Tokyo is not just one of the world's great restaurant cities, it's equally good for those who prefer to cook at home. Name the country or cuisine: Chances are you can find whatever ingredients you need, if not at your local supermarket, then certainly without having to leave the metropolis.
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| Bigot Douce France in the Printemps department store in Ginza makes excellent country-style pain au levain. Bigot is Kobe-based, but they have several branches around Kanto. ROBBIE SWINNERTON PHOTOS |
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| Nissin World Delicatessen (left) near Azabu-Juban has an outstanding meat section featuring plenty of poultry. |
It hasn't always been that way. Back in the dark years of the 1980s, before the yen appreciated, the bubble inflated and imports were liberalized, food choices were severely limited. Anything not grown or raised in Japan was exotic, pricey and hard to find -- unless, that is, you lived close to one of the international supermarkets: Kinokuniya, National Azabu or to a lesser extent the various branches of Peacock and Meidiya.
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