Koreana Plaza
Categories: Grocery, Korean, Ethnic Food [Edit]
10971 Olson DrRancho Cordova, CA 95670 (916) 853-8000
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
16 Reviews for Koreana Plaza
Being part Korean, I have to have my Korean groceries. Unfortunately, I feel as though this store falls a little flat. I'm very picky about my groceries and I want my food to be so fresh that I can just pick up some veggies and eat it right off the counter. The freshness level sucks. There are a lack of workers so things are left out for really long. Packaged items are fine to get here, but if anything else, I would go elsewhere.
I like this place. I can buy big jars of KimChee for cheap, in several different brands. In fact, I am eating it right now. =). They have lots of vegetables and fruits at pretty cheap prices, like others have mentioned. I like how things are organized here and has a big selection of korean items. I also enjoy the deli, you can pick and choose lots of different snacks like rolls. I normally buy those. =). The market is clean everytime i went there. Parking is HUGE so you won't have a problem with that.
I recommend this to everyone.
Pros:
Clean
Cheap
Deli
Variety
Cons:
Uh....darnit. Can't think of any.
Notes:
They have a variety of alcohol too =D
4.75 Stars ...Thus 5 =D
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Like the rating puts next to the stars, it's A-OK.
Definitely a good place to get random things like pillows, plates and big boxes of pre-made rice (since my rice cooker broke), but the cashiers are a real big turn off. Maybe it's because they know I'm a kyopo (Kor-Am) that they don't like speaking to me? Psssh!
Kiosks/Sub-Lease
They have Korean movies for rent and a hot food area. I didn't try the hot food yet, but probably next time.
Cleanliness / Organization
Koreana Plaza is fairly clean without a strong smell to the store itself. The refrigerated produce section didn't seem very clean and the shelves in the refrigerated deli section made my hand smell fairly bad. (picking up that little drink didn't seem such a good idea suddenly..)
Products were lined up fairly neat without too much confusion on pricing.
Produce - looks fresh and fairly priced
Seafood - is limited to frozen shrimp, and frozen fish.
Meat - some looked funky, but others were nicely trimmed. I didn't pay much attention to the meat pricing, since I didn't focus on buying meat there.
Dry Goods - Good selection of Korean & Russian. Some Vietnamese/Chinese/Japanese. Pricing was
Deli/Frozen - Kimchii had at least a 4" section ranging from small to large jars. It was surprising that they carried a large selection of Russian hams, sausages, and cheeses.
Customer Service
Not much customer service, they seemed only to have 2-3 people working in the grocery department.
Overall the experience at Koreana Plaza Market was pleasant, I kinda expected more Korean products for sale though. I'll probably be back there for their stoneware and their Russian sausages...mmm....
People thought this was:
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I came here at the behest of some of the Korean Stocktonians telling me that it was the best Korean Market...in Nor Cal.
Indeed. For Nor Cal I suppose it is good but when I went I was extremely disappointed.
I first went to go get some microwavable rice to find that they only had one brand and the least tasty in my opinion. They didn't even have the other kinds of rice that the brand makes. I went to go get some soju but again they had a small selection and not any good brands either. I went to their frozen food section to see the variety of brands and kinds to be disappointing. Couldn't find mekahru and the guy I asked was a dick.
The banchan was ok...nothing spectacular and definitely sub-par to what can be obtained at good Korean markets. I got some Russian chocolates out of curiosity and felt like I was munching on turds. The meat was definitely average. Cleanliness could be better and I was surprised how the aisles were set-up. The aisles are wide because they lack variety of foods and brands and for a Korean market that size is a no-no. Why the hell is there so much non-Korean crap if they can't even do Korean right.
If you NEVER been to a non-disgusting Asian market before or have never eaten Korean food I think it would be a nice excursion. But if you're a person with high expectation prepare to be severely disappointed.
An amazing selection of produce, frozen foods, Asian staples and snacks. Their meat selection isn't as good as SF Market, but the produce is so cheap it's insane - 8 oz of oyster mushrooms for $1.75?? - and they carry a much bigger variety of seaweed and banchan-type foods. Koreana Plaza is also much cleaner and more organized than other Asian groceries, with wide aisles and clean shelves. Plus, the employees are super friendly, and the little variety Russian candy boxes are the coolest.
They just recently remodeled the fridge, so it look much nicer and organized. I always go Sunday for fresh product, they product and fruits is great, lot of selection and fairly priced. Their take out food place is so so..
Always a good place to shop. The people are nice and the food is good. The place really improved after a major refurb of the cold section of the store in 2006. The store is much much cleaner.
