This Popular Japanese Food Market Is The First Of Its Kind In The US. Here's What My Experience Was Like From Beginning To End

Muji is expanding — big time. What once started as a small home and lifestyle brand that sold only 40 products is now venturing into the food game here in the US. Since opening its doors in 1980, the brand has opened 1,000 locations worldwide, including 10 stores in the US.

A typical Muji now sells almost everything you can think of, in a variety of colorways and sizes. Pens, stationary, pajamas, puffer coats, bed sheets, cleaning supplies, skincare, suitcases, dining tables...shall I go on?

Now, the brand has launched its first-ever dining venue in the US. Last month, the Muji Food Market opened inside its Chelsea Market location in NYC. The back part of the home store is now a cafe that plates up Japanese comfort foods and handcrafted specialty beverages. There's even a robot barista named Jarvis who can make everything from floral refreshers to espressos with latte art.

Of course, those who have been to Muji's international locations know that the US Food Market isn't necessarily a new concept for the brand. At Muji's Tokyo flagship store, there's a bakery, diner, and grocery store.

People have been buzzing about the Food Market on social media since it first opened, so naturally, I decided to see what it was all about.

After walking to the back of the store, I was greeted by a mysterious kiosk housing what I later learned was Jarvis, the robot barista.

To order from Jarvis, I filled out a form on their iPad. I decided to go with the Floral Blossom Yuzu Matcha Refresher, which was one of the first items recommended to me on the tablet.

$7.24 later, the robot went straight to work. A moving mechanical arm picked up a plastic cup, placed it under the ice machine, and filled the cup with matcha. People stopped and took videos (myself included) as Jarvis made the drink.

Once my drink was done, Jarvis placed my order down, projected my name on the counter, and called out my name in his robotic, Siri-esque voice.

I was a little skeptical about how good a drink made by a robot would be, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by this. It's on the sweeter side, but the matcha and yuzu flavors really shined through and made for a refreshing treat.

Overall, I'd give the Floral Blossom Yuzu Matcha Refresher an 8/10.

A few steps later, I was in line to order at the Food Market. I went on a Sunday a little after noon, and the place was packed.

Their menu consisted of various Japanese comfort foods, desserts, and more drinks (not made by Jarvis). I ordered the Karaage Onigiri ($5.75), Tamago Sando ($9.50), Mini Japanese Curry Cup ($8.50), Matcha Dorayaki ($6.75), and Iced Matcha Strawberry Latte ($10).

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By the looks of this display counter, I was veryyy excited to see how the food would stack up.

Luckily, despite the crowds, I was able to snag a seat at the counter.

After about 10 minutes of waiting, my order number was called and I picked up my food, which came in to-go boxes.

Everything looked delicious.

The Mini Beef Curry Bowl reminded me exactly of my mom's homemade Japanese curry. It had an umami-rich, slightly spicy flavor and the consistency of the curry was perfectly thick and creamy.

My one complaint was there was only one bite of beef and a few onions, with the majority of the mixture being rice and sauce. Even though it was the mini-size, a little more substance would have been nice. I liked how this tasted, but for its smaller portion and $8.50 price point, it didn't seem like a great value to me.

I'd rate the Mini Beef Curry Bowl a 7/10.

The Karaage Onigiri — a riceball with a fried chicken filling —was also pretty good. It was seasoned with kombu seaweed which gave it a comforting, sweet-savory kick.

However, for $5.75 a pop, I would expect every bite to have a good ratio of rice to chicken, and this just didn't do it for me. All the filling was at the bottom, which left me with a few big bites of rice at the beginning.

For the Karaage Onigiri, a 6/10.

Thankfully, I ordered this Tamago Sando, which was my favorite of the savory food items. The egg salad was creamy and had a subtle wasabi flavor, and the bread was crustless and pillowy soft. Each bite had a perfect ratio of filling to bread.

I wouldn't go as far to say that it was the best egg salad sandwich I've ever had, but it was delicious and I'd order it again.

I'd give the Tamago Sando an 8.75/10.

The Iced Matcha Strawberry Latte surprised me. This was made by a human barista, so I was curious to see how this matcha would compare to the one made by a robot. The matcha color was a vibrant green (which is, unfortunately, hard to come by at most coffee shops these days), so I was already impressed.

The Strawberry Matcha Latte gets a 9/10.

Last but not least, I had the Matcha Dorayaki, a pancake dessert with Azuki (red bean) and green tea filling.

As a dessert person, I really wanted to love this... but it just wasn't doing it for me.

For the Matcha Dorayaki, a 6.5/10.

Overall, the food and service at the Muji Food Market were decent, but everything was slightly overpriced. That said, I would recommend this as a "do it once and check it off the bucket list" item if you find yourself in New York City, because it was still a cool, memorable experience.

Most of the menu items are available at Japanese grocers for a comparable quality and (slightly) more reasonable price. An onigiri, for example, will typically run you around $4 at a Japanese grocery store. Here, they were selling one for just under $6.

If you've visited Muji's new Food Market in NYC, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below!