Any expat who relies on imported food grocery stores will lament how products appear and disappear, with no warning or reason. In HYD, though we pretty much ate veg on the local market, I'd still make it a point to walk through Q-Mart once a month just to see what was there that I couldn't live with out. If a shipment of Tostios arrived (or Dr Pepper to have on hand for my mother in law) - friends would all SMS each other so each of us could get a coveted bag before the supply ran out. After all, it might be one week or six months until the next shipment came.
In Manila, I haven't found the stocking fluctuations quite so dramatic. My one big food splurge is milk imported from California. The box UHT milk is fine for cereal and baking ... but doesn't quite cut it for drinking in a glass. I'll manage if I have to (which I did in HYD), but I figure if the taste I'm accustomed to is available, I'm going to buy it while I can. Since the import store near our house always had rows and rows of it, I figured this milk was one of the staples always in stock.
Imagine my shock in February when one month passed and still no sign of my loved California milk. Nada. I tried in vain asking the checkout ladies. Eventually, I must have seen distressed enough because she called over a manager, who took my mobile number and promised to SMS when the stock arrived. I couldn't believe it one week later when I actually received an SMS - I went to the store right that night after work. I was glad I did, because the stock was so small ... but based on the expiry date, I could only buy 1.5 gallons.
Sadly, when those precious three cartons were drunk, the stock has not returned. And the manager doesn't know when it will. No more hot milk in the evenings for me: UHT milk tastes even more funky when warmed.
Today, imagine my surprise, when I went to Hypermarket, a store which carries mostly local brands, but has a few international items scattered about (though the international items are never reliably in stock), and found milk imported from Washington state! I only bought a quart, not sure how it would be - after all, my first month here I bought some spoiled chicken at this store, which has made me a bit nervous about food quality there. But, first sample tonight tastes great.
Hypermarket, if you keep this Darigold milk in stock, you will be my go-to. S&R, it's been fun, but until you restock California milk, you'll become my monthly - not weekly - stop.
In Manila, I haven't found the stocking fluctuations quite so dramatic. My one big food splurge is milk imported from California. The box UHT milk is fine for cereal and baking ... but doesn't quite cut it for drinking in a glass. I'll manage if I have to (which I did in HYD), but I figure if the taste I'm accustomed to is available, I'm going to buy it while I can. Since the import store near our house always had rows and rows of it, I figured this milk was one of the staples always in stock.
Imagine my shock in February when one month passed and still no sign of my loved California milk. Nada. I tried in vain asking the checkout ladies. Eventually, I must have seen distressed enough because she called over a manager, who took my mobile number and promised to SMS when the stock arrived. I couldn't believe it one week later when I actually received an SMS - I went to the store right that night after work. I was glad I did, because the stock was so small ... but based on the expiry date, I could only buy 1.5 gallons.
Sadly, when those precious three cartons were drunk, the stock has not returned. And the manager doesn't know when it will. No more hot milk in the evenings for me: UHT milk tastes even more funky when warmed.
Today, imagine my surprise, when I went to Hypermarket, a store which carries mostly local brands, but has a few international items scattered about (though the international items are never reliably in stock), and found milk imported from Washington state! I only bought a quart, not sure how it would be - after all, my first month here I bought some spoiled chicken at this store, which has made me a bit nervous about food quality there. But, first sample tonight tastes great.
Hypermarket, if you keep this Darigold milk in stock, you will be my go-to. S&R, it's been fun, but until you restock California milk, you'll become my monthly - not weekly - stop.
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