H-Mart Supermarket (West Loop Chicago) - New Opening

The reign of Asian gourmet has arrived in the Chicago downtown neighborhood! For those who live in the downtown area and often shop for Asian food ingredients, H-Mart Supermarket opening in the West Loop area is as good as downtown living can get. H-Mart is not your everyday grocer, nor is it your mom and pop Asian grocer found in Chinatown or Argyle. It is a quality Korean supermarket chain that I am too well familiar of, coming from Texas where a large Asian population created demand for the grocer's expansion. Although not as large as the branches in Texas, the West Loop location boasts 1 bakery, 3 food court eateries, and a wide range of Asian ingredients to shop from, specifically Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. Read on to get the scoop on this hot-off-the-press supermarket before you make a visit.

Contact Info

711 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 966-4666
Hours: Daily 9AM -9PM
http://www.hmartus.com/

Food Court

There are 3 vendors selling different style of snacks and meals.

• So Gong Dong Tofu House & BBQ : Korean Tofu Soup, Bibimbap, and Bento Boxes with Korean BBQ
• Izakaya Yume: Sushi, Poke Bowl, and Ramen
• Baru: Korean fusion, healthy rice, and fried chicken

We initially sampled SGD's tofu soup and bibimbap. Ordering was quick and simple. We selected the dish, then the protein, and finally the spice level. Drinks offered were normal soda pop and juice. Each set came with 2 banchan and a bowl of rice. The banchans of the day was fish cake in sesame oil and fresh kimchi (non-sour one). The ingredients were fresh and presentation was clean, really nothing to rave of in terms of flavor. Perhaps next time we'll try Baru just to see how their interpretation of  Korean fusion is like. Izakaya Yume would probably be a last option for us to try if ever.
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Bakery

One of my favorite section at H-Mart, second to the beauty product section (yes! K-beauty and J-beauty!), is the bakery, Cafe L'Ami. A french themed boulangerie and patisserie displaying a wholesome row of fresh breads and glossy cakes. The breads are reminiscence of Pastry House Hippo at Mitsuwa Japanese Marketplace, carrying items such as Blueberry Danish, Korean Hot Dog, and milk breads (perfect for Shibuya honey toast!) As if that wasn't enough, the bakery also serves ice-cream, coffee, and Korean tea. 

The bakery is separated from the market place so you would either have to finish shopping your groceries and swing by on your way out, or skip to the dining hall near the exit passage way. Surprisingly, Royce Chocolate had a popup store right next to Cafe L'Ami. Not sure if it's going to turn into permanent thing but if you are craving for the decadent chocolate then you can count on their permanent store located on the Mag Mile at Nordstrom Northbridge.

White chocolate and cheese covered potato chips are divine! Royce is famous for their Nama chocolate squares but the potato chips are on another level. A must try!

Market

Now for the finale. I'll keep it short and simple. Even though this H-mart is limited in space, the chain manages to maximize their space and inventory effectively. After opening multiple branches and presumably some market research, the product selection seems to really hone in on what the folks living in the downtown area are likely to purchase. The store offers a variety of choices that are most relevant to the current consumer, personifying the busy student, the hard working corporate fiend, the curious foodie, or the amateur chef. If you don't have time to cook, there's a large selection of frozen food, instant noodle, marinaded meat, and banchan that you can live off of. Otherwise, if you're an amateur chef like Gus and I, surprisingly this store has unique ingredients that can sufficiently supply our frequent cooking experiments. Gus was even saying how his culinary exploration will explode after having access to this gate way of shopping heaven (more great recipes to be published soon!)

Here are the sections.

• Fresh Cut Fruits
• Asian Greens (Garlic chive, korean spinach, green papaya, enoki mushroom, yu choy)
• American Greens (red leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce)
• Root Vegetables & Fruits (Korean radish, taro, malanga, nagaimo, korean pears)
• Imported Korean & Japanese refrigerated desserts (mochi and castella cake)

The vegetable section really hits home with me. There were so many choices that I could make dishes from at least 5 different Asian countries.

