Super H Mart is the 900 pound gorilla of Asian markets in north Atlanta; it was the 900 pound gorilla even before it was completed. In the days the Park Village complex (at 2550 Pleasant Hill Road) was being built, the traffic jam that built up at the location was so large a cop was there perpetually, and I grew to the point I wouldn’t go near there, because the traffic was just that bad.

These days the Park Village complex is a reality, and Super H Mart centers it. Otherwise the complex is full of shops, such as Pho Mimi and White Windmill. But Super H is the main draw, and there are good reasons for that. For one: consider a store large enough to devote a whole aisle to kimchi. Now I know it’s really called the “Prepared Foods” aisle, but be real: 90% of the aisle is nothing but pickles, with the star of the pickles being kimchi. For those who have been there, the ‘H’ in Super H Mart must be an abbreviation for ‘huge’.

The store itself is circled inside with small restaurants, whose changes are documented exhaustively by bloggers such as Blissful Glutton and Chow Down Atlanta. The vegetables collection is focused towards Asians, but exhaustive enough to accommodate other cuisines. For example, the only place I’ve seen chilaca peppers is in Super H Mart. Other peppers found there include finger peppers, poblanos, cubanels, serranos and thai. Herbs? plenty of them, including things I can’t decipher from my notes anymore – ok, I can make out tia to. There are also things I’ve seen once or twice in other international markets, such as yu choy.

Meats? Lots of them, most of them cut to make Korean BBQ at home a reality. There are some stock western cuts and some food buys can be had there. I saw ribeyes for $4.49/lb and tbones for $6.99/lb. Fish are labeled with their country of origin, for those who dread the idea of eating Chinese fish. Lamb there was frozen and from Australia, but they were nice cuts, the best possible steak off the leg of lamb.

To some extent, the horrible traffic around that location has abated, but parking is still not the best. However, if you needed to shop for food, Super H Mart ranks among the best markets in Atlanta.