Sourcing Japanese Ingredients in London

A reader from Sydney recently emailed me asking where to find Japanese/Chinese/Asian grocery stores in London, as she's moving here next year and wanted to make sure she can find all her favourite ingredients. So I figured now would be a good time for an addition to the Where To Buy Japanese Ingredients post, with a more London-centric take:

 

I've always said: I'd be hard-pressed to live anywhere in the UK except London because it's not easy to get hold of Japanese/Chinese/Oriental (yes, Americans, it's okay to use that word over here) ingredients outside the capital. In fact, it's not very easy to get hold of certain ingredients in London either, but here's my guide to ingredient hunting in London and its surrounds.

Specialist Japanese Ingredients

Such as: mochiko (mochi flour), shirataki, konnyaku, okonomiyaki sauce.

There's two places I go for these types of hard-to-find ingredients: Japan Centre (14-16 Regent Street) and Arigato (48-50 Brewer Street), both within a stone's throw of Piccadilly Circus. Japan Centre also offers online ordering and home delivery.

Sashimi-grade fish

For sashimi-grade fish and black cod, I go to Atari-Ya, which has fish-counter branches in Golders Green, West Acton, Finchley, and Kingston. [The other branches seem to be more take-away and eat-in joints.] Various (but few) traditional British fishmongers also have sashimi-grade fish (names escape me for now), and I have a Japanese friend who occasionally wakes up at ungodly hours to get fish from Billingsgate fish market.

General Japanese Ingredients

Such as: sushi rice, rice vinegar, udon, soba, tofu, enoki, shiitake.

These are easier to find, at both Chinese and Korean supermarkets and some local supermarkets.

Central London: There's a smallish Korean food store (Centre Point Food Store) at Tottenham Court Road which also sells a very decent range of Japanese foodstuffs. Also try the shops in Chinatown. And if you can afford it, Borough Market at London Bridge is sure to have a whole host of beautiful fresh vegetables, including Japanese mushrooms and eastern greens.

London suburbs: For all your Chinese ingredients, and quite a lot of Japanese, check out the giant superstores of WingYip -- there's a branch in Cricklewood (North London) and Croydon (South). Warning for non-drivers: I only know the Croydon branch, but I get the feeling that both stores require a car to get to (easily).

Local supermarkets: I find that the posher the area (and shop), the more likely that the local supermarket will carry 'exotic' ingredients. The big Waitrose stores tend to have enoki, shimeji, and shiitake mushrooms as standard. I've definitely seen a wide range of Clearspring products in some (very large) Sainsbury and Tesco stores, as well as shiitake and daikon.

 

I've not been to Sydney yet, but from what I've heard it strikes me that in comparison, for one of the 'greatest' cities in the world, London will have a surprisingly paltry offering when it comes to finding East Asian ingredients. But in our defense, you can probably find ingredients (and people and restaurants) from a huge range of countries and cultures, within a handful of kilometres of Trafalgar Square. And I reckon that's a pretty amazing thing.

So where you do you get your Japanese/Chinese/Asian ingredients in London?

Comments

[Hiromi]

My local Waitrose carries kabocha and hakusai. But I go to Chapel market in Islington for really good quality daikon and sato imo, cheaper than Japan centre. My local Tesco carries spinach with roots and skinny aubergine for grilling which I can also get at the market. But there's no getting around Japan Centre for things like shiso and yama imo.

[Lizzie]

There's also a huge See Woo in the outskirts of Greenwich which is good for all of that. Alternatively, New Loon Moon on Gerrard Street is great, especially for Thai ingredients.

[Roxy]

Thanks so much for posting this up so quickly - it was most helpful! I feel a little bit more at ease knowing there are Japanese stores in London! :)

[JenJen]

Hiromi/Lizzie - thanks for the tips! Still so much of London to explore...

Roxy - no problem, best of luck with your move!

[Su-Lin]

In West London, Natural Natural in Ealing Common is pretty good for bits and bobs. There's also a Japan Centre near Park Royal somewhere but I've not been yet.

[Georgia]

wow many compliments, this blog is superb!

[vietfoodrecipes]

Interesting and helpful writing on Japanese food in London. It was difficult to find a great Japanese restaurant in UK, and in Europe in general. But I think people overthere are getting used to enjoying raw fish now! :)

[TheHungryHost]

This is great! Thanks so much for this post - we just recently moved from Canada to Farnborough and were wondering where to get Japanese ingredients!

(And yes, we were a bit taken aback by the use of the word "Oriental" over here - definitely not politically correct in North America!)

[JenJen]

Thanks for the comment - always nice to know these posts actually come in useful for someone =)

[azélia]

Excellent fishmonger who does sashimi grade fish is Steve Hatt in Essex Road Islington North London.