Mitsuwa, H-Mart, LAX-C … what else don’t I inow about?
Is there an Indian counterpart?
Jordan market on Westwood Blvd is a favorite but Tochal is nearby also. Both are on the small side for something bigger Valley marketplace in Reseda. Northgate Gonzalez are supermarket size and my favorite Mexican markets. Jon’s of course.
For Indian Pioneer cash and carry & Rasa Indian in Artesia
Wholesome Choice - Persian
There used to be a Answar Gallery in Tustin but I believe they closed which was an Indian specialist. There are a ton of smaller Indian markets throughout LA/OC.
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Smaller markets are great if you’re cooking, I’m just looking for big ones that are worth a detour just for fun browsing.
The Samosa House location on Washington (the one West of the 405) used to be called Bharat Bazaar and you can still find them online under that name.
They look to my eye like they’ve got a nice selection of Indian and South Asian items.
It’s a large location. You could order food from the counter, eat in the dining area and also shop the grocery store. It’s not huge like a supermarket, it’s a grocery store.
In the South Bay, there is the mega Tokyo Central (nee Marukai) on Artesia. A big Hawaiian-inflected Japanese supermarket, plus a lot of kitchen / housewares around the perimeter and upstairs.
Also S-Mart, a mid-sized Korean supermarket. I think its banchan is the best of all the LA-area grocery stores.
In Koreatown, California Market is a great place to visit. Just as big as any H-Mart, good Kimbap/noodle store in the back, and a whole mall upstairs. Nice pottery store in one of the corners, style is a blend of modern minimalism and traditional Korean. The food court leans toward the latest street foods imported from Korea, which is hit or miss, but at least amusing to look at. There is a tea house called Ye Cafe, which also has traditional snacks. It was new when I tried it, I hope it’s a worthy successor to the dearly-departed Hwa Sun Ji. And also a Mealtop, the gold standard for patbingsoo in Korea (but avoid all the trendy flavors, I’m not even sure if that stuff is sold in their Korean branches).
I think the Koreatown H-Marts are basically all the same. But I’d visit either the one in the mall on 6th street, or the one in the Koreatown Plaza. The 6th street one has an incredible bakery/coffee bar across the hall (Concerto Bakery - @ipsedixit makes a brief mention over on the HOnion). The Koreatown Plaza branch has an excellent dduk/traditional snack store down the hall, and also the best-established food court in K-Town. In the past 20-some years, the other food courts have had 100%+ turnover. But ~3/4 of the booths in the Plaza have been absolute constants. You won’t find anything revolutionary, but they do the standards right (@JeetKuneBao and @PeonyWarrior have coverage here)
Northern Pasadena / Altadena: The new branch of Vallarta is like the H-Mart of Latin American supermarkets (not sure how the branches in the SFV compare). There’s a Super King nearby for Armenian-centric coverage of Eastern European and Middle-Eastern food. And all of this puts you near Bulgarini Gelato…
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In Atwater India Sweet and spices has a hot counter for lunch and a good size market with all kinds of imported stuff. indiasweetsandspices.us
Jons Market at Vermont/Hollywood has a huge Armenian, Eastern European and Latin mashup going on.
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