A generous slice of South Korea on Lincoln Highway in Edison

The attractive interior of SKD Tofu House in Edison, where a complete meal of tofu, rice and side dishes costs $10.

Soft-tofu stew includes five side dishes and a fresh egg to cook in the hot broth.

Japchae is a non-spicy dish pairing vegetables with translucent, yam-flour noodles.

You can't argue with the freshness of live fish at H Mart.

The food court at the Korean supermarket in Edison.

Pigs' feet also are available sliced.

The buffet at Picnic Garden, an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant.

Carnivores will delight at the abundance of raw meat on the buffet.

Raw shrimp, right, are displayed on plenty of ice. Each table has a big grill.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A friend who lives in Edison invited me to have dinner at a soft-tofu restaurant, which turned out to be part of a large Korean shopping center on Lincoln Highway.

SKD Tofu House and Picnic Garden BBQ Restaurant flank a big Korean supermarket, H Mart. 

Other businesses include Korean and Chinese-American banks and a Korean bakery.

Another wing of the shopping center, which opened about 18 months ago, is vacant.

For a soft-tofu restaurant, SKD has a stylish interior, and the food and service are as good as any of the tofu houses I've tried in Bergen County.

My friend ordered a soft-tofu stew, which came with excellent cabbage and cucumber kimchis, three other free side dishes, a fresh egg and a small rice for $10, including tax. 

I had a large serving of japchae, translucent yam-flour noodles that are stir-fried with shredded vegetables, and asked the kitchen to hold the beef ($12).

We got a second set of the delicious side dishes, including bean sprouts and pressed tofu, as well as  hot tea.

SKD in the restaurant's name stands for So Kong Dong, a neighborhood in Seoul, Korea, known for its soft-tofu houses.

H Mart shopping

After dinner, we shopped at H Mart and looked over the all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ buffet at Picnic Garden.

At H Mart, I bought a box of 10 Champagne mangoes for $4.44 and a box of 20 Shin Ramyun Gourmet Spicy dried-noodle soups for $14.99 or 75 cents each (usually $17.99).

These superior mangoes also are known as Ataulfo, a variety with yellow skin, a thin seed, fiber-less flesh and buttery texture.

The Edison H Mart is one of six in New Jersey, including the Englewood, Little Ferry, Ridgefield and Fort Lee stores I usually shop in for fish, Asian greens and prepared Korean food.

In fact, for dinner tonight, we're having fresh, whole, wild-caught sea bass my wife bought on Saturday at the Englewood H Mart for $5.99 a pound. 

I came across the history of the supermarket chain on its Web site:

"We are H Mart, short for 'Han Ah Reum,'
which just happens to mean
'One Arm Full of Groceries.'
We're an Asian-inspired supermarket
started in 1982 in Queens, New York.
Despite our small beginnings,
we have grown because of
our continuous commitment to
the freshest ingredients in all our offerings --
while never forgetting that
value is just as important.
We hope our culture brings you new inspiration and
we look forward to seeing you soon." 

Edison, which has nearly 100,000 residents, is a center of Asian-American culture and food. It is about 40 miles south of Hackensack.

Details

SKD Tofu House, 1755 Lincoln Highway, Edison; 1-732-777-2110. Web site: Korean Comfort Food

H Mart, 1761 Lincoln Highway, Edison; 1-732-339-1530. Web site: Better Food, Better Life

Picnic Garden, 1763 Lincoln Highway; 1-732-650-1000. 

Chinatown near the turnpike

Live tilapia were going for only $3.68 a pound on Friday at Hong Kong Supermarket, but there was no information on the origin of the fish .

Don't look for Hong Kong Supermarket and a cluster of other Chinese-owned businesses in lower Manhattan's Chinatown.


Instead, the bustling market is in a small shopping center less than a mile from Exit 9 of the New Jersey Turnpike.


You can have your hair cut or styled; get a massage or acupuncture treatment for a sore elbow; and pick up sushi, a live fish and fresh greens for dinner.

A salon, left, and a massage center are outside the entrance to the supermarket. Nearby, a small sushi restaurant offers prepared items and table service.

I drove past the supermarket a few times on the way to another part of East Brunswick and finally stopped in Friday afternoon, joining other Good Friday shoppers.


Hong Kong Supermarket is bigger than New King Fung Supermarket in River Edge, but only marginally cleaner.

A large variety of Asian greens are packaged for shoppers.

First, I picked up five small avocados from Chile for $1.98.


Then, I stopped to look over fresh greens, selecting sugar pea shoots for $1.98 a pound (photo above) and small mustard greens for $1.29 a pound.


The price for live fish is the lowest I have ever seen, but the store's fish counter doesn't have the signs it is required to, telling shoppers two things: the origin of seafood and whether it is farmed or wild.

Shrimp come in all sizes.

I wouldn't buy live fish from China, which has a poor food-safety record. I've seen wild-caught tilapia on ice at H Mart, and would prefer them over their farmed cousins.


I made only two other purchases, a 22-ounce bottle of Kadoya Sesame Oil from Japan (on sale for $5.98) and a package of Brown Rice Vermicelli ($1.69).


When I got home, I prepared half of the vermicelli and mixed it with blanched sugar pea shoots, flavoring them with sesame oil, soy sauce and Sriracha hot sauce.

Barbecued ducks.

Hong Kong Supermarket is part of an East Coast chain based in Flushing, Queens.

Chicken feet for $1.28 a pound.

Dragon fruit.

Hong Kong Supermarket, 275 Route 18 south, East Brunswick; 1-732-651-8288.


Web site: Chinese shopping hub


Directions: After paying the toll at Exit 9 of the New Jersey Turnpike (New Brunswick), follow signs to Route 18 south. Shopping center will be on your right.


East Brunswick is about 40 miles south of Hackensack.