Hanh Ah Reum Anyone?

[TheMatt]

Deciding to passive-aggressively poke at the demonic primate Mongo, I'll ask the question that's been haunting me for two days (see the thai thread): anyone been to Hahn Ah Reum lately?

I'm especially interested if they have a decent Japanese selection (as it is the main non-American style I eat). While I'm loathe to replace the distant (from Boulder) Pacific Mercantile with the much more distant HAR, if the selection or price is better... My current addictions to things like yuzu juice are always fun on the wallet, so any savings are welcome.

Edited July 31, 2004 by TheMatt (log)

[Jason Perlow]

At their stores in New Jersey, Han ah Reum has an ample selection of Japanese import goods, in addition to a wide variety of Korean knock-offs of the Japanese brands. For the most part the knock-off goods are of superior quality.

In NJ Han Ah Reum is also known for superior produce and seafood than the Japanese stores.

[mongo_jones]

Deciding to passive-aggressively poke at the demonic primate Mongo, I'll ask the question that's been haunting me for two days (see the thai thread): anyone been to Hahn Ah Reum lately?

okay, okay, here you go:

hanh ah reum is as good as you can expect a u.s korean grocery chain based anywhere outside los angeles to be. the one in aurora is located at 2751 parker (east of havana).

it is cavernous, cheap and has fairly high quality produce and meat/fish (very bad news for komart, which mrs. jones and i have affection for). they stock produce and ingredients not only for koreans and japanese customers but also for chinese and other south east asians, plus many hispanics to boot. the place had many more people in it than komart ever does but very few relative to size (then again we were there on a thursday morning). their vegetable selection is very good. not much that is enticing to me as an indian but everything mrs. jones needs to satisfy her cooking jones at prices comparable to those in l.a (where there's many huge korean groceries in a 5 miles radius in koreatown).

the fish selection is okay. they have fresh mackerel, some snappers, black cod, "seabass", monkfish, beltfish etc.--what is great about their fish section relative to komart is that they're set up much better to clean and cut the fish to different customer specs: they have a numbered chart of different things you can ask to be done to the fish; helpful, since while the people behind the counter speak better english than anyone at komart not all of them are necessarily fluent (one of them told me that the cod was "gold-fish"). note: most of the staff here are hispanic, unlike komart where they're mostly korean. they did not have pomfret though which is a major flaw in my book (and ensures komart still gets some of my custom).

the meat department is also superior to komart's--more options and better prices. we bought some excellent kalbi and had a decadent outdoor bbq lunch yesterday (mrs. jones has her uses). duck and frogs' legs and quail and rabbit are ridiculously cheap here compared to whole foods. as is the fruit--they have durian, non-mexican mangoes, tamarind in pods etc. now, i'm not saying i'm going to ever buy any durian but it is good to know it is there in case i ever need to send anyone a message (mess with me, wake up with a sliced durian at the foot of your bed).

we didn't spend much time in the staples areas. mrs. jones noted that not being a dedicated korean place they don't have as many brands of each thing as she's used t to in l.a, but non-koreans are unlikely to notice. their korean video section are the people who used to be at komart (sign of things to come?). we'd like to think that the korean pop. in the area is growing enough to support multiple major stores--if these folks drive komart and the other smaller stores out of business their prices may well soon go up too. also, if their opening means more and more koreans are coming to aurora/denver then that may mean that korean restaurants in aurora (those we've tried anyway) will begin to rise above passable.

all in all, we now have a new fortnightly aurora run: lunch at yummy yummy thai, followed by shopping at hanh ah reum, a quick pomfret run at komart and a goat , bengali fish and samosa pick-up at the world-bazaar. life is good.

edit to add: i, who am inured to the sight of pig bung and uterus (and various kinds of blood) at the meat dept. at the 99 ranch market in rosemead outside l.a, was struck dumb by the sight of small tubs of "beef bile" in the meat section.

Edited July 31, 2004 by mongo_jones (log)

[jhlurie]

For comparitive purposes to your local store, here's a link to the very long discussion of this chain in New Jersey:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=20950

I'd heard it was in Virginia and Maryland as well, but hadn't known before now about it being in Colorado.

Agreement with Jason, that if the goods are the same as in our stores very often the Korean knockoffs are just as good or better than the Japanese originals, and MUCH cheaper. Not always, but frequently.

