equipment and supplies

American kitchens: Why cups, and not weight? Where's the kitchen scale?

maki — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:21:58 +0200

(This post has nothing to do with Frugal Month. It does have something to do with my recent obsessing about kitchens though.)

I like the cooking videos on the New York Times web site quite a lot. I especially like the ones from Apartment 4B, starring Jill Santopietro in her tiny kitchen. She’s adorable, and the recipes look workable.

But as I was watching this latest video, where she makes a pizza in that tiny kitchen, I was shaking my head in disbelief many times.

Well first, go and watch it if you haven’t yet. I’ll wait.

(Waits.)

Seen it? Ok, this is what’s bothering me.

She recommends ‘fluffing the flour up’, before scooping-and-leveling it out with your standard measuring cup.
She then makes the pizza dough with a gigantic Kitchen Aid mixer.

So basically, this girl who has a kitchen barely big enough to turn around in, has a giant mixer, yet has no kitchen scale. I guess there’s some sort of rationale behind the fluffing up the flour step, but - isn’t it more important to have an accurate amount of flour in the dough? What if you fluff more one day than you do another, and your dough doesn’t turn out the same?

Which leads to a question that’s been bugging me for a long time. Why don’t American cooks like to weigh their ingredients?

Now, while I did spend a number of years living in the States, I essentially learned the fundamentals of cooking in Japan, with some England and Switzerland thrown in there. (This is mainly because when I lived in New York, I either was too broke to cook much beyond the basics, or (later on) I had a crazy 100 hour a week type of job which left me little time or energy for cooking. If I’d had a food blog back then, it would have been about the wonders of NYC takeout.) Anyway, the point is, I learned to cook with this basic understanding: For complete accuracy, you need to weigh out ingredients, especially for baking.

But every single American cookbook or recipe site has measurements in cups and spoons. This makes sense for liquid ingredients. And most recipes are forgiving enough so that a few grams or ounces more or less don’t make a big difference. But if you have a complicated recipe for cake or something that you want to be able to replicate reliably, in my mind cups don’t really make a lot of sense. Commercial recipes, which must be reliably reproduceable, don’t do cup measurements.

I do write out most of the the recipes on my sites with cup measurements (as well as ounces and grams) for U.S. readers. I have memorized archaic U.S. only measurements like a stick of butter = 8 Tbs. of butter = 4 ounces of butter. Still, I don’t really see that it’s totally logical.

A fairly fancy kitchen scale doesn’t cost more than $50 or so, $100 at most. That humongous KitchenAid in the video probably cost what - $400? $500? More? I did not have a very big kitchen in the house we just sold, so I couldn’t find the space for a mixer, but I only needed a tiny narrow shelf to house a good kitchen scale.

So, my U.S. based readers - what’s your opinion? Why do Americans love cup measurements, and not weight measurements? Do you have a kitchen scale? Do you use it? (Do you have a KitchenAid or other big gadget, and bake often, but no scale?)

(Disclaimer: I have nothing at all against KitchenAid. My sister has one, it’s beautiful. I admire it when I visit her.)

(Oh, and one more thing that bugged me about that video, though it’s not unique in this: Carmelize onions?? Make them smell like Carmel, California? Isn’t it caramelize??)

Pressure cooker love

hungryelf — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:53:05 +0100

(This is the web elf. This article is one of the articles Maki instructed to post while she’s on the disabled list.)

If there’s a kitchen appliance that needs a serious image makeover, it’s the pressure cooker. Old myths abound about how dangerous and scary it is to use. Horror tales linger from the olden days of exploding lids and contents getting stuck on the ceiling. I’m not even sure if those stories are acrophyal, but I do admit that I sort of believed them too.

But then I inherited a 20 plus year old pressure cooker a couple of years ago. It belonged to Martha, Max’s mom, and she used it all the time until she wasn’t able to cook any more. It seems that pressure cookers are as ubiquitous in Swiss kitchens as rice cookers are in Japanese ones. (Incidentally, pressure cookers are getting more and more popular in Japan too.) Martha used to use hers for everything from soups to cooking potatoes. After my initial fears, I’ve grown to absolutely love the cooker. And yes, even though it’s so old, after replacing the rubber gasket it works as good as new. (It really pays to buy from a reliable company that you can get replacement parts from on something they sold so long ago! For what it’s worth, it’s a Kuhn Rikon Duromatic. They still make them, with rather sleeker designs. If this old one ever breaks down I’m getting another Duromatic for sure.)

Reasons for owning a pressure cooker in the 21st century

It’s fast and efficient at what it does (No wonder it’s so popular in efficiency-minded Switzerland.)
It’s energy efficient, since it cooks things faster than conventional methods.
It’s a multi-tasker. Not only does it pressure-cook various things, a good quality pressure cooker pot has a nice heavy bottom which lends the pot itself to be used as a general cooking pot.
It’s perfect for cooking whole grains and pulses (beans and such), which we should be eating more of. More about this below.
It’s sort of high-tech, but it doesn’t do anything weird to the food, like apply microwaves to it or zap it with infrared rays.
There is a tiny element of danger, which focuses your attention and eliminates boredom in the kitchen. (Hey, there’s more danger in using a very sharp knife.)
It’s a geeky piece of kit that makes you feel like you’re conducting a science experiment.

The rules you must follow for using a pressure cooker

RTFM (Read The eh, Manual). Cooker model operation varies according to the model you have, so generic instructions shouldn’t be followed. Read the manual through and be sure you know how the pressure builds, and how to de-pressurize it.
Buy a good quality cooker, that you can trust not to break in operation. As my 20-plus year old cooker shows, a good quality pressure cooker will last for ages.
Don’t ever try to force a pressurized cooker open. I suspect that a lot of the exploding lid horror stories originated from stupid people who didn’t RTFM!

Every vegetarian should have one of these

As I stated above, a pressure cooker is the perfect appliance for cooking whole grains and pulses. So if you are a vegetarian or vegan who relies on these for your protein, or just someone looking to incorporate more vegetable proteins into your diet, a pressure cooker will be the hardest working appliance in your kitchen.

For example, I periodically cook up a potful of chickpeas and make a vat of hummus, which is then portioned and frozen. If I cooked them conventionally, it would take about 3 hours (depending on how long they’d soaked) for them to be soft enough. In a pressure cooker, chickpeas that have been soaked overnight take only 20 minutes! Even unsoaked chickpeas take only about 30 minutes. And they turn out totally soft, all the way through - no stray hard peas like I occasionally get with conventional boiling.

I also cook soy beans sometimes, to eat just plain boiled, or turned into natto. Soy beans take quite a long time to cook conventionally, longer than regular beans. In the pressure cooker, overnight-soaked beans only take 20 minutes or less. (Boiled soy beans have a very nice flavor, and the cooking liquid can be used as a vegetarian stock.)

Quinoa only takes 5 minutes! Lentils, maybe 10 minutes. And so on and on.

