Create meetup in Tokyochevron_right
Select a place on the map to change the location.
I want to meet
Verified required?
want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
explore Tokyo Guides
bar_chart Trends in Tokyo
where can I buy decent wasabi in great quantity ?
if u have a kitchen knife and 5 minutes, hit up any decent supermarket and grab a block of fresh wasabi root. most big stores in tokyo carry them near the refrigerated section, usually 100-200g for like 800-1200 yen. way more flavor than the paste tubes and you'll prob finish it in 2-3 days instead of one.
for bulk powder, kappabashi street in asakusa has wholesale shops where u can buy 500g bags of real wasabi powder for under 3000 yen. just mix with water and it beats the tube stuff by a mile. tbh the tubes are mostly horseradish with green coloring anyway.
Head to the frozen section of any Don Quijote or a bigger Niku no Hanamasa. They sell frozen grated wasabi in 200g blocks for around 500 to 800 yen. It's real wasabi root that's been frozen and grated, not the horseradish paste. Thaw what you need and keep the rest in the freezer, it lasts months and tastes way closer to the real thing than any tube or powder.
You want to check out Ueno's Ameyoko market. There's a spice shop called Kato Shoten that sells wasabi powder in 300g and 500g bags for around 2000 to 3500 yen. Way better than the supermarket tubes and you can control how strong you want it. Just don't expect it to taste like fresh wasabi, but it's a solid upgrade for someone who goes through that much.
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.
load 2 more replies