Aji Ichiban Los Angeles

Came here with my dad to get some yummy snacks and the two ladies working there gave us some judgemental glares!!! But why!!!

Yummy goodies, more than just candy! The best part is that they have samples set out for pretty much everything in the store, which makes it a whole lot easier to pick the perfect treat. Don’t be afraid to try something new! :)

Don’t come here. It is expensive and the employee treat you like thief. They pay attention to your every move; make you feel really uncomfortable when shopping around.

I really would like to give Aji Ichiba four or more stars, but like other reviewers have mentioned, it’s pretty expensive for what you get; not to mention the cleanliness and service leaves a lot to be desired (as of the posting of this review).
HOWEVER, this is the ONLY place where I can get my SCRUMPTIOUS, seedless, king-​size, sweet & sour, preserved plums. Ooooooh man, they’re so dang good. Last time I was there, I purchased 2 ¼ pounds along with a ¼ pound of sweet bar-​b-​q beef jerky and ending up spending 50 bucks.
Also, on my last visit the older lady was nice and helpful. But I find it kind of funny reading the other reviews where Unilocal-​sters mentioned the store clerks following you around. I thought is was me… haha!

Aji Ichiban is full of packs and racks of Asian snacks to smash a munchies attack.
The name and branding is Japanese, but actually Aji Ichiban is a Hong Kong chain selling a mix of Chinese, Taiwanese, and other Southeast Asian candies and goodies. It’s not the cheapest store, best quality, or widest selection for such Asian snacks. It is a safe and convenient choice if you are at the San Gabriel Square at the corner of Valley an Del Mar.
Olivia wanted some preserved plums, so, we stopped in to get a bag. They offer pre-​packaged grab-​n-​go bags or self-​serve weigh-​n-​pay options. She grabbed a bag of the plums to tide her over while I was more interested in the candies. Gummy and hard candies abound. Once I spotted the traditional Chinese soft candy known as Da Bai Tu (White Rabbit Creamy Candy) from Shaanxi, my choice was made. It’s an old treat that still satisfies. I grabbed a hand full and threw them in a bag to go.
The prices seem higher than most Vietnamese, Taiwanese, or Chinese competititors. Even so, it was convenient. The two ladies working didn’t say or do much to help. I think they were tired and ready to go home.
If you want a sweet, sour, or salty snack from Asia, then Aji Ichiban in San Gabriel is a convenient choice for locals.

Because of this place, my new go-​to candy is… mini gummy bears! I don’t know how they do it, but these little critters are adorable, individually unique in flavor, and so so so addicting. Careful when scooping the bears into your plastic candy bag, because the prices can get pretty steep!
Also, coke bottle candies are wonderfully chewy and tasty.
Highly recommended for the snacker-​studier-​student. :)

whoa… this one is actually a licensed reseller of aji ichiban stuffs in the US (unlike the one that was in san francisco). it is hidden deep inside this asian shopping mall, so it may be like a scavenger hunt to find them.
the food selection here is meager compared to the ones in hong kong, though they still have some of my favourites jerkeys and dried seafood snacks. quiet pricey too!

I feel like this place is more geared towards salty snack than sweet snacks. They didn’t have my fruity jelly cubes!

When first entering the shopping center, I couldn’t choose where to start shopping first. Once I saw the ichiban sign, I quickly went toward the snack store. Once I entered, it felt like I returned back to Hong Kong where ichiban flourishes all over. It was packed with delish snacks prepacked and packaged. I got some of the seaweed tempura I did not have for years and also a some beef jerky. The service is pretty fast, but make sure to have an extra hand because you won’t be able to carry everything you want to buy. The place is lit well and pretty clean. Overall, it was a good experience!

Normally I would hype this place up but today when I was getting ¼ pound of minted dried plum the person helping me just used her bare hands. I just think it’s a little nasty considering you’ve been touching money all day long. She weighed the dried plum and she put too much into the bag. that’s when she used her bare hand and shaved a little out of the bad to make it the correct weight.
Food is a 5 but Service is a 2 now for being careless.
I always notice these types of behaviors. eeek !!

want to get some snacks but don’t want to buy a whole bag? sweet? salty?
sour? a little of everything?
we were looking at the salty dried stuff. this lady took some huge flat pieces of a white colored fish. since it was almost gone, we took two pieces too to try. figured that it was popular. yes, it was a good snack for when we needed it.
they cut up the plums in small pieces for you to taste. but you don’t know how long it has been there or how many people might have touched it. there are toothpicks, but some people double dip or use their hands still. i don’t know if flies have been swarming around either since the little bowls are not covered.
also bought different kinds of jelly candy. they have a bunch of bins in a section that are the same price. you can mix and match them. the flan jelly was interesting since half was the flan part and half was the caramel sauce flavor.
i’d buy jelly candies again since they are wrapped already.

