As a seasoned foodie and Korean cook, I find Korean supermarkets to be a fascinating adventure that motivates me to cook.

Wondering what to do with a package of dried wild greens, choosing from an array of spicy instant noodles and asking for help to decipher labels I can’t read are all part of the fun.

A new Palama Supermarket is now open on North King Street and I can hardly wait to explore its shelves and refrigerated cases.

The market is a "culmination of all the things we learned," says Daniel Lim, president of the company. "There is more parking, and we’ll continue to offer the prepared Korean foods that are so popular."

The new store has 20,000 square feet of space on two floors.

Lim’s parents, Hyo Kyu and Hae Joo Lim, are the founders of Palama Supermarkets. Hyo Kyu came to the U.S. in 1971 to study agronomy at the University of Hawaii. With Hae Joo they ran Dae Han store on Kalakaua Avenue in 1976, selling snacks, soft drinks and grocery items.

Hae Joo began cooking pan chan, side dishes, that were sold in the store, attracting a following of Korean and local customers.

Demand for more Korean foods, and the fact that their garage became a warehouse, led to the opening in 1987 of Palama Market in Kapa­lama. It was a full-scale Korean supermarket.

Hawaii-born Daniel Lim was headed to law school after graduating from the University of California at Irvine when his father asked him to return to help open the Maka­loa Street store.

Lim returned in 2003 and now runs the company with his parents. Today, besides the Maka­loa store, there is a branch in Wai­malu. The Kapa­lama location closed.

The supermarket focuses on all manner of ingredients for Korean dishes. Pantry staples include fermented foods such as kan jang (soy sauce), twaen jang (soybean paste or miso) and kochu jang (chili paste); sesame seeds and oil; dried fish, shrimp and seaweeds; beans and grains such as millet, sorghum and barley; acorn, mung bean, potato and rice flours; wheat and sweet potato starch noodles; assorted dried vegetables; chili pepper powder in several degrees of heat; and many kinds of packaged instant noodles, known for their spicy flavor.

In the produce area, won bok and radish are prominent for kim chee making; watercress, bean sprouts, soybean sprouts, zucchini and eggplant are among the usual fresh vegetables prepared as side dishes, blanched or fried.

The meat section usually features just a half-dozen cuts of beef, lean cuts that are traditionally less expensive. There are short ribs for grilled or braised kalbi, rib eye for bulgogi, brisket for table grilling, flap for grilling or stewing, and beef shanks and oxtail for soup.

Pork belly has become a popular food item at the Korean table, and besides prepared pig’s feet, there’s little else in the pork department. Pork belly is cut thin without skin and bone, similar to bacon. And there’s the "black cut," referring to a thicker cut of pork belly without the rind and with some bone.

The Palama Snack Corner will feature the usual prepared Korean dishes such as kalbi, bulgogi, meat jun and spicy pork plates, steaming bowls of kook soo (noodles), kim chee and tofu stew and kim pap (Korean sushi rolls).

"My mother still oversees the food preparation," says Lim. "We don’t use MSG, and we’re conscious of the fact that people want less salt. Home-style Korean comfort food is what we do."

There is a wide selection of house-made kim chee and other pickled and fermented foods essential to a Korean meal. Hawaii-grown chili peppers, radishes (daikon), won bok, cabbage, green onions and chives are used in the preparations.

Special equipment from Korea will roast sweet potatoes to perfection, and another machine will roast and shred dried squid for snacking. Both will be ongoing at all locations.