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Aji Ichiban
Categories: Food Specialty Food Candy Stores Restaurants Candy Stores, Restaurants [Edit]
167 Hester St(between Elizabeth St & Mott St)
New York, NY 10013
Neighborhoods: Little Italy, Chinatown
(212) 925-1133
- Nearest Transit:
-
Grand St (B, D)
Canal St (J, N, Q, Z)
Canal St (4, 6, 6X)
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
Veena V. said: "I wandered in here after a school visit in Bay Ridge. It was my first time being so far down on fifth ave in Brooklyn. For the bakers out there- they have a fairly large selection (lots of WIlton products) in a small space. I saw tons…" read more »
23 reviews for Aji Ichiban
Review Highlights
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"...just like any other shops that sells dried fruit and candy." In 6 reviews -
"...get a small bag and then focus on the vast array of samples." In 8 reviews -
"I think I tried 30 different snacks here." In 7 reviews
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23 reviews in English
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Review from Jason C.
3/7/2012
If Willy Wonka was chinese, then I guess this was his creation. From Milk candy, green tea sweets, and my all-time favorite Hawthorne waffers.
It is rather small and some of the candies and snacks if you were not raised on them can take some getting used to, i.e. squid and fish snacks. -
Review from Leila Y.
Ridgewood, NY
1/29/2012
This is like Dylan's Candy Store but it sells mostly Chinese candy. There is a selection of gummy bears and sour patch candies, but the rest of the store carries Chinese products. Some of the products they sell is dry plum, hot and sweet pork jerky, white rabbit an various Chinese candy. The dry plum is so addicting, I kept eating it as I was walking around Chinatown. I love how they provide a small bowl of samples so you can try it without opening the lid and exposing the candy or product you want to buy. In addition, I love how you can try it before you buy it so that you don't purchase anything you don't like. The staff are very nice and helpful. There were so many things to pick from and remind me of childhood.
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Review from Ruth C.
10/26/2011 1 photo
There are definitely cheaper places to get the meat jerkies and trail mix fruit, as well as some of their candies. The way I look at it, I'm paying a premium for their pretty broad selection, and samples for the loose, unpackaged products. Picked up some tea and milk candies, plus a few gummies for the walk around C-town. (Kinda wished I'd noticed that one milk candy was durian-flavored before I put it in my mouth, though.) Loved that they had the gummy eggs, soda bottles, etc alongside the candied prunes and such.
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Review from Patricia C.
Flushing, NY
1/23/2011 1 photo
A munchies paradise...
Love the irresistible ***Japanese Crispy Seaweed with Tom Yum Goong Flavour*** ($3.00) sold exclusively at Aji Ichiban!!!
The best quality of Aji Ichiban is that you can try a sample of the candies and snacks before making any purchases.
The place is very sanitary! -
Review from Sasha L.
New York, NY
2/28/2012
this location is snooty. the workers like to watch you and even follow you like a hawk. i bought the spicy fried crabs here once and they were funky, but tasty. very weird and interesting at the same time. i'm amazed at what they have dried and fried, and the candy selection. most of the candy can be purchased elsewehre so i'd really only come here for the dried goodies.
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Review from stephanie v.
Queens, NY
8/14/2010
I see from reading other reviews that this place gets a bad rap for it's prices, and while it is a bit pricey, I really like Aji Ichiban.
True, you may be able to find the candies sold here at Asian supermarkets for cheaper. However, as far as the dried fruit and snacks go, if you aren't Asian or can't speak an Asian language, you can't read the signs on the jars in a lot of these stores in the first place. Also, if these aren't things you are used to eating, it's hard to know what certain things should look like when they're fresh.
The store is well maintained and very clean, which gives me confidence in their products. There are samples of all the dried offerings (and there are many) as well. If candy in the more western sense of the word (chocolate, gummies, hard candies, etc.) is what you're after, there's a nice selection of that here too!
