herrchook

but not as nice.

wmoore

Really? Can't say I've noticed any significant difference.

herrchook

I think tim tams are lighter.

graham__smith

What an entertaining thread.

Just as a side note. My wife is a vegetarian and the quality and variety of the food here in WA is atrocious.

e.g frozen chips, precooked in beef tallow.
cheese, with added animal rennet.
Gelatine in all sorts of foods.

When in the "fresh food" section of coles today they had baskets full of rotten pears. I take the point about farmers markets but comparing supermarkets Uk to Oz is like comparing chalk and animal rennet added cheese.

I like living in Oz and so do many of the other posters but the supermarkets are shit.

Luke I Amyofath

I wouldnt know since Im not a vegetarian however, I would like to say that while uk supermarkets are far bigger, they carry far more shit than in oz and just try and beat the value and selection of seafood. Brits dont know what good seafood is, though they may know a bit about microwave ready meals and frozen cottage pies and pasties.

possoms

Lots of nice seafood in Cornwall

pootle26

yum
i really miss going up to bude to the pasty shop - also the cornish ice cream shop by the canal- raspberry swirl with a flake

mmmmmmmmmmmm


glad i got that out me system!!


ttfn

pootle26

Linda Lushardi

LOL.. great minds and all that.
Shall we swap interesting bio culture names? Bet my fridge is better than yours!!

I'm that bad i have a potato crop breeding in the veg draw :scared:

Luke I Amyofath

and pasties

possoms

ah must admit you cant beat a good pasty

Centurion

Supermarkets I reckon can be shit any time. I used to go to Sainsburys some days and walk out in disgust and refuse to buy fruit. Other days (delivery days I suspect) they were great. Organic foods are terrible in the UK though and basically supermarkets sell rotten food.

I would agree with vegetarian food options those - as a vege I can agree they are crap. I happen to like tofu but this is the only option compared to many others readily available in the UK. Eating out is also a major problem sometimes although restaurants will often oblige.

I think this is due to statistics and demographics. In Oz the average age of any area is likely to be higher than the UK. Vege's tend to be within the younger subset of a community and I suspect the demand is therefore a lot less. When you combine that with an overall national population of 20 million compared to packed into sardine tins, UK - well I think it probably explains it.

There is a real market for quality organics and vegetarian foods here that are non speciality shop based I reckon. I dont have a major problem since i have the time to prepare food but for those who dont then this is indeed a bit of an issue.

JerrySpringer

How is that any different to Tesco? I could walk round a UK supermarket and find hundreds of foods containing animal by-products. Australia has a vegetarian society - have you tried getting information from them about Aussie-brand animal-free products?

I'm sure plenty of people could walk round Tesco and find mouldy, out-of-date fruit without too much effort. On the other hand, I'm sure you could go to Tesco and find pears that were picked 8 months ago and chemically treated and stored in a cool room to extend their natural shelf life.

Hels

I have to say, since returning to Oz after 4 years in the UK, the one thing I miss the most is the cheap salmon....We used to eat it at least once a week but here its just SO expensive...and in the supermarkets, I wouldnt touch it with a bargepole...it always looks aweful!!

Everything else, I agree with what people say about the Oz supermarkets just being different! I think the quality of the food here is of a much higher standard, especially fresh food. Which is what I missed the most in the UK.

rab

I have just re-read this thread and it's quite an interesting debate but I think we should actually stick to what the original poster's thread was about - "needing tesco's" instead of the supermarkets of Brisbane.

I don't think answering that post with lifestyle arguments about choosing to shop at a market or go to a restaurant are fair at all, nor is the "grow up and realise you are living overseas" type argument.

Given the choice we would all prefer to go to a restaurant or eat food bought at a farmer's market. That's a no brainer. So let's be objective.

In summary I think the argument for UK supermarkets goes something like: -

Convenience, quality, range, opening hours, in-store restaurants, cheap fuel, ready meals, alcohol range, self-packing, internet shopping, price, freshness, childcare, trolleys, facilities, self-scanning, clothing, car washes, multi-cultural foods, organic range, speed of service.

The argument for Australian supermarkets goes something like: -

Shop elsewhere like the farmer's market
EFTPOS is better than Switch
They are going to get scanning trolleys here
The seafood in Australia is better
Go to a restaurant instead
Chavs hang around supermarkets (and we don't get sweaty ferals in bare feet in the shops here of course)
and the best of all.... stop saying nasty things about Australia you are all so very horrible!!! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Let's face up to the facts. On a straight comparison the Australian supermakets are shit compared to the UK ones. End of.

Luke I Amyofath

We didnt come here to eat though did we ?