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M2M
Categories: Food Specialty Food Ethnic Food Food Convenience Stores Ethnic Food, Convenience Stores [Edit]
55 3rd AveBetween 10th and 11th St
(between 1st Ave & 11th St)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village
(212) 353-2698
- Nearest Transit:
-
Astor Pl (4, 6, 6X)
3 Av (L)
8 St - Nyu (N, R)
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
145 reviews for M2M
Review Highlights
"I would recommend it for your Asian grocery needs."
(in 14 reviews)
"m2m, morning to midnight."
(in 5 reviews)
"all the best snacks, sweets, udon."
(in 20 reviews)
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145 reviews in English
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Review from P V.
Honolulu, HI
10/20/2011 2 Check-ins Here
How lucky am I to live one block from M2M. Even though I live just a couple blocks from a Whole Foods and Trader Joes, I still end up coming here a couple times a week.
If you live in the hood, it is of course great for grabbing a jug of milk when you run out or the lemon or onion that you need last second while cooking dinner. But they also have decent sushi & rolls to take him or eat on the spot for a quick snack or light meal. Also I love grabbing a beer from the fridge and chilling while sitting at their tables and eating some of their random Asian snacks like wasabi peas or that korean squid stuff (all at grocery store prices, not restaurant prices). Not too many seats though -- but the seating is rarely full. They have a good selection of interesting chips too - not just your standard Frito Lays. And if you like to cook Korean at home (or want to try it) but don't really have much time to cook, they make it easy. You can pick up a ready-to-cook bulgogi package (marinated & seasoned) and just throw it on your frying pan. Wrap with lettuce (they have good quality produce and fruit, though I don't think anything is organic), munch on some of their microwavable rice tubs, and grab some individual serving kimchi from their fridge.
This place is the bomb. -
Review from Adrian L.
Manhattan, NY
10/19/2011
M2M looks and feels ghetto at first, but after going there for a few times, I fell in love with it.
They had great food and great snacks.
Some food I recommend:
Spicy chicken wrap, philly cheese steak, beef udon, lunch platter, breakfast omelets
Not a place to bring a date, but M2M is a place where friends can hang out and have great food at the same time. -
Review from Mindy K.
Albany, NY
9/22/2011
Reasons I love this place:
1. cheap, fresh sushi & other delicious take-out options
2. seating to eat said take-out
3. awesome selection of snacks, groceries, frozen goods
4. cheap, fresh produce!!
5. conveniently located in the E. Vill.
This place is small, but ya know, sometimes, I just don't feel like trekking to Midtown just to go to HMart. M2M has everything that I need and want right near Union Square.Listed in: Cheap eats
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Review from Sara S.
12/10/2011 1 photo
This place has lots of yummy Asian snacks. They have all the normal packaged snacks as well as a bunch of little side dishes, sushi and drinks. It's a bit on the expensive side but I suppose with such a great location that's to be expected. I think there is also seating inside if you plan on eating food right away (I think there's a place to get hot food inside although I've never eaten it).
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Review from Jane K.
7/9/2011 3 Check-ins Here
The Asian bodega, baby. This is little more than a mini-mart but boasts some special products that deserve a second look. Fresh sushi, frozen dim sum, noodles and sauces galore make it a great place to stock up on snacks and grab a cheap to-go lunch or dinner.
Also, if you're checking out a movie across the street, definitely stop in morning to midnight for some gummy candies or rice crackers - yum! -
Review from Monique R.
Kew Gardens, NY
7/26/2011
Big fan of this place!
I love to make sushi at home and often come here when i Need stuff in a bind. The prices are reasonable and even though the store is not huge, you are sure to find what you are looking ofr at least 98% of the time.
I love perusing the aisles for unique asain snacks, shumai in the freezer aisle and even some fresh made sushi rolls. And omg- candy! yay!
They have a small dining area as well in the store. -
Review from Emily B.
8/18/2011 3 Check-ins Here
This place is great, I wish they had more places exactly like this everywhere in my life. I'm obsessed with their miso soup, I know you're thinking it's just miso soup but miso can be done well and they are professionals. Sushi is always fresh and delicious and they have a great selection of Asian goods.
If you are going to be cooking Asian- M2M is your spot, they have just about everything you could want and it's all super delicious. -
Review from jennifer g.
New York, NY
9/5/2011
I just moved into the neighborhood and was so happy to find this little asian market that sold all my favorites. Sadly, I went in a few days ago to get something to eat and the dok buk ki (spicy rice cakes) that I bought was literally the worst thing I have ever eaten. I love dok buk ki but the one I bought was stale/old and terrible.
