British Expats Shopping Website

[Mulboyne]

Japan Times: Service targets Brits seeking taste of home

Expatriates in Japan who feel jaded by noodles and rice and long for British food are increasingly turning to a new Web site. The site -- distantbrits.co.uk -- supplies British products across the world, and Japan is its biggest market in Asia and is growing. Sarah Daykin, the site's founder, came up with the concept after her overseas relatives always complained there were certain foods they could never find. The site stocks more than 4,500 products, ranging from food to cleaning materials, and since opening in 2003 has been sending out around 300 boxes of goods per month. She said the British product most in demand in Japan is mince pie, a popular Christmas dish, and in second place are Jaffa Cakes (small biscuits with a round hard sponge base with orange jelly on top and covered in chocolate)...more...

I got quite excited when I saw "mince pies" since these are always in demand even well after Christmas. As far as I can see, though, the site just sells the indgredients so it looks like my bags will be bulky again for the next visit.

I haven't checked prices but a site like this seemed worth putting up on the board.

[Charles]

I got quite excited when I saw "mince pies" since these are always in demand even well after Christmas. As far as I can see, though, the site just sells the indgredients so it looks like my bags will be bulky again for the next visit.

I used to beg my Mom to make mince pie, just like the ones I remember her making when I was a kid. She always said they were hard to make and the ingredients weren't easy to find. Finally one year she said she'd make one for me if I'd go shopping for all the stuff. So she gave me a shopping list and I went off in pursuit of mince pie ingredients.
I did a doubletake when I saw enormous amounts of suet on the list. I thought suet was offal that was unfit for human consumption, so it was sold for use in bird feeders. But no, Mom insisted that this was the key ingredient. I had to go ask around and find a butcher who would collect enough for the pie.
When she made the pie, as I took my first bite, I could not stop thinking of those huge piles of white coagulated fat. The pie tasted just like I remembered, but somehow I took no pleasure in eating it. It took me a couple of weeks to finish off that pie. And I haven't eaten mince pie since.

[Papa-Lazarou]

Ive just eaten 2 Mince Pies, they had a filo pastry crust.

Times change eh?

They also contained real lamb's mince, they were lovely

[Mulboyne]

Ive just eaten 2 Mince Pies, they had a filo pastry crust.

Times change eh?

They also contained real lamb's mince, they were lovely

What I think you just ate was a pastie. A christmas mince pie isn't lamb or beef mince but is made of mincemeat which is fruit and suet.

[Papa-Lazarou]

Ive just eaten 2 Mince Pies, they had a filo pastry crust.

Times change eh?

They also contained real lamb's mince, they were lovely

What I think you just ate was a pastie. A christmas mince pie isn't lamb or beef mince but is made of mincemeat which is fruit and suet.

Shows what you know my lad, originally ALL mince pies contained lamb mince, thats why they were called 'Mince' Pies.

Ipso:Fatso

They taste lovely with a bit of lamb in them, btw