I'd recommend checking Aji Ichiban out if you're in the mood for some dried fruit/beef/etc., but aren't really familiar with the offerings and would like to try some out! However, for packaged candy, you could do better price-wise if you were to check out the aforementioned supermarkets. -
Review from Ro N.
New York, NY
5/19/2009
I don't get why so many tourists loves coming here?
It's just like any other shops that sells dried fruit and candy. -
Review from Lai-Yee B.
Albany, NY
10/10/2007
They're a fun little candy shop, especially if you just want a small package of something or other.
They have samples out for each of their dried goods, and the honeyed rose petals are very interesting.
That said, yes, they're seriously overpriced, just like any other candy store. You could hop over to any other market in Chinatown and buy the same thing for a fraction of the price. However, if you are just in the mood for a 1/2 cup of dried ginger, this place is good to go to. -
Review from Lisa F.
New York, NY
6/7/2007
This store is a true testament to the fact that Asian people eat weird things. Spicy baby crab snacks? Sure! Salted fish jerky? No problem!
Here's a favorite: Look for the scallop candy that goes for almost $1 per piece. HEA-VEN-LY!
So what if we eat weird things? It tastes good, yo! Best thing is, you can try before you buy! -
Review from Li M.
New York, NY
10/8/2005
I am a samples whore.
Aji Ichiban is an Asian candy/junk food store chain. They sell lots of unique flavors. I love their spicy squid stuff. The things with the weird names are the best. They sell by the pound...can be a bit expensive but the stuff tastes great. They have samples in clear plastic bowls. You got to be subtle if you want to hog their samples, because they're always watching you. Which is really annoying. Bloody hell.
The chocolate tastes strange and dusty though. Yes, dusty. Don't buy chocolate here.Listed in: My Neighborhood
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Review from Jenny F.
North Haven, CT
10/1/2007 2 photos
I think I tried 30 different snacks here. I like how you can try different products. The prices can be on the high side.
We ended up buying some salted plums and sour plums. We wanted to buy the ginseng plums but they were ridiculously overpriced. -
Review from Adjoa T.
3/21/2010 3 Check-ins Here
Contrary to others' complaints, I dig Aji Ichiban because you can get all sorts of neat gummies for a not-so-horrible price. The sour watermelons are killer, as are the grape gummy bears. I'm new to the city, so it's likely my knowledge is limited, but I'd love to know of another place where you can get awesome gummies for less than $2.50/lb (Seriously. Tell me.)
Also, you get that and the other, more interesting snacks to try & buy. Honeyed strawberries and the crisp/crunchy mango (? -- it was green, that's all I remember) were good too. -
Review from Loretta C.
Flushing, NY
2/7/2006
It's so much fun to browse this store (samples galore), and since my favorite place to get sweet dried-Chinese beef or pork closed something like 10 years ago, I go to Ichiban for my fix. They also have those crunchy sweet/salty mini crabs and all the dried fruit you can imagine. The whole place is self-serve, but kept very clean [looking].
The only problem is that they charge ridiculous prices (compared to the value you can get in supermarkets and other cities). I just try to visit less often and I buy in small quantities.Listed in: Sweet-tooth Satisfiers
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Review from Tim L.
4/12/2009
It is as overpriced as so many before have noted, however tourists seem to love this place.
Whenever I have visitors I can usually successfully kill 10-20 minutes by dropping them off in Aji Ichiban.
There's all the various traditional candies and dried fruit and various what nots. The sample dishes are a bit suspect but they do allow you to take a tasting before purchasing anything. -
Review from Patricia S.
New York, NY
10/11/2009
The purpose of this place is clear: tourism. I pretty much take all visitors that want to go to Chinatown for 'shopping' and end up getting sort of overwhelmed by the craziness on Canal. This place is down a relatively (emphasis on relatively) less crowded and quieter road. There are usually little samples of the dried fruits, that always make my friends from the 'burbs cringe. I get a little kick out of that.
The place serves its purpose for me. Kills about 20 minutes of an afternoon, let's them try some exotic flavors and I can get my two favorite things: the gummy ginger and mango candies. Yes, it's a bit expensive. It's not the place to get your everyday candy jar refill. All-in-all a good place to stop and browse. -
Review from David L.
