Omusubi Gonbei

The riceballs here aren’t very good. The nori [seaweed] is bland and tasteless and the rice is flavorless and abundant. The meat is paltry and not very tasteful. I had both the eel and salmon riceballs and didnt enjoy either.
The fried chicken was tender and affordable-​3 for $ 3.50. The chicken was a decent amount and although not flavorful not bad at all.
This place is relatively mediocre but the price is very affordable and the food, although not at all great, is palatable.

The onigiri here sucks.
They premake them with the nori on already so if you don’t get them as soon as they come out, the nori’s going to be very soggy. My salmon onigiri ($ 1.90) had WAY too much rice and a bland salmon filling that tasted even worse than some canned stuff I’ve had. Horrible! You can get better onigiri from the Mitsuwa market inside (with the plastic separators) but it’s not that much better either. Still way too much rice.

I have been here several times and I must say I am in absolute love with this place. I have had the BBQ balls, tuna, eel, octopus, jako rice ball, all excellent, fresh with great quality ingredients. The price also is a great factor averaging $ 1.80−4 each. They had a special and I had the fried chicken with clam soup which was excellent. The only thing is no hot sauce for the chicken, which I guess isnt a Japanese thing.

I came bought from here 3 times in 6 weeks!
Great onigiri!!! I love The Bomb and Spicy Cod Roe onigiris the most, but that’s not to say the others aren’t good.
Their croquettes are underrated but really good as well.
For a food court stall the service and food is amazing.

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.

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.

Last time I was here this place was closed, however, I’ve since come back and have been able to get everything I wanted! I would highly recommend their octopus and salmon. Out of the entire food court I would say that this place has the best food. Just remember cash as it’s cash only.

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!

For a super quick, filling and inexpensive lunch this is the place to go.
They have a lot of choices for onigiri I like the spicy tuna and the eel. You really can’t go wrong for 2 – 3 bucks.
They also have karaage fried chicken here they give you 3 pieces for about 3 bucks and some change. It was surprisingly good, juicy dark meat fried to perfection.
You can get a really filling meal for 5 – 6 bucks which is the best part of this place.

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.

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.

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.

Food is good and cheap. For the price you are essentially getting filled up on all rice. You may get some salmon sprinkled in. Now for the lone star… I enjoy the food with eel sauce on top. For some reason they make a huge deal and will not give us the sauce since what we order does not have it. They even had to ask the manager if this was ok. Who cares… if I like it and want to enjoy it with your food… add it. I am not asking you to add salmon or chicken to the dish, just sauce. And if I am… give the customer what they want.
What you see is what you get. You like it or you don’t. Food is good but experience is bad.

I dropped by this place for the first time today omw from work (NJ Transit Bus 158). I tried the salmon, spicy fried chicken, tako (octopus), and spicy tuna. The spicy tuna was best. For the price, I really can’t complain. But the rice ratio was a bit overwhelming. I wouldn’t mind paying about 3 times that to have a better proportioned rice ball. I would have to tear of all the outer area, thereby defeating the purpose of getting an onigiri. The chicken was also soggy and had peanuts on it– so if you’re allergic to peanuts, beware!

If you were to ask people what they like most about the Mitsuwa food court, they’d probably answer with Santouka. If you’d rather not wait in line to get what possibly could be mediocre ramen (it really depends on the day you go), then go for a more consistent, quick choice at Omusubi Gonbei! I’d also much rather get a bunch of omusubi to take home with me to eat in the car or bus home, especially because they are about $ 2 apiece.
Definitely get the more traditional fillings here; I’d recommend the okaka (bonito flakes in soy sauce), spicy tuna, or salmon. Some of the more experimental fillings like the shrimp tempura and fried chicken are much too soggy.
The reason the omusubi here stands out is all in the rice. Each one is hand packed into a triangle with a nice bit of salt and a generous amount of rice. They’re also packed just-​right: no squished grains, no congealed parts, no hard pieces of rice; they’re airy, fluffy, but not so much that they fall apart after one bite. Think of the Goldilocks story, but with omusubi rather than porridge, chairs, and beds.
Likelihood of another visit:
Very likely!

Not bad not bad. 3.5 stars really. There’s a lot of rice. A lottttttt of rice. I absolutely love rice but the ratio rice to meat is off. And not so much protein. Prices are very very low and it’s a great snack for on the road. The fried chicken is very greasy and not made to order. It seemed to be mostly dark meat so it’s tender on its own.
«The bomb» is a good choice for you indecisive yet very hungry folk, it’s more expensive relatively but has many proteins all in one unattractive seafood blob lol.
Very friendly staff.

Once again, another let down. Is this place even legit japanese? I had their grilled eel onigiri, first of all the rice was not japanese rice (just like last time.) Ratio of filling to rice was not balanced at all. It was mostly rice, which is a rip off. The sauce was not unagi sauce at all, it tasted like soy sauce.
Seriously folks, save your money elsewhere. This place should be skipped.

Yesterday’s special deal was 2 rice balls (choose 2 from 7 varieties), 2 pieces of fried chicken, and miso soup for $ 7.60. My mother and I opted to try the octopus and spicy tuna rice balls. I didn’t care for the octopus but liked the spicy tuna rice ball. I also thought the fried chicken was pretty good, and the miso soup was delicious.
Service here was fast and friendly and good. This is also one of the few food court options that are open before 11 am with a full menu.

This place mostly deserves a high rating because you don’t find Musubi frequently enough in NY/​NJ, and because they are key in making the wait for ramen at Santouka tolerable.
This should be your first stop at Mitsuwa if you are coming for lunch. It serves as both a good little appetizer, and as a great thing to have while you wait in the epic line at Santouka Ramen.
They have a wide variety of different flavors, which all looked great. We went with the Spicy Tuna ($ 1.90) and the Grilled Eel ($ 2.90), and both were quite good. The rice was a little bland, and there was a bit too much of it, but for that price you can’t really complain too much. This is a definite must try for a great snack typical of the delicious food you can find in Japan.

If you’re not in the mood to wait on the long line for Santoka ramen, this is a good alternative. The rice balls are fresh as they are made on the spot. Something about the rice in these rice balls that makes them so tasty. They have a combo meal that includes a salmon ball, spicy tuna, and 2 – 3 pieces of fried chicken. The fish is cooked. The spicy tuna one had a bit too much mayo and not enough tuna, but the salmon one had a nice flavor. You are in luck, if you catch a fresh batch of the chicken. They have a slight crisp and are seasoned well. Also the eel and the wasabi/​sweet bean curd wrap are tasty as well.
The service here is much friendlier and always seem have a smile, compared to the cold and emotionless staff at the other shops. This place is a good choice for a snack or lunch.