Big, new 99 Ranch Market in Hackensack shows Chinese eat every part of the animal

Duck Tongue, above, and Duck Feet and Pork Snout, below, are among the unusual items at 99 Ranch Market, a new Chinese supermarket in Hackensack's Home Depot Shopping Center.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The expensive, edible bird nest in Chinese Bird's Nest Soup is made from the solidified saliva of cave-dwelling birds.

Duck tongues and feet, pig snouts and brains, and snakes are other unusual items commonly used in the Chinese kitchen.

I've long heard the Chinese eat every part of the animal, and that was readily apparent on my first visit to 99 Ranch Market in the Home Depot Shopping Center on Saturday afternoon, though I didn't see any snakes for sale.

The big, brightly lit Chinese supermarket, which opened on Wednesday, is the closest you can get to Chinatown without leaving New Jersey.

And it's big news in Bergen County, where H Mart and other Korean supermarkets have dominated for decades.

Chinese-Americans have had only King Fung Supermarket on Kinderkamack Road in River Edge in which to shop, but after two major renovations since 2009, that place is closed again.

Cantonese-style dim sum are available in the food court, above and below.

Two specialties from mainland China are Cold Jelly Noodles and Northern Fried Shredded Pancakes, above, and a Meat Wrap, below.

Customers can use a large foam container to assemble a combination meal of Chinese favorites from this steam table for $8.99.

Hong Kong-style Whole Roast Ducks, Roast Pork and Barbecued Spare Ribs.

Food court

Judging from the lines I saw on Saturday, a big draw at 99 Ranch Market is the mouth-watering prepared food available in the food court:

I saw Cantonese-style dim sum, specialties from mainland China, Thai and Malaysian food, and sweet buns and cakes, all available for takeout or dining in.

There's more: Hong Kong-style whole roast ducks ($21.88 each), roast pork and barbecued pork spare ribs, which you see displayed in every Chinatown you've ever visited; and a steam table with Chinese favorites you can buy as a combination meal for $8.99.

And another stand offers a rice porridge called congee with scallops, fish fillet, sliced pork, preserved egg or chicken ($6.50 to $7.25); and soups with shrimp wontons or noodles.

Go fish

The seafood department is a winner, offering live crawfish, crabs, lobster and fish, as well as plenty of fresh fish on ice. 

There is no charge to have the crustaceans steamed, but you can also ask to have live or fresh fish cleaned and fried "regular" or "crispy"

The supermarket also has a liquor license, though none of the bottles of sake and beer I saw can be sold on Sundays before noon.

On Saturday, my wife spent some time in the store's boutique, testing Korean skin-care products.

Fresh fish on ice included Shark ($2.99 a pound), above, and Strawberry Grouper ($7.99 a pound), below, which I've never seen in a fish market before.

The eggs from wild-caught salmon were being offered for $49.99 a pound.

A great seafood meal

This morning, I returned to 99 Ranch Market to assemble our Sunday dinner:

I bought 2.2 pounds of live Crawfish for a boil ($4.99 a pound); trays of Fried Fish and Shrimp Balls from Taiwan for a noodle soup I'll make at home (about $10), and two whole Porgies, which I asked to have cleaned and fried crispy (about $5.50).

For an appetizer, I picked up three kinds of shrimp dim sum, 9 pieces altogether (3 for $2.90).

The Chinese market doesn't offer a discount card like ShopRite or a cash-rebate card like H Mart, but after spending more than $26 today on live or fresh seafood, I received a $1 coupon for the bakery or hot food.

Which is bigger?

California-based 99 Ranch Market was established in 1984, and with more than 50 locations, claims to be "the largest Asian supermarket chain in the United States."

But Han Ah Reum, which opened its first market in Queens in 1982, has more than 60 stores, including 6 H Marts in Bergen County.

Han Ah Reum, now based in Lyndhurst, opened a new H Mart in Paramus in May, but unexpectedly closed the Englewood H Mart, shocking many hundreds of loyal Jamaican-American and other non-Korean residents who had shopped there since that supermarket opened in 1992.

Although the many H Marts I've patronized have an edge on low prices, the new 99 Ranch Market in Hackensack is clearly a better Asian supermarket.

The 59,170-square-foot Hackensack supermarket once was a Pathmark, but that store closed in 2011.

Details

99 Ranch Market is at 450 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack, in the Home Depot Shopping Center; 1-201-489-8899. Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Website: Hackensack is our newest store

See: At new H Mart, high prices,

 not many organics

Two more item in the meat case at 99 Ranch Market are Pork Tongue, and containers of Pork Brains, not shown.

Silkie Chickens are a highly prized breed of chicken that has beautiful, silky white plumage and startlingly black skin, according to Kitchen.com. They are found in China, India and Southeast Asia.

A Silkie Chicken (photo credit: The Happy Chicken Coop).

