Paldo World

Now out of business.
Came by to pick up a few items and the entire store was gutted. No signs or notice.
For those looking for an alternative Korean grocery store in the area there is Southgate Oriental Grocery in Factoria and Uwajimaya on 120^th in Bellevue. Keep in mind that Uwajimaya only carries/​makes certain Korean food, whereas Southgate is mostly Korean grocery.

I came here to satisfy my craving for Jap Chae. Delicious! It was a ghost town at 11am yesterday when I went, but the little restaurant soon filled up and got really busy. My take-​out was ready in about 10 minutes or so and service was pretty good. I’ll definitely be coming back, as its nice and close to where I work.

So it’s pretty big, and they have a ton of Korean selections so I’m not going to be too picky. They have a little «deli» in the back right corner that has ready to eat food that is pretty good. It’s not Koreatown in LA, but they have good selections of rice, korean spices, veggies, noodles, etc. The fresh produce is priced okay and quality can sometimes be hit or miss (usually a hit, thankfully), the staff is barebones, so don’t expect too much help. They also have kinder chocolate which is great since I don’t have to stop somewhere else to pick that up for the bf. I don’t really shop the meat or fish section here so I can’t comment. Overall a good place to get your Korean fix!

This isn’t L.A. Koreatown, but it’s as good as a Seattle-​area Korean store gets. I mostly use them for Korean spices, Kimchi, sushi preparations, oils, sesame seeds, rice and bean noodles. I get my meats from natural sources from farmer’s markets so cannot say about these guys. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and there is very little in the way of Korean food supplies you cannot find. The Korean Deli off to the left as you come in has VERY good Korean food too in my opinion, the seafood pancakes and bulgogi are delicious, and they have side dishes! This place is one of my necessary bi-​monthly stops now that I’m making my own Kimchi (the sweet cashier woman even had useful suggestions on which fish sauce and ingredients to use.)

Paldo pretty much the best Korean food I’ve tried. #10 is sooOOooOOoo delish! They have friendly staff and are nice enough to refill on the side dishes.

This place was ok for me… not the best ever but cheap and quick. I felt my tofu soup was watered down and skimped on the tofu! It is handy though to go shopping at the grocery store and then stop in for a bite.

I can’t speak for the grocery store, but I checked out the kimchi bar on my lunch break recently and loved the bi bim bap special! Combine with a trip to the new Lake Hills Library!

We live nearby and The Honey loves to cook Asian cusisine. So this place gets 5 stars for being a REALLY convenient place to get fish sauce STAT! That said it gets minus 3 for the fact that I was the one who had to get the fish sauce (the honey was in the middle of cooking dinner) and I literally GAG every time I walk through the door. I don’t know if it’s the kimchi stand or what but I have a huge problem with the rancid pickled vinegary musty smell. Luckily the aisles are labeled and I can get in and out pretty quick.

I probably can’t eat «duk buk ki», spicy rice cakes anymore. They gave me a horrible stomach ache afterwards! Sad to say, but this is the reality. =(I’ll be sticking to other items on their menu, and possibly trying out new ones.
Bi bim bap, KBBQ, and soon du bu are still okay for me to eat. I’ll have to find alternatives!

They need to improve their quality of stuffs they have.
sometimes you will find dry foods or frozen foods that are pass expiration date so watch out on those but overall good location and convenient

Henry’s Taiwan inside this grocery store should be avoided. Don’t be fooled by the crowd! See the review for Henry’s Taiwan:

I usually avoid this place if I can, why? Because we have better stores in Bellevue now.
The only real reason to visit this place is their kimchi bar and to buy Korean drinks, but even then the kimchi they make is not that great, it’s a bit under average quality. It’s not as spicy as I would like it and sometimes the napa is not very fresh tasteting.
I’m scared to buy their meat as well, it just looks shady. The whole store actually looks pretty shady and unsanitary. If you’re reading this you should probably try somewhere else if you’re looking for Asian groceries. I have a list :)

This is the closest Asian market, but I admittedly skip visiting this place. It had been a while, when I decided to step in. The main reason I avoid this place is that it kind of is dinky. Not like some I-​D markets, but it just has dim lighting, which makes shopping here unappealing. Add to the fact that the prices are so-​so and that there is a minimum purchase rule for credit purchases.
I do go to the Paldo in-​store restaurant fairly often, but the goods sold here just do not appeal to me. Still, I was surprised that the produce prices were not that bad. They looked good even. Spinach on sale for $.49. Much better deal than the prices I saw at the Bellevue Farmers Market down the road.
I still would prefer to go to HMart for the cleanliness and larger selection, but Paldo is not looking so bad. The meat selection here is a bit spartan, but at least they have short ribs and pork belly here. Plus the fact that this place sells fresh kimchi and other banchan gives me another reason to visit. The seafood selection here is lacking, so I would go elsewhere for this unless you are okay with frozen stuff.
The shopping experience at Paldo is not great, but if you can look past this, you will realize that there are some nice goods sold here at decent prices. Just ignore the interior.

