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.

At H Mart in Little Ferry, are some of the savings exaggerated?

At H Mart in Little Ferry, is one 15-pound bag of white rice for $12.88, above, a better deal than two bags for $19.99 with a store card, below? I pay a few dollars more for Kokuho Yellow Label Rice because it is grown in California.

The label of the cheaper rice doesn't specify where it is grown in the United States.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

After a trip to H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday, I looked over my receipt to see how much I had saved on clementines and a 16-pack box of spicy noodle soup.

A 5-pound box of Bagu Clementines from Spain were $5.99, and the receipt said I saved $4 over the "regular price" of $9.99.

But other stores list the retail price of clementines as $7.99.

A box of 16 4.2-ounce servings of Shin Ramyun, a spicy instant noodle soup that is MSG free, was $9.99, compared to the regular price of $16.99, a savings of $7.

You have to present an H Mart Smart Savings Card to get many discounts, and I get the feeling the Korean supermarket chain sometimes exaggerates savings.

In 2011, the box of Shin Ramyun contained 20 portions, not the 16 you find today, and the retail price was $15.99.

A year ago, the 16-portion box was on sale at the same time for $12.99 at the H Mart in Fort Lee and for $9.99 at H&Y Marketplace in Ridgefield.

The label of Kokuho Yellow Label rice says it is "100% California grown."

The Hukukome Rice makes no such claim.

At the Little Ferry H Mart, I also purchased a 1.6-pound package of prepared Stewed Tofu from Pinocchio Catering for $5.99 (the label listed the weight incorrectly as 4 ounces). This was a better buy than a smaller package from Jinga, another caterer, for $4.29.

Food shopping, leftovers for breakfast, a diabetic's nightmare

Sahara-brand Clementines are on sale for $4.99 at ShopRite in Paramus, but as the name suggests, the 5-pound boxes are from Morocco, not Spain.

The Paramus ShopRite also has 1-pound packages of Sunset's incomparable Campari Tomatoes for $3.99, compared to 2-pound packages of the same tomato for $4.99 or less at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

Editor's note: Food shopping is hard work and stores take a lot of short cuts on signs and other aids. Today, I also discuss assembling a quick, nutritious breakfast from leftovers, and a Trader Joe's holiday sales flier that contains so much sugar my teeth ache just reading it. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The food we buy in our local supermarkets and warehouse stores comes from all over the world, meaning there is no substitute for reading labels.

That may look like a good price for clementines, but are they from Spain or Morocco? I prefer the Spanish ones.

Australia is known for low prices on grass-fed beef, but one of the producers, Clayton's, follows organic practices and another, Nature's Reserve, doesn't.

I've been buying Campari Tomatoes for years, but for some reason, the ones that come in Costco Wholesale's 2-pound packages taste better than those in the 1-pound packages sold by competitors.

ShopRite confused two Australian producers on the sign at left that I saw on Thursday. Three 1-pound packages of Nature's Reserve Grass-fed Ground Beef were $14.97. Clayton's Organic Ground Beef was $5.99, right.

Six enormous California Pomegranates are $14.99 at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. Each one yields 2 cups of pomegranate seeds. The seeds from ShopRite's smaller and cheaper pomegranates weren't as good.

Going clockwise, a breakfast of leftovers includes sauteed Chinese broccoli with lots of chopped garlic, sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive oil; and two items purchased from H Mart in Englewood, stewed-tofu and japchae, translucent noodles with vegetables. I often use gochujang, a vinegared red-pepper paste, on tofu.

On leftover patrol

My personal record at breakfast is clearing five containers of leftovers from our crowded refrigerator.

You won't ever catch me skipping breakfast or stopping for one of those artery clogging breakfast sandwiches at a fast-food place.

But you will find me leaving enough time in the morning to reheat a plate of healthy, simply prepared food, often supplemented by an egg-white omelet with reduced fat cheese or organic whole eggs fried sunny side up.

Most of my breakfasts include leftovers that used ingredients from Costco Wholesale, Whole Foods Market and H Mart.

H Mart, a small Korean supermarket chain, is known for its prepared tofu and other side dishes, and fresh produce and fish, such as the whole king whiting my wife bought on Friday for $4.99 a pound, dusted with cornmeal and fried for dinner.

Chinese broccoli, mashed sweet potatoes and tofu make way for a Jamaican specialty, ackee and salt fish, accented with Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce (Black Label).

An egg-white omelet with a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese, Aleppo pepper and za'atar thyme mixture joins more tofu and organic brown rice with organic lentils. 

Organic 100% whole-wheat pasta shells, prepared with bottled sauce, anchovies and sardines, joins japchae and two organic eggs fried sunny side up with grated Pecorino Romano Cheese.

Trader Joe's sugar fixation

The latest edition of Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer is labeled, "Holiday Guide 2014."

The 24-page sales flier, which I receive in the mail, is filled with promotions on so many sugary treats and full-fat cheeses I had to resist the urge to schedule a physical after reading it.

