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Any store with reliable supply of fresh mint?
Shinanoya used to have large packs of mint, but they stopped selling it. Last year I've ended up raiding various s… Hanami's approaching and I'm doing 40 liters of mojito. This requires a lot of mint.
Shinanoya used to have large packs of mint, but they stopped selling it. Last year I've ended up raiding various supermarkets to snatch the few tiny packs of mint they might or might not have, which is time consuming and expensive.
Is there a store where I can reliably find mint in larger quantities?
Bonus question: same but for limes. I need about 40 limes.
You want the Tsukiji outer market, specifically the wholesalers on the side streets off the main drag. There's a shop called Yamacho near the corner of the tuna auction building that sells herbs in restaurant-sized bundles, mint's usually 200 yen for a bunch that's three times what you'd get at a supermarket. For 40 limes, hit up the stall two doors down, they'll sell you a whole case of Mexican limes for about 4,000 yen if you ask nicely, and they keep them in the back so you have to request it. Go right when they open at 6am to avoid the tourist rush and bring a rolling cart, you're not carrying that on the train.
gyomu super is your best bet for this kind of volume, but not the one in shinbashi. hit the one in higashi-kanda instead, they've got a bigger produce section and i've seen whole flats of mint there for like 600 yen. they also do those big 1kg bags of limes for around 800 yen, which is about what you'd pay for 5-6 at a normal supermarket. just check the dates on the limes because sometimes they're a bit old, but for mojitos that's fine
if you're near shinjuku, the okachimachi fish market area has a few produce wholesalers that'll sell to regular people early in the morning. there's one on the corner near the 7-eleven on the main street that always has big plastic-wrapped bundles of mint for like 300 yen, way more than you'd get at a supermarket. for limes, don't bother with regular stores - go to the kyushu pancake place's supplier on the second floor of the ameyoko building, they sell limes by the net bag for about 600 yen for 10-12. just bring cash and a big bag, they don't do cards
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.