I'm giving it 3 stars because the asian snacks/frozen food selection is great but beware of the pre-made food they're selling! -
Review from Jinny J.
Manhattan, NY
7/6/2011
M2M, I've fallen for you over the course of a couple of months. Don't ever change.
I recently moved into the East Village and only started going to M2M because of the lack of decent grocery stores in the neighborhood.
At first I only wandered in to pick up a few Asian items to supplement my regular grocery run at Trader Joes but found myself coming back more and more frequently and now it's my main go-to store.
The place has literally everything I like to eat. I love that they sell things like packaged masago and Korean banchan. I try not to buy their green tea mochi ice cream too often. Last time I bought it I ate the entire package of 12 in 2 days - yikes. -
Review from Robin K.
10/15/2011
This place is cheap, has great hours, has good produce, tasty take-out, etc. The people who work there are fast. They have most things you would ever need, and are an asian specialty store so they have some cool other products too.
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Review from Julia K.
Manhattan, NY
6/20/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I actually don't have a complaint.
I've been coming here for years, always find what I want. Its a convenient location, its not expensive, and they have a couple of tables where you can sit and have your soda/ramen/noodles what have you. Oh, and they have a bathroom.
I have never actually had a meal here from the hot counter, but that's okay. That's what restaurants are for. I think that's okay, too. I'll stick to my pudding filled marshmallows and keep M2M as a five star in my eyes. -
Review from Kassy M.
Brooklyn, NY
7/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Solid Asian store! I wasn't too impressed with the prices (have definitely seen cheaper) but I was impressed with some of their selections (ex: frozen dumplings).
Looked like they had a lot of different kinds of kimchi, which I'd love to try next time. -
Review from Alice C.
6/21/2011
Like Sunrise Mart, M2M is a great store in the area for some Asian goods that you would otherwise have to go down to Chinatown to find.
Prices are definitely a little steeper though, as expected. But you can find a ton of ramen, dumplings, fresh groceries, and even marinated meats like bulgogi.
Bonus points for having ready made foods (like various banchan, stews, pancakes, sushi, etc.) in the refrigerated sections and other foods prepared at the counter on the right side of the store. There's also a small area with tables and chairs, so you can eat your purchased goods right inside. -
Review from Danielle C.
Hoboken, NJ
6/18/2011
This place has a mini restaurant. How cool is this? It also has seating here! I've gone here at least twice to get cheap yet pretty decent noodle soup here (udon), and the portion is pretty big for like $5!
Anyway, I don't really live all that close to this market, but if I did, I would be spamming this place like every two weeks. There's tons of Asian groceries here, including a nice selection of tea packets. I also spotted my favorite green tea mochi ice cream that I have been unavailable to find anywhere else. In addition, prices are reasonable. Location is awesome, because it's close to Astor Place/Union Square, so it's in the middle of everything.
Sigh. I love this place. -
Review from Grace C.
4/8/2011
I'm going to round up to 4 because their produce is pretty great, cheap and at a reasonable price and portion.. I love going to a supermarket where the line doesn't wrap around the store (cough*TRADERJOES). But, I do think some of their things are overpriced--for ex., the price of their sauce bottles are almost twice as much as they are in chinatown. My most popular purchases there include tofu, peppers, and the occasional pork belly for when I am splurging.
Sandwiched between union square and st. marks, and within a .25 mile radius (ok i made that up, but it's close) of 3 NYU dorms, a perfect place to grab your asian ingredients when you find yourself in the area. -
Review from Monica W.
New York, NY
9/24/2011
I love my local grocery store. They have everything you need and more, from Nutella to Sashimi. The people that work here are friendly and helpful. The store is clean and always with a full stock.
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Review from Ina C.
1/6/2011
M2M is okay for an Asian grocery store. They've got your frozen dumplings, your ban-chan (Korean side dishes), dried ramen, keem (dried seaweed), your basic Korean sauces and spices. But remember that this place is small and that, though they have these things in stock, the variety is lacking.
Their marinated meats are previously frozen. This is fine, but my gripe is that they try to pass them off as fresh by letting them thaw in the refrigerator. I went in the early afternoon to find some bulgogi and pork half frozen in their refrigerator. I'd rather just buy them frozen, you know?
Okay prices, comparable to Han Ah Reum. -
Review from Kath B.
Brooklyn, NY
5/11/2011
love it here because their prices are good. there is a great variety of asian drinks. Milk coffees, pocari, rice soda, and my favorite calpico.
Greatvariety of different products. Good healthy meals I find are here too. Convenient location. Enough sitting space. -
Review from Jason G.
