10.4.07

A little taste of the empire...

We've been doing most of our food shopping at 'Wellcome', the local super market which is just around the corner. You may recal their large selection of 'western bread'. So far we've been fairing really well using what we can find there. It's actually a very big store and totally dominates the smaller food and produce vendors, but let's just say they've got a lot more ramen than barilla - and as we tend to eat a lot of Italian food, the choice between two cheeses (Australian cheddar, and American cheddar) has been a bit of a drag. Plus their section of western cuisine is limited to Philadelphia Cream Cheese (in stick form) which despite being yummy isn't all that useful in general cooking.

Just a few stops away on the subway from where we live is Central. The heart of the island metropolis, Central is where the vestiges of colonialism can best be seen, mostly in the high proportion of whities wandering the streets. Every time we walk through the mall which towers above the Central MTR stop (the IFC) we've been tempted to make a stop at 'City Super'. 'City Super' is probably the most posh, western, and well stocked grocery store in the city.

Yesterday we finally caved and made a trip there to check it out and pick up a "few things". The experience was in many ways bittersweet. I imagine my feelings were similar to those of a Englishman arriving in Hong Kong by boat in 1902, at first feeling as though I was somewhere totally foreign, and then sitting down to have high tea. Super City was my high tea. Even by my inflated standards it was an impressive store - slack jawed, I wandered through it passing through a enormous array of cheeses, fresh pasta, imported produce and herbs (basil, sage, chives), fish without heads... there were also a number of items that I had not yet seen this side of Europe yet such as rootbeer, and Annie's, and turkey pepperoni.

We wound up getting a bit more than 'a few things', but I think it was worth stocking up, the trip back with groceries was a bit grueling. The total cost was about 4 times what we spend on groceries, though I would have paid just to stand in the store and inhale.

Here's what we got:
-Raspberries
-Fresh Baked Bread (Still warm)
-Tomatoes on the vine
-Spreadable Philly Cream Cheese
-String beans
-Chives
-Turkey Pepperoni
-4 Mug Rootbeers
-Olivio Spread (just like at home)
-Garlic Chicken Sausage
-Chicken Apple Sausage
-Horizon Yogurt
-Fresh Tagliatelle
-Fresh Ravioli (two types)
-Real maple syrup
-Red onions (impossible to find here)
-Honey Nut Cheerios
-Grana Padana Parmesan
-Pesto
-Alfredo Sauce
-Tortilla Chips
-Lox



2 comments:

arielle said...

all the way to hong kong for lox and cream cheese. my jewish great-grandmother would be so proud.

Anonymous said...

olivio!!!