Brightly colored bags of instant ramyun are immaculately stacked along grocery store shelves as customers weave their way through crowds to take a closer look. The number of noodle options seems endless, but that’s not the only thing that kept hundreds of people buzzing inside the newly opened Jagalchi Korean food complex in Daly City’s Serramonte Center.
Jagalchi, a massive 75,000-square-foot grocery store named after the largest seafood market in Korea, opened its doors Friday, nearly a year after first announcing plans to take up the vacant space inside JCPenney . The newly minted Korean food complex, owned by Mega Mart , features a seafood and butcher counter, Basquia Bakery, a restaurant, dozens of grab-and-go dishes, and an extensive selection of traditional pickled banchan.
Asian grocery markets have boomed around the Bay Area with the popularity of H Mart , Mega Mart and Tokyo Central stores that have been on a rapid expansion in recent years. Mega Mart is expected to open its fourth Bay Area store in Dublin sometime this year. Yet Jagalchi is the first of its kind in the region and stands apart from the other markets for its massive Korean offerings, both food and household goods, as well as its dining option, backed by a chef with Michelin star cred.
Just before the grand opening hour, a crowd of guests eagerly stood in a line that weaved around Jagalchi toward the Target store at Serramonte Center . Once the doors flung open, the line quickly moved, and guests were free to roam and discover the treasures stored inside the foodie paradise.
Jagalchi’s seafood and butcher counters are among the first sections guests will find inside the market. In the grab-and-go seafood section, cartons of fresh salmon sushi and tuna sashimi were neatly arranged alongside vibrant seaweed and squid salads. Guests huddled by the butcher counter to scan the wide selection of marinated meats that included beef bulgogi and sliced beef rib-eye used for Korean barbecue . Around the corner from the butcher counter, a refrigerator held a variety of thinly cut meats, like beef short ribs and brisket, used for shabu-shabu…