Move over H Mart, Great Wall and 99 Ranch. Tysons has a new Asian market and it’s a stunner. Opened in January, the 18,000-square foot Marufuji Japanese Market is a Japanophile’s dream, chockablock with (mostly Japanese) food products, plus some home goods thrown in.Â
I drooled roaming aisles stocked with imported snacks, condiments and spices before moving on to the meat and seafood cases, where the premium goodies include various cuts of Wagyu beef, cooked Kurobota pork, fresh uni (sea urchin) and Hokkaido scallops, not to mention to the pristine tuna otoro and assorted sashimi I took home for dinner.
Marufuji’s 48-seat counter-service café is a destination unto itself, serving espresso and matcha drinks, small plates, donburi, handrolls and chirashi, as well as gyudon—warm rice bowls topped with thinly sliced Washugyu beef in a sweetened soy broth with scallions and pickled ginger ($10-$17.49). Try the negi onsen tamago gyudon topped with a runny poached egg. Ready for a shopping trip? Here are a few of the grocery items I found especially intriguing.
From the meat section: A5 Japanese Wagyu ribeye steak ($100/pound); cooked, sliced Kurobuta pork ($21.99/pound), ready to serve with a bowl of ramen; and thinly sliced American Wagyu beef for sukiyaki, produced from Japanese bloodline cattle by Sakura Farms in Ohio ($49.99/pound).
Fresh fish: Uni (sea urchin) from Maine ($39.99/pound) or Hokkaido ($169.99/pound); Japanese bluefin tuna ($69.99/pound); Hokkaido sea scallops ($89.99/pound); and Faroe Island salmon ($32.99/pound).
Treat yourself to fresh cream puffs from the cafe’s pastry case, or take home a box of frozen Hokkaido Food Concourse brand cream puffs ($10.29) filled with vanilla cream, sold in packs of two.
A prepared foods section includes takeout options such as chirashi bowls ($12.99), assorted sushi rolls ($6.99-$8.49) and a tonkatsu bento bowl ($14.99).
Otafuku brand shrimp and squid okonomiyaki (savory cabbage pancake) with Japanese barbecue sauce, bonito flakes and green seaweed powder ($5.79) come frozen and can be microwaved or pan-fried. Alternately, if you’d prefer to DIY your own pancakes, you can buy the components, including Otafuku okonomiyaki mix for the batter ($6.39), fresh cabbage, kewpie mayo ($5.99), Otafuku okonomi sauce ($6.89) and Kaneso brand bonito flakes ($6.99).
Kimino brand carbonated white peach, yuzu or apple-flavored drinks ($3.59) are delicious on their own or as mixers.
Kumagawa Artisans green ume plum puree or yuzu marmalade ($12.99) are perfect for spreading on toast or adding to cocktails for extra oomph.
Le Karen brand individual cheesecake cups ($7.89) come in various flavors, including chocolate brownie, gorgonzola, pancake maple syrup, lemon fromage and strawberry brownie.
Get a sugar fix with mini taiyaki (fish-shaped waffles) ($3.99) filled with red bean paste, matcha cream, custard cream or chocolate cream.
For a playful kids’ activity, Kracie brand Popin’Cookin’ DIY no-bake candy food kits ($5.99) provide easy instructions for turning fruit-flavored gels into molds resembling familiar foods (think ramen, gyoza and doughnuts with assorted toppings). My favorite is a candy likeness of cheeseburgers with fries, ketchup and a fizzy cola drink. “So cute and so fun” the label promises—and delivers.