As I've said before, I LOVE LA. Of course I'm biased as I was born and raised here. But it's nice to know that despite all of its drawbacks, I do appreciate what the City of Angels for what it has to offer.
I had just left my downtown Gold’s Gym, where I had a wonderful experience with a number of elderly Chinese women. I was a bit early to pick up some lunch for me and my Dad, who was stuck on a potassium drip at USC University Hospital in the Clinical Trials Unit for an experimental medication for Lymphoma and Leukemia. However, I was passing by Little Tokyo and there was a newly remodeled Supermarket that had just opened. Perhaps you don't know about me and foreign supermarkets...I adore them! I really wanted to check it out.
Turns out the new Japanese market is also a Korean Market. So I got a 'two-fer' today! Woot woot!
As expected, it was fabulous. Of course there was a huge section of incredibly fresh fish, along with Grab-N-Go sushi meals, and Korean meals as well. Interestingly they also had a lot of Western "health foods" like organic cereals from Nature's Path! Also there was a huge produce department with (YAY!!) an organic section.
There was also a "Department Store" upstairs, which was filled with wonderful plates, bowls, chopsticks, rice cookers and everything you could need for the house. No self-respecting Japanese department store could exist without it's own Hello Kitty store. I couldn't resist the red and blue PJs- sooo cute!! :-D
Here are some of my favorite food-related photos:
Roasted Corn: OK you know when you make popcorn and there are still burnt kernels at the bottom? This is a whole bag of the stuff. The calories (150 for a Tablespoon- really?!?!) scared me off buying these bad boys.
Miso Section- This is for all you Miso Mistresses out there- this whole section is miso- every color and type imaginable. The next few shelves was (of course) tofu.
Shirataki Section- This is in honor of Hungry Girl aka Lisa Lillian. In the foreground is her beloved (and branded) Tofu Shirataki. However there are THREE ENTIRE shelves of the stuff in different shapes, sizes and colors. Regular Japanese shirataki is made from yam flour and is definitely NOT for everyone. It is a nearly calorie-free substitution for pasta (depending upon if you believe the labels, anywhere from 5 to 40 calories for an entire bag), but you need to rinse and soak the bejeezers out of it or you get a horrid taste and smell. Really, Gag, Barf. The Japanese eat a ton of this stuff- perhaps one reason that many of them are so slim.
The Grain section:
Look at all this bounty...so many fabulous grains and legumes I’ve never seen before. I think many of these must be Korean because I haven’t seen many of them in other Japanese markets. There was a mind-blowing assortment of pressed rice, barley, green millet (yes, green), horse beans (?!) among countless others. Have a look at all that bounty!
The squash section: This is for Heebie aka HEAB: Feel the kabocha love. Also, check out “Old Squash”- what is that anyway?! All I know is each one is the size of a man’s head (make that a man suffering from Acromegaly). It would take me a month to eat one!
The seaweed section (Nori for sushi, for snacking, for all that ails you)
The healthy snack section: Another possible explanation for the fact that most Japanese people are slimmer than Americans…they snack on little dried fish, squid, crabs, and seaweed, rather than Cheetos, Doritos and Funyuns (yum, does anyone remember Funyuns- my brother used to eat those all of the time- didn't he know that they are supposed to taste like onions, and as a rule, kids DO NOT like onions!?? Love my bro!! :-D )
The YUMMY snack section: OK, there was a fabulous section including some seriously scrumptious rice cookies and all sorts of candies. LOVE me some Pocki. Mmm.
Check out the name of these cookies: reminds me of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally! I’ll have what she’s having! :-D
OK, how much fun was that!? I could have spent about 2 more hours just studying all of the goodies, but I headed 5 minutes north to our favorite Chinese restaurant and got yum yums to go! I really do love this town!
Deb
9 comments:
Totally jealous Deb! Oh the fun I could have in that Asian Mkt! The miso section...the kabocha. Look like heaven to me. Thanks for sharing all the pictures...I'm about to book my flight to LA. :)
It is a heavenly place! And upstairs in the mall, there's an Organic Japanese restaurant that I'm dying to try! Mmmmm! :-D
Awesome workouts and grocery store! I am axiously awaiting a Big H Mart here in MA, but it is taking sooo long!
It looks like an amazing market. By the way, have you ever cooked/eat bulgur (I think that is the spelling)?
L love those markets too. It's like being in the country and saving the air fare.
Your photos are smashing.
Ari- haven't eaten Bulgar! I should try it though some time!
Rhoda- oh you are so right about saving on airfare- not to mention packing and jetlag :-)
Erika- I don't know what Big H is?!
Thanks for the tip about body fat measurement! I have heard that the underwater method is the most accurate. I would interested to see your results on the second go round!
I have not yet worked up the guys (no pun intended) to try Shirataki! Have you tried them then? Not a fan? I have heard all sorts of the things about the smell and texture, as you described!
Ari= you're right...bulgur :-)
Lara- Hmmm, shiritaki. Takes some getting used to. You REALLY REALLY need to rinse and rinse and then rinse another 98 times before you get rid of the wretched smell. Then once there is no smell/taste, you cook them (nuke, boil) and they are a bit slimy- just a bit. When I was really watching every single calorie, the lack of cals was worth the taste/texture tradeoff. I put the cals into the sauce instead. I have some shirataki in the fridge in case I've had a heavy cal day and I'm not too hungry for dinner, but am craving pasta! :-D
My heart just skipped a beat when you said you love asian markets. I used to drag my then-boyfriend (now ball and chain) to every market in the Bay Area and then in San Diego! "Oh look, they have dried octopus!" Every Friday is Asian Market day here in Boise when they get their fresh produce and homemade tofu.
Simple pleasures.
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