Assi Plaza

This supermarket is so big. I sometimes forget what I’m here to buy because I get distracted.
Oooooo, there’s disposable plastic gloves for making kimbab or kimchi.
Oooooo, this meat grill.
Oooooo, so much stuff.
I am like a little kid at a toy store. Ooooooooo.
I can’t believe this place closed. I didn’t even get to post my review in time :(

Such a shame to see Assi Plaza close. The other Chinese focused supermarkets in the area don’t compare in terms of product choice, quality and cleanliness. Other Korean places don’t have the same breadth of produce, fish or prepared foods either. The food court in the back will be missed too as will be the excellent fresh tofu producer that opened up in the past year or so. We can hope to get another Assi Plaza but I don’t think it will happen, at least not on the scale that was the original. An unfortunate causality of the Flushing real estate boom.

This place is shutting down. I was suspicious when their weekly sale ad was gone and this weekend, I have confirmed that the place is shutting down. It has been purchased by another.
The store had a open-​fold table with a cashier handling an old fashion cashier machine with a printer in the back. The store is now down to the last of their inventories laying near the front door and might I add, it is priced so expensive for a store that’s closing down.
I didn’t get anything because there was nothing to get but sauce items and packaged dry noodles. Eh!

I came here for lunch with my family. In the back, there are 2 restaurants and I ordered the first one. I got a number 8(?) and it came with soup with bulgogi, japchae and rice cakes. Purple rice and some small side dishes (kimchi, bean sprouts, and spicy yellow radish). I think the total came to $ 10. The barley tea is free and free refills.
The food was pretty good, I really liked the rice. The soup was so hot because of the stone bowl, which I love, but it took a while to drink it lol the side dishes were nothing amazing but good.

Went here today after not having shopped here in about 10 years. Seafood and produce depts were not as nice as I remembered although there were some interesting items in produce that I had to try. Not brave enough to buy the durian. They have a great selection of cooking oils, sea salts, dried goods etc. and the meats are really nice but I think I’ve become spoiled by shopping at H&Y in Hicksville. The selection is not as vast but it is cleaner and the seafood there is great. I was very excited to find manchurian buns in the freezer section though– been looking for them for ages! Bought two packs.

Junk food heaven !!! there were many nice sales and my family hoarded a lot of goodies. I am very happy with their variety of food and misc items. 1 star off for the staff that grills and that are clueless as to where some of the food are. Deff recommend.
Ps remember to look at the expiration dates !!

Assi plaza is huge! Sells every korean item you can think of… I use to come here all the time with my mom… One of her favorite supermarket… Takes about an hour just to view the whole entire store… We usually load up on dry/​canned foods when we are here.
Korean cuisine is probably best known for kimchi. and they have many assorted verity of kimchi here… we bought a large Tube of kimchi… took us like two years to finish it… kimchi is a side dish which uses a distinctive process of preserving vegetables… most commonly cabbage… After that big tube of kimchi… I started disliking kimchi…
They have this mini little korean restaurant located inside the supermarket… you can dine while taking a break from food shopping… I ate here once… the food is heavy with flavor… expically the soups… Loaded with MSG!
Ps: huge parking lot!

Shopping at Assi Plaza is always an adventure because you never know what new thing you’ll discover. Being a very large Korean market with a small food court inside, I can stay here all day, have lunch and shop at my leisure. Prices are probably a little more than at the Chinese markets, but seem to be a step up in quality as well. Plus where else can you get over a hundred varieties of kimchi?
Planning a BBQ? This will make you an Iron Chef of the grill. The LA kalbi (thin sliced beef short ribs across the bone) are some of the best I’ve found and they have 3 grades with varying amounts of marbling. No chunks of fat here, but only slivers of white throughout the meat to keep it tender and moist when you slap them on the grill. All you have to do is walk over to the sauce aisle, get a bottle of kalbi marinade, maybe some sesame oil & seeds, lots of garlic, marinate it overnight and you have some slammin’ KBBQ! The secret of the marinade is the Korean pear juice in the sauce that’s a natural meat tenderizer and gives it that nice sweet flavor & caramelization.
There are endless amounts of fresh vegetables, exotic seafood and they have like a 20ft freezer with nothing but frozen dumplings. Still not adventurous enough? How about some pork uteri
stuffed with some beef pizzle
and toss that on the grill? If that doesn’t liven up your weekend, I don’t know what will.
(Random tidbit: Everybody in the neighborhood gets a chuckle whenever the «i» goes out on their sign, haha)

