...TheLaowaiTattler...
I
Got Some Groceries
some peanut butter
to last a couple of days
Whenever I get together with one of my friends from the U.S. living
here in
China for a meal, we unconsciously seem to fall into a particular line
of conversation. We don't deliberately do it; it just happens as a
matter of course. Both of us may be enjoying the Chinese food we are
scarfing down our gullets, but we can't help but talk about the food we
miss from North America.
Our food choices are limited. We do not live in one of those huge
cities full of foreigners and tourists and the shops which cater to
their needs.
My friend misses everything. She can talk for hours about all the foods
she wants to eat but which are unavailable here, especially the exotic
candies from her youth like Gummy Bears, Red Hots, Twinkies, Jolly
Ranchers, and Baby Ruths.
I miss mustard and relish and barbecue sauce. I miss being able to buy
the cheapest no-name-brand Peanut Butter available in my local
grocery store back home. That stuff was great, the ingredient label
always intrigued me. The main ingredient was vegetable oil, not peanuts
as you'd expect.
You can't buy quality food stuff like that here in my neck of the woods
in China.
And if I ever encounter someone carrying on their person in China a
real can of Campbell's Tomato Soup, they better be ready to fight to
keep it.
I am jonsing bad for a hit of Mmm Mmm Good Tomato Soup goodness.
 
I've been in China for years and I have still not made it to the
nearest metropolis Shanghai, but whenever someone I know is headed to
the city I have him pick up yellow mustard at a shop there. A
large bottle lasts about four months. It is available, but, alas, ain't
no Campbell's Tomato Soup. I couldn't even find any during trips to
Beijing, a shopping haven for over-paid local expats.
There used to be a place in Shanghai that would deliver western food to
the provinces once a month or so. The prices were high. However, if you
had not had a real hot dog for months, it was worth the RMB. I can't
remember the name of the place, or know if it still exists.
In different locales throughout China, there are Walmarts, Carrefours,
and Metros that other foreigners say stock western foods. These lying
Laowai post on websites and blogs about how they are able to walk into
nearby groceterias and buy Parmesan cheese, Fresh Ground Blue
Mountain Coffee, Dijon Mustard, Salsa, French Bread,
Truffles,
Argentinian Wine, and even Vegemite.
I don't believe them.
Outside of Beijing, Shanghai, or Shenzhen, it's impossible to find real
western food products.
The Carrefour in the city where I live never has any of those things.
Oh yes, the store did once have Salsa available three years ago...just
once...three years ago...and never again.
I can buy made-in-China peanut butter...but it's not as good
as
the vegetable oil laden cheap stuff I'm used to from back home. Here,
the stuff has too many peanuts.
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