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Categories: Grocery, Ethnic Food [Edit]
Neighborhood: East VillageAstor Place (6)
8th St-Broadway (R, W)
3rd Ave-14th St (L)
Mon-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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I come here and m2m to get my Asian needs met. It is a good place to come if you don't want to go to Ktown or China Town to get some Asian goodies. The place is pretty small and crowded and they tried to fit as much as they could into the same space they had. I'm used to extremely large Hawaiian/Japanese markets that were the sizes of Safeway or QFCs. So I was pretty surprised at the tininess of this mart. I guess thats why they call it a mart.
The prices are not outrageous, but they are more than what I would like to spend. On Saturdays, I drop by here for some instant food. The bibimbap and the squid with rice is cheap and pretty good with something that came out of a mart. I wish it was hot though and you didn't need to reheat it. M2M has a restaurant type area where they give you hot noodles fast. But Sunrise mart has more selection.
Overall its a good place to go to if you want some Asian food, but slightly expensive compared to places you find in KTown or Chinatown.
Cheapest hi-chews in the city. Get a pack of the mango flavor for only 75 cents!
Horrible rice ball. I had to bonito flake soaked in soy sauce onigiri. The seaweed was already touching the rice making it soggy (very homestyle, no cool packaging protecting the seaweed). Rice was mushy. Filling was sudden and not distributed so well considering the saltiness.
Overall, it's a small Japanese market with decent selection.
Score card:
Hi-Chews: 1
Rice balls: 0
Sunrise Mart: 3
Cons: If you don't know Japanese, don't plan on asking questions. Prices are a little on the higher side, but to be expected for a Japanese specialty market.
Pros: Their lunch bentos are a STEAL. Make sure to get there around 11 -- I think they come out around 10:30 to ensure you get it still warm and the widest selection. They have Japanese products that you can't find elsewhere. They're open to at least 11, if not midnight on a few nights.
I love having this place around -- very convenient, people are nice, and they usually have what you need if you're cooking Asian.
I have to say I feel at home shopping here. Fresh Japanese food, goodies and supplies. I can't live without this place.
In the proximity of St. Mark's, where else can you find...
...ITO-EN bottled tea for $1.49
... quick take-away spicy tuna sushi with better than restaurant quality for $3.75
...Angelo Pietro restaurant's dressing for radish/raw potato salad (I think this restaurant only exists in Japan and Hawaii)
I come here usually to grab a bite for lunch, but it's also a good place to stock up on produce, fruits, curry, dumpling, ramen, etc.
I'm not Japanese, but sometimes, like when I go to this store, I kinda wish I am.
Sunrise saves me at least once a week with their vast and cheap array of rice balls. Mmmmmmmm. There's something about rice wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with a variety of weird fillings that can really turn my day around.
I'm spoiled where Asian specialty markets are concerned, having gone to school down the street from Super 88 Market in Boston. That place was, to put it bluntly, the shit. Sunrise is good, but has a smaller selection and some of the prices strike me as high.
But nothing matters except those rice balls. They also have nice, cheap bento boxes and sushi that are perfect for takeaway lunch.
This place is absolutely wonderful.
1) They have chousei soymilk, a type of soymilk (not even brand, but type) that I could not find in any other market (not in Mitsuwa, nor in JAS-marts). I nearly bowled over from tears of happiness when I saw it here. (I had considered getting it shipped from Japan for $50 shipping and handling for $20 worth of soymilk.)
2) They have a selection of frozen edamame. The one that is a Japanese brand that is slightly more expensive than the bag in English is really good. Frozen edamame is hit or miss. I find that the flavor and tenderness could be off. But, they have a good offering of different kinds, including a really fresh one.
3) It's a bit pricey, but still, for having the things I crave and really want, I have to give it props. I am willing to fork over a little more for the high quality. And I don't mind paying the subway ride from the Upper West to come get the Japanese foods and drinks that bring me comfort on a sublime level.
Cheap eats of asian delicacies.
Bean curd stuffed with rice. $2.99
Kimbap. $3.50.
Onigiri - $1.49.
Bottled Tea. $1.49
Fulfilling my hunger: Priceless.
