“Look, a rice shop,” I said to Tod as we walked up Sotobori Dori from Akihabara towards Ochanomizu.
“And they sell CDs…huh?”
“Hey, wait a second, that’s Basmati rice!” I pulled the door open. Inside the modest store was a treasure trove of Iranian food: dried beans; tinned halal stews; saffron candy; nuts, pickles, and olives.
The owner offered us each a fresh date sprinkled with coconut to enjoy while we browsed. Heaven!
I left with a bottle of rosewater for making sweets, a jar of jam that is labeled in Arabic with the picture of a mysterious fruit, a box of dried herbs, and a bottle of pomegranate molasses—now I can make mohomara!
We returned after dinner to acquire some weightier purchases—a leg of lamb and a 5 kg bag of basmati rice. Guess what we’re having for dinner on the Emperor’s birthday this Tuesday?
If you’d like to visit Darya Shop, you’ll find it at 2-1-4 Soto-kanda, Chiyoda-ku on Sotobori-dori, just down the hill from Marunouchi line Ochanomizu station (on the same side of the street as the river). The phone number is 03-3251-5387 and it’s open from noon - 10 pm, except Mondays.
Posted by kuri at December 20, 2003 10:26 PMSounds sensational!! Will be heading down there after I get back from hols.
Posted by: Tracey on December 22, 2003 03:19 PMYou might also like to try Aladdin, the Iranian restaurant near Roppongi Hills. In addition to the great food, you can buy things like Pomegranite juice. Another place I sometimes shopped at was Al-Falah Super Market in Ikebukuro. At the end of a somewhat seedy area and a bit difficult to find, it has a nice selection of spices and food stuffs.
Posted by: Sajjad on December 23, 2003 12:31 AMHey, thanks for the hint. I went down there today and got a bag of basmati rice I had been looking for for ages.
Dirk
Posted by: Dirk on February 5, 2004 08:26 PMIranian script is different with, Arabic. Its name is Persian or Farsi.
Ali
