We just Skyped with Pickle's parents this afternoon and had a request for some insight into our shopping experience here. As it happened, we had to go to the shops today to restock, so we shot some quick footage and snapped some pics of some of the things that are novel to us as Americans. Warning: If you suffer from motion sickness, you may need to look away during the video...sorry :S
Here are a few pics from the poultry and seafood counters. The most interesting to me are the "Cooked Moreton Bay Bugs"...
While sticker shock is not an uncommon affliction here (prices are much higher on most things), you definitely feel like you're getting a lot of bang for your buck in the produce section! These are mangoes on the left. Above is a mango, grapefruit, banana, and head of iceberg lettuce (sunglasses provided for perspective). |
What you mean when you say "chips" (these are crisps) What you mean when you say "jelly" (this is jam or conserves) What you mean when you say "tomato sauce" (this is marinara) What you mean when you say "red pepper" (this is a capsicum) What you mean when you say "eggplant" (this is aubergine) What you mean when you say "biscuit" (this is a scone) | What you get (fries) What you get (Jell-O) What you get (catsup) What you get (chili flakes) Yeah, there's nothing that's called an eggplant here. Just a sampling of what you might get (see below) |
One of the most interesting differences to me is the tremendous assortment of items that qualify as biscuits. Crackers for any purpose (soup, hors d'oeuvres, etc.), including a wide variety of flavored snack crackers (think Triscuits, Cheez Its, Wheat Thins, etc.) as well as cookies of any kind (from animal crackers to Oreos) are ALL called biscuits. These are divided into categories at the grocery. I took some pics with my mobile...
The shops (including groceries, stand-alone stores and the entire mall) open around 9am and close between 5-6pm all week (including weekends), with the exception of Thursdays, when most places are open until around 9pm. This is true of most businesses (including banks) across Australia. This ends up yielding a fairly hectic experience as, even in the middle of a weekday, it can feel like Super Bowl Sunday. The upside is that the crowds, combined with the size of our mini-fridge, have forced us to plan ahead, go in with a list, and execute efficiently, which Pickle loves.
There's heaps of fresh meats, seafood, and produce and we've definitely been taking advantage of this. Instead of our typical cereal (or nothing) for breakfast, we've been having fresh strawberries, mangoes, bananas, lychee, passionfruit, cherries, etc. along with eggs, avocado toast, fried potatoes, etc. We've even been cooking dinners like curries, pad thai, lettuce wraps, and of course some good old midwestern steak and potatoes. So don't worry, moms...we're eating! ;)