Most locals in the area might know this already, but if you haven't discovered Sunrise Mart yet, do yourself a favor and pay a visit.
It's not the most obvious entrance since it's on the second floor, but you can be sure find a goodt variety of Japanese Groceries here. It's size is in no comparison to Mitsuwa ( Famous Japanese supermarket in NJ) but Sunrise mart is condensed and well in stock with all your needs.
I love Japanese snacks, chips, ramen, ice cream and all that good stuff so I come here occasionally to stock up.
Those amazing Shrimp shumai dumplings you order at a Japanese restaurant, they sell the frozen version here and it tastes exactly the same!! Also would recommend the super thin Chocolate Pocky sticks and Shrimp crackers.
NOTE: they sell Japanese magazines and beauty products here as well
Mitsuwa's younger and spoiled little sister with the Manhattan real estate mark up.
I always enjoy perousing up and down the aisles of Sunrise, in comparison to near-by's like M2M, JasMart, even Zaiya. They have an abundance of decently freshed veggies, seafood, and prepacked meats. Price is decent and relatively cheaper than it's neighbors.
I was really looking for spicy flavored nori (which I had originally purchased from Mitsuwa, the grand master of Japanese supermarket in the Tri-STate), but sadly it was absent.
They take Amex! Many asian establishments do not, so upgrade!
I like weaving in and out of the isles looking for things that I don't really need, but just want to try out. And this is how I have fallen in love with these really really sour lemon candies. I've been to tons of asian markets and sure they do have "sour" lemon candies, but it's not the same. So every time I come here I would buy 2-3 packs of those lemon candies and bring them to work. Really helps when you're dozing off at work haha. It's a kick and a bam in your mouth that makes your face scrunched up and your eyes crossed kind of sour. I shared it with my co-workers and that's how all of us looked like once we popped that candy in our mouth lol.
Okay away from the lemon candy, so about this market. It's really clean and the isles aren't tight as if everything is closing in on you. The selections of foods are pretty good, which is I feel is better than JasMart. I also love to buy mochi and eat it right when I exit the doors.
I usually come here to buy onigiri ($1.49) and random snacks. The store (it's on the second floor), is pretty cramped, but I like to browse and buy new treats to try. Worth a visit if you're in the St. Mark's area.
I like this place. Great sushi to take home.
This ain't chinatown, so expect to pay 30-50% more for your snacks.
I do however, come here for the fish when I prepare my sushi/ sashimi as I can not find a butcher in town that understand what is sushi-grade fish.
They were playing Boys of Summer when I walked in. Talk about setting the right mood.
It's compact, it's hidden, and has all kind of wonders. Mochi, japanese crackers, Pocky (try extra dark, it's "for men"), spicy ramen, veggies, sashimi, shabu shabu meats, jelly fruits, and crunchy yellow stuff. I never found out the proper name of that stuff. I think it might be turnip? Do you know what it's called? It's crunchy and yellow.
There's an area in the back that houses housewares. Is that new?
I bought pork shabu shabu meat and tried to put it in my ramen. It didn't really work. But that's my bad, Sunrise Mart is a gem.
the ride in the elevator threw me off guard, but once upstairs i saw what it was all about. Japanese food heaven. i never knew where to buy all those weird mochi ice creams, chocolate candies,seaweed and funky chips till my friend showed me this hidden gem. i love it!
PS:$10 dollar minimum on credit/debit cards!
i love this place.
every time I'm around st. marks, i always stop by and go upstairs.
they have a great variety of Japanese snacks that are affordable.
the only thing that bothers me, is the small space. =/
i usually buy a onigri and a calpico before i leave.
great place to buy snacks if you're on the run or if you have the munchies. =]
I've been trekking to 59th street to get a specific kind of tofu noodles for the past 3 years. Last night I stumbled on Sunrise mart just to check their selection. I find my noodles, more variety and for 30% less. I love this place. They have a great selection of japanese snacks and candy, those little sugar shots of fruit gellees. The produce and sushi are reasonably priced as well. I prefer Sunrise to M2M.
It is a little cheaper than Mitsuwa.
