Daring Bakers in April: Sticky Toffee Pudding

The April 2010 Daring Baker's Challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen.  She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

Umm...I did not use suet. I could not even bring myself to look up the German word for suet, much less go to a butcher and ask for some. I used butter. And sugar. And cream. LOTS of butter, and sugar, and cream. I made a classic British dessert: sticky toffee pudding. Contrary to the American meaning of the word, a British pudding is any dish, sweet or savory, which is steamed in a bowl mold in a pot of boiling water. You can see some pictures of the process (and a lovely chocolate pudding) over at My Kitchen Addiction.

Asian Grocery Stores in Zurich, Part 6: Thanh Hung and Nishi's Japan Shop

The final installment!  To tell you the truth I'm getting a little tired of this series - I'm ready to move on and tell you about our fabulous trip to Turkey and also some of the delicious things I've been making lately.  Nevertheless, I hope you've found these write-ups to be useful and inspired you to venture beyond your usual Coop or Migros in search of tasty Asian ingredients!

See also *deep breath* Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.



Nishi's Japan Shop
Schaffhauserstrasse 120
8057 Zurich
044 363 11 63
Mo-Fr 9-18:30 | Sa 9-16



The other stores I have mentioned, in particular Yumi Hana, also carry a number of Japanese items, but Nishi's Japan Shop is the only Asian grocery store in Zurich that specializes exclusively in Japanese food and housewares.   The store is smaller than I had imagined, about the same in floor space as Yumi Hana, but without the restaurant section at the front.   There are perhaps 5 shelves of dry goods (no real aisles) with a couple small-ish refrigerators and freezers at the back and in the middle of the store with prepared foods (no produce section).   There's also a shelf full of Japanese pottery, dishes, and a few cooking implements.
I am really not very familiar with the staples of Japanese cooking, so I can't tell you what special ingredients only this store carries - except for some delicious mochi (not cheap at 9 francs for 4 pieces).
The ladies behind the counter were cordial but declined my request to take a few photos inside the store, hence I can only show you the facade above.

Maki also wrote a bit about this store, here's what she had to say:

There's only one totally-Japanese grocery store in Zürich, Nishi's Japan Shop, Schaffhauserstr. 120 (Tram lines 7 and 14, stop Guggachstrasse, or lines 7, 9, 10, 14 stop Milchbuck) It's small but stocks most of the basics, including rice from Japan and California. No fresh produce here except for the occasional nagaimo or something. All the fish and meat etc. are frozen, but that seems to be pretty standard for Asian groceries in Zürich. Recently started carrying real fresh tofu made in St. Gallen or Spain! (Previously they only had the hermetically sealed Morinyu type, which I dislike so much it lead me to making my own.) Also has a small selection of takeaway sushi and such.

Asian Grocery Stores in Zurich, Part 5: Lian Hua and Barkat

I've been on holiday in Turkey for the last two weeks so please excuse the fact that it's taking me longer and longer to finish this series (See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4)!  There's only one more post to write after this one so I'll get there eventually!

Today's two stores are both within walking distance of Bahnhof Wiedikon, in Kreis 3.



Lian Hua Asia Laden
Birmensdorferstrasse 94
8003 Zurich
044 450 31 88
Mo-F 9-19 | Sa 9-18:30



Lian Hua is primarily a Chinese grocery, although they carry some goods from other countries as well.  It's a medium-sized store with plenty of dry goods as well as a decent-sized refrigerated produce section and one wall of dishes and cooking implements.  I didn't see too much at this shop that can't be found at New Asia Market, but as Maki at Just Hungry mentions in her writeup, they have a large selection of different tofus and unusual drinks both Asian and otherwise:  for example, they carry A&W root beer.  The ambiance here is rather scruffy, with boxes and palettes lying around at the end of aisles, and dust on lesser-used items.



One thing to keep in mind is that they offer a 15% discount on Saturdays, so if you're going to stock up it's worth fighting the crowds in the city to get there.


Barkat
Birmensdorferstrasse 143
8003 Zurich
043 811 54 90

About a 10-minute walk down Birmensdorferstrasse from Lian Hua, Barkat is a cash-and-carry store with cheap bulk food as well as plenty of imports. Maki also wrote about it here (with photos, scroll down) and here, and what she has to say is still accurate. When I visited on a Saturday, it was incredibly crowded and I was constantly jostled in the narrow aisles as I tried to note down some of the products.  The imported food mostly focuses on India, Pakistan and the Middle East - I found some incredibly inexpensive Arab flatbread, as well as Turkish cheese, a large spice selection, and cooking ingredients like chapati flour.  The produce section was very small and not particularly organized or fresh-looking - unlike Maki I didn't see any fruit or vegetables that I couldn't buy at Coop or Migros, and 20 kg bags of onions aren't on my shopping list very often.  Barkat also has a small homewares section with very cheap (both in price and quality) items.

I'd probably only go back here if I was looking for a specific Indian ingredient that Aggarwal didn't carry, or else to grab a packet of that flatbread to serve with a mezze.


Go to Part 6: Nishi's Japan Shop and Thanh Hung