Cooking brown rice in a pressure cooker

Brown rice cooked in a pressure cooker turns out quite glutinous and ‘sticky’ in a good way. It’s not necessarily faster than long-soaking them and cooking in a rice cooker, but I rather prefer the texture of the rice when it’s been pressure cooked.

Put 2 cups of rinsed brown rice in a pressure cooker and add 2.5 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Let soak for an hour, then close the lid and bring up to pressure. Lower the heat and cook for about 25 minutes. Take off the heat and either allow the pressure to come down naturally or by releasing the pressure quickly, following the instructions in your cooker’s manual.

Brown rice cooked this way is the perfect texture for making brown rice onigiri successfully.

What about meat?

Most pressure cooker cookbooks put a lot of focus on cooking meat. A pressure cooker does tenderize meat as it cooks, making it all soft, which can be a good thing. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. For instance, I pressure-cooked a chicken once, with the intention of making a chicken salad. The chicken was moist and cooked in about 30 minutes as opposed to the hour or more it takes me to poach chicken conventionally. But the texture of the meat was all wrong - it was mushy and soft, like a cheap canned chicken - not what I wanted at all. (The pressure also turned the bones into mush, so there were tiny splinters in the meat when it was shredded up that had to be taken out carefully.)

I think that the pressure cooker is best used on those tough, cheap cuts of beef and things, with enough fat and gelatinous bits in it. A combination of pressurized cooking and conventional simmering works very well with things like soups and stews. Max has a great recipe for a curried beef and potato soup that I will get him to post here eventually.

That being said though, I use my pressure cooker mainly for vegetarian cooking. (I rather believe that the plethora of mediocre-tasting meat dishes from a pressure cooker that pressure cooker cookbooks have traditionally focused on have contributed to it having a rather fuddy-duddy image.)

And in conclusion…

I hope that I’ve at least piqued your interest in pressure cookers, especially you vegetarians out there! Don’t be afraid of it - it really is a great hard working appliance.

Japanese grocery stores in Germany

maki — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:35:59 +0100

General notes on Germany: The biggest Japanese expat community is in the Düsseldorf area.

Updated May 2009.

Mailorder company based in Germany

Ja-Mart is based in Germany and also states on their web site (which is in German, English and Japanese) that they ship to various countries in Europe. Besides food, they sell kitchenware, tableware, etc. including some 220V electrical appliances such as Zojirushi rice cookers.: Comments on Ja-Mart: They tend to be rather slow in responding, though they do eventually ship! They sell some unusual items such as _natto kinase_ (natto spores) for making their own natto! For Swiss shoppers, they do ship to Switzerland though it’s not listed in their dropdown menu of countries. (maki)

Berlin

Daruma Japan Food: Uhlandstr. 61; 10719 Berlin; TEL: 030 8736131

Düsseldorf

See my in-depth report on Düsseldorf’s Japanese quarter around Innermanstrasse. Also see this article which described Düsseldorf as “Little Tokyo on the Rhine”.

Bakery My Heart: Marienstr. 26; 40210 Duesseldorf; TEL: 0211 5504760; Mon-Fri 8:00-19:00, Sat 9:00-18:00; closed Sun; Japanese-style breads, baked goods and sweets. Has a sleek modern cafe area for eating in.

Bakery Taka: Immermannstr.36; 40210 Duesseldorf; TEL: 0211 350374; Mon-Fri 7:30-19:00, Sat 7:30-18:00; closed Sun; Japanese-style breads, baked goods and sweets. Has a few tables for eating on the spot. (maki)

Dae-Yang Asiatische Lebensmittel/Taiyo Shokuhin: Immermannstr. 21; 40210 Duesseldorf; TEL: 0211 357227; Mon-Sat 9:00-20:00; closed Sun; Korean grocery store with a large number of Japanese foodstuffs (about 50/50). Dinnerware, cookware to the left of the store. Fresh fish counter. (One of the two grocery stores to target on Innermanstrasse - maki)

Kim’s Asia Center: Stresemannstr. 27; 40210 Duesseldorf; TEL: 0211 369922; Korean/Asian market with Japanese products.

Morozumi: Am Heerdter Hof 26A; 40549 Duesseldorf; TEL: 0211 5048661

Maruyasu: Several locations; Annoying Flash only site in German; A Japanese deli. Bento boxes, readymade foods (osouzai) and sushi etc. to go. Also does catering. (Was not overly impressed by the quality - maki)

Rewe Nahkauf: Luetticherstr. 17; 40547 Duesseldorf; TEL: 0211 588432

Shochiku Im-Export GmbH: Immermannstr. 15, 40210 Duesseldorf; Tel: 0211 365959; Mon-Sat 8:00-20:00; closed Sun; Japanese grocery store, also has Korean foodstuffs (about 60/40 Japanese/Korean). Nice looking fresh fish and meat counter, a small fresh produce area. Narrow aisles, crowded. (One of the main grocery stores on Innermanstrasse. I liked their takeout sushi better than Maruyasu’s. -maki)

Frankfurt

Akebono Catering: Hausenerweg 23; 60489 Frankfurt; Tel: 069 7894530

Himawari Handel: Niederurseler Landstr. 164; 60439 Frankfurt/M; Tel: 069 57001756; Japanese web site

Mori Craft GmbH: Schlossstr. 24; 60486 Frankfurt/M; Tel: 069 9520 8542

Hamburg

E-Shin Shopping: Grete-Nevermann-Weg 22-24; 22559 Hamburg; TEL: 040 810925

Heng Who: Gotenstr. 3; 20097 Hamburg; TEL: 040 230036

Sakai Shoten seit 1953: Grindelberg 41; 20144 Hamburg; TEL: 040 4221914; German and Japanese web site

Vinh Loi: Klosterwall 2a; 20095 Hamburg; TEL: 040 325889

Köln (Cologne)

Heng Long Asia Supermarkt: Aachener Str. 201-209; 50931 Koeln; TEL: 0221 2828800

München (Munich)

Munich also has several general Asian food stores. See this page for a big list.

Frischmarkt Sano: Frauenstr. 11; 80469 Muenchen; TEL: 089 23685941; Part of the Sushi Sano group, which does have a working website (in German), but they seem to have let the domain frischsano-markt.de expire.

Y. Suzuki - Japanische Feinkost: Rumfordstr. 40; 80469 München; S-Bahn - Isartor; TEL: 089-2166 9555; Fax:089-2166 9554; ysuzuki at t-online.de; Japanese and German web site

Japan Shop: Westenriederstr. 47; 80331 München; S-Bahn - Isartor; Tel.: 089 226663; Fax: 089 2904779

Mikado: Färbergraben 10; 80331 München; U-Bahn/S-Bahn - Marienplatz; Tel.: 089/26 03 343; Japanese web site

Two non-food stores:

Japanalia: Herzogstr. 7; 80803 München; U-Bahn - Münchner Freiheit; Tel.: 089/34 94 54; Fax.: 089/39 56 85; German web site; Non-food. “Japanese lifestyle” goods: furniture and fixtures, ceramics, handmade kitchenware, etc.

