My sweetheart yearns for Korean cuisine as he spent a term in Korea, so we walked to Van Hoi that carries familiar Asian goods that were needed for our Tteokbokki for the evening. Although a relatively small market, it is very clean and items are stacked very neatly amongst each other. Rather quiet in the market, it is a very nice one in fact, and there is only one checker stand giving the store a real mum&pop shop feel. I found it very amusing when I saw an array of instant Korean noodle bowls on one side of the store, and many soy sauce brands on the other. In the produce section, you will find Asian delicacies including fresh ginger, durian fruit, lotus roots, watercress, Chinese cabbage, and kimchi, just to name a few. I was even surprised that we found Korean rice cakes! You can find nearly every ingredient needed for each Asian cuisine, so we were in luck when we found just what we needed.
My significant other said this store is a little on the higher end than most, but we were able to find 95% of our items here. With all ingredients found, I did my utter best to emphasize my cultural roots whilst cooking our Tteokbokki in which it turned out delightful (especially for cooking it for the first time). read more