This grocery FEELS like a family-owned grocery. With a first step in, the owners or their son…read moregreets you immediately. There's a small section right up front of seasonal fruit/vegetables & some items on sale.
This Korean grocery store is on a busy strip of Rt. 9, not too far from Latham Traffic Circle, across from a car dealership, and shares a small lot with Tamarind Thai, a Chinese Take-out Restaurant, and a vape store. There's more parking in the back.
It's a lot larger and homier than it looks on the outside. The Spring & Summer months are especially nice, they have little seedlings of starter plants on the pavement out front & a community cork board up front.
There's a lot of selection of frozen mandoo (dumplings), Melona ice cream bars, fresh Kimchee, soft tofu, a small but fresh section of vegetables (chives, oyster mushrooms, napa cabbage, burdock root), LOTS of family packs of Instant Korean Ramen (Ramyun), a Back room of Korean Home Goods (decent prices, nice glass tupperware, the have THE green "Italian bath towel" scrubby mitts for $2.99! THE best exfoliation that Instagram tries to sell similar mitts for *much* more). There's aisles of snacks & candy, cooking sauces, flour & yam noodles, Korean gim/seaweed, Chili powder, Frozen seafood & rice cakes, bags of rice, dried kelp & anchovies for stock, barley & Cintron tea, banana yogurt drinks. There's other Asian products too (Thai curry paste, some Chinese & Filipino sauces).
The prices are a little higher than other Asian Markets in the Capital Region, so I usually just go for specific items: Yam Noodles for a Japchae recipe, Chapaghetti black bean Instant Ramen, a seasoned Seaweed crumble topping for rice, A small pack of Chinese-Korean black bean sauce for JaJang noodles (perfect size for a solo chef, haven't seen this size portion anywhere else). Oh and Yes! You can buy a Neoguri Ramen & Chapaghetti Ramen and make some noodles like the film Parasite. ...didn't see if they had frozen beef.
Not sure if it's due to the pandemic, but sometimes they're out of stock on things, so it's better to call ahead. I realized that Wal-M--t carries Shin Black Ramen now because they were always out.
Overall, a really nice find and I love wandering around & looking at all the products. The staff is so kind, their friends seem to stop by often & chat in the back kitchen/fridge area. Check them out!