Japansalon: Ohmstrasse 3; 80802 Munich; Tel.: 089 33019644; Mon-Fri 11am - 7pm, Sat 11am - 4pm; Main store web site in German; Mailorder web site in English and German.; Non-food. “Japanese lifestyle” goods: books, manga, CDs, DVDs, Hello Kitty. Where Japanalia pushes traditional goods, Japansalon sells ‘hip’ and ‘cute’ stuff.

Japanese grocery stores in France

maki — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:09:12 +0100

General France notes

Many of the large supermarkets, especially in and around the big cities, carry a small selection of Japanese ingredients.

Paristore is an Asian supermarket chain with stores in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg and Toulouse.

If you are in an area with no Japanese stores, look for the ‘does mailorder’ indication of some Paris stores.

This April 2009 article in Le Monde (French) indicates that the popularity of Japanese cuisine in France may lead to more Japanese groceries opening up. (Hopefully!)

Avignon

Asia: 29 avenue Monclar; 84000 Avignon; 04 32 76 32 80; Comments: “An Asian store, but with some japanese supplies.” -(Céline); “Very tiny, nice people.” (maki)

Pekin: 45 avenue Monclar; 84000 Avignon; 04 90 85 17 71; Monday - Saturday, 8:30–12:00/14:00–19:30; Comments: “Again, an asian store with a few Japanese products.” -(Céline); “Very tiny, again nice people.” -(maki)

Bordeaux

Comments: “The frenchbento blog and the blog of another japanese expat in Bordeaux ; blog no longer updated, as she got a job, but lovely for homemade food anyway)often refer to these stores.” -(Céline)

La Maison du Japon: 28 rue de Cheverus, Bordeaux; French web site

Mostra: rue du Parlement Sainte Catherine, Bordeaux

Eurasie Bordeaux

Lyon

General comments: “And some precisions about the store I mentioned : Kazuki and Kimchi (real mirin, for instance, not the corn-syrup based one) and have some dashi, umeboshi, katsuobushi and kombu ; Whereas Paristore don’t sell these basic products (not to my knowing anyway). consequently Paristore is obviously cheaper, but often run short of some supplies in the japanese section.” -(Céline)

See this an in-depth look at Japanese food shopping in Lyon.

Japon Store: CLOSED

Kazuki: 35, cours Gambetta 69003 Lyon (Métro Saxe Gambetta-Ligne B ou D); 04-78-60-75-04; Mon-Tue, Thu-Sat　9:30 - 13:00，14:30 - 19:00; Sunday and Holidays 9:30 - 12:00. Closed Wed; Japanese web site (a little French); Comments: “The only store in Lyon with only Japanese groceries. Tiny but helpful, with a fairly large range of products ; the owner also sells bento on weekend, pre-order required -(Céline)

Kimchi: 21 avenue Félix Faure 69003 Lyon(Métro Saxe Gambetta-Ligne B ou D); 04 78 62 75 30; Tue-Sat 09:00 - 19:00, Sun 15:00 - 19:00, closed Mondays; French and Korean web site; Comments: “A Japanese-Korean grocery store, alike to Kazuki.” -(Céline

Paristore: 8 bld Joliot-Curie à VENISSIEUX ( bus 36, stop at Etats-unis-Viviani); also on the new Tram 4 line); 04.72.78.48.88; Comments: A big asian supermarket, with a wide range of supplies, some fresh vegetables, frozen food, and a Japanese department. -(Céline); Comments: Not much in the way of Japanese products when I was there. I found it rather depressing and scruffy. In Lyon, I think you are better off shopping at Kazuki, Kimchi and Supermarket Asie, all of which are within walking distance of each other. (maki)

Supermarché Asie: 12, Rue Passet; 69007 Lyon; Métro or tram - Guillotière; Tel : 04 78 58 92 65; Comment: It’s general asian store, but it has by far the largest selection of japanese items in Lyon for a reasonable price- A lot of their japanese stuff come from Kyoko (paris) or Kazuki. Shopping there from now on ! ^^ (Céline); Comment: I got the impression that this is place is owned by Taiwanese people, since I saw a lot of Taiwan-specific things here. Has a better range of Japanese products than Paristore. (maki)

Marseille

Paristore: 61 boulevard Plombière; Marseille; Groceries, a general Asian ‘all you can eat’ buffet, housewares, etc.

Orange

Naturel et Bio: Rue d’Italie; 84100 Orange, France; Tel: 04 90 34 43 03; French web site; Natural/bio grocery store; Comments: “What I spotted after a quick trip : A large section dedicated to brown rice ( several brands of thai long grain brown rice and round grain rice, but also glutinous brown rice!), albeit no japanese rice ; Azuki beans and azuki bean flakes, nori, wakame, kuzu,arrow-root and kanten powder, shoyu, tamari, various sesame seeds products, green tea of course, umeboshi, umeboshi paste and several kinds of tofu. I was pleased to see they had a good selection of brown rice - however I was a bit disapointed with the tofu products : they all had the typical rubbery texture of european-manufactured tofu. ^^p But overall it was a nice discovery!” (Céline)

Paris and environs

See A Frugal Eats Japanese blitz through Paris and Bento sightseeing in Paris.

There are two major shopping areas for Asian food: The Chinatown area, which is in the 13th arrondissement, and the 1st and 2nd arrondissements (Métro: Pyramides, Opéra, or Quatre-Septembre), which have a concentration of Japanese stores and restaurants. There are also a few stores in the 15th arrondissement (Métro: Charles Michels).

Ace Mart
: 63, rue Saint-Anne; 75002 Paris; Tel: 01 42 97 56 80; Metro: Pyramides or Quatre-Septembre; Mon - Sat 10:00-20:00, closed Sun; Korean grocery store; Carries a lot of Japanese groceries (as is the case with most Korean groceries). Prices a tad cheaper than area Japanese grocery stores. Doesn’t seem to be affiliated with Ace Opera, but rather with Hi Mart (see listing below).(maki)

Ace Opéra
: 43, rue Saint-Augustin; 75002 Paris; Tel: 01 40 07 93 57; Metro: Pyramides or Opera or Quatre-Septembre; Mon - Sat 10:00-20:00, closed Sun; Korean grocery store; Carries a lot of Japanese groceries (as is the case with most Korean groceries). Prices a tad cheaper than area Japanese grocery stores. Doesn’t seem to be affiliated with Ace Mart.(maki)

Big Store: 81 avenue d’Ivry (Paris 13ème); Wed - Sun 10:00-19:30, closed Mon, Tue; Large Asian supermarket in the Chinatown area.; According to a couple of Japanese blogs, this Chinatown store has the best selection of Japanese ingredients, followed by Paristore. Their “Pearl Rice” (_Shinju-mai_) from California is recommended.