To honest, every time I visit this place I either get more fat or I spend all my $$$. All the Asian snacks they have here from beef jerky to asian candies are to die for. This place is clean and well runned even though the employees might be a little slow in English but oh well your in San Gabriel. Can’t miss those Asian drivers. But anyways, this place is junk food heaven if you have the munchies with $$$.

This place sells some gud Asian candies that you’ll, never find in Asian supermarkets and pricey stuff

Love the snacks!
Spicy dried crunch fish and the dried spicy squid are my fave. The dried sweet & tangy plums are really good too. also just discovered the crispy seaweed snacks from Thailand in various flavors (Tom Yum, Wasabi, Spicy) are delish too. Wish the location in SF was still opened! *sniff*

I really enjoy this chain. I have been to ones in SF, NY and more. They are pretty consistent in quality. My favorite things are the Sweet Pork Jerky and their Dried Mangoes. Of course it’s always fun to look at what kind of candy is circulating in the store at the time.
They always have samples of the dried fruits or jerky in the tiny cups for you to try. A great way to sucker you into buying snacks that you don’t need. They sometime come over to offer you help… of course this is only when you don’t want it… when you want it they will ignore you.
The service often varies and it kind of annoys me that they have a tip jar. Umm I can get my own snacks thank you. It’s not like they really service you. Besides I am picky and I like to pick the perfect pieces in the bunch! So gimme the tongs! lol

Going to Aji Ichiban in San Gabriel last week made me feel «nostalgic» for that one time I visited Hong Kong back in 2004, and my parents took us to Aji Ichiban there to buy some candy for relatives back in the US.
For those who don’t know, despite the Japanese name, Aji Ichiban is actually a Hong Kong company… there are many locations in Hong Kong/​Asia, but only a few outside of Asia. I tried looking for an Aji Ichiban store location in NorCal but unfortunately, I don’t believe there is one…
Anyway, yes, there are all sorts of goodies here, ranging from «Western» sweets such as gummy, fruit candy, etc. and then Asian sweets such as dried/​preserved fruits i.e. plums, guava, mango, etc. Samples are set out for pretty much everything in the store aside from the chips on the upper shelves.
We could either help ourselves to filling up our own bags of candy or we could select the pre-​bagged variety, although I think the pre-​bagged was a little more expensive (naturally). Very good value for self-​bagging, though! Mmmm.
I want to go back to Aji Ichiban right now! I’m going through withdrawal…

Great yummy squid jerky. The spicy and «japanese yaki squid» is good. Some of the stuff is a bit pricey about $ 11 for ½ lb. The sales woman was nice and kept offering samples. I want to come back to try the pork jerky and mini shrimp rolls next.

I was always on the look out for an Asian version of Sweet Factory where you can stock up on imported Asian candies and snack, but yet being individually selected like you were shopping for vegetables at your local supermarket.
My dream have finally being realized as soon as I stepped inside to this Wonder Emporium.
Instead of gummy bears or sweet tarts you have seen in a candy store, you would get many variations of dried prunes, rock candies, and other dried jerkies. If you think you will need some dried pits and peanuts, you could find some of these hard to find some snacks here freshly packed in a tiny container.
As I pointed out, they have weird weight system for the cost of each candy. You can buy the presorted candies in a container at a fixed price which is reasonable, but at a much higher quantity than you had originally desired.
it’s a cool place to shop for the candy, but keep in mind the shop is very small and the aisle doesn’t have much room to walk around. It’s great that they set aside a sampler before you reaching to buy the candy, but you might need to move along so that people can browse.
Hence, it’s the only drawback is the room for the place. Other than that, the sweets just keep it on coming… in a sour dried up variety.

Friendly service, and wall to wall candy, dried fruit, and dried critters of sorts. In Japanese, «Aji» means taste, and «Ichiban» is «Number One.» I thought it was a bit odd that this Chinese shop in a Chinese plaza would have a Japanese name… oh well! It was a neat distraction to kill some time in the area. Beware of the parking in this plaza as it is crazy! =)

Love this place ! Another junk food heaven.
LOve the marshmellow with chocolate filling, rock chocolate, spicy squid, shrimp chips and all the dried fruits. You can sample most of the items you want in here, but don’t forget to use its tongs. You don’t know where you hands’ been…
However, sometimes you can find a cheaper items a few doors down for similar if not the same items.
I have the 10% disc card so It’s not bad to save a few dollars.
love going here, you should try it too. It’s so much fun. Some of the candies are too cute to eat :)