Same chain, same 15-pound bag of rice, so why is it double the price?

The H Mart in Fort Lee displays bags of rice just beyond the checkout counters, because the staff says there isn't room for them anywhere else in the store. Today, this 15-pound bag of rice was selling for twice what I paid on Saturday at another H Mart.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We shop regularly at stores in the H Mart chain for prepared Korean food, Asian greens, fresh wild-caught fish and free samples on the weekends.

Today, I drove to the Fort Lee store, where I found a box of 16 Ataulfo Mangoes from Ecuador on sale for $9.99 with a store card -- a discount of $5 -- and two heads of Red Leaf Lettuce for only 99 cents.

After I checked out, I saw a sign for a 15-pound bag of Kokuho Yellow Label Rice for $19.99, twice what I paid the day before at the Little Ferry H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike.

In Little Ferry, the California-grown rice was $9.99, a discount of $10, according to the sign there.

This isn't the first time I've noticed different prices for the same item at stores in the H Mart chain, but I haven't seen anything as dramatic as the prices for rice in Little Ferry and Fort Lee. 

Squeeze play

At the Little Ferry store, I also picked up a 5-pound box of Bagu Clementines from Spain for $4.99, a discount of $3; and a package of Stewed Alaskan Pollack for $7.99.

The clementines rang up at $7.99, but I told the cashier the sign said they were on sale for $4.99. 

She went to get the sign, scanned the bar code on it to give me the lower price, but didn't return the sign to the display of clementines.

In Fort Lee today, a 5-pound box of clementines was $6.99.

Whole sea bass, which my wife seasoned and fried in olive oil, were $6.99 a pound on Saturday at the Englewood H Mart, 25 Lafayette Ave.

A Korean Finger Roll or Kimbap is even tastier when you add a couple of pieces of kimchi to it and wrap them in a lettuce leaf. A package of rolls with Korean pickles was $4.79 today at the Fort Lee H Mart in the Linwood Plaza shopping center.

Before I went food shopping today, I joined two friends for breakfast at the Rochelle Park Diner & Grill, 222 Rochelle Ave., Rochelle Park (201-843-0068), below. My tasty three-egg Florentine Omelet, with spinach and feta cheese, was $7.25, including potatoes and toast.

At the Rochelle Park Diner, the umbrella stand and clock are eye-catching, above and below.

Free coffee at new Hackensack Wawa, free samples at Korean markets

The new Wawa convenience store and gasoline station in Hackensack has one entrance on East Moonachie Road and another on South River Street, but both require some drivers to cross double yellow lines or a turn lane to reach the driveways.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Any size coffee is free this week at the new Wawa convenience store and gasoline station in Hackensack.

The Wawa, which opened last Friday, offers 12-ounce, 16-ounce, 20-ounce and 24-ounce cups of flavored and unflavored coffee.

The store, on South River Street and East Moonachie Road, opposite the ShopRite shopping center, is open 24 hours.

I stopped there on Sunday for a 12-ounce cup of hazelnut coffee on the way home from shopping at Korean supermarkets in Ridgefield and Little Ferry with free samples that made a nice light lunch.

The free-coffee promotion ends on Sunday, Nov. 29.

On Sunday, a gallon of regular gasoline was selling for $1.75.9, several cents cheaper than at the new Costco Wholesale gas station in Teterboro.

At H&Y Marketplace, 1 Remsen Place in Ridgefield, customers are offered free food samples at stations throughout the store on weekends, including this array of seafood and vegetables, nearly all of them in a spicy sauce. Fresh fruit, noodles, soup, barbecue and other free samples also are available.

Sea cucumbers were on sale for $19.99 a pound at H&Y Marketplace.

H&Y Marketplace also sells all the ingredients you need to make a spicy Korean tang or soup, including fresh fluke.

Free samples at H Mart

On Sunday, free samples at H Mart in Little Ferry included the usual seafood pancake and broiled eel in a sweet sauce, but the highlight was a green-lipped mussel from New Zealand topped with tiny fish eggs.

