Markets with a Restaurant Inside - Road Trip to Los Angeles - Korean - HK Market

Road Trip to Los Angeles - HK Market - Wool Um Ma Restaurant - Korean

I took a road trip south out of the Central Valley to Los Angeles this week. HK Market is a full-sized Korean Supermarket in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles located at 124 N. Western Avenue. It is also known as Han Kook Market.

Produce Section

Fish Section

Kimchee Section

There were many stations offering samples throughout the store. We sampled canned scallop meat, fish cake, two kinds of pork cutlet, blood sausage, kimchee dumpling, vegetable dumpling, Vermont curry with apples over rice, fish cakes in broth, pork sausage both regular and spicy, and galbi flavored ground pork parties. Just what we wanted--and there was more we did not try.

Kimchee Dumpling and Vegetable Dumpling Samples

Fish Cake, Pork Cutlet, and Blood Sausage Samples

The HK Market has two separate take out counters where they sell hot food. The first is in the rear of the store and sells fried chicken and red bean patties shaped like fish.

HK Chicken in the Rear of the Store

Red Bean Patties

The second area has seating and is named the Wool Um Ma Restaurant. It is located on the left side of the store toward the front.


The Wool Um Ma Restaurant is self-service. You place your order, and in about 10 minutes they will call out the items you ordered.

The two of us ordered three delicious dishes. For those of you not familiar with Korean food, it is in my opinion the least Americanized Asian cuisine. Genuine flavors of old country. The HK Market is both a physical and culinary road trip.

The first dish was a traditional Korean dish called Bibimbap, which is a mix of vegetables over rice with an egg on top.

This version had sesame seeds, mushrooms, seaweed, cucumbers, carrots, bean sprouts, daikon, and Asian broccoli over white rice. The rice on bottom and egg on top were warm, and the veggies in between were cold, creating a nice blend of temperatures.

Bibimbap

Our second dish was a plate of fried pork dumplings. The dumplings were crisp on the outside with seasoned ground pork mixed with green onions on the inside.

Fried Pork Dumplings

Our third dish was Beef Bulgogi. The marinated and grilled beef was served with white rice and vegetables including broccoli, onion, green onion, and carrots topped with sesame seeds.

Beef Bulgogi

In addition, served with every meal was a small bowl of traditional broth (Dashi stock) with scallions.

Also small plates of kimchee made with cabbage and  pickled daikon radish with celery, peppers and garlic came with our order. A container of the ubiquitous Korean condiment Gochujang Chili paste was also provided.

Broth, Kimchee, Pickled Daikon Radish, and Dipping Sauce for Dumplings

Gochujang Chili Paste

The three dishes came to a total of $28. We needed a take out box for the wonderful dumplings we could not finish.

On the way out by the cash register there was an assortment of colorful desserts that were tempting.

Desserts Next to the Check Out