Tammy N.
Yelp
My friend and I came here after watching a movie and honestly I've been hoping for a place like this in NY. I often see convenience stores like this in Japan and Korea, and I always think it'd be so nice to have something like this in NY. They had both prepared food available on display or you can get food made to order. On display they had bento boxes, sandos, onigiri, sushi, sashimi, fried chicken, kimchi fried rice, tteokbokki, side dishes like egg salad and corn salad, kimchi, etc. In the kitchen, you can order rice bowls and noodle dishes like ramen and udon.
I got the Takoyaki bento, ~$15.75, and it was surprised how filling it was. I was starving before I ate and by the time I finished, I was so full that I had a hard time breathing. After paying, you can go upstairs to the dining area where they have a microwave and utensils. The food was lukewarm but not stale, so you could technically eat it as is, but I like my food hot so I microwaved it for about a minute and it was still good. They have small paper plates by the utensils station, which I imagine is for sharing or, in my case, I took out all the cold foods like the cucumber rolls and salad so I could microwave the rest.
The rice was fluffy and not dry in the crabmeat tofu pocket, cucumber roll, and under the Takoyaki. The tamagoyaki was on the sweeter side, which threw me off because I was expecting it to be savory for some reason. It had a soft and smooth texture, which I enjoyed. The salad on the right was better than I expected. I didn't think I'd like the dressing but it had a mild slightly nutty taste to it and wasn't over pungent or overpowering. All the vegetables were cooked perfectly so it wasn't too crunchy or mushy and held onto the dressing well. The octopus in the Takoyaki wasn't tough or overly chewy and the flavor was pretty good and it went well with the rice. The 2 sausages were great too, I loved the smoky taste. I generally really like pickled vegetables but this time I thought they were bit too sour for me, but otherwise they were great because of the crunch and brightness it brought to everything. The lotus root side was pretty good, I love me some crunchy lotus root, so I can't complain there. It's generally pretty quiet because the music isn't too loud and there wasn't that many people. They play a lot of older American songs so it was very nostalgic.
The convenience store itself is pretty well stocked with pantry items. They got a good selection on instant ramens and snacks, some classics and some that I've never seen before from Japan. They've got a good selection of frozen foods, condiments, and snacks. They also have some ceramic ware available that's imported from Japan and a small refrigerated section with some fresh produce.