Diana Gifts & Groceries

Mom and pop Korean market in Boise area. Such a hidden gem! I’ve been coming here several times.
Why I love this place:
1. Their homemade marinated meat. When you come inside, they have a big freezer at the back of the store. You can find marinated galbi, bulgogi, shabu shabu beef, pork belly here. I have a grill/​hotpot pan that I can use to do a family style BBQ/​hot pot with friends and I always buy my meat supply here! They’re in such a huge portion too and can easily feed 4 – 6 people depending on how hungry you are.
2. It’s always fully stocked with tons of Korean instant noodles/​ramyeon. You will find the regular nong shim noodles, but you will also find other brands/​flavor that you’ve probably never seen! I heard the neoguri nongshim seafood noodle is to die for :-)
3. Frozen fishcakes and seafood mix for hot pot.
4. Friendly owners behind the cashier. The place is super clean. I admit it still has a slight foreign smell like other Asian markets, but nothing strong or unpleasant! I enjoy looking around the store.
What would make it better:
The cooler in the front has interesting side dishes (dried squid? Pickles??) and I don’t know what they are just by looking at it. But all the signs are written in hangul/​Korean alphabet! I’d really like it if they also have English translation :-)

What a amazing people!
They are not there just for the business but ti serve community.
They’ve done so much for risk youth program’s.
God bless…
Price is as low as Masur cities in the state, especially vaggitable.

What a great market! The best source for gochujang. If you don’t feel like using the gochujang to make your own kimchi, then pick up some ready made kimchi that is excellent! This is the cleanest Asian market I have been in and the lady that helped me was extremely friendly and helpful. Make sure to ask for a package of Bulgogi (Korean BBQ). It’s homemade by the owner.

The reason I keep coming back to Diana is because they have gochujang, which I cannot find anywhere else in the city. Gochujang is fermented red pepper paste and is needed to make lots of Korean recipes from Kim Chi to a mung bean pancake dipping sauce.
Additionally, Diana has their own home made kim chee which you can purchase in varying quantities.
A third reason I like it is my friend often challenges the owner to a game of Go which they play in the back. Go Diana!

Pros:
— clean and tidy (Western supermarket levels)
— Korean goods not found elsewhere
— homemade Bulgogi
I must admit this is going to be a biased review as my friend’s family owns the store;) Of all the Asian markets in Boise, this is the cleanest and tidiest. Walking in, your first impression is that this can not be an Asian market as it is too clean and too organized. It’s not until you read the Korean writing are you reassured that this has all the authenticity of a real Asian market with none of the fallbacks of a stereotypical Asian market.
I have tried their homemade Bulgogi because I’ve been to their home for dinner… and it was very good there. So it’s the same stuff they serve at home– you know it’s good.
Now I need to convince them to sell more of their Kim-​chee side dishes that they make at home!

Pretty good Korean grocery store given there aren’t that many Koreans in the valley. Since the regular Asian grocery stores don’t offer much Korean fare, this had become a regular pit stop for me when I first moved here (I support Manna Market now due to their fantastic personal service towards me, although that’s not a knock on Diana, and Diana does carry more groceries). They offer goods from a few other countries, but the food offered is predominantly Korean. Homemade galbi and bulgogi are offered in a freezer in the back to do your own Korean BBQ (you need to ask about it and have them take you to the back of the store and show you it). Some soju options are available at the front of the store (they had OB beer for a little while but don’t offer beer anymore). It’s the only place that offers a Korean black raspberry wine called bokbunjajoo. And Nong Shim makes some of the best packaged noodle meals available in the U.S. One of the more pleasant surprises upon moving here. As a fan of Korean fried chicken, I wish they would make some since the owner’s uncle owns a franchise back in Korea. That would get me coming back here on a regular basis.
UPDATE Dec. 2013: Since Manna Market was destroyed by fire, this should now be your go-​to place for nearly all of your Korean grocery needs (though I do pick up various snacks and candy from Asian Grocery Outlet that aren’t sold here). I’ll update accordingly should Manna’s owner decides to start a new market.
2ND UPDATE June 2014: Manna Market is officially done, and its owner has moved on to other business ventures. So Diana is the only Korean store in town now. Please support them!