This is my first post on The Episodic Eater about grocery shopping!  Well, what is so special about that?  Not many people that I know have gone into any international grocery stores, and I have been exploring them since I was a kid.

Keep in mind that there are many kinds of ethnic grocery stores that range from small and quaint to large and modern.  Since starting the blog, I have shared mini tours of Korean market, a Vietnamese market, and a Filipino market!  For some reason, I haven’t done the same for my go-to Armenian market, except for two photos here and here.

Anyways, today I thought it would be fun to take a mini tour of one of my faves: Mitsuwa!

I love that the outside looks like a pagoda.  Keepin’ it real.

During the winter months, they sell chestnuts!

Now, this is what makes Mitsuwa a special marketplace and not just a grocery store.  Within the building, there are all kinds of stores, including ones that sell Japanese books, electronics, makeup, videos, music, pharmaceuticals, Anime, home furnishings, flowers, and and even insurance!

Here are a few of the food-based vendors that I think are amazing.  This one makes perfect little mochi of all colors and flavors, as well as roll cakes and donuts.

I would love to travel to Japan one day and participate in a traditional tea ceremony.  Until then, I will just try some of these wonderful teas!

These look like sweet little gift boxes.

I have no idea idea what the top cakes are, but I love the ones at the bottom.

These are pretty awesome too filled with sweet red beans!

Okay, now lets get to the grocery store itself!  It is really, really huge so they have all kinds of items that you would expect, but I want to share the unique stuff with you today.  🙂

Daikon is super cheap and huge compared to my regular grocery store.

Kimchi, pickled cabbage, and all kinds of colorful veggies.  Love ’em!

By the way, isn’t the packaging fun!  I can’t read a single thing, so it’s almost like a pretty pattern.

Shirataki noodles!  These have gained in popularity recently as “0 calorie noodles” or “miracle noodles.”  They are made from tofu and not exactly the same as pasta, but I like having a bag in my fridge just in case I feel like pasta without boiling water.  🙂

Almost an entire aisle of soy sauce!  Sometimes I don’t even know what I am looking at, so I have to read the price tags just to make sure I am buying the right thing.

So many packages and types of of seaweed!

In the mood for dried squid thingies?  They have a bunch of them!

I can’t make too much fun though because I used to love Shrimp Chip when i was a kid.  Before, they only had the one flavor, but now there are a couple more.

Now, on to the sweet stuff!

Gummies of all flavors, including my favorite: lychee!

I like these milk candies as well, but I have never had these specific brands.  There are too many to try!

By the way, Hello Kitty has her own cookies, not to mention a bunch of other items around the store.

I love these tiny ball-shaped cookies, which I later found out from my friend are meant for little kids.  I don’t care because they are a perfect little snack!

Now, my favorite of all time is Pocky, probably because it reminds me of my childhood.  I prefer the strawberry flavor!  When I got older, I tried the koala cookies filled with chocolate or strawberry frosting, but still preferred the Pocky.

My second favorite were Yan Yan, so I made sure to pick up a couple for old-time’s sake.

The prepared foods section is great after looking at all of the delicious ingredients.

So many choices!

Aren’t these cute looking!  The intricate presentation is one thing I completely appreciate about Japanese food.

Peanut butter mochi!  I have never had it before!  Maybe next time because I was headed on a trip to the place in the next picture.

Inside the grocery store, there is a bakery with all kinds of freshly-baked delicious treats!  I love Japanese bakeries, but the last time I visited one was in Paris!

There are typical items like fruit Danish and unique ones like the savory donuts.

These are pretty interesting too!

The sweet items are all so gorgeous too!

Even regular white bread looks delicious!

Do you notice the funny name of this one?  Say it out loud and you’ll see what I mean.  🙂  I took home one of these, which you can find in this post!

Finally, I paid and ended up in the food court.  I was tempted to get something, but I needed to head home.

Besides, I had to put away my groceries and bakery items.  See all of that deliciousness on my next post here.

Mitsuwa Marketplace
665 Paularino Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-6699
mitsuwa.com