Many years ago, my friend, Sue, mentioned that she loved going into grocery stores during her travels to check out the shelves for interesting items. I had never thought to do this myself but soon thereafter made it a habit. Now, no matter where I am, I make it a point to visit the local grocers to see what the locals buy.
Above is the tea section from a grocery store in Bangkok. I got hooked on a Sri Lankan tea made by Dilmah (pictured above), when my friend from Australia sent me a sample. As far as I can tell it is not imported into the U.S. but I have found it in Vancouver, Athens and Bangkok. Whenever I come across it, I buy about 6 months supply so that I don’t run out!
Here is the coffee section. It seems every developing country loves their Nescafe!
And this was a bulk food store run by Amish in upstate New York. Everything was packaged in these little containers. Well, not everything, they had cheddar cheese that was aged, like 10 years. Seriously. I LOVE sharp cheddar but cannot get it in the Pacific Northwest (please don’t try to tell me that 18 month old Tillamook comes close to NY sharp – it doesn’t). So, we picked up some cheddar and ate it like the locals – on top of pie!
And for good measure, I thought I would toss in the cleaning aisle from this Greek store on Santorini. It was choc-o-block with items!
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[mrlinky owner=wanderfood postid=26Aug2009 meme=2888]
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