This place is awesome. Here’s the quick lowdown (as quickly as I can give it to you):
Myunga — think that’s the name of the area by the kimchi bar in the back.
— Kimchi bar. Awesome.
— Kimbab at kimchi bar pay area — Awesome.
— Prepared dishes — Awesome.
There’s a restaurant in the front that serves korean food. It’s good! Love the soups, the bbq pork, everything there. My girl Angela and I would go there for lunch when I worked over at Microsoft.
Meats — they have really good cuts of Kalbi — not the horizontal cuts you usually find in restaurants… but the REALLY good ones where the kalbi is sliced so amazingly AROUND the bone (like the way they serve the kalbi at SouthGate Korean restaurant in Bellevue/​Factoria).
It’s even got Russian stuff in it. I heard from my Russian friends that where they go sometimes for the Russian stuff.
Oh. They sell KINDER EGGS.

I love Paldo World! There’s a little Korean restaurant in the corner by the entrance that serves delicious Korean food with all the banchan (side dishes) at a decent price. The food arrives quickly and its all solid. We usually get the seafood pancake, even though it’s a little oily, its so goood. The people working there are kind, but they only bring out the food. If you want tea (barley/​rice), water, or to-​go boxes, you get it yourself. And if you really like the banchan, it’s all available inside the grocery store :)

Pal Do World has a great selection of Asian specialties. I saw mostly Japanese and Korean stuff, but what do I know? The people were friendly, the store was brighter and cleaner than I expected, and the prices were acceptable if a bit high on some items. The fresh selection all looked good but not as good as the Crossroads Farmers Market… still, it’s unfair to make them compete with picked-​today produce.
They have a little restaurant that I didn’t try but that my neighbors RAVE about so I mean to try it one of these days. It sure smelled hella good.
The return policy of this store is the worst I’ve ever seen other than «ALL SALES FINAL». Meat and produce must be returned within 2 HOURS if there’s a problem, and a problem with anything else needs to be brought to their attention in 2 DAYS or less. I’m used to 90 days or at the grocery store, reasonable issues are dealt with within looser timeframes. Just be aware.

I can be a jaded A-​hole at times. I’ve driven by the this place hundres of times and always passed it off as just another generic Asian market. But this place turns out to be an incredible find. They label themselves as an «International» market which usually means food from several Asian countrys. But they even have German and Russian items (I picked up some great Russian pickles). The store’s main focus is Korean food and there is a large KimChi section but they also have a restaurant with Chinese, Korean and Japanese food including Bento Boxes.
I walked out of there with all kinds of goodies including the pickles, the kimchee, Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes and marinated Kalbi meat. The other really nice thing is that this place is spotless and well organized (a welcome change from places like Ranch99).
Really worth a trip to Redmond next time you want some great «International» food.

Best Korean market I’ve been to. It definitely raised my standards for what a Korean store should have and not many others have been anywhere close to this! I miss being able to get my Russian cookies and getting my Korean baked cookies at the same time.
This place has such a wonderful selection. I can get so many different kind of mandu and kimchi at the same place. It’s like an actual supermarket, not just a small out of the way place (though those are good at times too)

I was actually looking to get a new driver’s license and saw Pal Do World, so I had to stop in to get my yobo-​fix.
It’s a pretty decent-​sized shop, lots of fresh veggies and fruits as well as a lot of frozen meat and fish. There’s a couple of aisles devoted to the gadgets and housewares that you never knew you needed until you see it there. It’s fun to try figuring out what some of these things are really for. =)
There’s also an aisle that I’d skipped the first time because it’s labeled «European food.» I figured that’s where they keep the American products… and they do… but it really does have European food. Lots of Armenian, what I think are Israeli and Russian items. That’s pretty cool.
At the front of the store, there’s a DVD rental place and a small counter selling make-​up. Also, a restaurant on the premises which serves Japanese food (sushi, udon, etc).

The fruits and veggies are of average price and quality, though you will find a greater variety of Asian produce than a Safeway or Albertson’s.
My favorite part of the store is the counter selling the pickled veggies; the kind you get served alongside a Korean meal. Somehow, this counter is not directly connected with the supermarket, so you have to pay the guy at the counter and not the checkout stand.
Also, the checkout stand will only accept credit cards with a $ 10 minimum purchase. They were strict about this. This was really lame and I bought a bunch of Korean baked goods to meet the mark. This was a mistake, since the baked goods were mediocre.