• Sashimi and Fish Roe (Blue fin tuna sashimi, ikura salmon roe, flying fish roe)
• Frozen Seafood & Fresh Seafood (Small neck clams, Mackerel, Chilean sea bass, Lobster @ $7.99/lbs as of 2/4/18)

How do you want your fish cut? The fish monger can help you prep your fish in different ways. Just look up at the sign!

Awesome display of the full size blue fin tuna. Although this might be a smaller size compared to the ones at Tsukiji market in Japan, up close, this fish is still remarkably huge!

• Frozen fish balls and meat balls
• Fresh Meat (Shabu Shabu pork & beef, Pork belly slices, Kobe beef steak)

Perfect for creating your own a la carte hot pot. Why go to a hotpot buffet restaurant when you can have the same if not more variety of ingredients here.

• Marinaded Raw Meat: Bulgogi, Kalbi, etc. (take as much as you like, weigh it by the pound)

Korean BBQ at your finger tip. You know how expensive eating Korean BBQ out can be and at the same time you absolutely have no idea of the meat quality that your restaurant had sourced from. Well, cut the middle man and you can have an affordable Korean BBQ at home, quality controlled by H-Mart. From our past experience, the marinades have been flavorful so I highly recommend them.

• Frozen Dumplings and Frozen Meals (Ajinomoto, Weichuan, Bibigo)
• Sauces and paste from most Asian countries (gochuchang, miso, curry paste, soy sauce, hot sauce)
• Instant Noodle (you know the drill...)

This is a great go-to section for those of you who lead busy lives and wish to not cook. My personal favorite brand for dumplings is Ajinomoto because of the quality and the on point seasoning (as expected of the brand that makes MSG). Although I did sample Bibigo dumpling while there and it was pretty good as well. 

• Fresh Banchan & Kimchi (Garlic stalk kimchi, cucumber kimchi, pickled radish)

I don't think I can list all of the banchans on the shelves. There's so many that my head was spinning. Not pictured here is a dedicated corner just for Kimchis and then across are all these banchans. I wouldn't say they are cheap but you pay for the convenience.

• Alcohol (Large selection of Korean soju with brands featuring IU and Japanese sake)
• Cooking appliances and plateware (portable gas stove, korean BBQ grill, rice cooker, banchan plates)

The alcohol section is right next to the cooking appliances. There's a little bit more sake selection around the corner in the refrigerated unit. Gus is obviously happy because this is one of his favorite section.

• Beauty and skincare (korean facial masks, mostly Japanese body care and hair care products, some household Japanese cosmetics that you can get from Don Quijote or Matsumoto KiYoshi)

We totally adore Japanese hair care products. H-Mart offers competitive pricing for some of the items that we would normally order through Amazon that would ship from Japan. Mitsuwa is way overpriced so we're super glad that our shampoo is available for purchase at a reasonable price here rather  than waiting 1 month for it to ship to our place.

One final note. I did notice that traffic waiting for a parking spot was bad, and the line spilled out into the main street. They do have a dedicated parking lot, but with the opening week crowd, it was crazy packed. It's probably better if you Uber here so you don't have to wait for parking. 

Alright, well that sums up my review of H-Mart West Loop Chicago. All in all, Asians living in the downtown area are ecstatic that there's a closer option for grocery shopping other than Jewel Osco or Mariano's. There's tons of products to browse from and the first few weeks will be crowded like pictured below. If you have Asian friends, you might just accidentally bump into them because everybody who is anybody Asian will be there.

I'm super thrilled that this market has finally opened up after several years of rumors and hearsay. Interestingly, I've overheard locals who dropped by to see what the commotion was talked about how they thought this market will breathe a new life to the area. I personally think H-mart is a fantastic addition to the already diverse Downtown Chicago neighborhood. Not only is there a large number of Asians living and working in the area but also a growing appreciation for Korean and Japanese food trend that could catapult H-Mart into a favorite local spot for many years to come.

Happy Shopping!~