Posted on by Cathy

He’s been at it again….

I didn’t do it on purpose
at the time it was easier for him to do it than me.
Just look at what he came home with this time.
Theres no point in me complaining about him bring home unnecessary stuff because
I did ask him to look around and maybe pick up something ‘interesting’.
Interesting- adjective
Unusual, arousing curiosity or interest, holding or catching the attention, strange or different

They definitely caught his attention 😊

We have lots of little shops out here in the eastern suburbs that sell ‘interesting’ food stuffs. Little corner like asian shops where as you walk in you get the feeling you’re walking in to an Aladdin’s cave as well as slightly bigger bordering on small supermarkets selling ‘international’ bits and pieces.

When our loose leaf Chinese Green and Oolong tea is getting low it means a trip to one in Croydon to hunt through the shelves jam packed with things I’ve never heard of but look very interesting…….if I was confident enough to try.

It’s the only one locally where loose leaf is available rather than just tea bags and as they move things around the ‘teas’ are never where they were before, which means I’m constantly getting lost in unfamiliar territory trying to make sense of packets in very unfamiliar languages – now I’ve got into the habit of taking the tin along and asking for help. Which in turn makes other shoppers in there curious and they all have a go at finding my tea. It’s a very relaxed environment with lots of interesting chatter between shoppers and owners…..not that I can understand a word they’re saying to each other…or me at times…interesting to say the least😊

Further up Main Street is what we used to call ‘the dutch shop’ (now goes by a more upmarket name) where for years it was the only place I could get sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis) and the lovely oval almond cakes we enjoy. Now it has branched out and specialises in food from all over Europe, if The Golfer is curious to know if things he ate as a child still taste the same he’ll pop in there for English sweeties…..an international food mart indeed. If you’re a European migrant hankering for home, they have so many unusual products that something might catch your attention as you look at the interesting catalogue

And for real modern ‘interesting’ stuff there’s the chain that buys up weird and wonderful unheard of imported brands plus well known but nearly out of date products, also non sellers with what you think are surplus ingredients the manufacturer wants to get rid of. It began by buying and on selling goods that came off the conveyor belt looking ‘not quite right’. Perfectly ok, but maybe not the right shape or size. Now it’s all about clearance and discounts- buy now before it’s gone but occasionally they do have some ‘interesting- wonder what that tastes like’ things on the shelf

Guess where The Golfer picked up the chips with the ‘interesting flavours’ 😊

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I’m slowly catching up on the new daylight hours after our recent time change- it’s dark at the moment, the sky starts to lighten about 6.30am, so there’s still a bit of time left to enjoy another cup of tea before the day proper starts.
The Golfer is all set with tea for a while now (Oolong is his morning choice, mine is Dilmah Premium Ceylon….I’m not a strong tea lover) and as I was able to get a soft pack refill for him the other day he can continue to use the old tin caddy.
Our gain….the op shop’s loss!

And I just have time to wonder if anything interesting in the form of strange, different or unusual will happen this week. Here’s to an interesting one for you too!

Do visit Denyse’s blog to see the latest edition of Life this week – you’ll find lots of interesting people over there

34 Replies to “He’s been at it again….”

  1. LOVE that tea tin. I am very glad it could be saved and reused.
    Himself bought those Lamb and Mint chips when he saw them. He didn’t finish the packet and tells me that neither lamb nor mint appeared on the list of ingredients. We still have a packet of apple pie chips he hasn’t been able to bring himself to open. I am not tempted. At all.

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    1. EC Refills aren’t always available so another tin/caddy makes its way into the house – the old don’t go to landfill, my local op shop loves them. They have several collectors always looking through their shelves.

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  2. Shopping for unusual foods sounds like so much fun!
    Until I was hospitalized with anaphylaxis, I loved trying new foods and beverages.
    Sadly, now, I only trust the labelled foods that are produced here, under our labelling laws. I definitely can’t touch anything labelled in a foreign language.
    Solution: make interesting foods. Well, we try anyway, lol.
    One of the things I love about my partner is that he lives a lifestyle with me, which takes into account my limitations. I haven’t eaten out since 1984, or tried any food that wasn’t labelled in Canada. He doesn’t eat out either! And he cooks! Not so bad, I have a “partner in crime”.

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    1. I have so many allergies too and have gone into anphlaxis shock three times. So I have figured out most recipes to get around my allergies.i was surprised when my doctor consulted an allergy panel and they said I could have the vaccine as long as I never had a reaction to miralax or go lightly ( the medicine you take before a colonoscopy). I am not. So I had the phizer shot and all went well. I had to sit 40 minutes after though to be sure. When you cook you control the ingredients especially oil.i am allergic to shellfish and most restaurants use the same oil for all .Good luck with your allergies!

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    2. Maggie It must have been very difficult trying to find ‘safe’ food in the beginning. Reading your blog is always an eye opener for me as you describe the ways you go about making sure you don’t have any more unwelcome life threatening episodes.

