Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dev]

I thought this would be a useful thread for people going to Costco - especially since they sell mega-sized stuff. Here are a couple of things to put on the list.

Best
1. Frozen Cheesecake for 16,000 won
2. Frozen Pizza. They're Margherita style with basil. Really nice tasting. 3 medium pies in a box for about 12,000 won.
3. Candy (prizes for your students). They have a lot of imported candy in big bags to motivate your students. I like the mini Mentos (100 rols in a plastic jug) for 7,300 won.
4. Kirkland Bacon - 21,000 won for 5 1 lb packs.
5. Walkers shortbread cookies - Huge variety pack with six trays of cookies in there. About 54 cookies. 9,800 won
6. Bagels - from their bakery. You choose from plain, onion, blueberry, and cinnamon / raisin. 10 bagels for 4,900 won.
7. Costco's 1hr photo finishing. They do both digital and film processing. Form my experiences, they've been good quality and cheap. I always give them my film / memory card and head straight to the food court for some pizza.


Worst

1. Kirkland Laundry detergent. It's expensive and doesn't get food stains out whether you use it in hot or cold water.
2. Canadian Hot Cake syrup. 6.900 won. Be careful! This IS NOT real maple syrup and doesn't say so on the label. But the fact that they put a big red Canadian flag on the label would suggest that it is real maple syrup. Why else would they put it there? Sly! It's that fake stuff that they sell back home at the dollar stores and it tastes like beeeep! Get the real maple sryrup that they do sell.


+++ Be very careful with expiry dates at Costco. I've noticed that they still keep food that's going to expire in a short time on the shelves. Fine if you can use 4 liters of spaghetti sauce in 2 months, but not fine for most people.

[vlcupper]

I wasn't partial to the cheesecake, but the frozen food they have is a life saver. I have the frozen veg and the frozen salmon filets. And the frozen pancakes. The frozen waffles are just too big for one person.

I'm getting the apple juice when I go back.


The best fresh veg are definately the baby carrots, broccoli florets, and avacadoes.

Their bread doesn't get moldy after 3 days either.

And they have inexpensive cookbooks in English. Their vitamins are hella cheaper than at Carrefour. A giant bottle of bee pollen for less than 17 v. a tiny bottle at Carrefour for 40,000. Hmmm which will I choose.

[Dev]

[tzechuk]

Best:

Books - children's books are very cheap there!
Frozen blueberries - good for baking
Fish fingers - Letty loves them!
Soda - very cheap
Asparagus - huge bunch for 9,900 won. I cook some when it's fresh and blanch the rest to freeze
HUGE potatoes - not the tiny ones you get at other supermarkets. These you can bake/chip whatever
Apple juice... oh my gosh, I was so happy when I saw they had *real* apple juice as I knew it back home
Candies - huge tubs
Cheeses - my Korean husband loves cheeses, having spent quite a few years in France

Worst:

Nothing really... just the quantity is so large that you have to buy a lot and then cart everything home.
Oh.. and Korean food there is always slightly more expensive than other supermarket.

[HapKi]

Flour tortillas in the frozen section- the real deal
bricks of cheese- cheddar sharp, extra sharp
grated Monterey Jack for lasagna
I-pods, though I have not bought one
full-size towels
can coffee by the case
apple juice-plastic jug size-comes in a case of 4
rice crispy treats
trail mix
granola bars
bagels
flat of cinnamon rolls
rye bread

[Thunndarr]

Frozen Pizzas:As previously mentioned
Frozen Strawberries: 2.27 kg for around 9,000 won. Great during summer.
BBQ Sauce: I think it's Heinz or some such. Comes in a massive jug. Not the greatest, but more than passable when you're desperate.
Chicken Breasts: Self-explanatory
Water Filters: Because I hate buying bottled water
Pace brand salsa: Too expensive everywhere else
Real cheese: Self-explanatory

[canukteacher]

Things I like and buy:

Boneless/skinless chicken.......(IMO) you won't find better price of quality anywhere. I buy it an divide it up into serving sizes and freeze it.

Any of the Costco meat is great.........good quality and good value.

Cheddar Cheese: you won't find it with the other cheese but in one for the stand-up refrigerators (Kirkland Brand...extra sharp)

Fresh parmesean cheese......(in the cheese case)

Water packed tuna............read the label.....make sure you get the water packed. Sold in packs of 8.

Pate............I buy it and freeze it.

Frozen salmon steaks.............the best

Smoked salmon

Bacon

I don't tend to buy alot of the heavy stuff like drinks, etc.....just too heavy to carry.