I bought two 15-pound bags of Kokuho Yellow Label rice from California on sale for $9.99 each.

In September, the same rice went on sale for $8.88, and that price was supposed to be good through Dec. 31, according to the sign. 

But a couple of weeks ago, I saw the price per bag went up a dollar, and on Sunday, the sign with the 15-pound bags said $10.88. 

However, my cashier rang up the two bags in my cart at $9.99 each.

I also bought four Pulmone Soft Tofu Kits for $1.99 each, reduced from $2.69. They are made with organic tofu.

I also picked up two prepared items, Stewed Tofu ($4.99) and Stewed Alaskan Pollack ($7.99). 

At H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry, a 5-pound box of clementines from Spain was $5.99. Today, Whole Foods Market in Paramus was selling a 5-pound box of clementines for $6.99

I have never seen Bean Leaves before, but they are far more expensive than Chinese broccoli, bok choy, mustard and most other greens.

This is part of the rice section in the brightly lit Little Ferry H Mart.

Flooding at Little Ferry H Mart, Korean soft tofu in Palisades Park

On Saturday, customers trying to enter the parking lot of H Mart in Little Ferry wished they were piloting a boat.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

H Mart customers love the bargains they find at the Korean supermarket chain's Little Ferry store, but can't shake the feeling the space is sorely in need of a makeover.

Flooding continues to occur in the parking lot. 

The actual store entrance is one of the shabbiest I have ever seen, and takes customers past a liquor concession.

Customers can easily see the interior begs for the same kind of renovation the Englewood store received more than a year ago.

I once peeked into the Little Ferry H Mart's worn public lunchroom and fled, never to return.

The Little Ferry H Mart appears to occupy half of a much larger building that once operated as Valley Fair and then Value Fair, a collection of small merchants. But they are long gone. 

On Saturday, I stopped in Little Ferry for a 15-pound bag of white rice, and also took home mangoes and scallions.

H Mart has sold 15-pound bags of Kokuho Yellow Label, a white rice grown in California, for as little as $7.99.

But the sale price shot up after a drought hit that state. On Saturday in Little Ferry, a 15-pound bag was $12.88.

I also picked up two other sale items, a box of 15 mangoes for $7.99, and five bunches of scallions for 99 cents with a store card.

H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry; 201-814-0400. Open 7 days. 

Mangoes from Ecuador were a good buy, but I passed on the 5-pound box of Spanish Clementines, below.

Soft-tofu dinner in Pal Park

After the excesses of our Christmas Day dinner, we wanted a simple meal on Saturday, the one night we eat out, and headed for our favorite Korean soft-tofu restaurant in Palisades Park.

I am still in love with the bold flavors and value of this complete meal at So Gong Dong Tofu & B.B.Q. for only $10, including tax -- soft-tofu stew, a fresh egg, white rice, side dishes and tea.

Perilla Seeds and Oyster Soft Tofu was boiling furiously when it was set down in front of me, allowing me to poach a fresh egg in the steaming broth, below.

True comfort food: Eating a yolk broken over white rice.

We were served five complimentary side dishes, instead of the usual four, including cucumber and cabbage kimchis, above, and bean sprouts, sliced radish and seaweed with a spicy gochujang or vinegared red-pepper paste, below. One of the dishes holds a dipping sauce for the pajun or seafood and vegetable pancake we ordered.

Simple decor, with plenty of room for extended families.

A new superfood

I chose a relatively new item on the place-mat menu, Perilla Seeds and Oyster Soft Tofu, which is $10.99, a dollar more than the 13 soft-tofu stews without the seeds of the Asian Shiso plant.

I ordered the stew "more spicy," one of four levels on the menu, including "no spicy."

Perilla Seeds are said to have twice the heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids as chia seeds.

I couldn't see the seeds in the stew, which tasted a lot like the regular Oyster Soft Tofu I order, but I still enjoyed it.