10/31/2010
Love this place! Fantastic Asian grocery store! I got me some sweet and spicy dried anchovies, with some kimchi and sushi and assorted vegetables. They have tons of this stuff. They have shumai and other good frozen things.
And the store hours are in the name... m2m, morning to midnight! So convenient for remembering! I don't need to check the phone to figure it out! -
Review from Adam M.
East Village, Manhattan, NY
11/9/2010
Despite the unfortunate/hilarious name that makes it sound more like the gay personal ads, m2m market is awesome.
The prepared Korean pickled veggies are great, and they have lots of ingredients for cooking with at home. It is always busy, yet well stocked.
The sushi isn't the best ever, but not bad for takeout. The salmon/avocado in brown rice roll is especially yummy
I stop by there once or twice a month and have always been happy with my purchase. -
Review from Candy M.
7/31/2011 4 Check-ins Here
A co-worker brought me here and introduced me to their udon specials. I haven't found one of these in a looong time but it definitely hit the spot. As expected the udon came in a large container and all flavors were on point. i went with the tofu which came with vegetables. A little weak on the amount of veggies but for under $6 it's solid. I do kinda wish it had a little extra zing to it but it did do its job, my belly was full. There's also lots of little grocery items that tend to be hard to find b/c they're kind of a specialty, including a large array of teas. PLUS there's even a few tables if you want to eat there. I'll be back here for sure when the weather gets colder!
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Review from Katie C.
San Jose, CA
2/14/2011
I love this place for three reasons. 1) The asian drink selection is excellent. 2) Their sushi and miso soup is decently good and well priced. 3) They have my favorite chocolate cheaper than other places.
I lived in the NYU dorm right across the street from here. It was very convenient for me to go grocery shopping here whenever I was in desperate need of milk or eggs or chocolate. Ha! Their chocolate and candy selection is amazing huge. I don't know why. I tried so many variety of chocolates that I finally found my favorite one and it is easily a dollar cheaper than whole foods. They have fresh cut fruit salads for decent prices. The sushi is freshly made every day and they are refilled all the time. The price of the sushi is normal in NY, not super cheap or anything, it is just convenient to buy and eat there. The miso soup is yummy!
The drink section is huge and has great variety! They lack in produce though. Their ramen variety is so-so. I rather go down to chinatown from ramen. They have a large selection on frozen potstickers and dumplings. They have very overpriced stuff you would buy at American supper markets such as peanut butter and chips.
The staff ringing you up will be most likely asian and have attitude. But what can I say, it's a decent place to go especially when you live right across the street from it. Open morning to midnight =] 5 dollar min to use credit card. -
Review from Marina V.
Manhattan, NY
3/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Love this place!
It has all my favorite Asian treats, and the produce is cheap and fresh. One thing I ALWAYS get here is the wasabi seaweed salad. I have not seen this seaweed salad anywhere else and I am absolutely obsessed with it. I also love the stewed tofu, and for $3.99 for a large container you can't go wrong! -
Review from Cecille C.
Manhattan, NY
6/30/2010
It's a very nice, convenient, and friendly Asian grocery store. The best thing I find at this place is the Special Udon at the catering counter. It's 7-8 bucks, with two tempura shrimps, two fresh shrimps, pieces of sweet tofu, fishcake, crab meat sticks, enoki mushrooms and greens.
BTW, one of the cashiers here looks like an Asian film star. -
Review from Cliff A.
New York, NY
8/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great oriental market with all the essentials. Great fresh food and very clean and no bad odors unlike other oriental markets.
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Review from Steph C.
7/19/2010
Once, I was sitting with a friend at M2M, and as we spoke, an old Asian man with giant headphones stood by the table behind us, dancing away the afternoon. There's a good chance that he was crazy, but I liked him more than I felt sorry for him.
My brother used to live right by M2M and we've made several visits together and separate to sate our Asian noshing needs. I've never ordered food, but I've availed myself of the prepared Korean stuff in the refrigerated section. I know it's all pre-packaged, but if you need a quick fix of dubu jorim (tofu simmered with soy sauce) or japchae (glass noodles), look no further. Also handy are the Asian drinks like green tea in giant plastic bottles, as well as a thorough selection of pantry items.
The place is huge, well-lit, and easy to browse. I would recommend it for your Asian grocery needs. -
Review from Ron C.
5/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
A great place to get some Asian snacks such as rice cakes, mochi, wasabi peas and shrimp chips. If your not in the St Marks or Chinatown area. This would be the stop for you. They have A LOT to choose from the prices aren't that bad.
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Review from ViviMar Luz C.