Fast Don: 52, rue des Petits-Champs (opposite Kioko); 75001 Paris; Tel: 01 4296 8624; Metro: Pyramides or Opera; Open 7 days (?) 12:00 - 15:00 for lunch; 17:00 - 23:00; At lunchtime this is a ‘Japanese fast food’ place that serves donburi (rice bowls) and such; also has takeout prepared food (osouzai) and bentos. At night time it turns into an izakaya.

Hi Mart
: 71-bis, rue Saint-Charles; 75015 Paris; Tel: 01 45 75 37 44; Metro: Charles Michels; Mon - Sat 10:00-20:00, closed Sun; Korean grocery store; Carries a lot of Japanese groceries (as is the case with most Korean groceries). Prices a tad cheaper than area Japanese grocery stores. (maki)

Kanae: 83 Av Emile Zola, 75015 Paris; French and Japanese web site; Tel:01.40.59.98.03; Métro: Charles Michels; Tue-Sun: 10:30 - 20:00; Closed Mon.; Japanese grocery store. Does mailorder within France.; Comments: “The shop is off the beaten path of the 13th and the usual suspect of shops by the Opéra, thus less deleriously busy. Kanae has a great selection of fresh, packaged and frozen japanese products. The staff is always congenial and helpful. I highly recommend. (Jool)

Kiôko: 46 rue des Petits Champs, Paris 75002; French and Japanese website; Tel: 01 42 61 33 65; Tue-Sat: 10:00 - 20:00; Sun: 11:00 - 19:00; Closed Mon.; Metro: Pyramides or Opera or Quatre-Septembre; Japanese grocery store. Does mailorder within France.; A Japanese grocery store, with a fairly comprehensive selection of Japanese products. Downstairs they have refrigerated and frozen goods, snacks, condiments and alcohol. Upstairs they have dried goods, dinnerware, instant noodles, and a small selection of bento boxes. Be sure to pick up their free paper (available at the entrance) if you speak Japanese. (maki)

Jujiya: 46 rue Sainte-Anne; 75002 Paris; Tel: 01 42 86 02 22; Metro: Pyramides; Open 10:00 - 22:00 every day except Sunday, when it closes at 21:00.; Sells prepared foods (osouzai), bento sets for eating in or takeout. Small grocery store section in back.

Momonoki: 68 Passage Choiseul; 75002 Paris; Tél: 01 4296 4837; French and Japanese website; Open M-F, 12-14:30; closed holidays; A tonkatsu and fried stuff (korokke etc.) restaurant that offers takeout bentos; bento menu is fixed and changes every day. Delivers within Paris. Operated by the same people who own Workshop Issé (see below).

Paristore: Paris 13ème; Another large Asian supermarket in the Chinatown area.

Tang Frères: 168, avenue de Choisy; Paris 13ème; Tel: +33 1 44 24 06 72; Another large Asian supermarket in the Chinatown area.; Comments: “To me it’s the best Asian store in France!” -(a big store in paris)

Toraya à Paris: 10, Rue St-Florentin; 75001 Paris; Tél : 01 42 60 13 00 Fax : 01 42 61 59 53; E-Mail : f-toraya [at] toraya-group.co.jp; Métro : Concorde (ligne 1, 8, 12) ou Madeleine (ligne 8, 12, 14); Open Mon-Sat, closed Sundays and holidays.; Toraya is arguably the best regarded wagashi maker (with a nationwide presence) in Japan. Their yokan (sweet bean jelly block) is a surefire hit as a gift in Japan. The Paris location has a store and a small tea room where you can enjoy their sweets and green tea. (They used to have a NYC location which closed some years ago.)

Workshop Issé: 11 rue Saint Augustin (Paris 2); Tel: 01 4296 2674; Mon - Sun 11:00 - 19:30; closed on national holidays; French and Japanese website. Does mailorder within France and throughout Europe.; Purveyor of high end artisanal Japanese ingredients and alcoholic beverages. Mailorder and small satellite store.; Full report

Strasbourg

Paristore: 27 Faubourg de Saverne; 67000 Strasbourg; 03 88 22 69 20

Super Asie Tien Hung: 4 rue Charles Peguy; 67200 STRASBOURG; Hautepierre; 03 88 28 37 97

Thailong: 15 rue La Fayette; 67000 Strasbourg; French web site; 03 88 40 12 20; Also at; 211 avenue de Colmar; 67000 Strasbourg; 03 88 40 05 18; A Thai store, obviously, but looks worth checking out.

Village Coréen: 10 rue Ste Catherine; 67000 STRASBOURG; Krutenau; 03 88 35 55 52; A small Korean grocery store.

Toulouse

Asia Delice: 8, Rue Austerlitz; 31000 Toulouse; 05 61 12 00 90; Comment: “a little store which sells as much food as ustensils. The owner is not Japanese but knows well what he sells and answers your questions.” -(Nolwenn)

Paristore - Asia Center: 13 Rue Paul Gauguin; 31100 Toulouse (Le Mirail); 05 62 11 53 50; Comment: “this Paristore is centered on selling to restaurants’ owners but everybody can buy. It is not a Japanese grocery, but they have a range of japanese supplies.” -(Nolwenn)

Also see the excellent FrenchBento blog (French). She doesn’t know of any bento suppliers in France…and if anyone would know, she would I think!

Japanese grocery stores in the UK and Ireland

maki — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:56:14 +0100

Ireland

We do have some listings for Ireland in the comments below…I’ll incorporate them in here soon!

UK

General UK notes: Obviously the vast majority of Japanese and Asian groceries are located in and around London!

London and environs

Arigato Japanese Supermarket: 48 Brewer Street; London W1F 9TG; 020 7287 1722; Comments: “A nicely laid out mini-supermarket with a prepared food/bento section. Prices are generally a little higher here than at the Rice Wine Shop.” -(Loretta)

Centre Point Food Store: 20-21 St. Giles High Street; London WC2H 8LN; Tel: 020 7836 9860 Fax: 020 7240 1702; Korean and English web site; Comments: “Japanese and Korean store. Conveniently situated near Tottenham Court Road station, this good sized grocery stocks most of the common Japanese staples. Staff are friendly and very helpful with any Korean food questions you might have.” -(Loretta)

Japan Centre: 14-16 Regent Street; London, SW1Y 4PH; Tel: Multiple: See website; English and Japanese web site; e-mail: foodshop [at] japancentre [dot] com; Comments: “They have just expanded their grocery section by opening up a department next to the original premises. Prepared food and bento is available from the Toku restaurant. Also of note now is a fantastic range of cooking and tableware priced at 1.50GBP - like a very high-class ¥100 store.”-(Loretta); They have a cooperation with Daiso, a 100yen store chain; Within the Japan Centre is
Yoshino Sushi: Tel: 020-7434-3610 Fax: 020-7439-2979; e-mail: yoshino [at] yoshino [dot] net; Comments: “A dependable source for sushi and sashimi grade fish you can prepare yourself.” -(Loretta)

Oriental City (CLOSED): 399 Edgware Road; London, NW9 0JJ

Rice Wine Shop: 82 Brewer Street; SOHO, LONDON, W1F 9UA; 020-7439-3705; Japanese web site; Comments: “I feel great loyalty to this store. Although small it has an excellent selection of groceries and consistently good prices. Can be accessed with a wheelchair (a squeeze but possible)” -(Loretta); According to the site they will delivery to the UK mainland (though their site is all in Japanese…)

Seoul Plaza: Seoul Plaza 4; 136 Golders Green Road; London, NW11 8HB; 020 8731 7999; Several other locations; Korean and English web site; Comments: “Not Japanese, but Seoul Plaza in Golders Green has a decent range of Japanese stuff. And looking at their website there are 3 branches in New Malden, one in Cambridge, and one in Bratislava (!). Not been to any of the others but I expect they also stock Japanese food.” -(Alice)

(below is still unformatted - working on it!)

