Mitsuwa Marketplace (Edgewater, NJ)

Reviewers: Wesley & Soraya





You can thank Netflix for this amazing find. While home doing nothing I decided to watch back to back episodes of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. One of the episodes took place in New Jersey and Anthony visited the Mitsuwa Marketplace. I nearly lept out of my seat when I saw this.

I confess that I married a Japan-aholic. My husband, Wesley, loves everything about Japan. There is something about this culture that he is mesmerized by...the quiet dignity of the people, the anime and manga, the technology, the language. You name it, he loves it. When I told him about this Marketplace he didn't hesitate for a second in going there for lunch and some grocery shopping.


The Restaurant:

As soon as you walk into this shopping center, it's like you've been transported to another country. There are specialty food shops that sell a variety of Japanese food and sweets on one side and on the other side there's a grocery store that sells mostly Japanese products. We arrived at 1:30pm on a busy Saturday. We looked around a bit but I already knew I wanted to try some "authentic" ramen so we made our way to the Santouka stand.






The Food:

I suppose this would be considered fast food. You line up and give your order. The cashier gives you a ticket with a number on it, which they call out when your food is ready. You then make your way through this mall-like food court to find an empty table.

Wesley ordered the Miso Ramen with a negi rice bowl and a boiled egg on the side. He was hesitant about eating the egg but once I grabbed a half and threw it in my bowl, he did the same and enjoyed it.






I ordered the Soy Sauce Ramen bowl. Let me just say, the Japanese people don't joke when it comes to their noodles. This ramen was unbelievable. The broth had a creamy, yet light taste to it. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the pork was out of this world good. I couldn't stop commenting about it every time I'd take a bite of the tender pieces. This tastes a million times richer than the ramen bowls you buy in supermarkets.

Wes and I agreed that my ramen tasted a little better than his although both were very good. The bowls are pretty big so it fills you up by the time you're done. Not so full that we couldn't get some dessert though.







There are around six different stands that sell sweets so you have plenty to choose from. We stopped at one that sold Mochi sweets. We ordered the red bean paste filled mochi, a white bean mochi, and a mochi in sesame seed sauce. The red bean isn't so bad once you get passed the fact that you're eating beans that are sweet. The white bean was a little too chewy for my taste. As much as I really tried to keep an open mind, I couldn't stand the sesame seed sauce and mochi together. Wesley disliked all three of them. They are definitely an aquired taste.



After our delicious lunch and interesting dessert, we walked through the grocery section to pick up some goodies for home. It was a little difficult to find certain things because these were all Japanese brands that we were unfamiliar with. We really had to read the labels to see what we were buying but I liked the variety they had here.

We found the things we wanted and also bought some extra snacks like mochi ice cream and pot stickers and creamy soft drinks.





The Price & Final Thoughts:

The ramen shop came out to $20.30. The sweets were $6.00. This leaves lunch at a total of $26.30.

I found the ramen to be a little pricey although it was very filling. The shopping center also had above average prices. I would go back to try some more of the lunch stands because everything looks so good but I most likely wouldn't use the grocery section again unless I'm looking for a specific Japanese product.

To find out more about Mitsuwa Marketplace visit them at: www.mitsuwa.com

Mambo Tea House (Rutherford, NJ)

Reviewers:




Wesley and I weren't originally going to eat here for lunch but the restaurant we were planning on going to (which was very close by) was closed. I had eaten at Mambo Tea House once before with a girl friend but it was a rushed lunch so I always intended on going back for a proper experience. Today seemed like as good a day as any.


Restaurant details:

Located at 98 Park Avenue in Rutherford, NJ. This restaurant is Cuban themed with some Asian accents mixed in. The theme was inspired by the owners: a Caribbean born husband and his Hong Kong born wife. It's a bring your own bottle type of place. They also sell their own tea if you fall in love after sampling some and need to take it home with you.

We arrived at around 1pm on a Saturday. It was pretty empty inside aside from maybe four tables that were taken. We chose to sit near the front mostly because I wanted the sofa seat. This was a big mistake. Because I'm so short, I had to stuff pillows behind me so I could reach the table. That didn't damper my mood though. I happily awaited our food as the Cuban music played throughout the restaurant.






The Food:

Wesley ordered the Ropa Vieja which is shredded beef with peppers and onions in a tomato based sauce. It came with beans, yellow rice, and two plantain slices. As you can tell from the image below, he was so eager to attack this he didn't wait for me to get a photo first. He seemed to enjoy it although he did complain that the beans tasted like the canned variety and could have been better. He accompanied that with Passion fruit juice.

On a side note, how adorable is that little pot the beef came in? It was baby sized. Too cute.






I ordered the Sandwich Cubano aka The Cuban Sandwich. This sandwich consisted of ham, pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, and what the menu referred to as their "special mojo sauce." On the side I also had sweet potato fries which were crispy on the outside and soft inside just the way I like it. In the image below, you'll see a lone fry in the front. This was the one bad fry in an otherwise delectable batch.

I have to admit I really enjoyed this meal. The salty meats and cheese in the sandwich combined with the biting flavor of the pickles and mustard are a wonderful combination. I've never had a Cuban sandwich in Miami so I'm not sure how it stacks up but as a Jersey girl I thought it was pretty darn good.

I also had the Mambo Iced Tea which is green tea with ginseng, honey, and fruit flavors. The sweetness of that and the potatoes made sure all of my palate had something to work with.






We couldn't leave without ordering some tea. This is a tea house, after all. They have a huge selection to choose from and everything sounds so good. We ordered the Valentine's Black Tea. This one was flavored with chocolate and strawberries. As soon as the pot was placed on our table the air was filled with a deep chocolatey aroma. This tea had a natural sweetness to it so no sugar was really needed. I enjoyed it a lot.






We decided to share a dessert. Wes loves fruit after a meal so he automatically wanted the Conchas de Guayaba. It's essentially guava shells with your choice of cream cheese or vanilla ice cream. We went with the ice cream. Once I bit into the Guava I realized we probably should've gone with the cheese instead. The guava is overwhelmingly sweet. You can tell it's canned because of the syrupy goop it's covered in. The ice cream and tea helped to balance the taste a little. While not the worst dessert I've ever had, I probably wouldn't want to order it again.




The Price & Final Thoughts:

Our entire meal came out to $26.64.

Wes and I liked Mambo Tea House. Wes said he'd give it an 8 out of 10. Bottom line: It's a nicely decorated spot, the food is good, the staff was very friendly, and the price wasn't bad at all for the area. I'm not sure what it's like around dinner time but I would definitely recommend it for lunch.

For more about this restaturant, visit them at: www.mamboteahousenj.com