Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Japanese Grocery Shopping In Brisbane

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:
Beef Tongue and Heart from Woolworths (after I've prepared them)
Hakusai, Bok Choi, Enoki Mushrooms and Atsuage deep-fried Tofu from Fantastic Foods
$13/kg "Shabu-shabu" beef at Hanaro Mart
$10/kg "Bulgogi" beef at Hanaro Mart

97 comments:

  1. 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?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi 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!

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    2. Sake from the bottle shop, not from the supermarket. It is a very drinkable Japanese rice wine. Dan Murphys has a small selection, the cheapest for cooking, and the more expensive in the fridge to drink with your meal.

      Japanese heaven.

      Mirin, a sweet cooking 'wine' from the supermarket. Don't drink that, just cook with it.

      Delete
  2. I 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!! :')

    Very 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Chelsea, I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying Japanese cooking!♡

      Delete
  3. Hi, I live in Brisbane and wishes to purchase burdock root (fresh if possible), will you know where I could find them?

    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I'm sorry but I've never found burdock root/gobo in Brisbane > <;; I'd love to know if you ever find it!

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    2. Saw some for sale loose in a big barrel one day in the "Acupunture and Foods Centre" on the corner of Brunswick Street Mall and Wickham St in the Valley a few months ago.

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  4. Hello! 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, 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!

      Delete
  5. Hi 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi 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.

      Delete
    2. Thankyou so much! This saves so much time searching around.
      I'm glad it was a nice easy question to answer. :)

      Delete
  6. 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:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Elizabeth, Thanks for the excellent information!

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  8. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amara☆ Thank-you for your kind words, I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipes! ^_^

      Delete
  9. Hi
    I 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? :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Fern, Do you mean "Yakisoba Sauce", or "Soba Tsuyu"?

      Delete
  10. Do 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.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi, just found your site while looking for a butcher for Yakiniku meats.

    We 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

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  12. Can anyone tell me where you can purchase okonomiyaki flour from?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Love your site, wondering where you can buy Natto from & whats best to look for?
    Thanks V.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi was wondering if u are able to let me know where I can buy natto? Thank u ^^

    ReplyDelete
  15. Also try out Genki Mart in Brisbane
    The shopkeeper Yusuke is incredibly helpful

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi, do you know where to buy Natto on the Gold Coast?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, I'm sorry, I don't know. I've only bought Natto in Sunnybank (Brisbane Southside), in the freezer section of an asian grocery store.

      Delete
    2. Try

      Shop 1,
      Southport Park Shopping Centre,
      Cnr Ferry & Benowa Rd,
      Southport, QLD 4215
      Phone: (07) 5591-6211
      Fax: (07) 5591-6212

      Mon-Wed, Fri, Sat 9:00-17:30
      Thu 9:00-21:00
      Sun 10:00-16:00

      Delete
  17. I just returned from my first trip to Japan. I have fallen head over heels in love with everything about it. My most favorite treat over there was Morinaga Jumbo Monaka. Does anyone know where to get it in Brisbane please?

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  18. Hi does anyone know where I can get plain mochi from in brisbane? Thank you Jill

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi. I was just wondering where I can get fresh yuba in Brissy or Gold Coast. Thanks.

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  20. Hi my name is Craig and I would like to find a distributor of Natto fermented soybeans in brisbane so I can stock them in my supermarket as I have a customer requesting them can you help me

    ReplyDelete
  21. i want to buy bamboo whisk for making my matcha tea, where can i purchase this from

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