Where do I find a cafe and car parking, and toilets and durian, rosewater and recipe cards?
China, India, London, Singapore and more - shopping, cooking, eating!
Head for the Chinatown shops for oriental recipe ingredients and Indian restaurant areas for your exotic fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices for curry ingredients and savoury dishes as well as for sweets such as gulab jamun which I mentioned in my last post. In North Harrow there's a large supermarket size grocery store near Headstone Lane station (where the London underground comes out as overground - so you see lot of bridges over the high streets). If you're driving there's parking behind. It's open from 9 am until 6 30 during the week and later at weekends.
London's Chinatown has Loon Fung, which is also in Alperton, Tottenham and Silvertown. The have a website and an online article said they sell Malaysian durians. Delicious durians, despite the fact they are called the world's smelliest fruit, like ripe banana, dead rat, what you will. Durian, the most delicious sweet taste, like banana and chestnut custard, but the worst smell, like over-ripe cheese, ripe bananas, dead rats, or to be more alliterative ripe rats.
How do you avoid the smell, and transport the goods home? Vacuum-packed durian, apparently, is what was once promised, although demand and supply might add fresh durians you can feel and smell here and in other suppliers.
Wonderful Waitrose recipes and cafes
We find lots of unusual recipes in the Waitrose supermarket Weekender newspaper and they also have large recipe cards. This week's discovery was that Vindaloo came from the Portuguese pork dish of pig's cheek, pickled in red wine vinegar, now known simply as a spicy dish, think Vindaloo, vine origin.
I must admit I feel a bit squeamish about this, especially as I am involved with catering for Christmas parties and with lots of committee meetings held in people's homes on an everybody bring something basis. Pork might not be suitable for your friends and family and colleagues and club. The extended family and friends could include Muslims eating halal, Jewish people eating kosher, liberals who simply prefer not to eat pork, Hindu or other vegetarians. Vegetarians may be vegans who won't have milk or cheese or eggs any product containing animal parts. You could try substituting chicken, meat imitations made from soya, or simply spicy vegetables.
Time for recipe writers to include alternatives to every ingredient. Until they do, I have to race off hunting for hard-to-find items for the recipes. If only Waitrose sold all the ingredients for every recipe on a quick grab and go shelf, recipe and ingredients together, like the packaged Indian meals I have seen in Morrisons, with the bread, meat, rice and warming/cooking instructions.
Waitrose Recipe Cards, Cafe and Toilets
You'll find large Waitrose stores in central London and if you are not travelling by car, it's easy to find which ones are near stations. Take a big zip up holdall or wheeled trolley in case you are tempted to indulge in extra. Some Waitrose stores have a cafe and toilets, so you wait for friends whilst doing your Christmas and holiday entertaining shopping.
Singapore Sweetmeats and Suppliers
In Singapore you can buy hard to find ingredients such as Rose water in Mustafa's. Not Mustapha, but Mustafa. I always say it's in Little India, though in fact it's slightly down the road from the MRT stop. If you don't like crowds, avoid Sundays or shop at night. It's open 24 hours.
Singapore Markets
Most big housing estates also have wet markets, usually right next to the station, so called I have always imagined because they are wet underfoot. You can't take fresh, sulphur-smelling durians on the MRT (underground-overground railway) nor in buses and taxis. (Unless you've managed to triple wrap it so well that nobody can see it nor smell it - which is the whole idea of the rule that the smell doesn't upset others. In any case, although I love durian, I don't like fresh durian, I like the chestnutty flavour in ice cream and cakes - which also have to be wrapped and sealed. Yes, you can get durian sometimes at some London restaurants, but more rarely and seasonally.
Singapore Stores
Most big Singapore stores have a food court on ground floor or basement and often another at the top or half way up. Alongside the kiosks selling savouries and vegetables ready cooked are stall where you can buy fresh fruit on sticks. And juice drinks (check if they are adding sugar syrups if you are health conscious or dieting or diabetic).
Japanese
If you want Japanese ingredients the ideal place to look is in a Japanese supermarket underneath a Japanese department store. Right in the centre of Singapore at the main crossroad under and over the Orchard crossroads and station. Two stories of underground shopping and if its raining an underground street at basement level along Orchard road linking several department stores and shopping complexes. To target one store, or go shopping-hopping, look up Japanese stores in Singapore, such as Daiso (Ion, Orchard Turn), Isetan, Katong Market, MeidiYa supermarket. Or search by buildings such as ION and IMM, or areas such as Jurong. Lots of sushi and ready made dishes to take away are at deli counters in the front of Japanese restaurants in major shopping complexes.
Central London Chinatown Chinese Store and suburban Branches
www.loonfung.com/contactus
Your north Harrow Asian grocery supermarket:
V B and Sons Cash and Carry, 539-545 Pinner Road, North Harrow, Harrow, HA2 6EQ.
Tel: 020 8861 1000.
Singapore's Mustafa
mustafa.com.sg
Blog on Singapore stores
http://www.sassymamasg.com/where-to-buy-your-groceries-in-singapore-mama/
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, blogger, speaker. Past president of a London Toastmasters International group. Private lessons and public workshops on public speaking in China, Singapore and UK. Rent-a-writer. See more about grammar, spelling, public speaking and comic poetry by Angela Lansbury on lulu.com , Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube.