If you like to try Korean food and would like to spend very little money for a lot of food try the deli counter. Like Chris B said pick your food with an alternate in mind if they run out of that selection and grab a soda at the cooler and pay at the cashier. You can try a good variety of Korean dishes to find out what your favorite is. Like Chris had mentioned before, you can find, some Japanese, Chinese, Russian and of course Korean groceries to choose from.
Oh yes like many asian markets you can buy appliances, furniture, silverware, gifts, oh yeah Liquor.
This is my favorite place for cheap Sake. Price starts out around 3.98 for approx. a liter.
Most of the fish looks fresh, however I haven't purchased any here. I always buy my fish from Oto's in South Sacto.
If you like caviar there is a good selection of Japanese style frozen caviar.
I like the Tobiko and Masago here, this is what is typically used in Japanese sushi.
It has been a few months since I was here last, but Koreana used to be open till 11PM at night and the kitchen stayed open till 9PM.
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An interesting shopping experience - kind of like a smaller, more shoppable version of SF Market (although obviously more Korean products). Large selection of kimchi and seafood. They have Pocari Sweat, a Japanese drink that I have never seen in Sacramento.
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Four stars for a unique dining and shopping experience.
There is a little deli-type counter inside this rather large supermarket. The unspoken rule is that you pay for your meal at the supermarket cashier, so go look at the menu/banner above the food counter first to pick your entree, and remember your number. Pick up a soda from the cooler, then get in line at the supermarket register to pay. Your receipt will be your order at the food counter.
Fortunately, there are some English words and somewhat discernable pictures of food that will guide you. I think I've done the spicy pork (#13, I believe) each of the two times I've eaten there. They will bring your food to your table with sides of pickled cucumbers, kim chee, and something else cabbage-like that I haven't identified yet (Korean cole slaw?). A hearty portion of food and definitely tasty!
Do browse the supermarket aisles while there because inevitably, you will find that weird impulse-buy item that you've never seen anywhere else. I had to get the dried spicy squid jerky... a guilty pleasure of mine. The produce prices here are incredibly low. Huge bags of apples for dirt cheap. And they have sliced lotus root in vacuum-sealed packets in the refrigerated section. Great for stir fry or whatever floats your boat.
Take a Korean supermarket safari in your own backyard.
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clean & big (much nicer than their sister store in oakland), free samples, and one of largest selections of russian (yes, RUSSIAN!) products mixed in with the yummy korean and japanese stuffs.
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This place gave me the hee-bee jeebees.
There's a large selection and the prices are cheap but many items looked like their expiration dates had come & gone.
The fruit had a mealy look to it during my visit and the cafe had a few dishes out but they looked pretty dried out.
I wasn't really impressed. In addition, the clerk who rang up my purchases kept yelling past my shoulder at a person 2 aisles over. No "Hello," "How are you?" or even a "Thank you."
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The prices on meat and produce are too good to be true here. Rib eye steak for $3 a pound. Ridiculous. Cheaper than costco, but they dont make you buy 10 pounds at a time, which is nice for single people. My boyfriend is wary of eating meat from here, but my family has been eating the meat here for the past few years with no incidence. Theyve got a "cafe" where you can order at the register and they serve you this HUGE meal on the cheap -- complete with 3-4 kinds of pickled veggies and of course, kim chee. One of the cleaner asian grocery stores around (although that isnt saying much). I am always amazed at how far your dollar goes here.
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Large store, with two fridgerated pre packaged banchan areas. Located in the front of the front of the store. Lots of choices to choose from, even pre cooked fish and egg dishes. In the deli area next door, a table with prepared foods like chap jae(noodles), gim bahp(sushi), etc....reasonable prices. gim bahp $2-3 for 2-3 rolls.
Excellent prices on produce and meat. You can also find produce that you can not find in a regular store like all sorts of peppers both fresh and dried and all sorts of varieties of mushrooms. The prices on meat are great like flank steak for $4.99 a lb when at the other stores it is like $14.99, it is good quality to. I also pick up bags of panko here for $1.00 which is about $2.00 cheaper than at some other stores. They also have a fairly good selection of fish, but it is mostly frozen not fresh, thats really my only gripe. I love the little cafe were I can get bulgolgi they also sell pre marinated meat but I have only had it once and I thought it was good.
People thought this was:
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Good selection and prices.
Big and generally clean aisles.
But I've gotten sick from the marinated beef at the unfriendly prepared-foods counter.
Is it worth driving out this far for Kim Chi? Only if you're pregnant with food cravings. The in house Kim Chi is nothing extraordinary. And a bit overpriced.
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