Caramels, fondue, chevre with truffles, scallops wrapped in bacon, egg nog ice cream, chocolate, cupcakes, shortcake, marzipan and cookies pose a real minefield for diabetics and even people who are just watching their weight and cholesterol.

I'm someone who doesn't add sugar to coffee, doesn't eat dessert and hates the taste of bottled pasta sauces with added sugar.

There is not much that interests me in this flier.

Containers of leftovers take over my refrigerator

This morning, containers filled with leftovers made putting breakfast on the table a snap.

Editor's note: We prepare meals at home five or six days a week, relying on high-quality ingredients from Costco Wholesale, ShopRite and Whole Foods Market. But at times, the leftovers seem overwhelming. Today, I also report on a takeout meal from Wondee's, a great Thai restaurant in Hackensack.  

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

Cooking large quantities yields lots of leftovers and cuts down on meal-preparation time.

But, then, our refrigerator becomes packed with meals we prepared in the past few days, and we "lose" food that gets shoved to the back of shelves.

Still, being able to assemble a fortifying breakfast in just the time it takes to plate your leftovers and reheat them in the microwave is a great time and money saver.

Breakfast plates, above and below, filled with leftovers. Above, a sweet potato, cheese and pesto frittata; mashed sweet potatoes, organic whole-wheat shells with salted cod and pesto; peppery mustard greens and store-bought stewed tofu from H Mart in Little Ferry. The ingredients came from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack and Whole Foods Market in Paramus. This breakfast eliminated two large containers crowding my refrigerator shelves.

Sweet potatoes three ways: Sliced, boiled and layered in a frittata; baked and mashed with extra-virgin olive oil. Tofu and fried green plantains also are on the plate, as part of a breakfast that allows you to explore your roots.

Buying big sizes

We buy large quantities from Costco Wholesale, where most food comes in oversized packages, and on Amazon.com.

And we cook large quantities, such as the four cups of Lundberg Organic Long Grain Brown Rice (Amazon.com) I prepared in an electric cooker for dinner Monday night with a can of diced organic tomatoes, chopped fresh garlic and pine nuts, all from Costco.

That rice will reappear at breakfast, topped with two fried organic brown eggs (sunny side up) from Costco, allowing me to break the yolks and mix them with the whole grains. 

Sweet potato frittata and a baked sweet potato make a filling breakfast.

A wedge of frittata with leftover organic whole-wheat pasta shells and salted cod fish dressed with refrigerated, ready-to-use Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.

Wondee's takeout

With a family member recuperating from a broken leg, we decided to do Saturday night takeout from one of our favorite restaurants, Wondee's Fine Thai Food & Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack (201-883-1700).

Saturday is usually the day we eat dinner out.

I made sure to get my favorite dish, Som Thum, a crunchy fresh green-papaya salad in a tart dressing with peanuts, green beans, tomato and ground dried shrimp ($8).

Fresh green-papaya salad from Wondee's.

We also ordered Thome Yum Koong, a spicy soup with shrimp and mushrooms ($4 for small); Geuw Nam, wonton soup with roast pork ($3.50 for small); Thai Fried Rice ($10.50), and a whole red snapper steamed with chili peppers, garlic and lemon juice, a dish called Pla Ma Now ($18).

Part of the fish is in a container in the refrigerator, and my wife is planning to have it for lunch on Wednesday.

When it comes to food, green -- not greed -- is good

Garlicky sauteed water spinach delivered by Lotus Cafe in Hackensack and plated the next morning with a homemade cheese-and-smoked-wild-salmon frittata and organic brown rice. 

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

A new buffet restaurant opening soon in my hometown of Hackensack? That leaves me cold.

Eating as much as you can just to get a good deal seems like greed to me, and it can make you feel awful (see previous post).

Now, green is another story. In food, green is good -- even the mold added to blue cheese.

Spinach, bok choy, collard greens, kale -- it's all good.

H Mart and H&Y Marketplace, two chains of Korean supermarkets in Bergen County, are great places to find greens -- as many as 20 are offered in each store.

Baby bok choy and stewed tofu, both from H Mart, served with homemade organic quinoa. The bok choy was on sale for 68 cents a pound.

Chinese takeout is another way to add healthy greens to your diet.

We've switched to delivery from Lotus Cafe in Hackensack after the people who answer the phone at Zen Kitchen in Teaneck tried to add a ubiquitous brown sauce to nearly every dish.

The Lotus Cafe order of sauteed water spinach delivered along with a few other dishes on Friday night was filled with slices of fresh garlic -- one of our favorite preparations.

I brought home fresh baby spinach from a salad bar in the cafe at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, blanched it in boiling water, drained the pan, and added sesame oil and garlic powder. Here, I served it with leftover wild-caught haddock fillets from Costco Wholesale ($8.99 a pound) prepared in coconut milk with sweet pepper, garlic and onion.

Baby bok choy from H Mart with organic brown eggs from Costco Wholesale, above, and haddock in coconut milk over organic quinoa, below. The eggs are from cage-free hens that do not receive hormones or antibiotics.

