TLDR: Store in the Rideau Centre that sells Korean and Japanese products. They have cosmetic brands that are harder to find in Ottawa, but their food items aren't anything special and more expensive than elsewhere.
So Sukoshi Mart just opened in the Rideau Centre on April 13, 2024. They sell Japanese and Korean products. Mostly cosmetics and skincare, but they also have stationery, stuffed animals and packaged snacks.
I have to say I was a bit disappointed. When Sukoshi Mart opened their first store back in 2018 in Kensington Market in Toronto, they branded themselves as a convenience store with lots of imported snacks. They also served fresh food, like mochi, taiyaki and Bento box meals. But I guess they changed their business model because this location is mostly makeup and skincare. They have a tiny section in the corner with food and it's all shelf stable products like chips, cookies, ramen, etc.
With the exception of a few items (like imported Oreos in flavours like fig, peach and berries) most of their foods I can get at T&T or the International aisle at mainstream grocery stores. Like they had Turtle Chips for $7.95 a bag. I can get these at Walmart for $4.99.
I was hoping they would have freshly made taiyaki or mochi.
Anyway, the store is cool. If you're looking for Asian cosmetics, they have a good selection. They have a claw machine and a photo booth! And so many stuffed animals.
If I had never gone to the Sukoshi Mart in Toronto of days passed, I might have found their new iteration cool, but I personally like their original vision better, so it affected my opinion of it. Sorry dad, I'm drinking the tea I drank 6 years ago (my dad is a Buddhist and he's always reminding me to "drink the tea you are drinking now and not the tea you drank yesterday" in other words, enjoy things for what they are in the present and don't compare to past experiences. I am not nearly as enlightened as my dad, so my review is what it is, lol. However, I was originally going to give it 3 stars, but that's because of my expectations that it would be like the store in my memories, so giving it 4 stars as I strive to be more enlightened.
No free parking at the Rideau Centre, so paid parkade or street parking only.
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