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  3. Lots if ‘interesting’ bits here Cathy, I’d be interested to know how the lamb and mint chips tasted. I drink weak black tea all through the day and love that tea caddy 🙂 #lifethisweek

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    1. Hello Deb, ‘interesting’ is the only way one could describe the taste of those chips. I only tried one, I could ‘smell’ mint but as they were a bit on the greasy side I only nibbled at that one. The Golfer enjoyed them….but then he had a beer in his hand at the same time so I’m not sure whether he actually ‘tasted’ them 😊

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  5. The “interesting stuff” is always a challenge. I’ve not been in any of my local Asian stores for ages, I would spend so much time with the packaging – mostly the pictures but then sometimes there would be entertaining “translation to Chinglish”
    A friend bought a packet of “baked pea crisps” the other day, a bit weird! Felt like I was eating some type of bug encased in something chip like…

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    1. Pea as in green garden peas? It’s like entering another world going into some of those little shops isn’t it. Overseas travel without the hassle of going to the airport 😊

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      1. Yes peas in a pod, coated in something and apparently baked. Actually I think the brand came from your neck of the woods, Victoria

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    1. You wouldn’t be missing anything Joanne. They were totally…..different. I’ll stick to my roast lamb with mint sauce

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  7. Great post and nice to know that not everything had succumbed to the mega supermarket. It had beome really difficult to find such variety outside really big cities in UK. Piraeus had variety in weird places possibly because its a port town and ships of foreign (read far eastern) crew might be looking to stck up on familiar foodstuffs. So we get spoiled for choice in Asian food and struggle to find things like golden syrup. (Actually golden syrup is only available in a distant M&S store and i refuse to go that many miles for anything.)

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    1. Tigger you must tell F that Melbourne is a very cosmopolitan city, we have migrants from all over the world and they have been good at sourcing the foodstuffs they want/miss/enjoy.
      I’m not sure what would be available in some of the small bush towns but as there’s usually a Chinese restaurant there most likely would be something in those lines….unless they buy online 😊

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  8. We used to love the nd of line shops in France….some weird and wonderful stuff emerged from them!
    Here there is one sort of end of line chain of shops…but nothing so exotic and lamb and mint crisps is on offer!

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    1. End of line is a good description for those places Helen yes they make you wonder if the items sell in the ‘real’ shops or are made just for them.
      Don’t worry about not having lamb and mint chips – they were yuk (or at least I thought they were 😊

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  9. Oolong Tea makes me think of my daddy. He was a teatotaler and especially when it came in an attractive can. The rest of our family drank coffee like mom did. Give us a report on the Lamb and Mint chips please.

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    1. Odd, not exactly a great taste Annie- A bit on the greasy side. I could smell mint but definitely couldn’t taste lamb. On the other hand The Golfer scoffed the lot!

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  10. We had a tin like that for tea. I am not sure where it came from. Near where my sister lives is a one of the large supermarkets and it stocks a lot of British food that I’ve not seen in any other supermarket chain.

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    1. Does R wander round wondering what to treat himself to? I have a friend who’s been here for years yet still uses Bisto driving miles to get it – won’t even entertain the idea of using Gravox.

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      1. No but Sister buys English food for R as gifts. We like the different food and it is pretty well a novelty to R after being in Australia since about 1970. I quite like mushy peas.

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  11. I don’t care for loose tea, as it is a pain to brew. I prefer to drink Pure Leaf unsweetened black tea in a bottle from the store. I chill it in the refrigerator and then drink it. Iced tea at its best.

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    1. It’s all to do with what you’re used to Gigi. To me tea wouldn’t be tea if it didn’t involve boiling water and a tea pot😊

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  12. What are they doing with chips..or crisps as they are also called. Leave things alone!! Loved this post. My dear husband does our weekly shop these days and I have happily handed it on. We do the ‘list’ together which he has made in aisle order and off he goes. He has brought home a few things but not many where I was no specific enough. I am fussy.

    I drink one cuppa at night- tea.
    I drink one strong (double shot) coffee in the day when I am out or I bring it home.

    I admit, I like the ‘hit’.

    Thank you so much for being a kind-hearted and generous sharer of your blog post each week for Life This Week. It makes such a difference to each Monday for me, opening up the blog and …there you are! Thanks for linking up and next week, the optional prompt is joyful. See you then, all being well as they say! Denyse.

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    1. I’m not sure I could ‘trust’ The Golfer to shop permanently – he just goes down for a ‘few bits’ as he says. He’d get fed up it was a weekly fixture complaining it wasn’t fun. Tell us about it dear 😊

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      1. It’s the opposite for us. He is methodical and wants to keep doing it. I am ‘happy’ for that and I tend to do a supplementary list later in the week!!

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  13. My husband thought I was joking when I told him about those chips! Who thinks up such combinations? As for tea, I drink gunpowder green tea every morning. I buy it by the pound from a local company who imports all kinds of tea. While I don’t have a pot, I do use a special mug with a steel strainer attached. My routine every day.

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    1. Well now gunpowder green tea, that’s something I’ll have to Google – it sounds like a laxative 😊
      We drink the China green during the afternoon. Years ago I had a little spoon type gadget that opened like a hinged pelicans beak – put the loose tea in, close, sit in cup pour boiling water on leave to brew. Not sure where it went, might have to look in some charity shops as I don’t think they are made anymore.

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  14. It’s fun to buy something out of the norm once in a while. I did that yesterday…I bought a light fruit cake…it’s not that light in weight, though! 🙂

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    1. Ooh Lee I love fruit cake and it certainly doesn’t last long in our house. It’s a long time since I made one, used to do boiled ones. Simple and easy all in a saucepan then into a cake tin for the oven

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      1. Oh! Yes, Cathy! I love boiled fruit cakes, too…and used to make them often…as you say…one-pot wonders!! Loved making and eating them. When I made them I used to always send one to my ex; but since he passed away in August, 2019, I’ve not made them. I just can’t bring myself around to doing so.

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  15. I love this post: the interesting chip flavours, the tea caddy, the mention of the Asian grocers…..

    My ex is Malaysian and when I married him back 30 years ago the asian shop was pretty much a foreign land for most white aussies so I enjoyed getting to know the products and I still enjoy the Aladdin’s cave feeling I get when I go in.

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