Oriental Delight Fairly pricey, but centrally-located and has a bigger range of Japanese food than the Chinese supermarkets nearby.

14 Gerrard St, London W1D 5PT 020 7439 1183

Wing Yip

Chinese but has a seperate Japanese section, as well as a decent selection of fresh produce. Prices are about as good as you’ll get in London, especially if buying in bulk. Haven’t been since they finished the remodelling of the Cricklewood store, and never been to the others. I usually visit every couple of months to stock up on basics in bulk, much easier to drive there (plenty of free parking) than to try and lug 5kg bags of rice back on the bus!

Wing Yip http://www.wingyip.com Chinese supermarket chain

395 Edgware Road Cricklewood London NW2 6LN Tel: 020 8450 0422 Fax: 020 8452 1478

544 Purley Way Croydon CR0 4NZ Tel: 020 8688 4880 Fax: 020 8688 8786

375 Nechells Park Road Nechells Birmingham B7 5NT Tel: 0121 327 6618 Fax: 0121 327 6612

Oldham Road Ancoats Manchester M4 5HU Tel: 0161 832 3215 Fax: 0161 833 2798

Hoo Hing Comments: “Same deal as Wing Yip. Only been to the Park Royal store, didn’t like it as much as Wing Yip so only been the once. Can’t remember how much Japanese stuff it actually had either but there was some!”

Hoo Hing

A406 North Circular Rd Near Hangar Lane Park Royal London NW10 7TN

Lockfield Avenue Off Mollison Avenue Brimsdown Enfield Middlesex EN3 7QE

Dorma Trading Park Staffa Road London E10 7QX

Bond Road Off Western Road Mitcham Surrey CR4 3EB

Hoo Hing Commercial Centre Freshwater Rd Chadwell Heath Romford Essex RM8 1RX

Others There is also Oriental City, which I’ve never been to and the many Chinese supermarkets in Chinatown which have some Japanese stuff and fresh produce. There used to be a lovely little Japanese shop called Unohana in Golders Green (opposite the tube station), it closed for renovation according to the sign in the window but now seems to have closed for good. It was quite expensive and didn’t have a huge range but did sell ‘sushi-quality’ fish and decent ready-made sushi and bento boxes. If it ever reopens I will post about it.

Alice | 25 January, 2008 - 17:29

Oriental City - Colindale (North London - UK)

Name: Natural Natural Address: 20 Station Parade, Uxbridge Road, Ealing Common W5 3LD 1 Goldhurst Terrace, Finchley Road NW6 3HX Website: http://www.natural-natural.co.uk/naturalnatural/indexe.html http://www.natural-natural.co.uk/naturalnatural/indexj.html

Not London

(Not formated yet!)

Korea Foods Mart Unit 5 Wyvern Industrial Estate, Beverley Way,New Malden, Surrey, KT3 4PH 020 8949 2238

Seoul Plaza 1 36 High Street, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 4HE 020 8949 4329

Seoul Plaza 2 126 Malden Road, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 6DD 020 8942 9552

Seoul Plaza 3 91-93 Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 2AW 012 2330 3610

Birmingham

Besides Wing Yip (see above)

There is a small Korean grocery on Bristol Rd., near Selly Oak station, which also carries Chinese and Japanese groceries.

Day-In Supermarket Chinese supermarket

http://www.dayin.co.uk/1.html

Japanese grocery stores in the New York - New Jersey - Connecticut area

maki — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:12:09 +0100

(Updated October 2009)

This page lists stores in New York, North New Jersey and Connecticut - the NYC Tristate area, plus upstate New York. South NJ area stores are listed on the main USA page.

General New York area notes: The Japanese-American population of the area is quite small, but there is a fairly big expat commmunity. The main areas where they live are in some suburbs of Westchester and Northen New Jersey, in lower Manhattan around the East Village, and near Columbia University. (There used to be a fairly big expat community in Queens around Flushing, but no longer.)

I’ve also included some bakeries and takeout places (since this is New York after all) and bookstores.

Also see this post which reviews some NYC area groceries.

Note: The stores that I (Maki) have personally visited and recommend are bolded.

Is your favorite grocery store missing? Leave the details in the comments! (Once the info in a comment is incorporated into the main article, the comment will be deleted.)

Statewide chains

Banzai 99 Cent Store: English web site; An Asian dollar store modelled after 100 yen shops in Japan. Several stores around the state, mostly at the moment in Queens.

Beard Papa: English web site; Actually nationwide at this point. A Japanese cream puff (shuu kureemu) chain. 4 locations in the NYC area.

H Mart: English/Korean web site; There are several branches of this nationwide Korean grocery store in the New York-New Jersey area. Listings on their web site.

New York City

Brooklyn

(work in progress…)

Bronx

No Japanese stores in the Bronx that I know of. Try Manhattan or Westchester.

Manhattan

Manhattan eating tip: Japanese restaurants abound in the Midtown area around 41st street up to about 55th Street, in all price ranges. Look for the lunch specials aimed lure in the Japanese businessmen who work in the area. There is also a fairly concentrated Japanese expat population (mostly students and other young people) around Columbia University and the East Village. You’ll find Japanese bookstores and hair salons and the like besides grocery stores and restaurants.

Asahiya Bookstore: 360 Madison Ave. (Midtown East); New York, NY 10017; Tel: 212-883-0011 Fax: 212-883-1011; Japanese web site; Japanese bookstore. Usually not as crowded as Kinokuniya (maki).

Asia Market Corporation: 71 1／2 Mulberry St. (bet. Canal & Bayard Sts., Chinatown); Tel: 212-962-2028／2020; 8:00am〜7:00pm (Mon - Sat), 8:15am〜7:00pm (Sun); General Asian (Chinese focus) grocery store.

