after one in Annandale opened in July. The Fairfax Super H Mart opened in 2002, and the Merrifield store has been around since 1997.

All three are in communities where Asians make up 20 to 40 percent of the population, according to the most recent census figures. But Super H Mart spokesman Jimmy Kim said from the company's New Jersey headquarters that only half of its customers nationwide are of Asian descent.

Like the Harris Teeter supermarket chain, which reported 10 percent gains in sales last year, the H Mart corporation claims increased profits and cites as evidence the continued opening of new stores. This is in contrast to Whole Foods' 30 percent drop in net income in the third quarter of 2008 and losses this past year for Safeway. Giant's profits increased a modest 1 percent in the third quarter, according to spokesman Jamie Miller.

Lower prices make the Asian superstores an alluring alternative in tough economic times, but it's the breadth of otherwise tough-to-find ingredients that makes them an invaluable resource for adventurous home cooks and some of the District's top chefs. H Mart and Super H Mart customers include Michel Richard of Citronelle and Central, Haidar Karoum of Proof and Scott Drewno of Wolfgang Puck's the Source.

Diversity is the draw. Although Karoum gets most of what he needs for the restaurant from his purveyors, he has long shopped for himself at H Mart and did so when he was testing dishes while Proof was under construction. "You get inspiration from stuff that you don't see regularly," says Karoum, 34, who was chef at Asia Nora before opening Proof. "You get a taste of other cultures."

For the Source, Drewno shops for Asian herbs, noodles and other dry goods at the Merrifield store on Saturday mornings. "H Mart! I love this place," says Drewno, 33. Ever since he was a 22-year-old cook in Las Vegas at Puck's Chinois, he says, he has relied on Asian markets.

On a recent visit, Drewno parsed the greens in the produce section near the entrance. "See, all these are labeled Vietnamese vegetables, but this has bitter leaves. And this is cho sum, which is a flowering stem that's very mild," he says. "They're totally different. And these bean leaves are really pea shoots."

Drewno can pick out the differences because he is versed in Asian ingredients, but less-experienced shoppers often find the sheer number of unfamiliar items intimidating.

Heather Choi started giving informal tours of H Mart for that very reason. She thinks H Mart and other such stores are experiencing increasing sales because more people are using Asian ingredients, which are hard to find elsewhere. However, "I realized many non-Asian customers need help getting what they wanted," she said. "Even if the customer representative speaks English well, sometimes he or she may not know the ingredient in different languages. For example, Japanese nori, Korean gimm and Chinese hai tai are the same thing." (In addition to Korean and English, Choi speaks some Japanese.)

As he winds through the produce section, past Chinese sweet potatoes, Korean pears, lotus stems and Fuyu persimmons, Drewno says he appreciates the store's global appeal. "They're for South Americans, Indians, Thai, Vietnamese, Koreans, Chinese. . . . It's a world market, really."

Drewno points out an Indian bitter melon and tindora squash, often used in making curries. Nearby sits a box overflowing with fresh cactus paddles, a few steps away from an entire aisle of products from Goya, the company specializing in Latin foods. "Here's pacaya. It's pickled date palm," he says. "These are delicious for chili relleno."

No matter what community it's aimed at, the produce ranges from extremely inexpensive to on par with prices at other local markets. Wide assortments of bell peppers, which Choi says are "still expensive" at H Mart, fetch $1.49 to $3.50 a pound (for three to five peppers), compared with $2.99 a pound at Whole Foods and 99 cents each at Giant. Mounds of Sicilian, Italian and Chinese eggplants cost $1.60 a pound, compared with $2.49 at Whole Foods and $2.50 at Giant. Lemons are five for $1, compared with 79 cents apiece at Whole Foods and 89 cents apiece at Giant.

Unlike an eco-conscious store such as Whole Foods, however, H Mart is not upfront about the origin of all of its products, which might not sit well with shoppers wary of Chinese imports after recent food-safety scares. H Mart representatives would not clarify how many of the store's products come from China, but spokesman Jimmy Kim says suppliers are located all over the world, "though New York-Pennsylvania produce markets supply a bulk of the Virginia produce."

"We work hard to find the freshest and least expensive sources for all of our products," Kim says. "This is what we do best and why we can offer the lowest prices."

Despite the variety (or perhaps because of it), shopping at these markets can be akin to trying to find the perfect outfit at Filene's Basement or TJ Maxx. "It can be hit or miss," Karoum says. "And weekends can be crazy at these places." He emphasizes knowing what you're there for before walking through the door.

Karoum steers away from live fish in tanks; he doesn't approve of big farm-raised fish kept in small spaces. But he does buy live crustaceans, particularly lobsters and crabs, "provided they're lively," an indication of freshness and health.

On his recent visit, Karoum goes right for the whole fish closest to the fishmonger. Clear-eyed, fresh tilapia lists at $4.59 a pound. Fluke is "of sashimi quality. Very, very beautiful," he says. Red snapper costs $5.99 a pound, and lively blue crabs are $2.99 apiece, compared with $19.99 a pound and $5.99 apiece, respectively, at Whole Foods. (Giant did not have either in stock.)

In the meat section, the variety continues, with popular cuts being oxtail; osso buco; brisket; and flank, rib-eye and skirt steaks.

"There are so many more cuts available from an Asian butcher than an American or European one," says Choi, showing off bone-in and boneless osso buco. Then she pulls two cuts of short ribs. "This is L.A. style," she says of the long-cut, boneless meat. She prefers short and stubby Korean-style cuts with the bone in. They may take longer to cook, but "they're more traditional," she says.

In each store's periphery, shoppers can find one or two aisles of American products: cereals, Hershey's cocoa, Chef Boyardee and more Spam than one would ever hope to have. And though the list prices are on par with Safeway's or Giant's -- a 17-ounce box of Honey Nut Cheerios is $4.19 and Frosted Flakes is $4.15 -- many goods are marked down. All cereal was $2.99 on multiple visits.

As for dry goods and condiments, Drewno suggests buying a few familiar things, then trying new ones, too. The noodle aisle is his favorite. Someone who is noodle illiterate might find the section dizzying, but Drewno riffs on recipes like a mentalist recites numbers from a phone book. Japanese soba, Vietnamese sweet potato noodles, rice noodles, glass noodles made with mung beans: "Noodles are really an art form," he says.

Condiments are a draw for consumers of every ethnicity at H Mart and stores like it. At a conventional grocery store, shoppers might find one or two brands, but here they come in varieties akin to the 10 to 15 pinot grigio offerings in an average wine shop.

Items are arranged in ways that might mystify a Westerner. At one H Mart, soy sauces run from dark and malty Chinese to lighter Japanese styles, while another store stocks primarily Korean brands.

And then there are the exotic items of legend at H Mart, such as the infamous durian, a spiky, foul-smelling fruit that, when opened, has the consistency of custard. "If you can get by the smell, it has a really succulent flavor," Drewno says.

Choi steers clear. She talks up another produce legend, the litchi. Made famous by a favorite concubine of an 8th-century emperor, the small, round fruit with a dark rind and a haunting perfume is credited with cultivating her beauty and sensuality. So although litchi season is months away, who can blame women who seek them out year-round? Perhaps that's why they're available in the frozen section of every store.

Melissa McCart writes the Counter Intelligence blog at http://melissamccart.wordpress.com.