Lots of free parking (nearly unheard of in flushing)
Usually cheaper than h-​mart and han yang
Also sells American and Chinese/​Vietnamese/​Other Asian ingredients
The only reason I’m not here every other day is the traffic and hectic drive just to get here.
TIP: in the back = yummy, cheap Korean food
(and other little stands selling snacks)

Wow!
Amazing market. It’s huge! Private parking lot too.
If your seeking out authentic ingredients for a traditional Korean dish then this is the place! As w most markets here there is a cris cross of Asian specialties either Chinese or Korean along w curries, regional spices, herbs, soy sauces, vinegars etc.
The produce section alone is worth shopping here for. Biggest selection of mushrooms I’ve ever seen. Every fruit, pepper, bean, mushroom, cabbage, sprout, and everything in between!
Very extensive noodle & rice section as well as frozen, pre made, or fresh fish, spices, caned & jarred or pickled specialty you desire!
Hot food stalls too that serve kimchi, soups, noodles, fried seafood, desserts etc.
The prices were very reasonable.
Some items are sold in bulk.

Great place to go to for Korean groceries. Big parking lot. Spaced out well inside. Decent prices. You have to know how to comparison shop among Asian supermarkets. Cool that you can also purchase a meal inside with two food stands. There’s also seating! Stocked up on what I needed. Would certainly return.

We generally only come here to buy boxes of cabbage for kimchi, bags of rice and packages of meat as Assi always undercuts the other major supermarkets in flushing (H Mart, Hanyang). Their groceries aren’t the freshest looking so we get everything else from the competitors as we have grown to trust their quality and freshness.
The supermarket is fairly clean and quite expansive. They sell a very wide assortment of Asian goods, and there is a restaurant in the rear that sells homemade Korean staples, which are well priced and delicious. I still think Hanyang’s restaurant is tops for quick home cooked Korean bites, but assi holds its own.
You’ll find everything you need for a great Korean (or Asian for that matter) meal whether you’re planning to cook from scratch or looking for premade dishes.

This place is so fun. Maybe it’s because I don’t go to Flushing that much anymore, or that I’m not Korean, but this place is like an amusement park for me. Tons of snacks, noodles, produce, kitchen supplies, small appliances and soooo much kimchi. They also have an adorable little old lady who makes kimchi on site as well. There’s a tiny food court, but also people handing out free samples. Prices are reasonable, there’s a parking lot, and the space is huge, so it’s not too crowded.

This place reminds me of Woori in japan town downtown Los Angeles. The only difference is the food court is better in Woori
Assi plaza is a large supermarket with lot of Korean cooking products. I usually go there for some K goodies. The food court is weak; not many options. place is out of nowhere in an industrial area of college point. I got some K seasoning, kimchi and some preserved herbs. if you want a Korean market with k goodies; Assi plaza is a great option.

If you want to buy Korean grocery and not feel cramped, Assi is a good place to go especially when you don’t have a car since it is not far from 7 train station. They also have a good selection of Chinese grocery items as well. You can find a lot of kimchi, side dishes, KOrean spices and almost anything you can think of.
There are also 2 Korean food vendors inside so you can grab lunch while you shop inside. The produce here is reasonable and fresh. I just wish they get more variety of Korean food here.

They do sell expired things.
But that aside, this place is pretty good. Just be careful when things are on sale because that’s usually the case that they are expired.
Probably the biggest K-​Mart (as in Korean-​Mart) in NYC or maybe even in NY. They have a wide selection of things but of course, many things you can find here, you can find at the Chinese supermarkets at Main st for much cheaper. But do come here for all things Korean.
They also have a small restaurant here. Never tried it but I wanted to try the dumpling store but they were closed both times when I came here.