There is nothing like fresh, leafy collaloo, a spinach-like green, served as a side dish with many a Jamaican meal on that sunny island, but here in New Jersey we have to make do with chopped and canned callaloo in brine (salted water).

This morning, we had callaloo prepared with salted cod fish, sweet pepper, onion and garlic.

Collaloo with salted cod fish, fresh tomato, sweet pepper, onion and garlic, left.

Kimchi service makes this Fort Lee Korean restaurant a standout

At Gammeeok in Fort Lee, servers bring a tall bowl of cabbage and radish kimchi to your table, cut it, plate it and pour on extra sauce, which is both spicy and sweet, above and below.

The kimchi service -- unique to Gammeeok -- isn't the only reason to go there. The restaurant turns out terrific versions of such Korean classics as bibimbap and seafood pancakes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The good news is that the kimchi at Gammeeok in Fort Lee is as good as ever -- an appealing combination of sweet, spicy and crunchy.

We had dinner there on Saturday night after an absence of more than a year, and Gammeeok is still our favorite place for bibimbap, a non-spicy dish that is true Korean comfort food.

I ordered another non-spicy dish, Seafood Joen, a  pancake with tender squid and shrimp that is fluffier than other versions I've tried ($14.95).

My teenage son ordered two entrees that could have fed three to four people, and finished everything, including a small bowl of white rice.

He loved the stone-bowl bibimbap ($13.95), as well as the grilled beef short ribs or Galbi ($22.95). 

The kimchi served here is so good it is available to go.

OB, a Korean beer, is $4.50.

Korean short ribs (galbi or kalbi) will delight meat-eaters ($22.95).

The seafood pancake is thick and fluffy, and includes tender squid, small whole shrimp and scallions, and comes with a dipping sauce ($14.95).

Stone-bowl bibimbap comes with a mildly spicy red-pepper paste (gochujang) that you spoon on top before your stir up ground meat, vegetables and rice ($13.95). We asked the kitchen to cook the egg, and you can have a bibimbap without meat.

A vinegary tangle of shredded radish is one of the complimentary side dishes.

Every table gets large, crunchy leaves of Nappa cabbage and fresh hot peppers, rear.

Valet parking is available at dinner, but you also can park on the street. No need to feed the meters after 6 p.m.

Details

Gammeeok, 485 Main St., Fort Lee; 201-242-1333. Open for lunch and dinner. No American Express  Cards. 

I used a coupon I found in The Record giving $10 off a $30 order, $15 off a $50 order and $20 off an $80 meal.

Web site: Good food, good service

The next night, I had three Korean specialties at home, all purchased from H Mart, 25 Lafayette Ave., Englewood: Jinga-brand translucent, yam-flour noodles called japchae, with vegetables and tofu, front (19 ounces for $5.99); stewed wild-caught Alaskan pollock, left rear (16 ounces for $16.99); and stewed tofu, right rear (11 ounces for $3.99).

H Mart helps me make a quick dinner

Prepared Korean food with homemade, stir-fried collard greens.

Dinner on Monday night was stewed, wild-caught Alaskan pollock; thin, pan fried slices of whiting, stewed tofu and collard greens -- all from H Mart in Englewood.

The Korean supermarket has a terrific selection of prepared food, fresh fish and an array of fresh greens for stir-frying.

The stewed pollock and tofu are made with red pepper, but the whiting is so bland it needs gochujang, a red-pepper paste in a squeze bottle, and it has a few small but annoying bones.

Pan-fried whiting with gochujang, tofu and store-bought guacamole.

Pan-fried whiting, left, and a variety of Korean pancakes.

H Mart's kimchi selection, but I prefer to buy Arirang Kimchi where it is hand-made a couple of blocks away at 191 W. Englewood Ave. in Engflewood.

On Sunday, my wife picked fresh, wild-caught whole sea bass for $5.99 a pound at the Englewood H Mart at 25 Lafayette Ave. in Englewood.

I seasoned mine, rubbed the skin with olive oil and fresh lime juice and roasted it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Reduced-fat cheese, lettuce and smoked wild salmon.

On Monday, I picked up bulgogi marinade and two heads of red-leaf lettuce for a Korean barbecue dinner the meat eaters in the family were planning to have.

My wife thinly sliced free-range Nature's Reserve whole beef tenderloin for filet mignon, which she is marinating before cooking it on a stove-top grill. 

The cooked beef slices are dipped in gochujang and wrapped in lettuce, along with rice and kimchi, before they go down the hatch. 

I sometimes grill shrimp as a substitute for the beef. 

You can use lettuce wraps for other dishes, such as canned fish salad with diced celery and apples, Dijon mustard, lime juice and ground cumin.

Or just use lettuce to wrap slices of reduced-fat cheese and smoked wild salmon with whole-grain Dijon mustard. 

H Mart's stewed tofu and pan-friend whiting are $6.99 each, collard greens were 99 cents a pound and stewed tofu usually is $4.99.

Lettuce wraps with canned fish salad.