Ethnic Eats – Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver

You know when you’re grocery shopping and you start getting super hungry? You wish there was a way you could sit down in the deli section and have a snack. Most grocery stores do offer that service, actually, along with the bland, over-buttered and soggy pre-made sandwiches that will alleviate hunger but not satiate. Not so at the Hmart chain of Asian supermarkets. Spread throughout North America, this Korean grocery store also has a built in food court, which, at the Robson Street location, comprises a Korean/Chinese noodle bar, Wang Ga Ma, as well as the Matoi Sushi stand.

At Wang Ga Ma I had the Spicy Beef soup (although I was very intrigued by what the Rice with Fish Raws would be). It was deliciously flavourful, with an intense, fiery broth, accompanied by a side of fiery kimchi. Even being spicier than expected and somewhat messy, it hit the spot and at $7.50 is a lot better than soggy sandwiches for lunch.

After placing your order, you hand out and wait for your number to come up on the flashing LCD screen. Then you pick up your food (which comes on plastic trays but in real stainless steel or ceramic bowls) and take it back to the main eating area, a bright, light-filled section of the store looking down on Robson Street from the second floor.

Returning to try out Matoi, I chose a spider roll, a chopped scallop cone and 2 pieces of Hamachi from Japan, all of which were excellent and tasty, but checking out the blogosphere, it seems I’m going to have to go back and check out some other dishes as well.

Service was sadly not awesome at Matoi and it was not do to a noon rush. At 2:30 in the afternoon, I watched patiently, then started drooling on the Plexiglas divider as the sushi chef prepared piece after piece and gave them to other people. To be fair, it seemed as though they had got a couple of big orders and he was going as fast as he could, but I was also starving. Next time I’ll try checking it out a bit before lunch and maybe pick up some Korean snacks from the market beforehand…just in case.

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Hmart
550 Robson Street, 2nd floor