Photograph by Jeff Marini
“Mitsuwa” is Japanese for “three harmonies,” and it’s a fitting name for this superstore. One of only 13 locations in the country, Mitsuwa Marketplace has a grocery store, a bookstore, and an impressive food court, which offers all kinds of noodle bowls, rice bowls, sushi, and other staples. The crown jewel is Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, which serves up ramen noodles in the traditional rich, hearty brown broth while its tokusen toroniku (ramen with roasted pork cheeks) comes in a creamy white soup. At Tokyo Shokudo, snag the popular katsu curry (curry with a crispy, breaded pork or chicken cutlet).
The entrées are all well and good, but it’s the sweets you really want. Pastry House Hippo has shelves of Asian pastries, including fruit sando (with whipped cream, gelatin, and mascarpone), shokupan (milk bread), and melon pan (a sweet bun with a thin layer of cookie dough on top). If you want a cold sweet treat, J. Sweets has the smoothest mochi ice cream you might ever taste. The fresh frozen cream wrapped in rice cake comes in more than a dozen flavors. Try something traditional, like the sakura (made with salted cherry blossom bean paste) or the uji kintoki (green tea), or experiment with the chocolate banana or the caramel macchiato. If you’re stuffed from making the rounds at the food court stalls, the frozen mochi will survive the ride home. —Aiesha D. Little
Mitsuwa Marketplace, 100 E. Algonquin Rd., #153, Arlington Heights, Illinois, (847) 956-6699
