Everyone keeps asking me about the food so I'll bite (pun absolutely intended) and fill everyone in about the yummy eats here.
Grocery Stores:
Food prices in the grocery stores seem to be only slightly more than what I am used to paying in the States with the exception of meat which is about double. There are some exceptions of course - kangaroo meat is fairly cheap and sausages are very cheap. I was afraid that all of the sausages would be "mystery meat" and kinda gross; but I got some Beef and caramelized onion sausages that we had for lunch today and they were quite lovely.
Right now I am shopping at a little Coles "Express" inside of the train station. It is a mini grocery store; but it still has a nice produce department and everything. It's strange to me to see so many things here that would be uncommon at home - lemongrass, persimmons etc...
There are different names for some of the products - bell peppers are called capsicums, cilantro is called coriander and bacon is really ham...
I've been trying to cook in the tiny efficiency kitchen that we have here; but it hasn't been easy... I'll share some other food stories and such as I get them!
Grocery Stores:
Food prices in the grocery stores seem to be only slightly more than what I am used to paying in the States with the exception of meat which is about double. There are some exceptions of course - kangaroo meat is fairly cheap and sausages are very cheap. I was afraid that all of the sausages would be "mystery meat" and kinda gross; but I got some Beef and caramelized onion sausages that we had for lunch today and they were quite lovely.
Right now I am shopping at a little Coles "Express" inside of the train station. It is a mini grocery store; but it still has a nice produce department and everything. It's strange to me to see so many things here that would be uncommon at home - lemongrass, persimmons etc...
There are different names for some of the products - bell peppers are called capsicums, cilantro is called coriander and bacon is really ham...
I've been trying to cook in the tiny efficiency kitchen that we have here; but it hasn't been easy... I'll share some other food stories and such as I get them!
Posts
Now you're talking my language, girl! I am fascinated by the way people eat in other places. I'm sure we'll be seeing beautiful photos from you, and in the meantime, bon appetit!
Theresa
I can't wait till I'm more settled and I can wander around all day with a camera documenting everything for you :D I so wish you were here with me discovering all these new things!
Lovely updates on your new life. I really hope the homesickness subsides enough to manage. Fascinating to read about what you are overcoming now as we will be in that boat very soon! x
So THAT's what coriander is!!! I always hear them using it on Master Chef, but didn't know it was cilantro.
Our grocery bill, for 2 people, went from $250.00/mo in the states to a little over $400 here. We are ona pretty tight budget as well, so if you were not sticking to the generic brands it could easily go over. Going to the grocery store still depresses me. They also have a very limited selection for Chicken...apparently they don't like it as much as us yanks do.
I'm loving reading about all your new experiences in Australia. I feel your pain with the laundry. OUrs is a bit bigger than yours but when I go to my mom's in the US, I fill up her washer with an amount that would STUFF ours here and it still always has TONS of room. I don't know how people do it when they have kids.
Oh... and $70 per WEEK for internet? WHere on earth are you staying? We pay $70 per month!!! Good luck with the apartment hunt. I'm curious to find out where you decide to live.
Oh my gosh, the coriander took me FOREVER to figure out. I was going on and on about how there was no cilantro in Australia. It made my day when I found out about coriander!
@ Sarah - I'm fine most the time... I don't want my whinging to put you off coming here. It's really lovely - It will just be a whole lot more lovely once we are more settled!
@akroezan - I gave myself $600.00 a month for groceries here; but that includes a wine budget!! I think I'll do just fine - I love new and different foods so I'm excited to buy things and try them out.
@Elsja - I feel like I am doing laundry constantly! Today is the first day I really feel caught up! We are staying in a serviced apartment on Bridge St. There is only one internet provider available in the building so we are stuck; but Joe's company will be reimbursing us for it so... I can't wait to get settled into our own place! We looked in Neutral Bay and in Manly today. Liked two places but the one in Neutral bay was gone by the time we got home :(
@C in Oz - I am OBSESSED with cilatro! I have an unhealthy obsession with it so it was right on the top of my list to make sure I figured out where to get it and what it was called!!
I chuckled over your comments about the different names for things! I used to love just walking around the supermarkets when I was in the States, looking at the different names for stuff. When one of our American friends came over here to stay, we took him to a drive-in movie (this was 30 years ago, mind you) and at the interval we went to get some food. Marty asked for a burger to go, and the girl at the counter said "What?" I laughed, and said "He means to take away"!! I had trouble in the States asking for white coffee...finally remembered to ask for coffee with cream.
Sorry for my waffle, but your posts bring back so many fun memories!
Yea - remembering to say "take away" instead of "to go" has been hard for me to remember!