Omusubi Gonbei
“2) The price is affordable and the service is quick of you stick with the rice balls and fried chicken.”
“Their big riceballs with seaweed/tuna, miso soup (with lots of seaweeds and tofu) and fried chicken are awesome…”
“Also called omusubi or musubi, onigiri is what the sandwich is to western culture, a quick convenient way to eat on the go.”
Omusubi Gonbei
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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Absolutely in love with these rice balls. They're probably the best rice balls I've ever had. They're inexpensive and make a great quick lunch. There are so many options and the portion is huge for $1.50-$3. I tried the salmon and the jako with brown rice and both were wonderful. The salmon was the perfect saltiness for the rice and the tiny fish and seaweed dispersed throughout the jako was flavorful. I also liked how they had brown rice options too, unlike all the other places I've gotten rice balls at. Yes, there is more rice than filling but I personally don't mind because the rice is good. You can watch them prepare it at the window so you know it's fresh made daily. The staff is also super friendly and polite so that's definitely a plus. I want to try all their flavors — I wish they had this in NYC!!
They have takeout menus by the register, so I grabbed one to look through prices and when I tried to order they "don't do those specials anymore." Maybe throw out your flyers then? I feel like a ruder customer would have yelled and made them honor their prices, but I am not that kind of person. They sure do make you honor their cash only sign though!
I did order a Spicy Tuna and a Spicy Cod Roe (Mentaiko…looked it up) and the rice balls average around $2 and they are huge. They are like giant delicious sushi rolls. They have a good combinations of rice and fishy flavor and 2 are very filling for a cheap price. I just personally didn't like their sign switching and yeah cash only is annoying. When I come to Mitsuwa again, I won't be quick to come to this food court option when there are so many others. This just had the shortest line. Coincidence?
These rice balls are awesome. I've had a few rice balls here since they opened a few years ago, mostly because they're much larger and only a little bit more expensive than the ones in the supermarket. They also have a much larger variety of onigiri available. I usually get the octopus or spicy tuna.
My visit today, I had the luck of being able to get a pickled vegetable onigiri made fresh. I watched as the worker weighed out the brown rice (which I didn't realize was an option), formed a perfect round, triangular ball stuffed with pickled veggies, rolled the ball in sesame seeds, and then wrapped it in seaweed.
Price for that and my spicy salmon was just over $4, so not a bad deal. Right now, this is my preferred spot for onigiri.
If a friend didnt specifically tell me to look for this gem in the corner, I would've walked right past these giant rice balls! Perfectly seasoned rice with good choices of fillings, these are not to be missed when visiting Mitsuwa.
We got the eel rice balls, though the piece of fish was fresh, my husband almost choked on a large piece of bone. I thought they deboned these suckers, no?!
Then somehow we got convinced to also get the fried chicken, which they claimed sells better than any rice balls. You know the feeling when you've brought a crap ton of makeup because the salesperson said your eye just needed a touch of anything? That's how i feel about this fried chicken, ripped off! Though it wasnt, on any scale, bad or soggy, the sales girl made it sound like it would change your life good. Hmmm…
Either way, i'll be back to try the other flavors.
It's hard for me to say no to onigiri. I mean, rice balls with tasty filling wrapped in seaweed, what's not to like? The salmon & fried chicken onigiri are good. The salmon was a little too salty, as salmon onigiri usually is prepared that way. Each rice ball is rather large, but mine were oddly misshapen. That's ok, they still taste good.
My husband and I ordered the Bomb ($3.80) and the second most popular, spicy tuna ($1.90). Both are outstanding. They're huge! I was honestly expecting much smaller so imagine my surprise when I saw two large balls (OK, one us actually triangular).
We tried the spicy tuna first. The simplicity of this triangle was very nice because it showcased the delicious spicy tuna. No soy sauce needed. The next one was The Bomb. That had layers of flavor that took you on a wonderful taste journey. The combination of salmon, Tina and Kombu mixed with salty radishes was there to fulfill all your taste buds ranging from sweet, salty, crunchy and moist. How did they do all that?
Basically they're like hand tools but done in a different shape. Ingenious. Will be back to try other things.
I ate 3 rice balls in one sitting. I really should have stopped after one, but they were calling out to my eyes to eat them. I'm ashamed at the gluttony, but I knew I would be sorry if I didn't.
It was enough to feed me and two strapping young men. And it did. And then some.
Ahhhh Mitsuwa food court is looking a bit fresh after being away from Jersey! Omusubi wasn't there when I used to come but it is a great addition.
I had the salmon onigiri and eel onirigi and karaage fried chicken. All delicious. The onigiri had well seasoned rice and a good portion of filling. The rice balls were quite big. The fried chicken was crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. And the prices on these for like $2-3 can't be beat. Came right back after eating those and ordered a shiso onigiri just cause the rice was so good. Didn't even eat the shiso leaf…
I'll be back if I'm in the mood. Great food at a great price but it's simple.