My wife had her usual, Pork Soft Tofu "more spicy" ($9.99), and we also ordered Pajun, a seafood and vegetable pancake made from rice flour to share ($11.99).

So Gong Dong Tofu & B.B.Q., 118 Broad Ave., Second Floor, Palisades Park; 201-313-5550. Open 7 days.

Valet parking and street parking. Meters in effect until 9 p.m. Side-street parking is free. 

ShopRite sales, price breaks and other fine print

ShopRite's newspaper flier stated clearly the "sale starts" on Aug. 25, but there are "price breaks" on other items that don't go into effect until days later.

Nature's Reserve free-range, grass-fed beef from Australia was on "sale" starting last Sunday for $8.99 a pound. But there is a "price break" starting on Wednesday, knocking $2 more off each pound. Other items are covered by an "all-week price break" from last Sunday through Saturday.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

ShopRite's sales fliers are getting as hard to interpret as Manhattan parking regulations or the Talmud.

When "sale" appears in a ShopRite newspaper flier, it isn't the last word, and other items may be discounted through "price breaks."

But "price breaks" aren't always available during the full sale period, as I found out on Monday, when I went to my Hackensack ShopRite to buy Nature's Reserve Whole Beef Tenderloin for Filet Migon.

The sale started on Sunday, but the price break on the free-range, grass-fed beef from Australia doesn't start until Wednesday, meaning I'll have to return to the store.

Luckily, I also went to pick up 48-ounce containers of Turkey Hill Ice Cream for $1.97, a savings of $1.32; and Eggo Waffles for $1.47, a discount of $1.20.

Those items were discounted under an "all-week price break" (Sunday to Saturday).

A sign at H Mart in Little Ferry said this 15-pound bag of California-grown white rice is  "free" with a coupon.

H Mart is first stop

Of course, when meat-eating members of my family prepare Korean barbecue, they marinate the thin slices of Australian beef in bulgogi sauce, grill the meat, steam white rice and wrap everything in red-leaf lettuce.

We were out of white rice and red-leaf lettuce, so before I went to ShopRite on Monday, I stopped at H Mart in Little Ferry.

H Mart has been heavily discounting 15-pound bags of Kokuho Yellow Label California-grown rice, normally $14.99.

Last Wednesday, I saw it at the Englewood H Mart for $7.99, but the store had sold out.

At the Little Ferry H Mart, the rice was "free" with a coupon or $9.99 without.

I got the coupon from the customer service counter, but didn't read it carefully enough: 

The rice is "free" when you purchase $100 in other items.

I also picked up 2 heads of red-leaf lettuce for 99 cents each, and a bottle of B.B.Q. Bulgogi Beef Marinade for $2.99, because it had the least sodium.

One Teaneck street thrives, another fades

A hearty breakfast of fried whiting, eggs and home fries at the Golden Grill.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On the way to another great breakfast at the Golden Grill in Teaneck , I drove past the shuttered Bravo Supermarket, the third major business in the township to fail recently.

The Cedar Lane Cinemas closed late last month and, in September, the main business district lost the unusual BlAST Art Gallery and Coffee Bar.

Golden Grill is on Queen Anne Road in Teaneck's lively West Englewood section, where there is a mix of kosher and non-kosher food businesses.

Next to the Golden Grill are Gotham Burger Co., a kosher restaurant; a small grocery and deli selling halal meat; and St. Michel, a French patisserie.

Golden Grill calls itself "The Family Restaurant."

 
Golden Grill is one of the few places that serves fish for breakfast.

In the past, I've had the restaurant's fish cakes, but today, I chose fried whiting fillets with two eggs sunny side up and home fries ($6.50).

I told the waitress to hold the toast. I drank tea ($1.30 with free refills), and used plenty of hot sauce from the bottle on the table. 

It was a great breakfast.

Sardines and chicken livers are other breakfast choices.

 

Not long after this photo was taken, the Golden Grill filled up.

Golden Grill, 1379 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck; 201-837-1078.

