Went to the Mitsuwa in Torrance today and was happy my trip coincided with their annual Hokkaido Gourmet Fair. I picked up the cheapest seafood bento box from the end stall: crab leg, shredded crab, salmon roe, shredded egg, and (I think) wood ear mushrooms. At $14.90 it was more than I typically pay for a bento, but the crab tasted fresh and sweet, the perfect foil for the salty roe. I also picked up some mochi, made fresh at the stall closest to the produce section of the market. I tried the black sesame and kinako mochi today, each with sweet Hokkaido red bean paste enclosed in tender sticky rice. Really wonderful. I saved the green tea to try tomorrow. Also featured are croquettes, pork bowls, squid stuffed with rice, fish, and various sweets. The fair lasts until Monday, 9/26. More details here: http://www.mitsuwa.com/event/hokkaido-torrance-2/?instance_id=2468
One of the crab bento vendors selection (not the one i ended up ordering from):
I got a bento that had crab legs, shredded crab meat, and ikura. Would have preferred the box w/ uni over ikura but the uni looked TERRIBLE. It was $25.99 and while the crab was good, thought it was expensive for what it was. Wasn’t a lot of food.
Also got a sushi box (I never eat grocery store sushi but thought quality would be better at Mitsuwa) for $16.99 and everything was TERRIBLE. I mean like gross bad. My fault for buying grocery store sushi I guess.
I only buy the ikura at the Hokkaido fair. Got burned on the overpriced crab bentos in the past. Besides, all the quality L.A. sushi-ya’s can order Hokkaido crab (and prepare it better than Mitsuwa!) when in season anyways.
Same corner vendor? Maybe the quality control isn’t up to snuff.