If You Haven’t Been to H Mart’s Food Court Lately, You’re Missing Out

I’ve often been told, “Never go grocery shopping when hungry.” And that’s with good reason: When perusing the many, multi-colored aisles of my local H Mart, shelves teeming with gleamingly fresh produce, nostalgic snacks of my youth, and more frozen food options than I could possibly try in one lifetime, I’m always ravenous by the time I check out. 

It’s a good thing that most H Marts have just the thing to greet you on the other side. Food courts have long been a feature at the Korean grocery store, catering to the Asian immigrant population looking for cheap, comforting eats for the family while shopping for the week’s needs. The options range greatly depending on the demographic and age of the H Mart. 

For example, the H Marts in Flushing, New York, feature old-school stalls in the parking lot or tucked into a corner of the store, peddling steamed sweet potatoes or soft and sweet boonguhbbang (fish-shaped pastries filled with red bean or cream). The Great Neck H Mart location in the suburbs of NY has a standalone food hall with classic Korean family fare, ranging from warm rice cake and dumpling soup to spicy pork bibimbap (something for every member of your group). Other newer H Marts cater to younger customers and follow more recent food trends, serving crispy potato-wrapped corn dogs or elaborately layered boba drinks. 

I visited the newly built food court (it just opened in May!) at the H Mart in Long Island City, NY, to find out more and sample the menu of items.

The Long Island City H Mart Food Hall is set up as multiple vendor stalls, each focused on a different type of food. In between the entrance and the exits are two stalls made for easy ordering and pickup: Oh!K-Dog & Egg Toast, which sells Korean corn dogs and egg sandwiches, and Gong Cha, which sells bubble tea. There are three more vendors along the checkout lanes surrounded by a small seating area: Kim Ga Ne, which sells Korean-style street food; Rice Boy, which has a wide variety of classic and unique Korean food options; and L’AMI, a bakery with cakes, pastries, and coffee. 

The food court operates from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. — the same hours as the supermarket itself — and prices range from about $6 to $16. 

Oh!K-Dog & Egg Toast specializes in the aforementioned Korean corn dogs, with options like half-mozzarella and half-hot dog, squid ink batter, sweet potato batter, or rice cake dog. It also sells Korean egg toast, with soft scrambled eggs sandwiched between soft fluffy toast and topped with teriyaki, avocado, or bacon & cheese (more on that below).

Next to Oh!K-Dog is an outpost of the extremely popular Gong Cha bubble tea chain. The line here was the longest — especially during a particularly hot summer weekend. It sells a long list of classic teas, milk teas, slushes, and, of course, boba. The strawberry matcha latte caught my attention, with a bright grassy green tea layer atop a sugary pink strawberry milk. It was a bit too milky for my taste (and not quite enough strawberry!) but not too sweet — a win in the Asian drink category.

I was particularly excited about Kim Ga Nae, which features bunsik-style (Korean street food) food. It’s actually a new location of a restaurant in Flushing. Kim Ga Ne’s menu is vast and includes kimbap (rice rolls stuffed with crunchy vegetables, egg omelet, kimchi, or bulgogi), as well as donkatsu, a Japanese-style crispy battered pork steak accompanied by a mound of white rice, corn, and slaw. 

I split the curry donkatsu with my father and shared a simple udon with my mother. The donkatsu portion was quite large and heavy, so we weren’t able to finish it between the two of us, but the udon had a clean, lightly fishy broth with nicely chewy noodles.

Rice Boy is another new outpost of an existing restaurant — this one originally from Jericho, NY. The branding is adorable, featuring a very sleepy and full bowl of rice clutching its belly. The main feature is the cupbop, a rice bowl laden with your choice of protein and filled out with mixed greens or vegetables. It also serves Japanese-style ramen, like tonkotsu and miso, as well as soups like soondubu and galbitang, which seemed very popular with the line of customers clutching their ticket numbers.

I placed an order for the jeyook (spicy pork) cupbop before I went shopping for my groceries (the wait seemed long and I was in a rush), and picked up my steaming hot order on my way out. The pork was spicy and filling, and I loved the addition of japchae, or glass noodles, which added extra texture and flavor to the meal. Next time, I definitely want to try from the array of delicious-looking fried offerings displayed in the window.

Rounding out the food hall offerings is L’AMI, a full Korean-French-style bakery with milk bread pastries, and cream cakes. This is the one food stall that has been there since the opening of the Long Island City location, and it’s been a great spot to grab a quick red bean or sausage bun, two of my favorite pastries from here. They’re light and eggy, perfect for wrapping up a long shopping excursion. With the expansion of the food hall, L’AMI is now serving coffee and other drinks as well.

My favorite so far has been Oh!K-Dog’s ham & cheese egg toast; the sandwich was brimming with the softest eggs and laden with a delicious sauce that was just a little bit spicy. Rice Boy’s jeyook cupbop was a surprise hit as well; I’m usually not a big fan of rice bowls but I felt like it was well-constructed and really tasty.

• Go with a group! Then everyone can split up and place orders at different stalls, and you can share and try everything together.
• If you’re in a rush, place your order and then shop around. Both Kim Ga Ne and Rice Boy announce the orders that are ready over the loudspeaker. Oh!K-Dog and Gong Cha fill their orders pretty quickly, so you can grab them on your way out, or just pop in even if you’re not shopping to grab a drink or breakfast item.

What’s your favorite item to order at H Mart’s food court? Tell us about it in the comments below.