Assi plaza can sometimes be the highlight of my weekend. As sad as that may sound, I love coming here. It’s been called the Korean Costco but the only similarity is that you get to sample some free food. As a grocery store, Assi covers a lot more.
It’s a good place for leafy vegetables. They always have a few on sale. Recently I bought:
Baby bok choy: 59c/​lb
Shanghai bok choy: 39c/​lb
Yu choy: 59c/​lb
Korean cabbage: 0.19c/lb
They usually have different types of fruits for sale too. The most popular fruit sale here seems to be 10 grapefruits for $ 2*. I have no idea why people aren’t showing up in droves for this.** Oh well. more for me!***
The meat, poultry and fish are more expensive than the Chinese markets but the quality is better. I make a mean oxtail stew every Christmas (even if I say so myself) and while Assi’s oxtail is $ 2/​lb more than most Chinese markets, I prefer to buy it here.
Other things that might tickle your fancy are the different kinds of Korean snacks, pre marinated meats, kimchi of all shapes and sizes (ok, maybe not shapes), Korean rice wine (always on sale) and my personal favorite — the Ramen section. They carry many different kinds but, per my Korean friend’s recommendation, I always get Shin Ramen. You can get a box of 20 for $ 13 when they’re on sale. If you haven’t had Shin Ramen yet — I can tell you that you are missing out. Big time.
They have a mini food court inside. So far I’ve only tried it once and it wasn’t good enough to tempt me to try more. There are just way too many better food options in Flushing. However, as far as grocery shopping goes, Assi Plaza is like my play land.
*They won’t let you buy 5 for $ 1.
**Actually I do. Grapefruit, despite all its health benefits, is not that popular of a fruit. People are crazy.
***Duh!

Korean Supermarket
Has everything you need to cook up a storm in your kitchen.
If you can’t cook a storm in your kitchen, they have a mini food court in the back so you can eat like a twister storm. Consume everything in the path your mouth takes you.

Yikes, I last reviewed Assi Plaza’s food court THREE years ago! Looks like they’re due for an update:
— The funky tree trunk seating has been replaced with regular cheapy tables (actually this happened in 2009), similar to what you bought your Sims when they were broke and kept setting shit on fire.
— Prices have gone up literally 40% in just a matter of months. They just upped everything by $ 2. At least that still includes tax — check out my photos for their updated menu.
— The banchan are a little bigger and a little nicer looking. You get 2 – 3 now instead of just one.
— They’ve changed their kimchi recipe to be less sour and more… umami-​ish. Does that make sense? Tastes less homemade but I like it better.
— They’ve changed their soondubu broth recipe, also to have a deeper flavor. But, there’s about half as much seafood in it now, boo.
I still love this place for a no-​fuss Korean meal. Try the soondubu AND the gomtang (bone boiled in broth so long that it becomes milky) — excellent stuff.
…
The rest of the supermarket is still like a Korean playground version of Costco. Need 20lbs of ground chili pepper, or a 4-​foot tall bag of puffed rice? Or 40 kinds of Korean instant ramen? As Lil Wayne would say, YOU GOT IT. (…Is this still on the radio?)
Erm also I am here on occasion with the boyfriend, and he is no longer the only white dude in here. There are more and more non-​Asian families doing their weekend grocery shopping.

Magnificent Korean Mega Mart.
This review is for the new blood sausage cart. I saw a commercial on the Korean Channel which was advertising North Korean blood sausage, ‘Pyong Yang Soon Dae’ so I decided to give it a shot.
The difference: North Korean blood sausage is primarily stuffed with sticky rice and just a little bit of glass noodles. South Korean Blood sausage is mostly stuffed with glass noodles.
The verdict: The sticky rice delicately absorbed the rich and irony flavors of the delicious blood. The liver and the pork stomach that comes along with the order were both gamey, not your average American could stomach this bizarre food. Blood sausage ain’t a bit bizarre but an occasional comforting & guilty pleasure that reminds us of where we came from.
Ehhh…it was good but I don’t know if it’s worth 10 bucks. The quality and taste is definitely better than H mart’s. I’d rather get my republic of Korea’s blood sausage at ‘min sok shik dang’ which roughly translates to Traditional restaurant in Murray Hill. Would I go back to get me some Communist blood sausage?.. sadly no, but I really wanted to like it.
I heard the black bean sauce noodles are supposed to be really good in the food court but I’ve yet to try it.