Mochi

Sunday is grocery shopping day, and grocery shopping means Little Tokyo Market Place. I stumbled onto this place only a few months ago and now feel like an idiot remembering all the time I spent pining for Hawaiian Sun juice, ramen that is not Top Ramen and bentos to-go when, all along, Little Tokyo Market Place was just minutes away.

Little Tokyo Market Place carries a mix of Asian groceries and American products you’d find at Ralph’s and, although it won’t meet ALL of your shopping needs, you can bet it’ll meet a lot of them…and a few fun things you didn’t even know you needed. PLUS, there are almost always samples of things like gyoza, ramen, drinks and kimchi–especially on Sundays.

Little Tokyo Market Place has a produce section with your normal fruit and veggie fare plus some yummy Asian produce (like Korean pears) and an organic section.

Look at this crazy ramen aisle! One of my favorite sections of the store.

Check out the mini Hawaii-food section!

There’s also a pre-made bento and sushi section. I’ve bought many a tasty lunch here. My favorite is the katsu bento.

There’s also a section with assorted Japanese and Korean sidedishes such as sunomono and kimchi.

And there’s a food court! I’ve sampled their manapua, teriyaki chicken and ramen and was pleasantly surprised by all of it.

Right next to the food court is a bakery that serves up fresh pastries and cakes.

Little Tokyo Market Place also has a second floor, which has everything from Japanese bowls to an entire Hello Kitty store.

On this day, I was seriously jonesing for some mochi ice cream. Luckily, Mikawaya is right next door to Little Tokyo Market Place.

I love how cute their mochi is.

Look at all of these flavors! They have way more choices than the boxed version you can find at Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores.

I ordered mint chocolate chip, mango and raspberry cream. They got the job done, but they don’t come anywhere close to Bubbie’s in Hawaii. One had soft, mushy ice cream, one’s outer layer of mochi was strangely tough and chewy, and I’m 99% sure that the other was the boxed kind. I was a happy camper to have quelled my craving, but I’m definitely not going out of my way to come here for mochi ice cream.

Be sure to have cash on you if you head here. It’s all they accept.