Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sho]

Hi! So I just went to my local grocery store for the first time (big, but not one of the big chains), and couldn't seem to find butter, cream cheese, or cream (except a giant box of whipping cream that I wouldn't have been able to get through).

I was wondering if anyone could describe or link me to a picture of what these items commonly look like here. (Is there a common butter brand?). I saw a bunch of small dairy containers but they all looked like types of milk, not cream. I think maybe they simply didn't have cream cheese, but it was harder to believe that about butter (?!).

Can you actually buy cream cheese at Paris Baguette? Or is it just an option to order it on a bagel?

Sorry if these questions sound silly, I'm in a "rural" location (not exactly rural, but an hour from Seoul).

Also, does anyone have rice recommendations? (a brand that is tasty/inexpensive)

Thanks!!

[laynamarya]

Actually, many grocery stores do not carry those items, though more and more within Seoul limits do, these days. You might have to go to a big chain store to get those things. I can get about 90% of the things I need/want at my local E-Mart, and about 20% at my local mom-and-pop store. Local stores tend to operate for those who cook Korean food exclusively, whereas larger chains cater more to their international customers.

Also, some stores carry "western" dairy products SOMETIMES but not consistently. (Sweetened condensed milk is one of those items. It is hard to find during cold weather, because Koreans ONLY use it for patbingsu.)

A common brand of butter is Home Butter, which is a Lotte product. It comes in a block which is basically four sticks fused together (makes measuring interesting). It should cost about 7,500 won. If it is much less than that, it is probably margarine. (I was shocked the first time I could not find butter at a decently-sized grocery store, but once I started cooking Korean food, I found out butter is just not required in Korean food.)

The only kind of cream cheese I've seen in Kraft Philadelphia, and it's at about half the stores I frequent. I believe that it is available at Paris Baguette, in one of those refrigerated sections along the wall, but I am not certain. It might be in very small containers there, though. I think it is also around 7,000 won.

You can also usually get small containers of whipping cream at many chain stores. It is in containers the size of a juice box, and they are usually on the top shelf of the dairy section. The smaller milk-carton-like containers you are seeing are indeed milk, or drinkable yogurt. I have not seen light cream or half-and-half.

My mother-in-law buys our rice, but as far as I can tell, most brands taste about the same. A lot of Koreans will mix their white rice with other grains, like black or brown rice, barley, etc. I think the rice tastes a lot better that way.

[sho]

Thanks so much! That was really helpful. Weird about the butter, but I guess that makes sense if they don't use it much here:P

[Dazed and Confused]

There are 2 brands of cream. The Denmark brand is sold in a red container and a Korean brand in a green and white container and labled "Fresh Cream". I buy it at Homeplus, Lotte mart, or Emart.

[justpale]

Also new here, but I'm in a metro area. Found two varieties of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter at Home Plus last night. They had a pretty good variety of dairy products, but that was the only butter/margarine/oleo thing I could find. I haven't tried grocery shopping yet, but I like their soft and hard goods better than Home Plus

I wasn't looking for cream cheese, so I don't know if they have that or not. I did see lots of different creams (topping cream = whipping cream?), but I wasn't paying close attention. :-/

[thebektionary]

You can get Philadelphia cream cheese and most other things you need at Home Plus and Emart. I found them there even when I lived in Chuncheon, which is out in the boonies. You can also try Costco or the foreign food market if you feel like making the trek to Seoul.

[luckylady]

since you are new here, you might want to try the pre-cooked rice that comes in individual plastic bowls - you'll see them sold in packs of 3 or 4, stacked together. these are very tasty, just peel back the lid a bit, steam them for about 5 minutes and they're done. very easy and convenient! they also do sell them w/varieties of grains added, even some black beans.

[sho]

I'm excited to hear that these products are out there. I thought that maybe I was just having a translation problem, so it's good to know that the cream cheese is recognizable and the cream is labeled in English.

@luckylady - thanks for the tip! I'll have to try those out for quick meals. I'm interested in trying out my rice maker that the school provided me with and I figured rice must be the one guaranteed cheap grocery:) (although after having it every day for school lunch, I'm starting to wonder if I won't get sick of it...)

Oh, one more thing: Supposedly in 2007, the Eatyourkimchi couple bought a toaster oven for 15000 (?!) at homever. This seems crazy cheap. Anybody happen to know if that's still a good place to get a toaster (before I make the trek...)?

[Steelrails]

Cream Cheese should be available in most Paris Baguettes, multiple brands as well.

I live in the middle of nowhere and we have regular stocks of butter and cream cheese in the grocery stores. Talking Philadelphia and Land O Lakes.

Cream on the other hand can be suspect as it is usually sweetened.

Any Emart worth its salt should have multiple varieties of butter. Go to Seoul and you can get real butter like President, not crappy American salt-fest butter. The Hyundai Dept. Store next to COEX opened up a big cheese case not too long ago and its darn easy to find what you want with multiple brands to choose from.

When finding hard to find stuff the general rule in Korea is start at an EMart/Homeplus/Costco then branch out into the Lotte/Shinsaegae/Galleria/Hyundai Dept. stores in your nearest big city. If that doesn't work, it's time to head up to Seoul and visit the various foreign food stores. Also don't discount places like bakery chains or even Family Marts/GS25s to have the odd random treat from home, although the markup will usually be ridiculous. Last but not least there is GMarket and sites like nicedeli which can ship to you.

It's at the point now where basic things should be pretty easy to find, only real specialty things are a challenge these days. Just keep an open eye and your ear to the ground and you should be able to scrounge. Whatever you do, don't listen to some old-timer saying "They don't have that here" and just give up. Last time they probably looked was 5 years ago anyway.

As for rice, whatever other people recommend for Korean rice for Korean dishes, but do yourself a favor and go to some Indian grocery and get Basmati/Jasmine rice.

[luckylady]

[Modernist]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[pegasus64128]

[sho]

Thanks all. This thread has been really helpful:) It's all a bit overwhelming at first.

[SonomaJoe]