[mongo_jones]

sounds pretty much the same as the one here (they've been open a while apparently). they have about 18 "branches"/"franchises" (mostly in the east)--as per the denver post article from earlier in the week. the wife speculates that there isn't one in l.a because there are already way too many established large korean groceries there, though it is possible the same group has bought stores there and has just retained existing names. in l.a a store like this opening would not be such an exciting event. i mean apart from the koreatown stores, if you go to rosemead the 99 ranch at 140 w. valley (which could hold 2 hanh ah reums) is across the street from the hawaiian market which is almost as big! but this is more than we ever expected in our vicinity and now, between them, the world bazaar and the local grocery in boulder, all our indian/korean cooking needs have been met. all, that is, that could be met in the u.s.

[TheMatt]

Dang it. Looks like I'll have to go visit then. From their site, it looks like they might be the cheapest place to get my ambrosia, my weakness (= S&B Golden Curry), and if they have Tamanishiki rice cheaper than PacMerc...time to move.

[mike k]

the fish selection is okay. they have fresh mackerel, some snappers, black cod, "seabass", monkfish, beltfish etc.

Black cod. That means I can make my own smoked sable. Thank you oh thank you.

And I think I want to smell durian before I die. We'll see.

[mongo_jones]

the fish selection is okay. they have fresh mackerel, some snappers, black cod, "seabass", monkfish, beltfish etc.

Black cod. That means I can make my own smoked sable. Thank you oh thank you.

And I think I want to smell durian before I die. We'll see.

well, their durian is suspiciously un-fragrant. they do have them wrapped in plastic (sudden twin peaks flashback) but in my limited experience that shouldn't stop a good durian from doing its thing. they have big heaping piles of them in the fruit section but you can pass by them without fear. if, like me, you're slightly stupid, you can even bend down and take an exploratory sniff and come away unscathed. i don't know what the story is--maybe they chill them?

but well worth a visit mike and matt. i forgot to add in my initial post that i spoke with the fish department people and i believe they get fresh consignments of fish on mondays and thursdays. caveat: this conversation involved much signage so for all i know he was telling me that those are the days when they kill smart-ass indians who ask too many questions.

edit to add: when i said "the fish selection is okay", i didn't mean that it is limited or to sound ultra hard-to-please. it is only "okay" in comparison to a very few large stores i've been to in l.a. compared to everything else it is awesome. it blows every mainstream grocery store's selection away for sure. poor komart--long the "largest korean-japanese store in colorado"--can't compare either; though komart sells mackerel for $1.99/lb compared to these people's $2.99/lb. when you eat as much mackerel as we do that's a 5-6 dollar saving on mackerel alone. but other things at komart are much more expensive, so it evens out.

Edited August 1, 2004 by mongo_jones (log)

[Malawry]

I thought durians didn't stink much until you cracked them open. I've passed by them at my local Han Ah Reum and at an area Thai market without harm.

I don't have much to add to this thread, besides that I feel lucky to have a Han Ah Reum fairly close to my home in suburban DC. I buy ducks, Asian aromatics, weird pork parts, whole live catfish, and lots of other goodies there.

[Jason Perlow]

Another interesting note -- while we live in a fairly populated Korean area and there are no lack of Korean liquor stores here in Northern NJ (I think the only place with more Koreans in the US is LA or Flushing, Queens), if you want to buy high-quality Soju, Han Ah Reum is where its at. The only place I could find "Andong" soju (that is, super premium soju made totally from rice distillate) was at the liquor store Han Ah Reum shopping mall, albeit at $15.99 for a small bottle, which is about 3 times the price of normal soju.

[mtdew]

though komart sells mackerel for $1.99/lb compared to these people's $2.99/lb. when you eat as much mackerel as we do that's a 5-6 dollar saving on mackerel alone. but other things at komart are much more expensive, so it evens out.

When I was there today, they had uncleaned mackerel for 99 cents a pound.

[mongo_jones]

komart or hanh ah reum?

[mtdew]

Hanh Ah Reum.

[mongo_jones]

hmmm maybe the price goes down as the week goes on.

was this packaged whole mackerel that you had to buy as is? or would they clean it for you if you asked?

[mtdew]

It was at the it for you if you asked seafood counter part where they have the fish on ice. I think they'd clean it if you paid for the weight it was before they cleaned it. Prices seem to change often. I saw lychees for 1.49 a pound on Thursday then when I came back Saturday, they were 1.99 a pound.

Edited August 1, 2004 by mtdew (log)