Lotte Plaza Market at Edison — Attraction in Edison

Lotte Plaza Market is an International Asian food market located within the Tano Shopping Mall. It features Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese groceries, cutlery, and crockery items. While it does carry a plethora of said groceries, it is primarily a Korean market. I was very excited to find they had a better selection of many dried beans, more exotic fruits, and vegetables, and wider selections of frozen items, and I even found my elusive Samgaetang ingredient kit. I should also add, that they have a very enticing meat and seafood section. I could not smell anything odorous as I pursued the isles.

The produce looks fresher and much nicer than another grocery store that I frequent. The prices are about the same with some items being a scooch bit more and others a tad bit less expensive. Overall, it’s comparable to most Asian grocery store prices in Edison.

They have a food court where they serve hot Korean food. The stands are as follows: BBQ Chicken for fried chicken; Bulbap Grill for Galbi burgers, bulgogi bowls, and Kimchi fried rice; Korean Rice HotDog for Korean hot dogs; Gong Cha for bubble tea; and Juno Bakery for desserts. I went to “Korean Rice HotDog” and ordered #6 which is their most popular and voted best hot dog. It consists of half mozzarella and half hot dog with an outside crust consisting of dried ramen noodles. They have 4 condiments on the side for hot dogs but it was so flavorful, that it did not need any. Just place your order and they will make it fresh for you. The buzzer they hand you will go off when it is ready. Hubby took a bite and decided he enjoyed it so much, that he accidentally consume half of it. This is a man who usually does not care for street food, as much as I enjoy them. 5 stars out of 5 stars for that hot dog!

If that isn’t enough to get me excited, they even have very complete Korean snack heaven, I mean section where it carries all of the most popular and favorite Korean snacks of all time. It made grabbing snacks for The Kid so much easier.

Comparing apples to apples, H-Mart is bigger and has more back-to-back isles, but Lotte Plaza has a broader range of things. Lotte Plaza is cleaner, better organized, and more thought out. Much more appealing. A little more out of my way to get to but it is...

i Shopped at Lotte Plaza Market just twice with joy in my cart, A treasure trove of flavors, fresh and smart. But one visit marred by a $9.99 wok, A single use, its coating scratched off, unhealthy, a shock.

Is it kitchenware or houseware, one might ask, But returning should never be a daunting task. Their policy states, if you’re not satisfied, Returns should be honored, not pushed aside.

For housewares and electronics, it seems the rule, If unused, unopened—that’s the general tool. But for a wok like mine, a kitchenware kind, I felt my return was well within line.

At customer service a middle-aged woman, no greeting, no grace, Her demeanor cold, refused service raised voice walking away, no smile on her face. She served others warmly, perhaps because of their hue, But with my skin, the warmth never grew.

But then came Supervisor Mr Lohan, with a kinder tone, While the lady snickered, He listened, debated, didn’t leave me alone. Then he sent her away, with his own patience and a smile, he stepped in to mend, A store credit he granted, to train his employee he committed, an unexpected end.

Through a back-and-forth, almost negotiation, Lohan restored faith in this shopping location. For though one’s treatment can sour a day, Kindness like his might bring me back this way…? hmm 🤔

So, a warning on woks and poorly trained customer ‘service’ staff (at least one) - their quality may fall, But if you meet Lohan, he may make up for it all. And know the return policy should be clear as can be— Poorly manufactured kitchenware returned should be stress-free.

And remember to choose Love everyday - whatever situation comes your way…

Review: based on 10/9/24 visit at approximately 930-10am

Photos: random shots of interesting merch at nice prices

Rating: 0 for employee, 5 for Lohan, 4 for store selection of goods Rating Weighting: service and treatment of customers weighted heavily / twice for calculation of weighted average of...

When LOTTE PLAZA MARKET opened in Edison in 2019, it added choices to our culinary experience, giving us variety at the fish market as well as at the vegetable, fruit, and Asian delicacies stalls not usually available in our traditional markets. However, I have to warn customers that this store needs immediate rectification in two areas. 1.Do not buy packaged fish placed in the aisle next to the open fish area where you can see the fish placed on ice –examine the eyes, press the flesh(with your gloves or a plastic bag) and see if the flesh bounces back, then examine the gills. You cannot do it in packaged fish which claims to be fresh. Recently, on two occasions I bought large rock crabs as well as mackerels in the packaged section. Came home and opened the package, They were rotten and the stink devoured the kitchen. I did call the store, however, a return trip was not worth my time. I discarded them. Also do not buy packaged fruit especially if it is boxed and marked down. I did buy some grapes in a box. Mistake. They were rotten inside. This time I went back to the store with photographic evidence which included snap shots of the grapes as well as the label. The amount charged was refunded but the experience was not a pleasant one. I expect the store to take immediate corrective measures in these two areas of my deep concern. It is a serious danger to our health. I am posting this letter to our Edison Health Department to be sure my concerns are investigated and appropriate corrective measures taken.

Mervyn...