When I first started coming here, I was a little unadventurous, just choosing a few bags of chicken noodles then apologetically scurrying out again like a fish out of his own cultural water. In the last 5 years though, I've been doing frequent shopping trips to Day-In to supplement my regular visits to high street supermarkets.
When I'm in here, I'm of course mainly browsing the seaweed collections, buying ovine innards, or treating the whole thing like some kind of tourist experience, like I would visiting the Sea Life centre.
My first stop is the fridge. I pick up two blocks of tofu, (the firm sort that will hold together with the rigors of stir-frying) and some OKF aloe vera drink. This beverage contains both the juice and the gel from the plant, and its the world's best seller. A glass of this when hungover or feeling run-down is a welcome rescue remedy.
In the tinned aisle I picked up some mock duck. Made with gluten, it's a substitute for the real thing, something that vegans would welcome as somthing they can sink their teeth into.
Then some soy sauce, a bag of chillies and a tin of coconut milk. The soy sauce is Pearl River Bridge, a rich, dark soy that is superior to the kind that you get in regular supermarkets and at just 58p for 150ml, its around a third of the price. The same goes with the chillies; a bag of bright red ones of the bird's-eye's variety at a fraction of the cost that you'd expect to pay elsewhere.
Next stop-sauces and spices! You'll find them in the last aisle. I pick up Rendang paste (best for beef, good for tofu), and some tom yum paste which I'll have on another day with some prawns thrown in. These sauces ain't healthy. They're packed with salt and sugar and some with MSG but boy, do they taste good.
I balance the yang of the above with the yin of some fresh century pears. Apple shaped, and sweeter than say, a comice, these pudgy fruits are worth discovering.
I then grab four packets of Nissin noodles. What I like about these is that often they have a paste included as well as a soup powder for added complexities. Try the Tokyo Shoyu variety to challenge your tastebuds. read more