Beard Papa: Astor Place (NYU/East Village); 740 Broadway; New York, NY 10003; (212) 353-8888; Also at; 2167 Broadway (Upper West Side); New York, NY 10024; (212) 799-3770; Also at; 5 Carmine St. (West Village); New York, NY 10014; (212) 255-4675; Beard Papa sells Japanese-style cream puffs. I am not a big fan but many people love them (maki)

Book Off: 14 East 41st Street (Midtown East); New York, NY 10017; 10:00 - 20:00 7 days; Tel. 212-685-1410; English part of the site; New York branch of a Japanese used bookstore chain. Book bargains abound here, though the selection varies.

Cafe Zaiya: 18 E 41st St (bet. 5th and 6th Aves. Midtown East); New York, NY 10003; Tel: (212) 779-0600; Also at; 69 Cooper Square (bet. St. Marks Pl & 7th St., East Village); New York, NY 10079; Tel. 212-253-9700; Also a branch at Kinokuniya (see below); A Japanese-style bread bakery and cafeteria and takeout place with a mainly Japanese menu of fare. Get your Melon pan, curry pan and other Japanese baked goodies here. Midtown location is larger, and also has Beard Papa cream puffs. But East Village location has items not available at the midtown store. (maki)

Chez Noah: 600 Washington St. (at Leroy St., Meatpacking district); Tel: 212-675-2649; 8:00am〜8:00pm (Mon - Sat); English web site; The web site makes it looks like just another multi-cultural boutique-style food store (a la Dean & DeLuca) but it is listed on a Japanese page as being a Japanese grocery. Maybe worth a look if you’re in the neighborhood.

JAS Mart

35 St. Marks Pl. (bet. 2nd and 3rd Aves., East Village)

New York, NY 10003

Tel: 212-420-6370

11:00am〜11:00pm (Sun - Thu), 11:00am〜12:00am (Fri and Sat)

Japanese-style coffee shop upstairs, grocery downstairs.

Other branches are closed as of Oct. 2009.

Mini-chain of grocery stores around Manhattan. The grocery part is a fairly typical small Japanese grocery. UWS store was very friendly when I visited back in 2006 - it didn’t have a coffee shop. See my review here (maki)

Katagiri

224 E. 59th St. (bet. 2nd and 3rd Aves., Midtown East)

New York, NY

Tel: 212-755-3566

10:00am〜8:00pm (7 Days) (groceries part); 10:00am〜7:00pm (7 Days) (housewares part)

English and Japanese website

The oldest Japanese grocery store in New York - in business since 1939. Has fresh and packaged foods, housewares, takeout bentos, etc. The place where a Japanese food novice is most likely to get friendly help from Japanese shoppers in NY. Website says they ship worldwide (maki).

Kinokuniya Bookstore New York

1073 Avenue of the Americas (next to Bryant Park)

New York, NY 10018

212-869-1700, 212-869-1703

New location for Kinokuniya. Has a Cafe Zaiya inside. Besides books stocks giftwares and the like. A must-stop if you are a Japanophile and can’t get to Tokyo (maki).

Korin: 57 Warren Street; New York, NY 10007; 800-626-2172 / 212-587-7021; Hours: 10am-6pm Monday through Saturday; www.korin.com; Showroom and store for a restaurant supply company. Restaurant-quality tableware and knives. If you buy a Korin brand knife here you can get them sharpened here. Also does mail order; ships internationally. Note that the bento boxes they carry are restaurant-type ones suitable as tableware, not lightweight portables.

M2M／M2M: 55 3rd Ave. (bet. 10th and 11th Sts.); Tel: 212-353-2698; 8:00am〜12:00am (7 Days; Korean grocery store with a lot of Japanese products. If you’re in the area you might as well hit JAS Mart, Sunrise and here (maki).

Oms/b: 56 E 45th St (between Lexington and Third Aves., Midtown East); Tel: 212-922-9788; Mon–Fri 8am–7:30pm; Sat 11:30am–5pm; English web site; A tiny onigiri (omusubi) takeout place, with about 4 tables should you want to eat there (maki).

Sunrise Mart

494 Broome Street (SoHo)

New York, NY 10012

(212) 219-0033

also at

29 3rd Ave - 2nd floor (East Village)

(between 10th St & 2nd Ave)

New York, NY 10003

(212) 598-3040

See my review here (maki)

Comments: “Both have a good selection of food stuff (vegetables, frozen foods, staples, fish), kitchen ware, cosmetics, etc. All Japanese goods. The Bro ome Street location has a fresh hot food counter as well and more selection of lunch goods.” - (Clarice) A bit scruffy sometimes, but well stocked and a must-stop for Japanese people and Japanophiles if you are in the area (maki).

Tongin Market: 91 Mulberry St. (bet. Walker & Bayard Sts., Civic Center area); Tel: 212-962-6622; 9:00am〜8:00pm (7 Days); Chinese/general Asian grocieries, gifts and sundries, medicines; takeout sushi; Comments: “A nifty place to shop for packaged and frozen foods, as well as some Japanese dishware and candy.” -(Ami) (See also Ami’s review here)

Yagura: 24 E. 41st St. (bet. Madison & 5th Aves., Midtown East); Tel: 212-679-3777; 11:00am〜8:00pm (Mon - Sun); Hole in the wall restaurant with takeout bentos, onigiri, and such, plus a small grocery store.

Queens

Family Market: 29-15 Broadway, Astoria (Queens); Tel: 718-956-7925; 10:00am- 1:00am (7 Days); General Asian store. Fresh and packaged foods, some housewares, video rentals

Long Island

Nara Japanese Foods (actually formally Shin Nara Japanese Foods but everyone calls it Nara): 169A Main St.; Port Washington, NY (Nassau County, North Shore); Tel: 516-883-1836; 10:00am〜7:00pm (Sun, Tue - Fri), 9:00am〜7:00pm (Sat); Small but well stocked Japanese grocery store. The store is cramped but impeccable. Food including fresh fish and meat, fresh vegetables, housewares, video rentals. Friendly lady runs the place.(maki)

Shin Nippon-Do Corp: 63 Mineola Ave.; Roslyn Heights, NY (Nassau County, North Shore); Tel: 516-625-1814; Japanese web site; Tue-Sun 10:00 - 19:00 or 18:30, depending on the time of year; Another small yet well stocked Japanese grocery store. A bit bigger and a bit better selection than Nara (maki).; Note: This store is now part of the Fuji Mart group.

Westchester/Rockland Counties

Fujimart: 816 White Plains Rd. Scarsdale NY 10583; Tel: (914)472-1468; Fax: (914)472-1459; Japanese web site; Tue-Sun 10:00 - 19:00 or 18:30, depending on the time of year; Small yet comprehensive Japanese grocery store. Mini-chain of three stores (in Scarsdale, NY, Greenwich, CT and Shin Nippondo in Roslyn Heights, Long Island.)

