The area around the north exit of Ikebukuro is an exotic area that symbolizes the changing Tokyo. The Pakistani food store "AL-FLAH SUPER MARKET" in one of the forested buildings offers everything from South Asian spices to sweets and tea.

A shop on the 4th floor of an elongated building

Around the north exit of Ikebukuro. There are restaurants serving local Chinese food lined up with pink signboards, and if you walk down the street, you can hear words other than Japanese well, and at night, barkers call out to tipsy passers-by.

Alfa La Supermarket is also in the downtown area, but it is a little quiet during the day. When you go up to the 4th floor of the long and narrow "Onoya Building", which you can hardly see from the outside, you can see the shops.

By the way, the operating company has been importing "Halal ingredients" for about 30 years.

Inside, you will find an array of ingredients from South and West Asia, centered on Pakistan. If you look at the spice shelves, you can see the classic cumin and coriander in curry, cinnamon in sweets and the thick milk tea "Chai" in South Asia, and other things that aren't immediately used. There are bags of different sizes from 100g (3.53oz) to 1kg, and it seems to be a good deal if you buy them in bulk, but will they be used up at home?


Retort Pakistani curry is also on sale. There is a kind of restaurant that seems to open. Besides, various seasonings are added to the popular cup noodles in South Asia. There is also Japanese "halal soy sauce".



Tea also has an eccentric flavor. I know jasmine and apple, but cardamom is interesting. When I look at the sweets, I don't know the name "Halva" as "Soper cookie". I remember "Gulab Jamun". It is the "sweetest sweet in the world" to be eaten in India and South Asia.