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Nov 16, 2023

Let's Try . . . Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli

Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli is now open in the former Panera space on Nassau Street. Leave it to the fast pace of New Jersey, a densely populated state with residents who prioritize both convenience

Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli is now open in the former Panera space on Nassau Street.

Leave it to the fast pace of New Jersey, a densely populated state with residents who prioritize both convenience and culture, to be the site of the first tri-state location of Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli. In late March, the specialty retailer of Japanese goods and groceries branched out beyond its roots in the New England region by opening a Princeton storefront at 136 Nassau Street, the former site of Panera Bread.

While prices are subject to change, start your shopping experience with no shortage of signs promoting the latest sales or markdowns in effect. Maruichi is a major benefit for the bustling college town, as the new shop doubles as both a convenience store and supermarket where customers can purchase an assortment of fresh, pre-prepared, and frozen choices from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Maruichi operates under Fuji Mart Corp., a “company for foodies, by foodies” based in Stamford, Connecticut. According to the Maruichi website, after a 2013 change in ownership, Fuji Mart expanded operations with multiple Maruichi and Maruichi Select stores, the latter of which sells a smaller sampling of brand-selected products.

Maruichi utilizes the space on Nassau Street well, dividing the interior in a way that somehow feels bigger than Panera Bread. Students or employees on the move can maneuver with ease in each part, and while most of Maruichi’s grab-and-go products are towards the front for maximum efficiency, even the produce displays feel like a natural fit for the slightly narrow middle passage.

The bountiful bakery selection at Maruichi.

Grab a basket or cart by the entrance, where to the right is a table overflowing with baked goods sourced from Parisienne Bakery, a Hackensack-based business supplying the section with everything from variations on authentic classics like anpan, a bun filled with sweet red bean paste, as well as cream, melon, or matcha pan (“bread” in Japanese) to cornets, a cone-shaped pastry piped with a luscious coffee-flavored or chocolate custard.

Different breads, or 'pan,' on sale.

Despite having been wrapped ahead of time, the texture of these baked goods remains irresistibly light and fluffy. Everything from the classic croissant to curry, mochi, and twist donuts is $3.75 each, while packs of bread products retail for $5.75.

The seasonal fruit sandwich from Maruichi's grab-and-go case features light whipped cream paired with strawberries, oranges, kiwis, and grapes between soft white milk bread.

A wall of refrigerated cases stands adjacent to the center display of confectioneries, the first of which includes daifuku — a filled mochi rice cake — yogurt parfaits, puddings, and premade sandwiches bursting with the typical lunch fillings of tuna or egg salad, as well as deli meats like ham, from $5 to $7.

But breakfast calls for freshness, which it finds in the “fruit sando,” a treat named after the Japanese shorthand for sandwiches with sliced seasonal offerings like strawberries, oranges, and kiwis complemented by a light, airy whipped cream between two slices of shokupan, a Japanese milk bread. By balancing the acidic brightness of the fruit with the fattiness of the sweetened but surprisingly light cream, this breakfast is ideal for the spring-to-summer season and doubles as a great pick for an outdoor picnic.

Frozen desserts are another warm weather favorite, so whether you want to try mochi ice cream, boba brown sugar milk bars, or a matcha soft serve ice cream cone, there are plenty of portable options to keep you cool while strolling down Nassau Street. The beverage selections are just as extensive here, with classic brewed iced teas like ITO EN’s unsweetened jasmine green tea for $1.99, as well as distinctive sodas, juices, sparkling waters, kombucha, lemonades, ciders, and other drinks to satisfy anyone’s thirst.

A section of the store sells Harney & Sons teas.

Opposite this is an impressive assortment of tea from the American brand Harney & Sons, where the signature, colored tins cost anywhere from $8.99 to $14.99.

Maruichi has recommended their own picks to showcase the spectrum of matcha, the powdered green tea with a grassy, bittersweet taste, as a fitting match to the “matcha fair” being advertised throughout the store.

For an easier gateway to matcha, snacks like the limited edition mini matcha latte Kit Kats, which are exclusively produced in Japan, allow you to skip the shipping fees and enjoy the lighter notes of matcha with packs of wafer cookie sandwiches and caramel corn puffs for around $7 to $8.

Maruichi frequently runs themed promotions, such as the current "Matcha Fair" sale, for customers.

You can also prepare your tastebuds with flavored matcha and latte mixes like the ones offered by the brand Matcha Love with blends of apple-ginger, blueberry-lavender, and turmeric-yuzu for $5.89. Grab some culinary grade matcha to integrate into recipes or a revitalizing smoothie, then graduate to the higher price points, which coincide with the quality, quantity, and caffeine level of each tea anywhere between $7 and $28.

The Hamasa-En organic matcha tea is at the most expensive end of the scale but worth the splurge, while a label in the section advertises the Maruichi Brand Gen Sou En Umami Green Tea priced at $6.59, $7.29, and $10.79. Not a fan of matcha? Try steamed loose-leaf green teas like sencha or hojicha, the latter of which is roasted before steeping, as well as any other types of tea lining the Maruichi aisles.

Maruichi suggested their own selections to highlight the range of matcha, the powdered green tea with a grassy, bittersweet flavor.

Complement your purchase at the left of the store’s entrance, where beautifully crafted Japanese teaware shines with ceramic pieces and sets ranging from $30 to $400. The shelf next to these is home to a host of seasonal items, like a bright pink sakura cherry blossom-shaped pasta colored using beetroot paste from Tamaya Seimen for $8.39. Whether opting for the traditional or specialty, there are a plethora of dry, packaged, and frozen noodles to choose from throughout the store, but the deals on the Kagawa udon and premium somen noodles are advertised in this section at just $4.99.

