Don de Dieu

Another snacks-for-dinner post. This time I assembled some brie and crackers; bread and olive oil; Italian sausages; and grilled shishamo (smelt with roe).

I was really excited about the Italian sausage, since I've never been able to find it here. But last Saturday I discovered that Nissin, an import supermarket in Azabu-juban, carries three kinds of Italian sausages. And a whole bunch of other good stuff. I've known about the place for years but have never bothered going, assuming it was the same as National Azabu or Kinokuniya (two well-known import shops that don't really have anything that I can't get far cheaper elsewhere).

But Nissin beats the pants off of those other two shops, with a huge selection of meats, cheeses and dry goods and fairly good prices. Along with the sausages, I bought a few kinds of cheese, a chunk of eisbein (German cured pork leg) and tamarind paste, which I was lamenting just a few weeks ago about not being able to find.

But the best part of Nissin is its wine and spirits, which have an entire floor to themselves. Easily the biggest and best wine selection I've seen in Japan, at surprisingly low prices. Then I checked out the beer selection and got a nice surprise: they had three Canadian beers! One was Molson Canadian, a mediocre beer from Canada's biggest brewer, but the other two were from Unibroue, a Quebec microbrewery that makes fantastic beers which until recent years haven't been very well-known outside of Canada. So, pleasantly surprised (and overwhelmed by the wine selection) I picked up both Unibroues.

The beer above is Don de Dieu ("Gift of God", named after explorer Samuel Champlain's boat) and it was rich, complex and delicious, and went really well with the food, which was totally accidental. The other one is Raftman, which is brewed with whiskey malt. I'm looking forward to trying it but am wondering why this was one of only two Unibroue beers on sale. It's a bit of an odd choice, and I kind of wish I could by another beer instead, like Maudite, Fin du Monde, or Blanche de Chambly (my brother is a big fan of Unibroue and these are three from his stash that I really like drinking when I go back home). But I guess I should actually try the Raftman first.

Anyway, I'm very curious about these beers in Japan and wonder if they're available anywhere else.

Nissin World Delicatessan
Open daily 9 aam to 9 pm
03-3583-4586
2-34-2 Higashi Azabu, Minato-ku Tokyo

Comments

[suzy]

Nissin is great, isn't it? I love the cheeses and breads there too, and I used to go there to get lamb cutlets whenever I was craving them.
That looks like a great dinner - snacky meals are my favourite kind.

[carlyn]

Amy;
How fortunate you are to have not only the best of Japan, but plenty of import shops to find other "worldly" goods!!!!! Where else in the world????

[Andy]

Nice post. You gotta love the Simpson's bottle opener!!!

[Mone]

This bottle opener looks totaly american to me :) Where did you get it from?

[Amy]

Suzy, it's a great place and I'm sorry it took me so long to find it!

Carlyn, I do think I'm lucky but I won't be satisfied until I find a place in Tokyo that sells perogies and Jamaican patties...

Andy and Mone, nice catch. This talking bottle opener was a Christmas present from my Mom years ago. When you open a bottle Homer Simpson says "Mmmmm, beeeer...." and a bunch of other stuff, finishing with a "Woohoo!" Gotta love Homer.