Some take out sushi rolls seem cheaper as well.
They should have more take out food.
I prefer one in SoHo.
Great little store. Definitely a step up from Katagiri, with better turnaround and better selection. I think the buyer is hip to the trends of Japanese food- all pretty current for what people are eating and asking for.
Open late too!
Love this place for their onigiri, bento boxes and groceries.
love it. if i'm done at st marks at a decent hour, i always swing by this place for snacks to take home. try the rice crackers flecked with dried shrimp! they've got some heat-and-eat bento boxes that are passable too. small and cramped though, so watch those giant bags. the good news is that the registers are efficient and move people out very quickly (and politely).
minus one star for high prices, but this is the place to go if you want random japanese goods. worth a trip just to browse too.
The reason to come here is to get choice japanese cuts on meats and seafood. Its a trustworthy grab n go for your lunchbox.
I go here a couple times a week. Best Japanese market ever. You have to take the elevator up to the 2nd floor. Delicious sushi, onigiri, prepackaged food. I like the spinach and fish cake.
Having shopped at Sunrise, JAS, and M2M, I'd say that Sunrise probably ties with M2M for me in terms of selection, but the prices at M2M seem to be a bit more competitive. The prices at Sunrise for a lot of items is inane -- a small piece of kabocha squash (probably about a pound) was already around $4, when I can get a whole 4-pound kabocha squash at the farmer's market in Union Square for 75 cents/pound! I wouldn't recommend buying fresh produce here since it's pricey. For items like Japanese snacks and sweets, though, this place is good. I haven't tried any of their onigiri, banchan, or sushi, but it all looks really fresh.
Try not to go here after 5pm on weekdays, though; it tends to get jammed with people getting off work, and this place is small!
It's no Mitsuwa, but hands down the best Japanese supermarket you'll find in the city. I'm not there for the lunches/snacks. I'm there for the hardcore Japanese goods so that I can cook at home. They have a decent selection of most things and although marked up, what do you expect for a pretty well stocked store in the city? I think they have the biggest selection of produce, meat, and fish too.
Not bad for a Japanese grocery store in the city, maybe one of the largest in Manhattan, but then again, I've perhaps been spoiled by popping into the Mitsuwa in Edgewater (which is an amazing and huge Japanese supermarket, while I realize that could never exist in the city).
The selection is decent, food mostly fresh (although I have found slightly old food, which they apologize for profusely). A wide selection of items, although usually only the most common brands, a video section in the back. Shampoos and other items to the sides, and fresh vegetables (a small selection, I suggest going to the Han Eh Reum in K-town instead or Chinatown) plus sushi-grade food in the back.
The elevator is a bit slow, but never been stuck in it yet.
I used to go here a lot when I crashed in NYC a lot. It's really small, but the variety of things they carry is immense. One time I saw that they even had real wasabi in root form, fresh octopus legs.. a takoyaki pan.. etc etc
Sometimes those things are hard to find even in larger marts so it was really nice to be able to stop by somewhere so tucked away and local.
They have a huge variety of dried goods and teas, sake cup sets, tea cup sets, etc. They also had a small slew of Japanese magazines and the ladies that work there are generally really nice.
Oh and they also carry some really hard to find Japanese beer from microbreweries, like echigo's koshihikari beer. Course they also carry the generic sapporo, kirin, orion, etc.
One time I spent like an hour at the little coin machine game thing right outside the elevator, where you can get a capsule with a egg yolk keychain character (don't ask.) I really wanted the lion egg yolk character but I kept getting jokers and other things. Ah well. Good thing a friend had an extra lion one, so, I still won, in the end.
Oh how I wish there was a place like this near me! The elevator ride scares a lot of people away (what if it falls? EEK!) but once you get over that, you enter the realm of sweetness. Everything is there, and if I didn't live so far away, I'd buy all their ice cream. I love daifuku and mochi, so I always leave the store with either one or both. Sometimes my friends and I even buy their prepared sushi/onigiri/meals. But we hardly ever do that anymore since JasMart took away the tables and the chairs.
