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kerravonsenI was astonished when I went into a convenience store tonight and found that they had A&W Root Beer for sale. So I bought it. It wasn't until after I started drinking it that I looked at the fine print and discovered that it had been made in Singapore under licence. Fake root beer, like the fake Oreo Cookies we get here that are made in China. I miss the real thing.
So I got to thinking... what foreign foods (and drinks) do I miss? Ones that are difficult to get here? The list from the USA is longer because I've spent more time there than elsewhere.
From the USA:
* root beer (yes, Sarsparilla is practically the same, but still...)
* real Oreos, the ones with chocolate cream (though Tim Tams are better, chocolate Oreos are nice)
* warm large soft pretzels (yes, you can get them here sometimes, but not from street-corner vendors)
* San Francisco sourdough bread (all the others are imitations)
* Triscuits (love that wheaty salty goodness)
* Lucky Charms (self-indulgent, I know)
* Grape Nuts (the only cereal I know that stays crunchy in milk. And they're really nice with dried currants.)
* freshly baked cinnamon scrolls (there used to be a shop that sold them here, but it was replaced by one that reheated pre-baked scrolls in the microwave. Ugh!) And I mean proper scrolls with so much cinnamon and brown sugar that you can scrape it off the bottom of the box with a spoon, not those insipid scroll-shaped raisin buns with icing that they call "coffee scrolls" here.
From the UK:
* Wensleydale cheese (you can get imported Cheshire cheese, which is similar, but not the same) (yes, I blamewatervole for this craving. And Wallace & Grommit)
* this yummy chocolate bar with crunchy toffee pieces that I can't remember the name of
From Thailand:
* mangosteen
* lightly fizzy grape-flavoured softdrink
From Israel:
* flat-bread that was freshly baked, warm out of the oven
* green-skinned oranges (just because they were so weird)
From New Zealand:
* Hubbard's Berry Berry Bubbles (oh darn, I just checked and they aren't making them any more!)
* Hubbard's Berry Berry Nice
And while I'm at it, I might as well list the Aussie foodstuffs I would miss if I weren't here.
* Tim Tams (especially the double-coat ones)
* ginger beer (anything from the cheap K&R ginger beer through to the richness of Bundaberg ginger beer)
* Whisk-and-Pin dried fruit, especially their strawberries and pineapple
* Jalna Premium Vanilla Yoghurt (really, the nicest yoghurt I've ever had)
* Lemon-Myrtle tea
* Timboon Fresh Cheese With Herbs (it's such a delicious cheese, though it isn't that easy to get even here; it seems to be pretty random whether a deli will stock it or not)
* Souvlaki (aka Gyros) (well, perhaps I could get it in Greece)
* the potato cakes from the local fish-and-chip shop (they do mediocre chips, but their potato cakes are delicious, all crispy on the outside and soft in the middle)
So I got to thinking... what foreign foods (and drinks) do I miss? Ones that are difficult to get here? The list from the USA is longer because I've spent more time there than elsewhere.
From the USA:
* root beer (yes, Sarsparilla is practically the same, but still...)
* real Oreos, the ones with chocolate cream (though Tim Tams are better, chocolate Oreos are nice)
* warm large soft pretzels (yes, you can get them here sometimes, but not from street-corner vendors)
* San Francisco sourdough bread (all the others are imitations)
* Triscuits (love that wheaty salty goodness)
* Lucky Charms (self-indulgent, I know)
* Grape Nuts (the only cereal I know that stays crunchy in milk. And they're really nice with dried currants.)
* freshly baked cinnamon scrolls (there used to be a shop that sold them here, but it was replaced by one that reheated pre-baked scrolls in the microwave. Ugh!) And I mean proper scrolls with so much cinnamon and brown sugar that you can scrape it off the bottom of the box with a spoon, not those insipid scroll-shaped raisin buns with icing that they call "coffee scrolls" here.
From the UK:
* Wensleydale cheese (you can get imported Cheshire cheese, which is similar, but not the same) (yes, I blame
watervole for this craving. And Wallace & Grommit)* this yummy chocolate bar with crunchy toffee pieces that I can't remember the name of
From Thailand:
* mangosteen
* lightly fizzy grape-flavoured softdrink
From Israel:
* flat-bread that was freshly baked, warm out of the oven
* green-skinned oranges (just because they were so weird)
From New Zealand:
* Hubbard's Berry Berry Bubbles (oh darn, I just checked and they aren't making them any more!)
* Hubbard's Berry Berry Nice
And while I'm at it, I might as well list the Aussie foodstuffs I would miss if I weren't here.
* Tim Tams (especially the double-coat ones)
* ginger beer (anything from the cheap K&R ginger beer through to the richness of Bundaberg ginger beer)
* Whisk-and-Pin dried fruit, especially their strawberries and pineapple
* Jalna Premium Vanilla Yoghurt (really, the nicest yoghurt I've ever had)
* Lemon-Myrtle tea
* Timboon Fresh Cheese With Herbs (it's such a delicious cheese, though it isn't that easy to get even here; it seems to be pretty random whether a deli will stock it or not)
* Souvlaki (aka Gyros) (well, perhaps I could get it in Greece)
* the potato cakes from the local fish-and-chip shop (they do mediocre chips, but their potato cakes are delicious, all crispy on the outside and soft in the middle)
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no subject
Date: 2012-02-17 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 12:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-17 10:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 12:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-17 10:49 pm (UTC)I've been having what taste like freshly-baked pita breads at work: I put a pita in the sandwich press then when it's all hot and soft and slightly crispy, fill it with salad and felafel and hummus or whatever leftovers i have.
Hubbards are always bringing out new cereals. I used to love their St Clements (oranges and lemons) but really they have quite a bit of sugar, even the few that don't taste that sweet (like the yummy St Clements) so I don't get them any more.
Our local F&C does good potato cakes too. :-D There fresh fish is brilliant too and when they have blue cod, we order that crumbed. YUM!
Me, I wish I could buy those Aussie chocolate ginger bars. I must have bought most of the one shipment Foodtown had years ago but I've never seen them again here.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 12:26 am (UTC)I rarely find things too salty. I love salty things.
but really they have quite a bit of sugar, even the few that don't taste that sweet (like the yummy St Clements) so I don't get them any more.
Not even as an occasional treat?
There fresh fish is brilliant too and when they have blue cod, we order that crumbed. YUM!
Mmmmm. I prefer my fish crumbed rather than battered. Somehow it tastes less greasy that way.
Does your local bakery still do those lovely rolls with the seeds inside?
Me, I wish I could buy those Aussie chocolate ginger bars.
Oh yes, they were Darrell Lea, weren't they?
no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 02:04 am (UTC)Yes, I much prefer crumbed fish. The bakery still makes those rolls; I think they're country rolls. (And damn, I missed another typo.)
They were Darrell Lea, yes! I wish the supermarket stocked them. Why did they have just the one shipment? I must google them to see is someone else has them here... No, but never mind; I can buy ginger fudge at Farro.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 04:51 am (UTC)Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any Trinidad rum here, though... So clearly there are deficiencies in other grocery areas in the States. :-)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 07:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-18 10:33 pm (UTC)I've never had mint Oreos... but I think I would probably prefer Arnotts Mint Slice biscuits.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-17 10:34 pm (UTC)