What to try at Seafood City's food hall

State of play: Seafood City includes a nearly 11,000-square-foot food hall with seating for over 300 people.

• You can dine at Grill City, get a hot pot at Slurp Alley, sample an array of fried foods at Crispy Town or get some pastries at Bakers Avenue, among other food vendors that don't have location-specific names.

Best bites: With so many options, I had a tough time deciding where to get lunch, but I decided my best bet was Grill City due to the expansive menu. I ordered a barbecue pork skewer and a cup of beef peanut stew, with a banana caramel roll for dessert.

• The beef was so tender I could tear off chunks with just a plastic fork, and the peanut sauce was delicious, making it a tasty and unique dish.
• The pork skewer was a mouthwatering clash of sweet and smoky flavors.
• The banana roll — called a turon — was crispy and sweet, but not too sweet, the perfect thing to end the meal. It's kind of like a giant sweet egg roll filled with banana and caramelized brown sugar. I've never had anything like it.

Zoom in: I decided to check out Seafood City's grocery offerings while I was there, since I don't find myself in Chandler that often.

• Their tanks featured one of the biggest lobsters I've ever seen.
• I brought home some frozen crispy baby crab — I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I'll figure out something — along with some chicharrones, a few packets of dried chow mein noodles and a bag of mochi.