Sometimes you can find good prices on wine, but HomePlus usually does better price wise.

I bought some fantastic Egyptian cotton towels there last winter. Last time I was there they didn't have any left, but they always seem to have good quality towels at reasonable prices.

When I go to Costco I make sure I have a couple of hours. I go through the entire story. You never know what you will find!

Happy shopping!

CT

[eamo]

Best:

Kirkland (roasted by Starbucks) coffee beans.
Chicken breasts boobs
Australian frozen beef. Sliced.
Kirkland and Tilamook cheese.
The big boxes of sushi is cheap (for Korea).

...and....in the 'restaurant'....Bulgogi Bake's!!! Man, I wolf those down.


Worst things to buy?

All the alcohol is too pricey. Fruit and veg only makes sense if you have a large family or are intending to set up a soup kitchen for the poor.

[steroidmaximus]

what's with all the costco threads in the last few days? Damn scary . . .

The alcohol is cheaper than what you'll pay in liquor stores, but more expensive than what you'll find in Namdaemun . . . guess it depends on whether you have a clear conscience after not paying taxes or buying potentially stolen goods. I sometimes have no problem with it. . . but 27000 won for a case of Carlsburg is not bad at all, and the wine is well taken care of.

[poker player]

The 5 litre boxes of Hardy's wine-both red and white are decent for 35k won.
The jugs of cranberry juice and real (not sweet) tomato garden cocktail juice
The 1 litre 4 packs of Golden Circle grapefruit and orange juice from Australia keep for quite a while until opened and are 100% pure juice. The orange juice is good, the grapefruit is outstanding.
Boneless, skinless Chicken breasts as others have mentioned are both excellent price and quality
The 10 lb bag of Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix lasts forever and is about 8k won.
The 4 pack of Avacodos are very big and delicious but need to be eaten 1 a day once they ripen before they go bad. About 10k but if you're an avocado fan worth it.

[periwinkle]

They have cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. I'd buy it more often if I had a car. =(

You can buy sour cream, heavy whipping cream, and a brick of good N.Z. cream cheese. Nice for baking. Bulk nuts like pecans and walnuts are good for baking, too.

Quaker granola is nice. My friend always picks that up.

For snacks, the Mauna Lai garlic and onion macadamias are yummy. Only eat a few at a time, 'cuz they are filling! Wheat thins and cheezits are nice for snacking, too.

(What's up with all the Costco threads?)

The take and bake pizza is good. If your oven is too small, you can divide the pizza into sections.

Also, with the margherita pizza, I think it's better if you add some more mozzarella cheese and some toppings, such as mushrooms and onions.

Oh- good place to but neutrogena products ('cuz u save money on them).

I bought a silverware set there. It was around 40,000 won and it was a nice collection.

Icky stuff:

Don't buy frozen fruit like the mango/ papaya mix- it's nasty. Not sweet at all.

[vlcupper]

I like the papaya/mango stuff. It makes good smoothies.

[periwinkle]

[Zyzyfer]

You should be careful with expiry dates in general when buying Western foods. I don't think I've ever purchased a can of baked beans that had not expired.

Good:

Tub of mustard - if you like French's mustard, this sucker will last you like a year. ~6,000 won.
Ham steaks - 25k and 1 1/2 kgs if I'm not mistaken. Cut in fourths and then split down the middle to make slices of ham that are great on sandwiches.
Cheese - duh
Mac and cheese - if you eat it. Not a great brand, but it's closer to the price it should be for a friggin' single person's food. Works out to be like 720 won a box.
Big box of ramyeon - same deal as mac and cheese
Ground beef - I swear if anyone tries to paw off pre-made patties as being good on me again, I'll flip. Much cheaper than ground beef anywhere else in Korea to my knowledge.
Hash browns - 3-4k won for like 20. They help keep breakfast simple.
Canned tomatoes - box of 8. Finally learned how to make homemade spaghetti sauce. No paste, but you can get this ingredient out of the way.
Frozen pizzas - definitely a great deal. You can add other toppings and make it even better.

Bad:
Glutton foods, such as the frozen cheesecakes, huge tubs of candies and chocolates, expensive gourmet cheese, stuff like that. Spoil yourself with one or two items, but these are the things that send your bill into the stratosphere. I always limit myself to one snack per month from there. At 6-10k per box of junk food, it adds up fast.

[riley]

What I like: the great refund policy. My wife and I have had to return some things in the past and had no problems getting a refund.
I bought a bottle of 15 year old Glenfidditch and that was great.

The bad:
too easy to spend a lot of money.