Manhattan, NY
8/20/2011
Fresh. Clean. Neat store with good selection of fresh and prepared food.
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Review from James L.
Manhattan, NY
9/27/2010
I'm at this place at least a couple times a week. 3 things.
1. It's location and prices are really great. Located right between multiple college dorms, and right between St. Marks and Union Square. Even with the prime location, the prices are reasonable.
2. It's opened till pretty late at night. Those 11:30 pm - 12:00 am desires for ramyun are graciously obliged.
3. Cheapest Orange Juice in the area other than TJ's !! haha -
Review from Lee J.
Brooklyn, NY
2/23/2011
I love them for their ban chan-like dishes that I can subsist entirely on, and for their kimchi. They also have this amazing rice blend that is so healthy and although it takes nearly 2 hours to prepare it, it lasts for days in the refrigerator and does not dry out.
This has become my go-to spot for kimchi, because of the convenient location, price, and taste. In taste, it is rivaled only by mother-in-laws and another brand I can't remember the name of and that is almost impossible to find. But m-i-l is way too expensive for regular consumption and the other brand is, well, impossible to find. In terms of value, this kimchi wins.
I usually buy the large jar, but they actually sell gigantic trash bag-sized bags full of kimchi, and plastic tubs. Haven't gotten that far yet.Listed in: Kimchi
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Review from Queen G.
Bronx, NY
7/3/2011
I like the selection of products at M2M. They have fresh groceries, packaged good, frozen foods, candies and desserts. They have sushi, dumplings, and soba too if you want to drop in for a quick lunch. They also have a seating area in this store, so if you want to grab a quick bite to eat, it's a good spot. I usually go to Flushing and Chinatown enough that I don't come here. The prices are definitely higher here than if you went to Chinatown.
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Review from Chandra F.
East Setauket, NY
7/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good take-away prepackaged sushi at good prices. Good selection too! Lots of teas as well. Good place to pick up sushi and head to the park.
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Review from Ginny L.
New York, NY
12/10/2010
After reading about M2M on Yelp, i decided to drop by and check it out...
This place is more like a Korean and Japanese and little bit of Chinese mix into one supermarket....its like a small Korean supermarket and Jas Mart mixed together...they do have somewhat of a selection but i think its ok...if i havent been to other lareger Korean and Japanese supermarkets...I would have thought this might be a great place...but after going to Mitsuwa in NJ...this is more like mom and pop...lol....
One good thing about this place is that some of their items are a little bit cheaper than Sunrise Mart that is just a block or two down...and they also have a noodle bar....so that was pretty cool... -
Review from Vivian B.
New York, NY
8/6/2010
I am a fan!
I like the variety of Asian products in this place, good selection, I don't think it's overpriced, the staff is friendly and helpful, the place is pretty clean, and there is a little space to eat something right there if you feel like it. -
Review from Emma L.
Nashville, TN
7/19/2011
M2M is clean and affordable, has a very nice selection of Asian groceries, is located so close to me and has a nice little seating area--it's too bad their food isn't better, or I'd be here eating all the time.
For an Asian grocery store, it's excellent. I can't stress how nice it is that it's clean, well-stocked and well-managed. The selection is superb--they've got all my favorite brands of ramen, all the Asian drinks I could ever want, a really nice variety of ice cream/frozen treats, a wonderful selection of frozen dumplings/dim sum/etc, and produce that looks fresh to me (I've never bought produce here). Staff have always been efficient and pleasant to me, it's roomy and air-conditioned, and I just want to buy everything to stock my apartment with a little more of the motherland.
Their food, however, leaves much to be desired. I'll break it down by what I've eaten here in the two months I've been in the city.
- Eel don: for my first month, as a shellshocked suburbanite sorely missing her mother's rice cooker, the eel don was all I would look forward to on days when $8 sandwiches became too much. It used to be $8.50 and would come with a heap of fresh rice, a very generous helping of eel and some scallions. Nothing pretentious, nothing amazing: solid, good food, at a price that I quickly recognized as a bargain. THEN, after I spent one too many late nights stumbling in here, aching for a bowl of rice, they jacked the price up to $10.50. That was the beginning of the end of my love affair with this place.
- Salmon oyakodon: I recently ordered this as an eel don substitute. All I really wanted was some rice, and I figured the salmon couldn't be that bad, right? Wrong. This comes with a huge load of salmon roe, which has a very strong taste. I usually don't mind roe on my sushi in smaller doses (literally, as smaller eggs), but this was excessive and disgusting. Worse still, it got mixed in with my rice after a while, so I had to abandon ship and throw the damn thing away. I'm still sore, M2M.