Kinokuniya Bookstore: 3360 Palisades Center Dr (inside the Palisades Center mall); Third level (floor plan); West Nyack,NY 10994; Tel 845）353-6600 Fax: 845）353-0407

Nijiya Hartsdale: 18 North Central Ave.; Hartsdale, NY 10530; (914) 949-2178; Mon - Sun 10:00am- 7:00pm; English/Japanese website; Part of chain of Japanese grocery stores mostly in California.

Nippan Daido, Inc: 522 Mamaroneck Avenue; White Plains, NY 10605; Tel: 914-683-6735 Fax: 914-683-6737; English and Japanese web site; Japanese mini-chain with stores in White Plains NY and Houston TX. Food, housewares, kitchen appliances, video rentals. White Plains store also carries alcohol. Daido is an old store that has moved around a bit over the years (they used to have a store in Flushing, Queens, once a major Japanese enclave. Their Fort Lee, NJ store has also closed.)

Connecticut

Fujimart: 1212 Putnum Ave. Old Greenwich CT 06878; Tel: (203)698-2107; Fax: (203)698-2105; Japanese web site; Tue-Sun 10:00 - 19:00 or 18:30, depending on the time of year; Small yet comprehensive Japanese grocery store.

Northern New Jersey

Mitsuwa New Jersey
595 River Road: Edgewater, NJ 07020; Tel: (201) 941-9113; Fax: (201) 941-5437; E-mail: newjersey [at] mitsuwa [dot] com; English website; Japanese website; Mitsuwa in Edgewater NJ is about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic, from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. The fare is $3 per adult, less for kids. Shuttle bus schedule from Feb. 1 2008. Large supermarket, mostly Japanese products, small regular American products section. Indoor side mall (food stalls, cafeteria style restaurant) plus outdoor side mall.
In the side mall: Sanseido bookstore is smaller than Kinokuniya but well stocked, has loyalty program (buy $200 worth of stuff, get stamps on card, get gift certificate). Utsuwaya tableware and gift store and Mars NY toy, housewares and gift store are connected (not sure if they are related or if it’s just a convenience thing). If you are looking for bento boxes, Mars has a limited selection of the cute/kawaii kind. Utsuwaya only has restaurant-type or shokado bento boxes. There is also a Japanese run beauty salon.

My review from 2006.; “Over 2 hours from Philadelphia, so it’s not really close, but my parents and I will often make the excursion to this Mitsuwa because of its wide selection of goods.” - (yoko)

Nippan Daido, Inc: Fort Lee store is no longer, but the White Plains, NY store remains. (See above.)

Japanese grocery stores in California

maki — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:04:24 +0100

General notes on California: Due to the large Asian-American population and sizeable expat communities, Japanese grocery stores are quite plentiful, especially in the Los Angeles area, but throughout the state generally, and there are even more Asian groceries.

Is your favorite store missing? Let us know about it in the comments! Once the information in a comment has been incorporated into the main article, the comment is deleted to avoid very very long page syndrome.

Statewide chains

99 Ranch Market: Chinese and English web site; Chinese chain. General Asian food supplies. Many locations throughout California, one in Las Vegas, two in Washington State, one in Georgia.

Marukai Market: Japanese and English web site; Japanese chain. Operates membership stores and non-membership stores throughout California, one in Hawaii. They also operate some 99 cent shops, and have a cooperation with Daiso, a leading 100 yen store chain in Japan. (You can pick up a lot of cheap bento supplies at 100 yen shops.); Comments: “There are large supermarkets in Torrance, Gardena, Glendale, and Covina. Membership is $10, but they’ll give you a one-month pass for $1, as many times as you want. Housewares, furniture, and cultural icons (tansu, kotatsu, hanten, etc) as well as food.”

Mitsuwa Marketplace: Japanese and English web site; Japanese supermarket chain. Took over the former Yaohan Plaza locations when the Yaohan corporation went belly up. These are fairly large supermarkets (some larger than others), with a good selection of Japanese groceries, a food court, and attached mini-mall. There are seven Mitsuwa locations in Calfornia (two others are in the Chicago area and northern New Jersey). Besides groceries and prepared foods, sells housewares and more (selection varies by location).

Nijiya: Japanese and English web site; Japanese grocery chain with several stores in California (and one in New York). Groceries, prepared bentos and sushi to go, etc.

Vien Dong: English and Vietnamese web site; Vietnamese mini-chain with general Asian products.

Zion Market: Korean and English web site; Korean market with three stores in southern California.

Los Angeles/Orange County general area

Ebisu Supermarket: 18940 Brookhurst Street; Fountain Valley, CA 92708; (714) 962-2108; Under construction website; Comments: “nice market”-(anon)

Granada Market: 1820 Sawtelle Blvd; Los Angeles CA 90025; 310.479.0931

Mitsuwa Costa Mesa: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 665 Paularino Avenue; Costa Mesa, CA 92626; (714) 557-6699

Mitsuwa Little Tokyo: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 333 S. Alameda Street; Los Angeles, CA 90013; (213) 687-6699

Mitsua San Gabriel: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 515 W. Las Tunas Drive; San Gabriel, CA 91776; (626) 457-2899

Mitsuwa Santa Monica: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 3760 Centinela Avenue; Los Angeles, CA 90066; (310) 398-2113

Mitsuwa Torrance: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 21515 Western Avenue; Torrance, CA 90501; (310) 782-0335

Nijiya Market: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 2130 Sawtelle Blvd. #105; Los Angeles CA 90025; 310.575.3300; Comments: “Japanese American chain, mostly in California, but with one shop in New York state. Sawtelle shop: Small shop with wide range of standard goods, organic produce, fresh meats and fish, extensive bento selection (better than Mitsuwa up the street). Open until 11.45 pm!” - (santos); “In addition to the Sawtelle one that Santos mentioned, there’s one in Little Tokyo (not very big) and a much larger, nicer one on Grant Ave. in Mountain View (San Francisco Bay Area). ” - (meg)

Safe and Save: 2030 Sawtelle Blvd; West Los Angeles CA 90025; 310.479.3810; Comments: “Small family-run market with all the basics, baked goods, snacks, produce, fresh meat and fish counter. Not as well stocked as the larger markets on the same street, but the prices are competitive, the staff is super-friendly, and the atmosphere is more relaxed and convivial. Free parking lot in the back.” - (santos)

Sacramento area

Kims Market: Asian Food: 636 4th Street(Between F and E st.); Davis, CA 95616; (530)753-5916; Mon-Sat 10am-7pm; Sun 12:30pm-6pm; Comments: “A very tiny cramped store, but it has practically everything you need to stock your basic Japanese/Korean pantry. Most of the stuff sold is in the dry/frozen goods category, but they do stock some of the more unusual fresh veggies (yamaimo yams, negi, and daikon.)They also sell some imported snacks, appliances, and household supplies. Everything is on the slightly pricy side for an Asian store, but its the only place where you can find unusual food items that American markets rarely stock. A plus is that they also sell marinated short ribs, in-store made pickles, and fresh kimbap (korean sushi).” -(Ami)