Part of the produce section at H Mart in Little Ferry.

H Mart sales

After breakfast at the Golden Grill in Teaneck, I drove to H Mart in Little Ferry to pick up fresh fish for dinner and see what was on sale.

A 15-pound bag of Kokuho Yellow Label White Rice, grown in California, was $9.99, a discount of $5.

A large Kabucha squash was 59 cents a pound, a savings of 40 cents a pound; 2 6-ounce packages of Driscoll's Blackberries were $3; and large seedless cucumbers were 99 cents each.

Fresh whole porgy were only $1.49 a pound.

I also found small Japanese-made plates I can use as spoon rests ($3.99 each).

The Little Ferry H Mart is badly in need of a renovation, but it is the only North Jersey store in the Korean chain to give customers 10 cents back for each reusable bag.

H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry; 201-814-0400. Open 7 days.

A good excuse to go food shopping

Image via Wikipedia






High gasoline prices make combining trips a good idea, so after my annual physical in Englewood today, I set off for three food stores in a city well-known to foodies.


I felt great when I left the doctor's office: My weight is 196 pounds, compared to 227 pounds a year or so ago; my blood pressure is low and a blood test likely will result in another low cholesterol reading since I stopped eating meat about 18 months ago.


The physical also included a chest X-ray, an electrocardiogram, a breath test and a rectal exam, all paid for by Medicare, not Medicaid, as I wrote earlier. Not even a co-pay. God bless America.


My first stop was Jerry's Gourmet & More on South Dean Street, where I had my first food of the day -- a bunch of free cheese samples, such as ricotta salata,  pecorino romano and brie.


I picked up Ponti balsamic and chianti vinegars for $1.99 and 99 cents, respectively. Ponti, not Primo, as I wrote earlier, is the brand I was served in restaurants in Italy last September.


Espresso beans


I also bought 2.2 pounds of Lavazza espresso beans labeled "Crema e Aroma" for $19.99, a couple of dollars less than the Lavazza's "Super Crema" beans I've been getting from Amazon.com.


My next stop was H Mart, the Korean supermarket on Lafayette Avenue, where 20 pounds of Kokuho Yellow Label short-grain white rice grown in California was on sale for $11.99.



I also picked up 2.21 pounds of live blue crabs at $2.99 a pound. (They're cooking now in a spicy boil for dinner tonight.) Two dozen large brown, cage-free eggs were $4 with a coupon.

Image via Wikipedia

I also took advantage of ShopRite's Can Can Sale to stock up on 12-ounce cans of Adirondack Seltzer (Mandarin Orange, Lemon-Lime and Original). A pack of 12 is $1.99, a savings of $1.60, with a store card.


At the Hackensack ShopRite, I bought more Adirondack Seltzer, as well as Sparkling 100% Apple Cider from Spain; two 25.4-ounce glass bottles were $4.


Coleman organic chicken legs were $1.99 a pound and antibiotic-free Readington Farms chicken thighs were $1.89 a pound.


Tonight's dinner


Korean bibimbap is one of our favorite dishes -- a stone bowl filled with steamed rice and vegetables, and topped with a fried egg (hold the ground beef). A hot red-pepper sauce livens up the party.


The idea is to mix everything up, add the spicy sauce and go to town.
Image via Wikipedia
Tonight, I'm trying bibimbap at home, using organic brown rice and seasoned vegetables I bought at H Mart in Fort Lee on Monday ($5.99 for 14 ounces of spinach, bellflower, fernrake and bean sprouts).


After the rice is ready, I'm going to dump the vegetables in the rice cooker and mix the whole thing up. I'll plate it and top it with two fried eggs, sunny side up, and hot-pepper sauce.


My wife and son are having the blue crabs.


I'll serve two side dishes I found at H Mart -- a Korean omelet with seaweed ($4.99) and stewed Alaska pollock in a spicy sauce ($5.99) -- both from Jinga in Maspeth, N.Y.