Mitsuwa Market is a Japanese mall in Edgewater, NJ with an impressive food court,?market and shops. We started, of course, with the food court where I was stopped in my tracks by the tempting offer of spicy cod roe over udon (which I ordered cold). Laura and Shaun meanwhile stood in the long line for ramen and got us a bowl of salt broth ramen. A plate of gyoza was split and Mont Blanc cake for dessert.
Every morsel was incredible. The mild cod roe dish was my favorite but Mike also faired extremely well with his spicy pork and kimchee that he let me try. The filling and creamy ramen was also note worthy and delicious. I'd recommend all three dishes, but if you're more of a visual person, all the menu options are available in plastic form to insure no surprises.
The Mont Blanc was a bit surprising though. It's topping made of red bean paste rather than the french meringue. Mike opted for the cream and bean cakes, hot filled pastries with oddball images on the crusts.
After he had our fill in the food court we strolled a few of the other shops. First was a book store filled with strange and intriguing book covers I couldn't understand. Not just the language, either. I mean, what kind of story calls for a photograph of some roasted chicken and an anime child in a rabbit suit on it? Next door was a store crammed with expensive weird Japanesey stuff. We were tempted but passed on some sweet Totoro stuffed animals there.
We had less will power in the market place where we all managed to fill Mike's trunk. I got some roe, regret not getting octopus sashimi, found a sake we enjoyed at Zenkichi (called Watatake), grabbed a bottle of bright red Sochu, some fancy beers, some cute candies, some Ponzu sauce, red pepper seasoning, and my favorite (hard to find) Hot and Sour Egg Flower Soup Mix. Phew.
The great thing is even if you don't have a car, you can still get to the market from the city via bus. Information here.
But what do you think?