Stopped in for Kimchi, Left $90 later....

In an attempt to make the best out of my sucky work situation, I decided to stop by the Super H Mart in Niles. I was working in Morton Grove, about 5 minutes from the market. I made my grocery list when my last patient left; 1. Kimchi 2. 1 package Spicy Chewing Noodle 3. Oshinko....this should be at most $20
Super H Mart in more a Korean market than anything, but they have a bit of everything Asian (even have some random indian curry) as well as a few restaurants...including an amazing dumpling place, korean joint that has fantastic spicy beef soup and spicy pork dishes, Tokyo Lunch Box sushi, korean "snack" shop, chinese food, and a dessert cafe. I tend to stick with the dumplings, korean restaurant, and sushi!
All of these nooks and crannies lead to me being unable to leave! I walk in, purposely avoid the restaurants, but then getting distracted by the cheap produce...I suddenly remember that I need mint, basil, kaffir lime leaves, and apples are always good!...I finally head to the "deli" section where they have freshly made seafood salad, random pickled or peppered items, and some things I have yet to identify. The deli section is where the cabbage kimchi should be....should be is the key point here...I'm roaming around...dangerous in this situation...can't find kimchi but i manage to try some soft shell crabs that have been marinated in this spicy sauce...I'll just pick up a small package...still no kimchi...hmmm what are these little stringy things....I'll just have a taste, "dried calamari in chili paste you say...okay I'll take a small package!"...still could not find kimchi..so I give up for a bit and head for the refrigerator section...but not before grabbing 2 packages of seaweed salad...sure it's not on the list, but it's soooo cheap here!
I'm mentally staying focused, just grab the oshinko and the noodles and get the hell out of here!...I should point out that I grabbed the carrying basket in an attempt to curb the shopping.
Oshinko and noodles in hand I start to head for the exit. I assume they ran out of the fresh kimchi and i'm anti the jarred variety. A kind lady stops me and says "you try"...okay, "I'll try"..I think..."but I won't buy!"....So I try something called fish cakes...I buy. Then comes what I later figure out was raw tilapia...I'm not sure why I was trying this particular item. The lady handed it to me, told me to dip in in this sauce, next thing I know I'm chowing down on a partially frozen sliver of tilapia...odd I know, but good.
Keep walking Amber, keep walking....I think, "oh wait, let me grab a couple of liters of the Aloe Juice"...3 liters, which I must carry in my hand cause they dont fit in the hand cart to well.
This store is set up like a maze, and I'm convinced at this point that it's set up this way on purpose. It takes serious effort to leave this place and you pass so many tasting stations and goodies along the way.
I decide to ask the fish lady about the kimchi. She directs me back to the deli section. Turns out they are out of the smaller packages of kimchi, but I can get a 5#bag of the fresh stuf...I say why not!
As I'm once again leaving the deli section, I noticed this ready to eat stir-fried vermicelli noodles...I remember that I loved these things and that I should probably venture back to the produce section to get some fresh mushrooms and peppers to add to what would later become my dinner that night!
Lucky me, king oyster mushrooms are on sale and they are giving out samples of the mushrooms cooked with red bell peppers!!!!! It's a sign I'll tell you!
Finally, I reach the check out aisle. There are hella lines...and of course more ladies giving out samples!
This time it's dumplings...and they are delcious...so I sit down my basket...which is now easily 20# and grab some dumplings with "meats" and with "kimchi"...
So, I'm up. My items are getting scanned. I'm watching the monitor. I'm thinking $50 max...the monitor keeps going...I think, maybe $75, those small packages of random pickled items are like $6 a piece....and then the finally the total $89.60.
That was some damn expensive kimchi!
What can I say? I love Asian Markets!