It's a relatively big mall, about 1 million plus sq ft and has three levels. The anchor tenants are JC Penney, Macy's, Kohls and Sears. The great thing about this mall is that it's located in the "Urban Enterprise Zone", which means that there is a state tax reduction on purchases from 7% to 3.5%. Also, there is no tax on clothes!! Yay! If you are a fan of the series Seinfeld, this mall was used for the exterior shots in the popular episode "The Parking Garage". Talking about the parking garage, it's the only downside of this mall. It's really big and clean but the parking rates are pretty steep (not as expensive as NYC parking, but considered expensive for NJ). After walking around for a bit, we headed to the Food Court for some lunch.
It's located on the 3rd level of the mall. There were quite a lot of people at the food court and I soon found out why. Next to the food court is a 11 screen cineplex and some video arcade place.
So, why is the food court so packed with people? Welllll, it's because the food court rocks! It seats about 1,000 people and there were just so many different types of yummy food to choose from. Unlike the regular malls where there are a few fast food stalls, a mandatory Chinese food stall and maybe a sandwich place, this food court feels like heaven :P I didn't managed to take photos of ALL the stalls, but I managed to sneak in a few photos (Kevin says that I am such a loser, taking photos of food court stalls :P). There is a salad bar, well, I think there were a few salad bars and next to it is Arbys. In terms of fast food stalls, I think there is also a Taco Bell, McDs, Nathans, Burger King and Popeyes!
One of the more popular stalls is of course Panda Express. You can never go wrong with sweet and sticky Chinese food. They have the usual 1 dish with noodle or fried rice combo or 2 dishes with fried rice or noodle combo. Of curse you can also order stuff like egg rolls, soups, fried cheese wontons..the usual American Chinese take out food. They also sell big trays of food to go for parties.
Feel like eating some wings or grilled subs? They have stalls for that too. Talking about subs, I think there is also a Blimpies Subs & Salads as well as Quizno's Sub in that food court.
This is something I have never seen before. Yes, I have been to Mongolian BBQ buffets, but not in a food court setting. First you choose the type of meat that you want (pork, beef, chicken or lamb), then you help yourself to an assortment of about thirty different kinds of vegetables. Then pass it back to the chef and he will cook it with noodles and their special sauce on the Tappan Grill, Mongolian style :D I definitely have to try this the next time I am there.
There is also a Sushi Bar that makes fresh made to order sushis, makis as well as sashimis.
Yes, there is even a Sbarro there! I just love Sbarro. Really yummy pizzas by the slice as well as home cooked and rustic tasting Italian food. It's the best! :D
After walking around for ages and wanting to eat everything, the Japanese food stall Sarku JAPAN caught my eye. Chicken Teriyaki combo set for $4.99! Their menu is pretty large, from Teriyakis to Tempura and all kinds of Bento sets. The Tempura and Teriyaki is cooked on the spot only after you order, so everything is fresh and hot.
I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki combo which cost $4.99. For an extra $0.50, I converted my white rice to fried soba. It tasted really good. The chicken was really juicy and flavorful. Kevin ordered Beef Teriyaki with Fried Rice ($6.39). He had a choice of just beef or beef and mushrooms. Kevin doesn't like mushrooms, so it was just beef. It's cooked with some sort of black pepper sauce, the beef was tender and the sauce tasted not too bad as well. I had a large Iced Tea and Kevin had a large Coke for $1.79 each. It's a pretty good deal, considering the size of the large cup is almost as big as a 7-11 Big Gulp!
All in all, we had a great lunch. The food court in Newport Centre Mall totally kicks ass! I can't wait til we return to try out some of the other food.
After lunch, we walked across the street to the Newport/Pavonia PATH station to head to NYC for the flower show and circus. It was a pleasant walk, everything looks clean and nice compared to Journal Square. Maybe we should make this our regular PATH station from now on instead of Journal Square :P
Newport Centre Mall
30 Mall Drive W,
Jersey City, NJ 07310
Tel: (201)626-2025
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