- Udon: I've eaten the vegetable and pork variety. Honestly, for your money I would go for the vegetable. This wasn't bad--it's hard to screw up serving a fresh, hot bowl of noodles--save for the weird assortment of vegetables I was given. For some reason, those little purple radishes you find in American iceberg salad mix and, oddly enough, iceberg lettuce ended up in my bowl of Asian udon alongside the more normal mushrooms and seaweed. Confusing and, in the end, unpleasant, as I picked the little radishes out in between bites of noodle. It's a massive portion, though, and the sushi bar has plenty of hot pepper and spicing agents available for you to adjust to your taste.
- Sushi: the variety is nice, with brown, rainbow, and white rice options, but on several occasions their avocados have been less than ripe and the sashimi always looks dubious.
- Kimchi, Korean pancakes, etc: I'm not a Korean food connoisseur by any means, so I haven't really explored this section. I had kimchi, it was fine, I bought Korean pancakes and reheated them one day, they were awful.
Oh M2M, I want to like you, but you make it so hard. Come here for Asian groceries when you're craving something special, go elsewhere for your hot food--don't let the prices fool you or the clean, air conditioned seating area seduce you: make yourself a bowl of rice or ramen in your apartment and I promise it will be better. -
Review from Scott B.
New York, NY
9/12/2007
M2M: Your one-stop spot to shop for Pocky for Men, chocolate-filled panda cookies, and Calpico before going to a movie at Union Square.
At least, that's what it is if you're me, a tall white Midwestern kid whose knowledge of cooking Asian food amounts to "So.... how do you make rice?"
This place is pretty great, though. There are always plenty of panda cookies, but make sure you get the panda ones and not the koala ones. There's something weird about the koala ones. -
Review from Lolia S.
San Francisco, CA
4/17/2008
They call themselves an Asian Convenient Store. Cute. It's a clean, small Korean market with a food court area (mostly sushi I think?) and a tiny selection of Korean prepared foods in the refrigerator (e.g., chap chae, kim bap). They carry some Japanese groceries too, like Pocky and HiChew. One of my favorite Korean grocery store items is the Korean flavored tuna (e.g., flavors could include kim chee, bulgogi) and I saw that they had a snack pack of their tuna with crackers that I hadn't seen before. Yum.
It's amusing to see what types of products they'll think of next, especially when they come up with Western-Korean fusion products. Hand pulled noodle fiend and I had a laugh over their Chapagetti ramen packet - chajang (black bean sauce) noodles. Cute name. I found it at Kukje too (in Daly City).
Looks like they have a good ramen selection and a decent selection of frozen Korean dumplings. However, I didn't see any buns or bread? Big negative. Buns are an important part of my diet. -
Review from diana y.
6/16/2008
M2M has been my personal nutritionist as of late. I like myself, but there's about 5 lbs too much of me right now. Periodically I come here to stock up on brown rice, tofu, dried seaweed, and other healthy foodstuffs. It's cheaper to go down to Chinatown, but I have to be in the right mindset to argue prices with the fruit guys.
Beware that damned cookie aisle in here if you don't want to walk out with 10 bags of strawberry gummy candy and 12 boxes of cookies that look like mini hamburgers. Some genius discovered that if you make snacks look adorable, people are more inclined to eat them. Sadly, eating cute things doesn't make us cuter. Most of the time, it just makes us fatter.
I like that there's a deli in here. I don't think that an Asian grocery would be complete without one. Prepared foods= good. -
Review from Maria M.
Woodside, NY
4/23/2007
Went there for ice cream Mochis, and let's just say I left them with a small inventory issue. Also got lychees and frozen dim sum to take to my neck of the woods. As my friend was inspecting the kimchi selection, I was ecstatic to find the little fish cake thingies I had in K-Town with Julie and Javier.
I used to have a thing against the East Village (you know, an ounce of pretentiousness is worth a pound of manure...), but I've softened...Listed in: An Asian Fetish of the Healthy…
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Review from Dina V.
New York, NY
2/7/2008
m2m, my love, my salvation. What would I do with only one dollar and a murderous craving for mochi ice cream? Where would my friend and I buy a bucket of kimchi the size of a baby if we needed it?
Let the haters hate, but you have a much wider selection of exotic Japanese drinks for the cheap-assed than Sunshine Mart. Black Boss, Pocari Sweat, Calpico that tastes like beer to me.. and I'm definitely getting adventurous. I almost bought a package of udon (what me, cook?) and a raw octopus tentacle.
As to the melon bars, if you haven't tried them, you have not lived.
