Mitsuwa vs. HMart

[GlorifiedRice]

Hi, Ive been to the 2 HMarts (and the Maido & Assi Plaza) in the Philly burbs but Ive been thinking of driving up to Mitsuwa in NJ, buying as much as I can with coolers.

BUT I wanna know if its worth it.

For those of you who have been all of the above places is the Japanese selection very different at Mitsuwa?

[Joe Blowe]

Well, seeing as Mitsuwa is a Japanese grocery store, and H Mart is a Korean store, I'd say the selection of Japanese goods at Mitsuwa is better

(FWIW, I've been to the Mitsuwa in Edgewater, the Korean grocery stores in Flushing, and countless Japanese and Korean stores in the L.A. area (born and raised). If Japanese is what you're looking for, you know where you gotta go...)

[Hassouni]

H Mart still has a very good selection of Japanese stuff - the only thing I can't really find there are herbs and greens like mizuna, mitsuba, myoga, komatsuna, etc. Almost everything else you'd need, they have. They have several kinds of miso, konbu, nori, wakame, udon, soba, konnyaku, Japanese style rice, Japanese shoyu in several varieties, real mirin, gobo, shungiku, negi, etc etc.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[SylviaLovegren]

Mitsuwa is really good but expect to pay Japanese prices. They are catering to Japanese executives and their families who are in NJ/NY for work and who are used to high prices. You can buy a cantaloupe at Mitsuwa for $10 or go down to the street to the Stop N Shop and get it for $3. But Mitsuwa does have pretty much everything you ever thought you might need for Japanese cooking. The bakery in the food court there also sells delicious almond pastries. I've heard that their "jelly" donuts stuffed with red bean paste are excellent, too, but I loathe red bean paste so I couldn't say.

[GlorifiedRice]

Okay let me give you an example of what Im trying to get across...

I lovvvvve Oden, I can eat Oden Japanese and Korean style 2 times a month, but I go to all the Asian mkts near me and they have the same damn Oden sets, nothing new, interesting or fun, certainly no novelties.
Ive been going to Asian mkts since I was a teen, Im 45 now, I need some variety...

[Hassouni]

learn to make your own oden ingredients?

[Jason Perlow]

When I lived in NJ up until this last summer we went to H-Mart frequently and Mitsuwa less frequently. 90 percent of the ingredients you need for Japanese cuisine will be avaliable and cheaper at H-Mart, but there are specific condiments and things you can only get at Mitsuwa. That being said Mitsuwa is crazy expensive, and I found myself buying less and less from them. Probably not worth the trip up from Philly, you're probably better off buying specific items on the internet, it may actually be cheaper that way.

The food court is fun though. I've blogged about Mitsuwa a bunch of times.

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2006/05/19/nj-dining-mitsuwa-marketplace/

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/the-mitsuwa-tuna-cut/

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/05/28/takoyaki-its-octopussylicious/

Edited February 26, 2013 by Jason Perlow (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

Jason your pics now make me want to go. I just wanna see the packaged goods, the frozen section and the cut meats

[Jason Perlow]

Well, those are older posts. Since the earthquake and nuclear accident, the importation of Japanese fish and meat and any number of other goods have become a serious concern, and these markets have had to find alternative sources. If there are condiments and things, they may not be of japanese origin. Absolutely the fish and meat will be local origin nowadays.

[budrichard]

As Posted

H Mart is a Korean conglomerate and Mitsuwa is a Japanese oriented MegaMart.

I shop at both frequently in the Chicago area.

H Mart specializes in Korean made goods and foostuffs along with Chinese and a few Japanese products. Just because a pakcage says its shoyu, Mirin or whatever doesn't mean its the same thing.

Korean manufactured is quite bit more expensive than Chinese for the same product namely because Korean label thier products and some are organi and HAACP compliant. I have found the quality to be excellent and on a par for the most products similarly made in Japan items. But note: Even in Mitsuwa, you mus read the country of origin because much of what i sold is from China to reduce costs.

We don't purchase any foodstuffs of Chinese origins (PRC) because there is no regulation.

The same type of product from Mitsuwa or H Mart will have different flavor profiles which is why they sell to certain Nationals.

The biggest difference I have found between the stores is the quality of the fresh fish and shellfish. Mitsuwa has better quality dressed fish.

But H Mart has live tanks for crab, lobster, fish and the value is certainly there at that 's where we obtain our live items.

The other weekend, they were breaking down a whole bluefin at H Mart with nary a sole in sight. the same event at Mitsuwa draws a jostling crowd. TheDeprtment head cut me a nice loin piece of about 4#'s and even trimmed the blood groove and gave me a discount. Great bluefin. My last foray to Mitsuwa was a zoo and a bidding war for the bluefin at double the price but it was very good.

In summary, for Korean cusine its H Mart and Korean products, for Japanese cusine it Mitsuwa and Japanese products.-Dick

BTW, I'm a Nuclear Engineer with the latest in Canberra detection equipment that i purchased personally after the Fukushima accident My equipment is not the Soviet era equipment you find on eBay or antiquated Cival defense detectors but the latest sophisticated handheld scintillation and alpha/beta surface contamination detectors.. So far I have found zero radiation contamination coming from Japan in foodstuffs. The Japanese also screen at the local level to assure the food supply is not contaminted and if you know the Japanese, its; not a cusory screen. I have no problems consuming Japanese foodstuffs imported to the USA.

Edited February 27, 2013 by budrichard (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

Jason?

Im not as much looking for meats and fish from Japan as I am for specific cuts of pork cut in Japanese style

Like I wanna make this

But no one sells that cut of pork in the US or HMart

Honestly, I wish I had been told as a teen that I could move to Japan...

Im more worried about the effects of SS Sandy on Mitsuwa. It was flooded by Sandy and usually after disasters the little packages of do dads on the shelves that are too hardcore for even the local population get tossed out and the low selling items get re-evaluated and discontinued, taking the "heart" out of a place.

Like when our local King of Prussia, Pa Bed Bath and Beyond (which previously was jam packed with more than any other BB&B in the area) had a fire, once it reopened it was just like the others, COOKIE CUTTER!

[SylviaLovegren]

When I lived in NJ up until this last summer we went to H-Mart frequently and Mitsuwa less frequently. 90 percent of the ingredients you need for Japanese cuisine will be avaliable and cheaper at H-Mart, but there are specific condiments and things you can only get at Mitsuwa. That being said Mitsuwa is crazy expensive, and I found myself buying less and less from them. Probably not worth the trip up from Philly, you're probably better off buying specific items on the internet, it may actually be cheaper that way.

The food court is fun though. I've blogged about Mitsuwa a bunch of times.

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2006/05/19/nj-dining-mitsuwa-marketplace/

Those pictures made me homesick for Jersey! St. Honore pastry shop is where I used to get the delicious almond pastries.

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/the-mitsuwa-tuna-cut/

http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/05/28/takoyaki-its-octopussylicious/