H Mart’s N.J. food hall is bigger, not better, as new expansion disappoints | Review

H Mart is one of the leading Asian grocery store chains in the country, with more than 97 stores across 15 states.
There are nine New Jersey locations, including Cherry Hill, Edison, Little Ferry and at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford.
While many H Mart stores offer a designated food court area, the new spot at the American Dream mall is said to be the largest in the Northeast. The 16,860-square-foot hall opened at the end of August, highlighting 11 different eateries ranging from spicy hot pot, bubble tea, Korean street food, a bar and more.
I ate my way through this Asian food hall and though there were tons of options, does being the biggest H Mart food hall in the Northeast automatically make the best? Let’s dig in.
READ MORE: 25 of the best Asian market snacks available in N.J., ranked
Hot pot is a comforting delight and now, you can get a quick fix of it at Wok Bar without committing to the whole group, sit-down experience. Customers are given a bowl and a pair of tongs to pick from an assortment of different vegetables, meats and noodles in a buffet-like setting. After weighing and paying for all the toppings, it is then brought to the back and stewed in a spicy broth. There are different levels of spice, but it still feels numbing at the lowest level. However, the broth is so tasty that even the heat won’t stop you.
READ MORE: New Jersey’s 14 greatest hot pot restaurants, ranked
I’m not the biggest fan of the Korean fried chicken from bb.q chicken. I wasn’t surprised that H Mart put this in the food hall as everyone seems to rave about it. Although, there is one thing I’ll always come here for and it’s not the chicken. Their rose ddeok-bokki ($13.99) is a play on the popular Korean street food made of tubular rice cakes drenched in a really spicy sauce. This dish is milder but still packs that same great flavor in a creamy tomato sauce. I highly recommend adding cheese on top for an extra cost ($2).
Let Them Talk Bar features a self-serve beer wall with over 30 draft options, all for just $3 each. Simply leave your debit or credit card with the cashier, receive a tap card, and pour your own drinks. When you’re done, return the card, pay for what you’ve poured, and get your debit card back. With a variety of IPAs and classic beers, there’s something for everyone.
K-Town Hero was created by chef Hooni Kim. Just as the name suggests, this shop offers Korean BBQ sandwiches and fries. The sandwiches they offer are the bulgogi, bossam (pork) and buldak (spicy chicken). The bulgogi sandwich ($38.23) was subpar with the soggy bread and flavorless protein. What’s worse, their kimchi dusted French fries($5.95) barely tasted any different from regular fries. I got charged extra just for color on my fries.
Japanese curry is supposed to be an umami-rich delicacy, but the ones at Don Don Curry were average at best. Maybe my expectations were too high for a food court curry, but I at least expected some flavor in my pork cutlet curry ($14.95). Still, the pork was also woefully dry and I couldn’t keep eating after a few bites.
Given that its a huge food hall, there are lots of seating available. Plus, there were employees constantly maintaining the food court, so it was extremely clean.
However, I can tell that the place is bound to get noisy if filled to capacity, especially with larger groups and families.
As someone who visits their local H Mart quite often, I was disappointed with the food here. H Mart sells this food hall as being the biggest, but what it offers in size it lacks in quality or consistency.
It’s flashier with the gigantic bubble tea statue in front of Gongcha and the pour-it-yourself beer wall at Let Them Talk, but that doesn’t excuse the soggy Korean sandwiches, tasteless Japanese curries and one vendor that wasn’t even open.
And many of the food vendors are similar to ones already found at other H Marts. It’s not worth the drive for something that could already be in your backyard.
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Lauren Musni may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Laurengmusni. Find NJ.com on Facebook.