Shopping fun

Here in Dalung there are a number of small supermarkets which offer a reasonable range of locally popular food items.  Neither of the two closest has much fresh food as this is usually bought from the small street traders or in the traditional market. 

 

The closest "supermarket" is the "Mini Mart" which has a smaller collection than the Bintang Supermarket, and which caters mainly for people buying a few things on the way past.  I rarely see big baskets of stuff.

 

If I'm not in a hurry I roam the aisles looking for things which I wouldn't normally find at home, and it can be an amusing diversion.  Sometimes it's just the surprise in seeing things I've not found before, or finding products which look like things from home, but which are different.  It must be many years since I last saw Pepsodent toothpaste at home, but here it is a big seller.

 

The Tim Tams (made in Malaysia or Indonesia) are different - they are a little smaller and the chocolate is "tropical blend", and not quite as smooth or milky as ours.  There are several flavours here, but I think that the strangest is "keju" (cheese flavoured).  Cheese flavourings are quite popular even though you have to hunt for anything other than processed cheddar in small sticks or slices.

 

Here are a few items I photographed during my visit to the store yesterday.  The shop assistants wonder why I'm taking pictures of eggs, or sardines.



Danish butter biscuits are popular but the
packaging looks so quaint and old-fashioned.
Perhaps that's why they sell so well?



This is a big seller - 25kg bags of rice. 
They just about walk out of the
shop from the large stacks.



Here's a packet I like, even though I'm in no hurry to try the product.  These contain the "just add water and mix" blend to make the batter for "pisang goreng", or fried bananas.  I like fried bananas, but would rather not have them strawberry or cappuccino flavoured.

 

Flavoured batter mix for fried bananas

Tiny speckled eggs from the Balinese 'puyuh' bird.
It's an almost flightless bird of the forests.

Vanessa Bread comes in green or white.  Both are soft and
sweet, but the green is coloured with pandanus extract.

Here are some of my favourites from past visits to Bali.  Jungle Juice is a tropical fruit juice blend - nothing special, but the name sounds exciting and exotic.  I'm still amused at the concept of "Pocari Sweat".  It's a sports drink from Japan - I had visions of someone collecting sweat from the "pocari", a strange creature only found at the factory.



Interesting drink products on the shelf



When the weather is hot, reach for a cool can of "chilly sardines".
The new cans no longer have this amusing spelling mistake.

Then there was the time I was in a hurry and without my glasses.  The "Super Burbur" packet was next to the Instant Noodles and I misread "burbur" (porridge) for "bumbu" (spices).  Once for dinner was enough.

Fish flavoured porridge with crisps.  It's also
available in beef and chicken curry  flavour.

Happy shopping in your favourite supermarket or store.

 

Paul in Bali