San Diego area

General comments on San Diego area:

“[Marukai and Mitsuwa] are in the Kearny Mesa and Clairemont Mesa neighborhoods of San Diego. [Nijiya and Zion] are in Linda Vista and City Heights neighborhoods, respectively. My Filipino family has been shopping at all of these stores throughout the years and all of them offer an interesting variety of Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino foods, among others.” -(Lorena)

99 Ranch: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.; San Diego, CA 92111; Tel: (858) 974-8899; Comments: “This is a Chinese market, but they many Asian staples.” -(Lorena)

Marukai Market: Part of a statewide chain. See general listing at top of page; 8151 Balboa Ave.; San Diego, CA 92111; Tel: 858-384-0240; Comments: “This is a non-membership store and is located in the same plaza as the recently opened Daiso store and Marukai Living store. This is the newest Japanese market in San Diego, having opened in January 2008.” -(Lorena)

Mailorder merchants that ship Japanese goods worldwide

maki — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:40:43 +0100

It’s always bothered me how few merchants are willing to ship their goods worldwide. If the customer is willing to pay for the shipping and customs costs, why should they be denied? Unfortunately, the vast majority of Japan and U.S. based companies hold to this “not outside our borders” policy.

These Japanese-food-goods oriented companies do, however, ship worldwide. Good for them! Often you’ll find that their prices are not that different from what you might pay for similar goods shipped within the country you reside. And for people who live in parts of the world without a lot of Japanese-oriented businesses, they are saviors.

See also Overseas Shipping Services on this page.

Mailorder sources

Sites that I’ve tried myself are marked with a (maki).

General stores

These mailorder stores carry a wide variety of products, edible and otherwise.

J-List: Food is limited to snacks and so on. Also carries lots of bento supplies, dinnerware, utensils, cookbooks. Carries a lot of NSFW products (mainly manga, anime of a hentai bent) but has age check. (To go directly to the SFW section without the hentai DVDs and such, go to JBox.com - same company, PG rated.) Prompt service, website is a bit cumbersome, but a big selection of things to browse through. (Note that Just Hungry is a J-List affiliate; by clicking on the link to make your purchases you help to support the site at no cost to you.) (maki)
Japan Centre: food only within Europe, but equipment and books worldwide. Very prompt service, easy to use website. (maki)
Japonmania is a site in French and English. They list several bento boxes and such.
Katagiri: Their web site states they ship worldwide, though I suspect that policy applies to the non-edible housewares. They do ship food all over the U.S.

Bento suppliers

See this comprehensive page on our sister site, Just Bento: Where to buy bento boxes and equipment.

Specialists

Evergreen Seeds: Japanese and other Asian vegetable and herb seeds. My favorite source for Japanese seeds, other than my mom! (maki)
Hibiki-an: A tea farm near Kyoto.
Korin: Knives, tableware, kitchen ware. Also has a showroom/store in NYC.
Zensuke: Kitchenware, tableware, gifts from Japan. A nice selection.
O-cha.com: A green tea seller. I like their matcha-green tea mix iced tea bags. (maki)

Overseas shipping services

These companies act as your ‘friend who lives in Japan’, for a fee of course. You have things shipped to them from merchants who don’t ship overseas, which they will then send it to you. The commission is usually around 10%, but it pays to compare their service fee structures (some require a flat service fee on top of the percentage.)

DankeDanke (English and Japanese site) Comments: “I have used dankedanke a couple of times, with no problems. Shipping was very fast.” -(anon.)
i-TM4u (English only site), but their blog (English) makes me think they are Japanese.

Comments: “I use i-tm4u for anything I want to buy from Japan, especially when the company does not ship OS. I’ve bought a few Bento boxes as well as other non Bento items through them and they have always been well packaged and arrive quickly. Their commission is low and shipping is very reasonable.” -(Becki)

“Today i received my work-of-art lunchbox and can say that i-TM4U […] is a very good and reliable shopping agent. It is very difficult to communicate with Japanese companies in English so i was glad to rely on their help with payment, shipping etc. i-TM4U was very accurate with all the info, the box was very well packed as i asked and the pricing is reasonable, too.” -(Anna from Russia)

Japan to Door (English only site) - offers similar services.
Rinkya. Comments: “I’ve used Rinkya a few times, and they’re pretty reliable.” -(anon)
A site to keep an eye on is Sekaimon. Right now they offer overseas shipping services to people living in Japan who want to buy from eBay and such, but they are supposed to offer the same service the other way soon, so perhaps we’ll be able to buy things from Yahoo! Japan auctions, Rakuten and the like through this service.

If you know of other places, let us know in the comments!

Food related shopping places in Japan you should visit

maki — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:05:32 +0100

Please limit your suggestions to stores and places that are food-related: edibles, supplies, equipment, etc.

Precce Premium - Tokyo

Comments: “In a city where food presentation is elevated into an artform, this store peddles food pornography of the most sordid and explicit kind. I’m surprised the wheels of my chair didn’t go rusty from the dribble trailing from my open mouth. From the displays of unbearably beautifully fruit to the softly cascading clouds of dry ice that caressed impeccably fresh fish in dream-like soft-focus, this store is nothing but a delectable series of temptations.” -(Loretta) Link, Map.

All the 100 yen shops you could ever want to visit

…are all listed on this Guide to 100 yen shops by region (Japanese only unfortunately, but it’s a start!)

Japanese grocery stores in other places

maki — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:59:45 +0100

Middle East, Africa, and other places.

(placeholder for now)

equipment and supplies

American kitchens: Why cups, and not weight? Where's the kitchen scale?

Pressure cooker love

Reasons for owning a pressure cooker in the 21st century

The rules you must follow for using a pressure cooker

Every vegetarian should have one of these

Cooking brown rice in a pressure cooker

What about meat?

And in conclusion…

Japanese grocery stores in Germany

Mailorder company based in Germany

Berlin

Düsseldorf

Frankfurt

Hamburg

Köln (Cologne)

München (Munich)

Japanese grocery stores in France

General France notes

Avignon

Bordeaux

Lyon

Marseille

Orange

Paris and environs

Strasbourg

Toulouse

Japanese grocery stores in the UK and Ireland

Ireland

UK

London and environs

Not London

Birmingham

Japanese grocery stores in the New York - New Jersey - Connecticut area

Statewide chains

New York City

Brooklyn

Bronx

Manhattan

Queens

Long Island

Westchester/Rockland Counties

Connecticut

Northern New Jersey

Japanese grocery stores in California

Statewide chains

Los Angeles/Orange County general area

Sacramento area

San Diego area

San Franciso Bay/San Jose/San Mateo area

Mailorder merchants that ship Japanese goods worldwide

Mailorder sources

General stores

Bento suppliers

Specialists

Overseas shipping services

Food related shopping places in Japan you should visit

Precce Premium - Tokyo

All the 100 yen shops you could ever want to visit

Japanese grocery stores in other places