Taiwan Spinach is one of three varieties of spinach I saw in the produce department. Unfortunately, 99 Ranch Market has only a small selection of organic produce.

The store's coupon policy is explained in the vestibule.

Shopping at new H Mart: One-car crash, red mullet, high prices, not many organics

RARE FIND: I hadn't seen whole red mullet in a fish market until I visited the new H Mart in a shopping center on Route 17 north in Paramus. My wife seasoned 10 of the small whole fish and pan-fried them for our Sunday dinner.

GREAT BUY: One of the best buys I saw on Sunday was a box of 16 Ataulfo or Champagne Mangoes from Mexico for $7.99 or about 50 cents each. The flesh is sweet and silken. The sign said 14, but all of the boxes I saw held 16.

KOREAN CHAIN SCREWS ENGLEWOOD,

 STARTS HOME-DELIVERY SERVICE

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Loud piped-in music, cramped grocery aisles, high prices for organics, and a food court that would save you only a few bucks over a full-service Korean restaurant.

Those are among my impressions after a first visit to a new H Mart that had its long-delayed grand opening on April 27 in a shopping center at Routes 17 and 4.

The 25,000-square-foot Korean supermarket would have been the seventh in Bergen County opened by the Lyndhurst-based chain, but H Mart closed its Englewood supermarket unexpectedly on April 23.

In a notice on the parking lot gates, customers were told the Englewood store had "relocated" to Paramus.

H Mart also launched home delivery of fresh produce, meat, seafood, eggs, milk and more to Englewood, as well Fort Lee, Palisades Park and Leonia.

A minimum order of $35 is required -- the service is called "H Fresh" --  and a delivery fee of $5.99 is waived for orders totaling $49 or more.

Paramus H Mart

The Paramus H Mart is not especially large, as you'll see if you try pushing a standard grocery cart down the narrow aisle with overpriced pasta sauces.

H Marts are known for their great produce, but I didn't see any organic Asian greens, and the organic salad mixes I did see were overpriced compared to Costco Wholesale.

The store was charging $5.99 for a pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, compared to $4.79 at Costco.

Mix-up

I also saw shelves labeled "ORGANIC" that were stocked with both organic and non-organic produce.

A highlight of the store is the seafood section, where I was surprised and delighted to find fresh, wild-caught red mullet ($5.99 a pound), a small fish  found near the South American coast and in the Mediterranean.

Among the free samples on Sunday were tiny portions of lobster salad and seared ahi tuna in a sesame dressing.

I'll likely return to shopping at the much bigger Little Ferry H Mart on Bergen Turnpike, near Route 46 -- shabbiest of the chain's Bergen County stores -- and wait for the grand opening of another new H Mart under construction and months behind schedule next door.

See: Do we really need more supermarkets?

DETAILS: The new H Mart is at 60 Route 17 north in Paramus; 1-201-708-2820. Open 7 days from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Website: H Mart is short for Han Ah Reum (One Arm Full of Groceries).

HIGHWAY DRAMA: On Sunday, I decided to use the ramp onto Route 17 north to reach the shopping center, and ran into a traffic jam caused by the cleanup of a one-car accident, above and below. The driver of a Chevy Camaro on the way to a car show across the highway lost control and took out a section of the guardrail, and in the process totaled his car.

PRODUCING PROFITS: The entrance of the new H Mart leads you to the produce section, the most profitable in this and every other supermarket. A food hall is behind the dramatically high brick arches, and the store also has a Korean bakery that serves coffee.

POKE AND SUSHI: Poke bowls, sushi rolls and fresh oysters on the half shell are available at this food stand.

SANG'S KITCHEN: The lure here is a full menu of Korean barbecue and soft tofu soup.

MISH MASH: Organic Strawberries, cheaper when they are on sale at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, and non-organic Campari Tomatoes were displayed on shelves labeled "ORGANIC."

MASH-UP: Organic Baby Romaine ($3.99 for just 5 ounces) was displayed next to non-organic Baby Kale.

FREE SEAFOOD SAMPLES: H Marts are known for their free food samples on weekends, and the Paramus store was handing out a little lobster salad, seared ahi tuna and other premium seafood samples.

WILD TIGERS: These frozen shrimp were labeled Wild Tiger Shrimp U4 (4 to the pound) for $25.99 a pound.

MORE WILD SHRIMP: Frozen Wild White Shrimp from the United States were $7.99 a pound.

SEAFOOD SECTION: The fresh and frozen seafood section in Paramus isn't as large as in some other H Marts, but the limited selection is all a seafood lover could ask for, above and below.

TUNA LOIN: Seared Ahi or Yellowfin Tuna Loin was $15.99 a pound.

ORGANICS? The absence of organic Asian greens, such as Chinese Broccoli, was a major disappointment.

SPLISH SPLASH: At home, pan-fried red mullet from H Mart needed only a splash of fresh lemon juice.