Sometimes every expat yearns for those items from the old country that simply cannot be replaced. With that in mind, here is Expatica Belgium's guide to finding food from home.

A small selection of American, British, Spanish, Italian and Kosher products can be found in the larger Delhaize, Carrefour or GB supermarkets.  It’s also worth checking Chinese supermarkets for specific British or American brands. Otherwise the following emporia should help you find what you're looking for.

             Antwerp

• Chinese
• Jewish
• Mediterranean
  
  
  Brussels
  
  
• British
• Chinese
• French
• Irish
• Italian
• Japanese
• Scandinavian/Nordic
• Spanish

Chinese

Sun Wah Supermarket
Van Wesenbekestraat 16-18
07 022 86 88

Jewish

Hoffy’s
Lange Kievitstraat 52
03 234 3535

Mediterranean

Foreigner’s Market
Oude Vaartplaats
Saturday 8am-4pm

BRUSSELS

British

Stonemanor
Steenhofstraat 28
Everberg
Tel: 02 759 4979
www.stonemanor.uk.com

A huge store on the outskirts of Brussels, Stonemanor is spread over three floors in an old dairy farm. An extraordinary range of British and American products, including food, stationery, toys and games, even beds. This place also offers a postal service to the UK, particularly useful at Christmas, with all those inconvenient-to-the-post-office non-normalisé cards.

Chinese

Kam Yuen
rue de la Vierge Noire 2-4
1000 Brussels
www.kamyuen.be
02 512 5833

This is a massive, ramshackle supermarket with perhaps the surliest staff in the world, including a bouncer on the door who makes you stash your bag. Fight through all this and you will find everything you need, not just from China, but Japan and India. Also kitchen hardware and the ubiquitous Chinese bowls and chopsticks.

French

Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe
avenue Louis Lepoutre
1050 Brussels
Tel: 02 345 42 44 

It’s the smell that hits you first in this shop; dried cèpes, confit de canard, truffle oils and vinegars and a fanatastic selection of wine, looked after by an in-house sommelier. 

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Oliviers & Co
rue au Beurre 28
Brussels
Tel: 02 502 7211

Walk into Provence in this olive oil specialists, with the bottles ranged along the wall like fine wines. Also oil pourers, bags of herbs, earthenware cook pots and flavoured vinegars.

Rob
boulevard de la Woluwe 28
02 771 2060

Irish

Jack O’Shea’s
rue le Titien
Brussels
Tel: 02 732 5351

This Irish butcher has been smiling all the way as he side-stepped mad cows and dioxined chickens. All the first-grade meat comes from the finest Irish farms. You’ll pay for it, but the difference is noticeable, especially on the beef, complete with yellow, marbled fat.
www.jackosheas.com

Italian

Casa Italia
rue Archimède, 39
1040 Brussels
Tel: 02 733 4070

Walk into a little bit of Italy and savour the sights and smells of first-pressing olive oil, salamis, buffalo mozarella and an amazing spread of pasta, dried mushrooms and ready-made sauces.

Japanese

Tagawa
chaussée de Vleurgat, 119
1050 Brussels
Tel: 02 648 5911

At Tagawa you can find fresh fish, wasabi, frozen food, and ready-made dishes. Newspapers are also sold.

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Yama Food
chaussée de Charleroi, 24-26
1060 Brussels
Tel: 02 538 9950

Yama is a small Japanese supermarket with a range of all the usual ingredients for preparing sushi and tempura, including wasabe and dried seaweed. 

Mediterranean

Midi Market
Around Gare du Midi
Sunday 8am-1pm

Scandinavian/Nordic

Ikea
Leuvensesteenweg, 534
Sterrebeek
Tel: 02 725 3985

Inside Ikea is a small convenience shop that sells salmon, sandwiches, hot dogs and the like. Only for the die-hard shopper, especially on Saturdays.
Check other branche sof Ikea.
www.ikea.be

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Scan-shop
chaussée de Tervuren 138
Waterloo
Tel: 02 351 1275

This carries just about everything a sad Swede or a feckless Finn would need to brighten up their day. Including jars of baby food, tubes of caviar (a sort of breakfast fish-paste for those who wonder) and freezer-loads of crayfish for those all-important midsummer parties.  

Spanish

ABC Poisonnerie
rue Ste. Catherine 46
Brussels
Tel: 02 512 7547

At first glance you may think this is just another fresh fish shop among so many others in the quartier. But this is run by a Spanish family who take their fishmongery seriously. You can go in here, say you want to make Paella for two and the ingredients are put together for you, including a wrap of saffron. Also a good range of Spanish wine and oil.

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Economato Marisol
place de la Constitution, 23
1070 Brussels
Tel: 02 521 4736

A typically Spanish grocery shop that is at the heart of the Spanish community in the area, particularly during the Sunday morning market, when many Spanish stalls set up in that particular corner. This is the place to come for well-priced Paella pans; modest little dishes à deux, or great flat trays to feed a family.

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España Calidade
avenue de la Porte de Hal 63
Brussels
Tel: 02 537 2387

Rarely will you hear anything but Spanish spoken in this no-frills grocery store about a five-minute walk from the Gare du Midi. This is the place to buy in bulk, whether it's a case of Rioja wines, five-litre bottles of olive oil or huge bags of garbanzo beans and a mind-boggling selection of olives.

Updated May 2008

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