12/26/2010
Perhaps it is possible to find similar products elsewhere, but I have yet to come across a single store where you can find each and every single thing this store has... Yes it's expensive, but the quality of everything is absolutely amazing -- you don't have to spend all day going from place to place to place, you're not going to have to take any health risks, you don't have to worry about expiration dates, and none of the ingredients are vague or mysterious... Also, there's no limit on how many free samples you can try, as long as you buy something... $10 for 1/2 lb. of amazing wasabi cashews? Yeah it's pricey, but so what! They're worth it, I'd gladly pay twice as much for them if they came in a nice tin, they really are that good.
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Review from Keiko S.
9/15/2007
Aji Ichiban is basically an overpriced Asian candy store that sells a wide array of nicely packaged - but not necessarily higher quality - candies and snacks. The place is usually never crowded, and no tasting's allowed. The women there scare me, as they seem to track every move I make... The majority of their foods here, such as the Chinese beef jerky and nuts, can be purchased at the neighboring grocery stores of Chinatown for much less. In short, Aji Ichiban is at its best when it's inside an airport terminal.
Listed in: Born to eat Japanese - NYC
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Review from melissa c.
New York, NY
9/3/2007
I grew up with a constant supply of spicy dried squid, sweet beef jerky, and sour shriveled plums (swan-mei) in my house. It used to be a weekly excursion in my household to make the weekly forty-five minute trek out to San Gabriel (a.k.a. China-City, not town, of CA) to restock on these treats while my grandmother and father inspected the latest laser-disc karaoke model.
Now, I make my own monthly (I really stock up, see) treks down to Aji Ichiban where the minute I walk through the door, I really am like a kid in a San Gabriel candy store again.
Note: much of the stranger and more wrinkly-looking things are acquired tastes. I once popped a sour plum into my friend's mouth while he was driving on the freeway, and he was so unaccustomed to the burst of powdery-sourness that he swerved and almost hit a car in his panic to spit the plum out the window.
Also of note: The plums are a common craving of pregnant woman. I don't know if that knowledge actually is useful in any which way, but my uncle once made-fun of an ex-boyfriend for having pregnant-woman tastes after he ate a handful. So be aware. -
Review from Donna L.
Philadelphia, PA
8/14/2007
My whole purpose of my last trip to New York was for "Stone Chocolate". For those of you who are not familiar with this term, it is tiny chocolate chunks that resemble stones. The last Aji Ichiban in Philadelphia closed down two years ago and I've been craving them since. I finally found some in new york but at $3.00 for 1/4 a pound, it is the cheapest of the things there but is pretty expensive for a tiny envelope filled. There is also a whole lot of other weird dried junk food there but they seem pretty high also, compared to Asian supermarkets.
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Review from Briana M.
11/13/2008
The overpriced candy is a novelty...I usually get a small bag and then focus on the vast array of samples. The dried fruit, ginger etc. Lovely little bits of free goodness on the way back from a pilgrimage to my mecca (Joe's Shanghai).
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Review from Katie S.
Seattle, WA
5/11/2009
Stopped in and bought some Chinese beef jerky, dried cranberry and a bunch of candied melon stuff. I would love to come back and the prices weren't terrible either
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Review from Sharon T.
9/19/2009
I used to love Aji Ichiban when I was younger. I'd probably stuff a bunch of sweet candies back then but I'm not a fan anymore. I think the staff here are pretty stuck-up. I'm don't really like dried fruit and all those dried stuff they sell but they're pretty overpriced. My family seems to like their stuff and I know they're "fresh" and all that but I can just go to a chinese supermarket nearby and get them for cheaper.
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Review from Pamela s.
3/25/2011
stopped by after a lovely meal at hop kee down the street. nice spot to grab some snacks to munch on while walking around town. dried coconut, banana chips, dried young mango, and spiced tamarind, mmmm.
