When you want to make Japanese food and you don't live in Japan, getting the right ingredients can sometimes become an obstacle. Japanese Ingredients will generally cost more than in Japan, and some ingredients just can't be found in some areas. So to help everyone's Japanese Cooking around the world, I think it would be great if we could put together an information page listing the best places to shop in each city. If you have favorite places to shop for Japanese Ingredients, I would love to hear about it! I'll share the information with everyone in a future post.
Please email your contribution using this link: Email LittleJapanMama or in a comment to this post.
I live in Brisbane, Australia, and if you live nearby, here are the best and cheapest places I like to shop for Japanese Ingredients: (BTW no-one is sponsoring me to share this!)
- Yuen's: I buy most things (especially Sauces, Dashi, cheap Mirin and Sake, Nori, Hakusai and other vegetables) at Yuen's Asian Supermarket (Market Square, Sunnybank and Chinatown Fortitude Valley) which I find cheaper than most other Asian grocery stores anywhere else in Brisbane.
- Fantastic Foods: (Sunny Park, Sunnybank) A few things I like to get at Fantastic Foods in Sunny Park (Next to Aldi Sunnybank) which has $3/300g bunch fresh Enoki mushrooms, $4/500g bag Chikuwa, and a discount card if you ask for it... And the best quality Daikon (giant long white radish) I've seen locally.
- Hanaro Mart Butcher: (Times Square, Sunnybank) Thinly Siced Beef I buy inside the Korean Grocery Store in Town Square (Outside Sunnybank Plaza), $10/kg (This is VERY cheap for Australia!) or $13/kg for even thinner lean and tender shabu-shabu beef. Hanaro Mart is a Korean Grocery store which has a separate Butcher inside. (Sometimes I buy the chinese hot pot style rolled beef (as you see in the photo above) in Fantastic Foods, $4/300g.)
- High Fresh: (Market Square, Sunnybank) If you're after Shungiku (Spring Chrisanthemum leaves) for your Sukiyaki, High Fresh (around the back of Market Square) is your best bet, $1.30 for a huge bunch, but only in Spring. (I sometimes saw it at Yuen's in the Valley, but not anywhere else)
Below are some examples of my favorite Japanese grocery shopping in Brisbane:
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| Hakusai, Bok Choi, Enoki Mushrooms and Atsuage deep-fried Tofu from Fantastic Foods |
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| $13/kg "Shabu-shabu" beef at Hanaro Mart |
Hi Jane, I live in Brisbane too and love Jap cooking. May I ask you, is Mirin similar to the Sake sold in Yuen? I tried looking for 'Sake' but all I got from a green bottle cooking wine... is it the right sake?
ReplyDeleteHi Doris☆ Mirin is sweet rice wine, and Sake is rice wine. The Japanese-made Sake usually has a green label and the Mirin has a red label. In Yuen's Japanese food aisle, there are the Japanese Mirin and Sake, and also the cheaper Mirin and Sake, (made in Taiwan, I think) in large 750ml bottles for around $4. They're not too bad, and we used those as we went through quite a lot. As Mirin is actually quite sweet, sake can't be used as a substitue. In fact, sugar (1/3 of the volume of mirin) is a better substitute for mirin. Make sure you're looking in the Japanese food section, where you'll see Tonkatsu Sauce, Japanese Mayonnaise etc. I hope you have better luck finding them next time!
DeleteI dont live with my mummy anymore (she is japanese) and I miss all her beautiful traditional food, now I am much happier that I can cook them in my house too!! :')
ReplyDeleteVery happy to have found your blog. I agree with your comments about other recipes, they are missing key ingredients or are just NOT Japanese Style. Hopefully I can follow your recipe easily and I can make my Taste-buds happier again! THANKYOU
Hi Chelsea, I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying Japanese cooking!♡
DeleteHi, I live in Brisbane and wishes to purchase burdock root (fresh if possible), will you know where I could find them?
ReplyDeleteThank you
Hi, I'm sorry but I've never found burdock root/gobo in Brisbane > <;; I'd love to know if you ever find it!
DeleteHello! Would you know where I can buy bento box here in Brisbane? I see some online but I prefer a store that I can see & touch what I am buying. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I've never bought bento boxes in Brisbane. I tend to buy everything Japanese when I'm in Japan because it's much cheaper. Good luck!
DeleteHi there, I've been looking for a regular place to get Edamame around Brisbane. I live in Coorparoo so it isn't hard for me to get anywhere in Brisbane. But I am finding it hard where to start and would love to know where it's regularly in stock frozen? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi sbrjane! At last, an easy question, thanks! I always buy frozen edamame at Fantastic Foods next to Aldi in Sunnybank, unshelled or shelled, about $2/500g. They probably have it at yuen's, too.
DeleteThankyou so much! This saves so much time searching around.
DeleteI'm glad it was a nice easy question to answer. :)
i just wanted to say thank you for such a wonderful site and wish you and your family a happy new year, i have just placed an order for lots of bento accessories and a new box, going shopping on the weekend at sunnybank thanks to your wonderful suggestions:)
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled across your site. A Japanese grocery store has just opened in Alderley, called Genki Mart. I bought lots of interesting things - burdock, lotus root, bamboo shoots, Udon, soba, dashi ... at very reasonable prices.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, Thanks for the excellent information!
DeleteI love your site! Being a half japanese brisbane-ite who has recently moved out of home, your recipes have saved me from too much home-sickness ( i.e I just miss mum's cooking). Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAmara☆ Thank-you for your kind words, I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipes! ^_^
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI live in Brisbane as well - near Sunnybank - but I haven't been able to find soba sauce at any of the Sunnybank Asian food shops.
Do you know any Japanese marts that sell that that's nearby? :(
Hi Fern, Do you mean "Yakisoba Sauce", or "Soba Tsuyu"?
DeleteDo you know if and where I can buy Lipton Maple Tea bags in Brisbane. I am addicted to them after a recent trip to Japan, staying in Okayama.
ReplyDeleteHi, just found your site while looking for a butcher for Yakiniku meats.
ReplyDeleteWe can confirm Genki Mart is great for supplies as well as if you're willing to make a short drive we found Fuji Mart at Surfers to have the best selection of any of the local markets. I think they are owned by the main importer Jun Pacific so have a great selection of everything.
Shop 1,
Southport Park Shopping Centre,
Cnr Ferry & Benowa Rd,
Southport, QLD 4215
Phone: (07) 5591-6211
For Wagyu meat for our Konro BBQ we have been using Kobe Butcher of Whites Hill
http://www.kobesbutchery.com/
They have a good selection of Wagyu for Yakiniku but the specialty pieces like short rib, chuck rib, rib finger are all shipped to Japan as they can get more for them there. We are still looking for a specialty Japanese butcher for these pieces.
We also picked up a Konro and real binchotan charcoal from Chefs Armory in Sydney who shipped it all up here to Brisbane for about 20 bucks.
http://www.chefsarmoury.com/
Hope these help some people, great site thanks for sharing all your info.
Cheers Q
Can anyone tell me where you can purchase okonomiyaki flour from?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi Love your site, wondering where you can buy Natto from & whats best to look for?
ReplyDeleteThanks V.