Izumi-Ya Japanese Marketplace - Richmond, BC

I've been to T&T Supermarket and H-Mart, so why not hit a Japanese supermarket now?  Godzilla is always singing the praises of Izumi-Ya and I know he's been on previous occasions to pick up food.  Well, I had to see how it compared to other supermarkets in terms of prepared food.

Pretty bare looking place - it's got a chocolaterie, butcher and a small all-you-can-eat restaurant near the entrance (I've heard both good and very bad things about it).  It also has the regular fruits and veggies, dry food items, stationary and household items for sale with a small sit down area on the side where hot tea, hot water and a microwave is available.  People who purchase prepared food from the back of the store are welcome to use their "cafeteria".

Assorted Four Seas and Calbee Chips - 4 for $5.49

Although I came to try the prepared foods, I quickly get sidetracked by all the junk food.  Look!  Chips are on sale!  Oh, and don't look at the ingredient list for these chips - it's mostly artificial and probably not good for you but ignorance is bliss!

Some Calbee Hot and Spicy...  not really that spicy but still yummy...

Some Pop Up Crab Chips...  they taste like the chips you get with fried chicken at some Chinese restaurants except with WAY MORE salt.  Okonomiyaki Chips (which really taste like the sauce that the Japanese pancake comes with and it there's also a hint of bonito flakes as well!) and Pop Up Bacon Chips (artificial bacony goodness here!).

Pocari Sweat - $2.46 per bottle

What the heck is Pocari Sweat???  It's marketed as an energy drink and I can't tell if it is or not since I can't read the ingredient list.  The name is funny enough so I point and laugh but as soon as I do that, 3 customers behind me immediately buy a bottle each.  Huh?  Does it taste any good?  It tastes like mild sweet grapefruit...  Nothing special and at that price point, I'm not inclined to get it again.

Ramune - $2.39 (Regular flavor)

If you want a drink, I'd go for this - a carbonated soft drink that is different because of it's bottle shape (irregular alien head as it's been called before) and the method in which to "open" the bottle.  You unwrap the lid that comes with a plunger, you push the plunger into the bottle to release a marble that sits in the neck, which then rattles around when you're drinking it.  I had the original lemon-lime flavor here but my favorite is the lychee.  


Some dessert perhaps???  Well, they have assorted candies from Asia that are generally not available from your local grocery store.  Case in point:

Matcha-flavored Mini Aero Bars - $6.69

That's expensive but I had to try it!  Just substitute the bubbly chocolate center with a creamy matcha bubbly center and you have this:

The matcha is subtle, not in your face, and matches with the melty chocolate so well...  I have to remember this combination and put it together in some type of baking project.

Finally to the items I was here for...  but with all the chips and drink, I'm not in the mood for sushi anymore.  I believe that sushi that's been refrigerated is probably going to be quite dry and hard so I stay away from the sushi (although a veggie combo looks VERY tempting) and I go for some of the other prepared items:

Shrimp Sunomono - $3.95

This is a really big portion of sunomono for this price - I've paid more elsewhere and didn't have nearly as many ingredients.  There's tons of shrimp, lots of seaweed and plenty of that lemon dressing to go with those vermicelli noodles.  A few slices of cucumbers and carrots round out this bowl.  I'd come back for this time and time again.  There's also a seafood version available with octopus and artificial crab as well for a little bit extra (less than $1 more and less than $5).  

Chicken Yakisoba - $2.99

A moderate portion size, not bad for the price, and there's a little bit of ginger and seaweed sprinkled on top that I like but the noodles are a bit dry (probably from sitting in the fridge) and there are only a few pieces of chicken.  I guess you get what you pay for - I didn't pay much so I didn't get much which is fair enough.  It's not bad but I wouldn't come back here just for this dish.


Izumiya does not carry nearly as much as the other Asian-based supermarkets and many, if not all, of their items can be found elsewhere.  But, Izumi-Ya is a bit of darling - independently Japanese owned and operated, kind of like a larger scale mom-and-pops store.  The interior leaves much to be desired and I certainly wouldn't eat in their "cafeteria" again as much of it was dirty.  I can say that they do carry a wide variety of prepared Japanese foods and some of the dry items are on par with the other markets if they're on sale.  Will I come back?  Sure, if I need an item or two or a quick takeaway meal (probably for that sunomono).  Check it out if you can but you're not missing out on much if don't.  Bon appetite!


Pros:

• Wide selection of prepared foods and fish at the back of the store
• Delicious sunomono
• Large variety of Japanese-based food products
• Friendly service

Cons:

• Barren looking interior with a sad "cafeteria"
• Items can be more expensive than their competitors - just watch out for the prices!
• Limited operating hours