Mike-Cell’s Oriental Store

Ramen selection here is great. Wife loves the mochi ice cream. Just wish they were closer to Georgia so I could go more often. Also the Japanese candy here is great. Wish they had the peach flavor though.

Great store with everything from azuki beans to mochi ice cream. A little more Filipino selection than Japanese or Thai, but definitely the basics for curries and soups.
Cashier was not friendly at all to me, but probably because I don’t speak the language.

It have enough of what I needed. Not very many Japanese stuff. Enough thai basic needs like noodles, fish sauce etc… Price is a bit more than other Asian groceries in jacksonville. I like the little restaurant type they set up in the back. Never ate there but will one day. Staff aren’t that friendly. But it doesn’t matter to me. Wish they have more vegetables though and more Japanese products will be nice. Especially drinks.

I have to say this place is pretty nice with a ton of stuff packed into a huge building. It’s nice clean and everything on the shelves are very clean too. The section is vast but a lot of the stuff is in a foreign language. I had to ask the little old lady behind the counter who’s English was broke slap up. Her pointer sure did the trick thou. I have a small dilemma right now. I can’t get enough RAMEN for some reason. The folks at Phở a Noodle bar are loving me. Now this place has maybe 20 – 30 different types and sizes and flavors of ramen. So now I have enough for maybe 2 – 3 weeks and some dipping sauce since I haven’t found a good recipe yet. Two grocery bag of ramen should do don’t you think.

I took my mother with me when I visited this grocery, and we both had a lot of fun looking at all the pan-​Asian ingredients and snacks. You can get some of the Japanese snacks for about 10 cents cheaper at another store in Jax (which does make a difference when you’re buying a lot of things), though I believe this store is still quite decently priced for the area.
The store was very clean, and there was something being prepared in the back that smelled absolutely delicious. We were in a bit of a hurry so I didn’t check it out, though I wish I had. The store employees were quiet (they seemed busy), but we did receive a hello when we walked in, so I wasn’t bothered. It still seemed like I would’ve gotten help had I needed it, so I won’t say customer service was a problem.
I was incredibly impressed by their snack selection, and was happy to find they sell strawberry Calpico here. I could hit myself for not taking more time to look in all of the freezers. One thing I would’ve liked to splurge on is all the boxed mochi they carry, as they had about 4 or 5 different flavors. They had a small, and what seemed picked over, produce section near the front, a long with some yummy looking sweets that I think were Thai. My only comment (not really a complaint) is that although they have «Korea» written on their store windows outside, I did not see very many Korean products at all. Though I admit I was in a rush so I probably did overlook some things.
Good selection, good service, good prices. I will be visiting again!

Good and bad here. We stopped in last week to stock up on Pocky and dried snacks and Japanese candy. Never been in here before, just passed it once or twice while driving down Atlantic. It was pretty typical for an Asian food store, although a bit larger. Prices were good, and less than you’d pay for stuff in the Asian section of the grocery store. There’s a small area in the back where they prepare food and sell it. If we hadn’t been on our way to dinner, we would have tried something, because whatever they were making smelled AMAZING.
There was a neat variety of products. My daughter got a humungous box of Pocky and was thrilled. By «humungous», I don’t mean it was a box of Pocky with a lot of sticks, it was literally giant Pocky, the sticks were about a foot long. Pretty cool.
Here’s the bad part. If you go by the dried noodles and soups section by the front door, I beseech you to check the «sell by» dates on the packages. The first one I picked up had a sell by date of 2008. Yes, 2008. I forget which month, but I don’t think that matters in this case. 2008. A quick perusal of others showed a wide range. More 2008, some 2010, 2011. Thankfully, some were current. Some I couldn’t find a date at all.
No complaints about the service. The lady at the counter was perfectly pleasant. Not overly cheery, but not rude or unpleasant in any way. I’m not one of those people who expects my posterior kissed while exchanging money for product, as long as you’re not rude, I’m not going to freak out or complain.
We’d go back if we’re in the area. We have yet to find our Asian market of choice since the one by Blue Bamboo closed, but this one is fine. Just check the expiration dates!

Awesome place with a wide variety of goods and food.

This place is clean, has tons of Asian products crammed into every aisle, and is convenient. It’s not super awesome, but great for your every day asian product needs!
It sure as hell doesn’t deserve the one star the previous reviewer gave. As a fellow Elite Unilocaler, I expected more objectivity. :Shakes Head:
As I sit here munching on Filipino arrowroot cookies from said store, I must say it really disappointing when people give NON OBJECTIVE, Negative reviews based off one facet of a business.
PLEASE Unilocalers — You’re supposed to comment on Products, Food, Quality, Selection, Service, Value. equally. As an Elite member, it’s almost a responsibility!
If the place is clean the selection admittedly good, why not give the place 3 stars and NOTE the poor service in your review? Why punish the entire business for the bad day of one person? The previous review the Unilocaler gave was 4 stars — unless the cashier was screaming racist obscenities, it does not warrant a 3 star drop.
Oh no! The grocery store staff didn’t smile at you! Yes I enjoy friendly customer service, but anyone who’s ever been to an Asian store should realize you’re not here to be catered to hand and foot.
And saying the staff is allegedly racist against non asians /​filipinos? Give me a break! Racism is a serious allegation — please make sure you have proof before making such a nasty accusation.
I’m not filipino, and got a non smiling cashier. The Filipinos I was with got a non smiling cashier. Not rude, just not rah rah ‘Welcome to Walmart!’. Then again, Walmart has poor service too. One star for them!
Actually, these arrowroot cookies are pretty darn yummy. We went on Thursday for them and when the lady didn’t have them in stock, she said she’d order more and come Saturday, they were there as promised! They might not smile at their customers, but that’s pretty cool service in my book.
*EDIT. Holy crap! the Unilocaler removed their review. For whatever reason, thanks for doing it. Fair reviews or bust!