Yipppeee!!!! I love love LOVE this place!!!
tucked away upstairs, virtually neighbors to Angel Share, Sunrise Mart has the widest selection of Japanese goodies that I've ever encountered in any Manhattan Asian market that I've had the luxury of perusing~
I could spend hours just looking at their pottery selection... from tea cups to plates to sake sets... anything you're looking for for your kitchen, they've got it.
and if you're in the market for state-of-the-art rice cookers, they've got that too!
I walked into this place and instantly felt like I was in another world. It was awesome! If I'm going to go to an Asian market, I want to feel completely overwhelmed by all the imported items and not find a shred of anything I can find in the US. Sunrise Mart is perfect in this regard.
After stepping out of the elevator to this 2nd floor market, you are immediately surrounded by Japanese culture - music, magazines, videos, and most importantly FOOD. Sunrise Mart may be kind of small, but it is STOCKED with all Japanese market items, with a small produce section, prepared foods (sushi, boxed meals to reheat, goodies like mochi), meat and seafood, frozen foods/desserts, and an extensive pantry section.
Everything is organized like in a standard market (like baking supplies are together, candies and crackers are together, etc.), so its fairly easy to figure out where things are, and you can always ask one of the very helpful staff members. It took me a REALLY long time to realize that every item is marked with an English translation on the BACK complete with nutrition information (thank god!), so you don't have to know Japanese characters to find things - like me and my mochi making ingredients needs. And matcha! I'll be making vegan green tea cupcakes until I explode thanks to Sunrise Mart!
I COULD DIE FOR THEIR TAMAGOs!
They have 4 kinds of Dashimaki Tamago (Rolled Omelette Cake). The prices run from $5-$12. I bought Tamago with Shrimp. OH~~ It was even more yummy than the Tamago I tried at Yakitori Totto!!!
If you want anything for Japanese cooking, this is the place to go. They have the widest selection of Japanese brand sauces, oils, spices, and instant Japanese food I've found in NYC. They also have pre-made food, dishes, videos, Japanese beauty products and all sorts of snacks. To those of you comparing it to M2M and JAS, I would have to disagree. For Japanese food, Sunrise has far more selection.
Everything is definitely overpriced, but since you can't get most of it anywhere else, you'll have to live with it. However, I would strongly suggest you skip on buying any produce here. The prices are absolutely insane (ex: $5 for a pack of enoki mushrooms, exact same brand which you can buy anywhere in Chinatown for $1). I understand the convenience factor, but it's ridiculous.
Also, I would suggest checking out Hong Kong Supermarket on East Broadway before you make Sunrise your go to Japanese grocery especially if you are not from Japan. They have most of the Japanese products that Americans are familiar with for much, much cheaper. That having been said, Sunrise selection of Japanese staples is very impressive, especially given the small size.
Whenever I go, always buy Tofu & Nattou. Feels like for Japanese customers. So, you should go with your J-dude if wanna explore Japanese world. I can help out, too! I guess this is the only place to go for Japanese stuff. Other places are too ripped off.
A sweet gem of Japanese market with red bean buns. Sunrise Mart is a medium sized market with prepared foods: sushi, sashimi, rice bowls and Panya buns. It has little bit of everything that you'd expect: packaged ramen, Pocky, candy, canned coffee drinks, frozen food, fresh tofu, and even a little room with Japanese bowls, incense, incense burners (some cute ones), and DVDs. Of course I took a close look at their Pocky selection - it's quite good but I didn't see any type of Pocky that I haven't found in SF.
The Panya red bean buns are $1.25 here and the same price at the bakery - no markup!
If Shiho shops here regularly, then you know it's good! (Just beware of the ceramics section in the back... meaning, don't go walking through that aisle if you have a gigantor bag. You might inadvertently buy yourself a broken sake set!)
The moment you step into that elevator you are immediately transported to Japan; the music, the staff, the clientele... and the products.
Delicious plums, octopus, salmon, ahi tuna, rice, chicken onigiris, plum onigiris, sesame onigiris, brown powdered moshi, calpico, poccari sweat, desserts... I mean, everything that you know and savor; from Japan with love.
