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Original poster

Do you love foreign supermarkets?

181 replies

SentToTheSynByn · 02/09/2018 18:14

I never shop at home, just get a delivery. However I love browsing supermarkets abroad. I love the huge jars of chickpeas and lentils in France and Spain. I also love that you can buy remoulade in France. And picnic wine Smile

I bought some lovely bottles of rose in holland with stopper, like a grolsch bottle. And the cheese . Everything in holland looks so effortlessly fresh and healthy.

I bought the most gorgeous oregano in Zante last year which is about to run out so thinking about booking a holiday only half joking and olive oil.

Can't think of anything else, so do you love a foreign supermarket, and what have been your best buys?

Ps I sometimes go to Lidl and pretend to be on holiday 😎

OP posts:
Everyoneiswingingit · 03/09/2018 15:24

Remoulade! I think I bought all of the stock in Super U one year. Can't find it in UK.

Everyoneiswingingit · 03/09/2018 15:25

Yes tp Lidl and Aldi reminding me of holiday supermarkets. Continental stuff is normal not luxury as in Tesco and the like.

Everyoneiswingingit · 03/09/2018 15:29

Twunk it' the choice I hate in places like tesco and Sainsburys. Whole aisles of cereal fgs. That's why i love Aldi and Lidl, in and out in 30 mins.

pmac62 · 03/09/2018 15:33

When ever I am away I need to go to a supermarket and wander about at least once! Last year we were in Stockholm and the range of licorice based sweets was amazing!

I am off to Lisbon soon so any recommendations?

Purplemond · 03/09/2018 16:12

really not nutritious and i know many people dont like sweetener rich drinks but i love the selection of supermarket branded diet cola drinks in spain, most supermarkets have their own brand canned cola which tastes much better to me then the Uk offerings (maybe its just the heat !) and my favourite or the only one which really agrees with me is Caffeine free Cola zero, this does not seem to be a product in the UK, only caffeine free diet coke which tastes too lemony for me. Yet every spanish supermarket i visited (aldi/lidl/consum/dia/eroski) had such an extensive selection of own branded cola - diet/zero/full fat/ caffeine free and loads of flavours

LikesAnimalPark · 03/09/2018 16:35

@Everyoneiswingingit Waitrose has celeriac remoulade

Original poster
SentToTheSynByn · 03/09/2018 16:48

Remoulade is not just grated celeriac, it has a dressing and I've yet to recreate the French supermarket version.

@LikesAnimalPark you are amazing, off to Waitrose tomorrow.

Lays oregano crisps, I had forgotten about them. Yum.

OP posts:
Original poster
SentToTheSynByn · 03/09/2018 16:50

Glad to see 6 pages of foreign supermarket geeks like me.

OP posts:
pontiouspilates · 03/09/2018 16:56

I've found my people! I love wandering around foreign supermarkets! I'm just back from Spain where I bought some paprika in an amazing, retro looking tin and some baby cologne that is cheap as chips but light and refreshing!

Silvercatowner · 03/09/2018 17:09

Oh Whole Foods in San Francisco - beats the Golden Gate Bridge, hands down!

HRHlikeahornyponywould · 03/09/2018 17:21

My husband doesn’t agree but the reason for going to Florida is to shop in
Cvs
Publix and target.
The make up and toiletries. The washing stuff.
I love the range of coffees they have and drinks.
In France and Spain, I love the yogurt aisle

Everyoneiswingingit · 03/09/2018 17:27

Off to Waitrose tomorrow. Thanks LikesAnimalPark

pmac62 · 03/09/2018 17:35

I love the weird stuff they sell in us supermarkets.
Drug testing kits! Guns! Candy Corn!
Some of the stuff makes our supermarkets seem safe and sane

MrsFezziwig · 03/09/2018 17:46

When we go abroad we fight among ourselves to be the one to go to the supermarket!

Thought Mercadona was my fave Spanish one but delighted to find a massive new branch of MásYMás right next to our apartment this year, so it’s all to play for. BarbaraofSeville you are entirely correct about the Spanish plain crisps (and the lovely paper bags they come in).

Also love US supermarkets, especially WholeFoods. And last year our local, absolutely bog standard small town supermarket had its own fresh sushi counter complete with chef!

Meesh77 · 03/09/2018 18:35

France. Yoghurts in glass pots. That taste of biscuits.

CatAndHisKit · 03/09/2018 18:55

SpongeBob there's now raspberry jaffa cakes at M&S - my favourites now, so delicate and juicy!

Hassled · 03/09/2018 19:00

The opportunity to shop in foreign supermarkets is basically why I go on holiday. I can still hum the Mercadona song. Everything is just nicer and more interesting.
DS3 asked this year whether I thought Europeans holidaying in the UK thought our supermarkets were special and exciting - it's a good question. I moved to the UK when I was 11 and then I thought of British shops as being cleaner and more modern, but had no enthusiasm about the products - but then again, I was 11.

Clevs · 03/09/2018 19:05

I love French supermarkets, especially if I'm shopping for a BBQ as their meat is so much more tasty and there's more choice than British supermarkets.

lifechangesforever · 03/09/2018 19:16

French and American supermarkets are the best Grin love all the display cakes in Publix when in the USA, that everything comes in cinnamon and peanut butter and the millions of different Fanta flavours!

MilkTrayLimeBarrel · 03/09/2018 19:24

Adore American supermarkets - the range of cake mixes always amazes me! I always buy some but never quite round to cooking them! Love all the pills and potions and make-up you can get there too. Also French supermarkets are brilliant - jams, cheeses, patisserie, baking dishes, ingenious gadgets, etc. Not to mention - the wine!!

NameChanger22 · 03/09/2018 19:33

We have a lot of European and Asian supermarkets in our city. I love the Korean supermarket the most, some of the snacks are amazing. They also have a good range of tofu, dumplings, noodles, vegetables and lots of things I've never tried before. I also like the Chinese supermarkets, there are great value items like huge bottles of sweet chilli sauce for £1.20.

One of the best parts about going away is the supermarkets. I watch supermarket haul videos on YouTube all the time.

PavlovaTescobar · 03/09/2018 19:36

I'm intrigued by the poster who loves Mollie Stones in Sausalito, haven't heard of many people in my part of the world finding their way to Sausalito. Sausalito is great, it's like a San Francisco North Berwick. I love Trader Joe in the USA, their olive oil crisps (or chips as they are locally known) are the best crisps I have ever tasted. Also love USA Wholefoods Markets, you used to be able to buy unusual liquor in some of them.
I do like a European Carrefour and some of the Spanish supermarkets where you can buy all sorts of seafood which you never knew existed.

Jakethekid · 03/09/2018 19:41

I love in Spainish supermarkets you buy the crisps that are in a clear bag that don't seem to be any special brand. Ready salted I presume. The best, most flavoursome crisps you can find

Tutulafromage · 03/09/2018 20:11

Auchan in Calais is the BEST....could spend all day in there!

Curlyshabtree · 03/09/2018 20:12

A few mentions of Cold Storage. It always sounded like a mortuary to me!