Lines, Lines, Lines.

Lines of people, products and even lengthy receipts all seemed to enhance the grandeur of the first opening days of the new H Mart on 16450 Beach Blvd. The company’s official Instagram account announced a brand new addition to their store chain in Westminster. Its long-awaited grand opening on Aug. 7 included exclusive sales, gifts with purchases over a certain amount and even a free bag when signing up for the store’s membership program.

Coming from South Korea, the H Mart chain plants yet another store in the United States, joining other Asian stores like the recently-opened MINISO in Tustin, Pop Mart in Costa Mesa and Tokyo Central in Irvine. The store gives American shoppers a peek into Korean culture through merchandise.

During a visit on Aug. 9, caramel popcorn-flavored Turtle Chips ($2.99) and Pineapple Mogu Mogu ($2.99) were purchased. The crisp snack had a pleasant buttery smell that is similar to the flavor of popcorn it tries to mimic. Each chip had a light coating of sweetness and a few salty bits, similar to the chocolate churro version of the snack. Unlike other beverages, the Mogu Mogu drink includes chewy cubes made from fermented coconut in the pineapple juice.

After passing the cashier section, visitors can check out the food court. Certain booths include Gong Cha, a tea shop, which has a buy one, get one free deal, and the Tous Les Jours bakery. Customers can receive a free honey castella cake after purchasing $30 worth of goods or a premium castella with a purchase of over $50 at the bakery.

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Serenity Li

Black bean noodles ($11.99) are served at Paik’s Noodles at the newest H Mart’s food court on Aug. 9 in Westminster.

 At the tea shop, the ordered pearl milk tea ($6.60) came with a passion fruit tea, because the two for the price of one deal allowed customers to choose an extra drink to come with their orders. The milk tea tasted sweet, and the boba had a gummy-like texture and didn’t get soggy; however, the passion fruit drink was very watered down because of the ice melting.

Restaurants line the walls of the food court, including Moobongri Soondae Express, where customers could order Korean-style foods like spicy stir-fried squid ($22) and salty spare ribs ($25) as well as jajangmyeon ($11.95) from Paik’s Noodle. 

A spicy sauce surrounded the chewy squid, and some cabbage gave it a crunch. The spare ribs easily came off the bone, but unfortunately were dry. Similar to the Buena Park location, the supermarket distributes Asian, mostly Korean, versions of products usually sold at stores like Albertsons, Ralphs and Smart & Final. Like those stores, customers can find grocery produce, snacks, instant food and for the adults, alcoholic beverages. Staff are sprinkled around the aisles, handing out food and drink samples behind small booths with trash cans nearby, similar to Kirkland’s Costco warehouses.

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Serenity Li

Different flavors of a protein drink get poured into little cups at one of the many sample stations sprinkled throughout the aisles of the Westminster H Mart to give customers a taste of the products available at the store.

In the produce section, fully stocked boxes of potatoes, watermelons and other organic products surround customers. The back of the market exudes the smell of fresh fish and raw meat, while walking among the packed shelves, the store seems to want to flaunt an abundance of merchandise.

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Serenity Li

H Mart’s grand opening in Westminster comes with special deals in the produce section, like two dollars off for kiwis.

To entice the public, H Mart offers special deals available until Sunday, Aug. 17, like a 15-pound bag of rice for only a dollar, with a purchase over $200. Staff stationed under a red tent outside the supermarket help customers aged 18 and up sign up for a membership card, with a free, reusable shopping bag as a reward for doing so. Other employees check receipts to hand out free gifts depending on the amount of merchandise purchased. Based on how much customers spend, over $50, $100 or $150, staff will hand out either instant ramen, a colander, assorted cookware or all three.

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Serenity Li

At the back of H Mart’s new Westminster store, customers can purchase fresh meat and seafood on Aug. 9.

H Mart also provided sales on produce, like two dollars off for Enoki Mushrooms and Shanghai Choy Tips, $1.99 for a two-pound box of strawberries instead of $7.99 and even four dollars off a six-piece bag of avocados. In terms of raw meats, seafood and packaged products, the store offered fewer deals, including tenderloin chicken marked down to $3.99.

With sample stations, a loyalty program called Smart Savings and seemingly packed aisles of both people and products, H Mart seems just like a Korean version of Costco. With a location in Buena Park, a little over 10 miles easier to access from Sunny Hills than the Westminster supermarket, the value of checking out the grand opening diminishes when considering the traffic and lengthy lines to get in and out of the store.

For regular H Mart shoppers, it might be worth the journey considering the good deals found at the new store; however, those who have just heard of this chain should stick to visiting one closer to them to see whether the franchise and its inventory are worth it.