Besides this, Sunrise has a small room tuckered away in the back of the small market, where they sell Dinnerware, chopsticks and other porcelain-like stuff for the home. They also have a connecting door with Yokocho (and with St. Marks bookshop on the lower level by the elevator), in case you just want to hop over, instead of going down and back again.
The only minus would be the long queues at the counter, but a small price to pay for all the goodies you'll get. Sunrise, indeedy.
Sometimes you just really AND I MEAN REALLY need Pocky at 11PM on a Saturday night. Hence my odyssey this past Saturday to acquire said Pocky.
This market has a lot of fun stuff, 90% of which you probably either won't recognize or can't pronounce. The 10% of recognizable stuff might include rice, tofu, and the Hello Kitty packaging accompanying those cute little biscuits or candy boxes that have toys or keychains. The 90% of unrecognizable stuff might include...yeah. Basically, stuff you can't recognize. I think the word "tentacles" might be appropriate to mention at this juncture.
Either way, Sunrise Mart has got a LOT of stuff. PLUS it's late night (11PM on weekdays, midnight on Friday and Saturday). Definitely come here and get adventurous!
I do wonder sometimes where their stairwells are. The only way (I know of) to access this place is via elevator. Um...fire hazard, anybody? Considering the state of the Tokyo subway system, though, I guess that's beside the point...
Perhaps the best testament to this place's appeal is my friend's visit a couple of weekends ago. She is a food scientist. (No, I'm serious -- she's a food scientist who researches food for a living.) Anyway, we were killing some time in the East Village, so I took her here. Kid in a freaking CANDY STORE, people. By the end of our "slight" detour, she had $50 worth of foods (nonperishable, considering she was heading back to NJ the next day), all of it acquired via the Shop 'Til You Drop Game Show method of let-me-walk-down-the-aisle-OH-that-looks-good-tip- it-into-my-basket food acquisition.
Soooo....while the Pocky prices do reflect an East Village location inflation rate, Sunrise Mart definitely gets the job done when it comes to both fulfilling recipes that call for all sorts of wacky Asian foods and satiating those almost-midnight Pocky cravings.
Whenever I come to this small, half-hidden Japanese grocery store, I'm reminded of the following lines from Pulp Fiction:
Vincent: You know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
Jules: What?
Vincent: It's the little differences. I mean they got the same shit over there that they got here, but it's just a little different.
Okay, so they don't exactly have the same shit over there, and it's a lot different, but that quote still pops up in my mind. Why? Because the differences are funny, of course. When I visited Tokyo awhile back, I got a kick out of the quirky items that were almost everywhere. A popular example was the toilet that squirts a stream of water to clean your ass. My favorite were the beer vending machines.
Visiting Sunshine Mart evokes similar sentiments. Here you can find not only decently priced Japanese food (cheaper than M2M mart) and houseware, but consumer goods as well. Japanese cold medicine (not FDA approved, naturally)! Japanese toothpaste! Japanese ointments! Japanese condoms! All in the hyper anime-inspired cutesy packaging that we're used to seeing from the Japanese (also some racially-charged logos mixed in as well).
It's always fun wandering down those aisles, browsing the various items, some of which seem to be decades old, and trying to figure out what the hell they're for.
Oh, and it seems that they rent or sell videos. There is a whole section filled with VHS tapes. It's kind of hidden in the back, making it hard to find, which leads me to believe that they are not all Japanese soap operas. I'm a bit tempted to check some of these out, but unfortunately I no longer own a VHS player.
I have fond memories of wandering around the city or hopping out of a car with friends, cramming our group into the elevator and laughing as people on the second floor became wide-eyed when they realized we were all together.
Most of the time, Sunrise served as the answer to my Pocky, Kani Chip and peach aloe drink cravings. As I became older however, it also started to serve as a one-stop Japanese goodness place for dashi miso paste, curry mix and kamaboko before I decided to leave the area and trek it back uptown.
Prices are admittedly a tad higher than I would prefer but not enough for me to complain considering the hours and selection.
Neighborhood: SoHo
Category: Specialty Food
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Ethnic Food
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Midtown East
Category: Specialty Food
Neighborhood: Manhattan Valley
Category: Convenience Stores
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