Han Ah Reum asian market

With the demise of the Asian supermarket Lucky World on Rt. 50, I worried there would be a vacuum in the world of asian grocery stores. I stopped one of the managers in their last month (May 2000) amid empty shelves that previously held a plethora of asian goodies and she said, “business was slow”. Luckily, I found Han Ah Reum!

Lucky for us, there’s Han Ah Reum asian supermarket. Just as packed with goodies as Lucky World, and with a better selection of sake, Han Ah Reum at 8103 Lee Highway is an adventure worthy of a Saturday afternoon.

Han Ah Reum’s selection of fresh fish is truly impressive, and makes up for a lack of sashimi fish. You will, however, find tuna, yellowtail, and octopus sashimi frozen, but that’s about it. The sake selection is excellent, with a full collect of Momokawa’s sake, though there is little in terms of Japanese sake; most are brewed in the states.

There’s a great collection of fresh produce and fruit, and a corner of the store where they roast their own seaweed paper and puff their own rice snacks. These snacks were made with the most amazing machine that compressed, cooked, and then inflated (puffed) the rice snack in the blink of an eye. We would include a photo of it, but were shooed off when we tried to record it.

Not to be missed is the lunch counter, which serves Korean, Japanese, and Chinese soups and dumplings. The cold soup with meat, noodles, and fruit slices is amazing.

Han Ah Reum has a website, but much of the material that is interesting is in Korean. It’s far more fun to actually visit the store in person.