The other ongoing May sale is concentrated on Pocky, the beloved biscuit stick snack coated at the end in chocolate or another flavored cream, down from its original price of $2.69 to $1.99 in almond crush, strawberry, and cocoa, with mint separately discounted to $1.29. Next to this is a case of refrigerated sweets like soufflé rolls and dango, the sweet rice flour cakes that come in two types — mitarashi, a sweet soy glaze, or koshian, a red bean paste — on bamboo skewers.

Snack on rice crackers or grab candy in the first aisle for no more than $4 on average, with popular choices like Hi-Chews selling for $1.59 each. Treat yourself to the rounded, bouncy texture of Kasugai Seika Frutia gummies, which are gluten-free and made using the real juice of fruits like peach and mango, for $3.19 a bag.

Displays of international instant noodles are a college student's dream.

College students will likely rejoice at the seemingly unlimited types of instant noodles and soups available for purchase, as a quick scan shows that Maruichi even stocks brands from countries like South Korea and Vietnam.

The star at Maruichi is the onigiri station, which fashions the Japanese rice balls in a variety of versions.

But although there is no shortage of these portable meals to peruse, the freshly made onigiri, a triangular Japanese rice ball with a filling and nori wrapping, is a lunchtime staple for a reason.

Place your order with one of the employees at the onigiri station right next to the register, where, for $3 each, you can choose from the more conventional rice balls like pickled plum, also called umeboshi, which makes for a deeply sour but unforgettably satisfying first bite. Those who are used to eating raw fish in sushi may do well with contents like eel, salmon, and tuna mayo, but unsurprisingly, the fried shrimp tempura and spicy chicken karaage, both of which are cooked, seem to be the best sellers.

In a sign advertising its specialty as “The Rice Master,” the store promotes Maruichi Select grains used by the company, which are imported from Japan and polished in their kitchens. These are fittingly used for the onigiri alongside roasted seaweed from Yamamotoyama, a “major provider of nori” that describes itself online as ”the oldest tea company” still in business. Customers can order rice in advance in a series of types and grinds, some of which are on display as in-store samples.

The chicken karaage, eel, and salmon onirigi, are a portable treat ready for the Princetonian on the move.

Be careful not to skip dinner when passing by the series of more elaborate sweets in the Parisienne Bakery dessert case that overlooks the onigiri station, where a flight of different cakes and an eye-catchingly enormous cream puff sell for $5.99 to $6.79.

For a substantial supper, see the first open refrigerated case further down and scan the bento boxes, which are single-serving takeout meals typically enjoyed at lunch but delicious no matter the time of day.

Any preassembled bento box with chicken, beef, eel, and more can be eaten for either lunch or dinner.

The positives of having a protein like fried chicken karaage paired with ingredients such as rice, vegetables, and pieces of Japanese omelet in preassembled glory make for an easy weeknight meal. Boxes of unadon, or eel, and gyudon, or sliced beef, all sell for about $14, with components from most of the major food groups.

Sushi, sashimi, and chirashizushi at Maruichi.

Fresh sushi with wasabi and ginger also comes in four- or eight-piece sets of spicy tuna, salmon nigiri, eel avocado, and California rolls for $6 to $9. The mini chirashizushi, which translates to “scattered sushi” due to being eaten in bowl form rather than as a roll, marries a light combination of fish and shellfish for $9.99.

If you want to take home any of the seafood for cooking or even to use in a healthy poke bowl, move to the next case, where everything from black tiger shrimp to sashimi cuts of hamachi, octopus, yellowfin tuna, and Scottish salmon retails for $4 to $14.

But every eating experience can improve with the right accouterments, including a hearty stock of sauces, condiments, and dressings throughout the rest of the store. Want to learn the hype behind Kewpie, the Japanese mayo made with yolks instead of eggs with a notably richer flavor profile? As of press time, a regular bottle sold for a discounted $4.99, while a massive 64-oz container on a back shelf beats out Amazon with a lower price of $23.29.

The middle interior of Maruichi opens out into a series of refrigerated cases, a produce section, and a place to nab quick drugstore goods.

Maruichi swaps the vertical refrigerators for another row of cabinets that frame the wall around the produce section, where fresh fruits and vegetables like eggplants, watermelon, and taro root successfully create the supermarket aesthetic. Complete your culinary journey with a pop of green from scallions, accompaniments like tofu or kimchi, and an array of organic mushrooms by the Hokto Kinoko brand — for reference, the ones labeled maitake are also known as hen-of-the-wood mushrooms, while bunapi and bunashimeji are the white and brown beech, respectively — before checking out the frozen goods. Raw meat cuts like pork belly cost $8 to $14 on average, while prepackaged items like dumplings and shumai are routinely marked down for a lower price.

Maruichi takes pride in its food-related products, a theme that extends to the back of the store with homeware like the “I Love My Kitchen” chopsticks, which come in a set of two in numerous patterns for $3.99, or themed lunch boxes with their own utensil sets.

You can pick up essentials for any dorm or dwelling, as well as browse the rest of Maruichi’s miscellaneous drugstore goods, in this one-stop shop: toiletries, makeup, and styling products; apparel items such as socks, tote bags, and umbrellas; cleaning supplies; pens, pencils, and notebooks; and even small toys.

With each steady stream of new sales during accessible daily hours, Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli’s Princeton store is a prime spot for the fast and the foodies.

Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli, 136 Nassau Street, Princeton. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. [email protected] or maruichius.net.