Having reviewed the HMart store, let’s now take a look at the Korea Foods supermarket.
Situated just outside the central part of K-Town and going down the same road that passes Jee’s Restaurant is Korea Foods.
Since September 2005, this gigantic supermarket has been the main supplier of food for the Seoul Plaza stores, small mini markets, Asian restaurants and local UK residents who want to get their daily groceries. It doesn’t just limit itself to Korean goods though. You can find anything from Chinese, Japanese, Indian and much more. This is Asian food heaven.
In terms of size the store is slightly bigger than HMart but that is mainly to assist customers who wish to push big trolleys to stock huge boxes or sacks while they shop down the wide aisles. The shelves are easy to navigate around with clear signs all around. The sections for fish and meat are situated further down the store, away from the entrance so you won’t get any peculiar smell as soon as the sliding doors open for you. Close to these areas is the main kitchen where you can see the staff hard at work with preparing Korean side dishes.
If you have ever shopped at Seoul Plaza you may notice the likes of Jap Chae, fish cakes and steamed buns stocked in the fridge. At Korea Foods you can get these hot and straight from the kitchen if you are lucky. This also applies to bakery delights. Warm sliced bread – yes please.
I normally buy my favourite Korean food from my nearest Seoul Plaza store but if I was ever in the New Malden area it’s such a delight to be able to visit the actual Korea Foods store to buy warm bread, Jap Chae or freshly cooked vegetables as soon as they leave the main kitchen.
There are lots of cashiers ready at their tills to scan your food as soon as you have finished shopping around the store and each time I visit they work fast to get through their scanning duties but also remain courteous to their customers. Majority of the staff speak very good English so language barriers won’t be a big problem when you visit.
I recommend registering for the loyalty card to gain points each time you shop at Korea Foods and/or Seoul Plaza as you can receive special discount vouchers that will be sent to you in the post. Comparing Korea Foods to HMart, I definitely think the former stocks a lot more when it comes to food and caters to people who need big stock for their market or restaurant. In terms of general supermarket variety, I think HMart triumphs. Not just with the recent addition of Kpop CDs but because you can shop for more products in beauty, household and kitchenware as well as food. It’s like your local Asda, Sainsbury’s or Tesco.
Opening hours
Mon – Sat:- 9am – 9pm,
Sunday:- 12pm – 6pm
If you want to visit Korea Foods from the town centre, it’ll be a 15-18 minute walk. Or you can take two buses to make your journey there. Either 213 or K1.
