As part of Snack Store sequence, Annie Arriaga investigates the newest and best viral snack outlets in New York Metropolis to see if the hype is actual, if the snacks are yummy, and if the spot is underrated, overrated, or completely rated.
There are only a few issues that can get me to journey all the way in which to Chelsea Market from Brooklyn, however when Muji, the beloved Japanese house and stationery retailer, introduced a brand new meals market inside their Chelsea Market location, I knew I’d need to strive it. Like everybody else, I’m a giant fan of Muji’s journals, pens, and general vibe, and I had excessive hopes for the snacks they had been promoting after I noticed it throughout my TikTok feed. It’s the chain’s first meals market within the U.S. full with robotic baristas and a menu of basic Japanese snacks like onigiri and curry.
Bonus: Gucci Pineapple (whose actual title is Alden) needed to hitch my meals adventures this week due to his love for Muji—and for me. (He’s a comic, musician, and extra importantly, my boyfriend.) Considered one of our favourite issues to do collectively is discover town by means of meals. In different phrases, we prefer to eat lots. He’s gluten-free, so Japanese meals is at all times a welcome favourite in lunch and snack choices.
Photograph by Anna Arriaga
The Snacks
Predictably, the vibes inside the Muji retailer had been wonderful. Organized, quiet, and with the ambiance of their little steam aromatherapy machines within the background, it was a giant distinction to the standard chaos of Chelsea Market. We walked additional into the shop and couldn’t ignore the barista robotic in a transparent, laminate cubicle making an iced latte. Fitted with googly eyes and a weirdly soothing voice, this robotic often known as “Jarvis” was the middle of some controversy and is likely one of the sights that brings individuals to the Muji meals market. We began there after which ordered meals on the counter behind the shop.
Photograph by Anna Arriaga
Oatmilk Rose Latte (made by a robotic barista). Alden favored this drink lots, however for me, the rose syrup was a bit too pronounced. We watched the coffee-making robotic—excuse me, Jarvis— pour the steamed milk into the cup in amazement. Surprisingly, the milk pour made somewhat coronary heart. Unsurprisingly, it took Jarvis virtually eight minutes to serve us our latte. I’ll admit I went into the expertise feeling biased about robotic baristas, however it most likely would have been sooner with an actual individual making it.
Proper subsequent to Jarvis’s cubicle is a counter the place you order meals and see all of the choices in a cute little case. They’ve an elegant tiled bar with stool seats so that you can get pleasure from your Muji branded lunch and stare upon their pre-packaged, shelf secure meals choices when you eat. We determined to order mainly every part we may that was gluten-free.
Japanese beef curry. Who doesn’t love a heat beef curry on a winter day? Effectively, us. I normally count on a Japanese curry to have some veggies and a pillowy rice texture. The bowl was doing the naked minimal, simply saucy meat on barely heat rice. Alden and I didn’t like it, nor did we recognize the value: $15.
Photograph by Anna Arriaga
Spicy tuna onigiri. This for some purpose had gluten in it, so I sampled it solo. I’m a giant fan of onigiri as an on-the-go lunch, and this one wanted extra filling—plus, I didn’t detect any spiciness. Meh.
Ume onigiri. Alden loves ume (pickled plum) onigiri, so this was thrilling. Alden used to work on a farm in Oregon, and the stunning girl who co-owned the farm would make us these unimaginable ume onigiri with plums she grew on her land. In any case, the Muji model was fairly strong. Completely salty, no notes!
Kombu onigiri. Kombu is a kind of dried seaweed recognized for its umami and typically candy taste. I liked this onigiri off of the primary chunk as a result of the seaweed was candy and mushy. Alden prefers salty over candy and needed to have extra of the ume as an alternative of the kombu. Effectively, extra for me!
Ultimate Ranking
Whereas each Alden and I really like Muji as a retailer, we mutually determined their little Chelsea meals market was massively overrated. Like Alden mentioned, the meals was a bit stale and meh. Not each spot may be excellent! Both method, Alden and I left with full bellies.
In the event you’re studying this and you’ve got a suggestion for a Snack Store within the metropolis that I need to go to and (actually) price, go away a remark right here or on our Snack Store TikTok video. I really like strategies!