China, India, London, Singapore and more - shopping, cooking, eating!
Head for the Chinatown shops for oriental recipe ingredients and Indian restaurant areas for your exotic fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices for curry ingredients and savoury dishes as well as for sweets such as gulab jamun which I mentioned in my last post. In North Harrow there's a large supermarket size grocery store near Headstone Lane station (where the London underground comes out as overground - so you see lot of bridges over the high streets). If you're driving there's parking behind. It's open from 9 am until 6 30 during the week and later at weekends.
London's Chinatown has Loon Fung, which is also in Alperton, Tottenham and Silvertown. The have a website and an online article said they sell Malaysian durians. Delicious durians, despite the fact they are called the world's smelliest fruit, like ripe banana, dead rat, what you will. Durian, the most delicious sweet taste, like banana and chestnut custard, but the worst smell, like over-ripe cheese, ripe bananas, dead rats, or to be more alliterative ripe rats.
How do you avoid the smell, and transport the goods home? Vacuum-packed durian, apparently, is what was once promised, although demand and supply might add fresh durians you can feel and smell here and in other suppliers.
Wonderful Waitrose recipes and cafes
We find lots of unusual recipes in the Waitrose supermarket Weekender newspaper and they also have large recipe cards. This week's discovery was that Vindaloo came from the Portuguese pork dish of pig's cheek, pickled in red wine vinegar, now known simply as a spicy dish, think Vindaloo, vine origin.
I must admit I feel a bit squeamish about this, especially as I am involved with catering for Christmas parties and with lots of committee meetings held in people's homes on an everybody bring something basis. Pork might not be suitable for your friends and family and colleagues and club. The extended family and friends could include Muslims eating halal, Jewish people eating kosher, liberals who simply prefer not to eat pork, Hindu or other vegetarians. Vegetarians may be vegans who won't have milk or cheese or eggs any product containing animal parts. You could try substituting chicken, meat imitations made from soya, or simply spicy vegetables.
Time for recipe writers to include alternatives to every ingredient. Until they do, I have to race off hunting for hard-to-find items for the recipes. If only Waitrose sold all the ingredients for every recipe on a quick grab and go shelf, recipe and ingredients together, like the packaged Indian meals I have seen in Morrisons, with the bread, meat, rice and warming/cooking instructions.
Waitrose Recipe Cards, Cafe and Toilets
You'll find large Waitrose stores in central London and if you are not travelling by car, it's easy to find which ones are near stations. Take a big zip up holdall or wheeled trolley in case you are tempted to indulge in extra. Some Waitrose stores have a cafe and toilets, so you wait for friends whilst doing your Christmas and holiday entertaining shopping.
Singapore Sweetmeats and Suppliers
In Singapore you can buy hard to find ingredients such as Rose water in Mustafa's. Not Mustapha, but Mustafa. I always say it's in Little India, though in fact it's slightly down the road from the MRT stop. If you don't like crowds, avoid Sundays or shop at night. It's open 24 hours.
Singapore Markets
Most big housing estates also have wet markets, usually right next to the station, so called I have always imagined because they are wet underfoot. You can't take fresh, sulphur-smelling durians on the MRT (underground-overground railway) nor in buses and taxis. (Unless you've managed to triple wrap it so well that nobody can see it nor smell it - which is the whole idea of the rule that the smell doesn't upset others. In any case, although I love durian, I don't like fresh durian, I like the chestnutty flavour in ice cream and cakes - which also have to be wrapped and sealed. Yes, you can get durian sometimes at some London restaurants, but more rarely and seasonally.
Singapore Stores
Most big Singapore stores have a food court on ground floor or basement and often another at the top or half way up. Alongside the kiosks selling savouries and vegetables ready cooked are stall where you can buy fresh fruit on sticks. And juice drinks (check if they are adding sugar syrups if you are health conscious or dieting or diabetic).
Japanese
If you want Japanese ingredients the ideal place to look is in a Japanese supermarket underneath a Japanese department store. Right in the centre of Singapore at the main crossroad under and over the Orchard crossroads and station. Two stories of underground shopping and if its raining an underground street at basement level along Orchard road linking several department stores and shopping complexes. To target one store, or go shopping-hopping, look up Japanese stores in Singapore, such as Daiso (Ion, Orchard Turn), Isetan, Katong Market, MeidiYa supermarket. Or search by buildings such as ION and IMM, or areas such as Jurong. Lots of sushi and ready made dishes to take away are at deli counters in the front of Japanese restaurants in major shopping complexes.
Central London Chinatown Chinese Store and suburban Branches
www.loonfung.com/contactus
Your north Harrow Asian grocery supermarket:
V B and Sons Cash and Carry, 539-545 Pinner Road, North Harrow, Harrow, HA2 6EQ.
Tel: 020 8861 1000.
Singapore's Mustafa
mustafa.com.sg
Blog on Singapore stores
http://www.sassymamasg.com/where-to-buy-your-groceries-in-singapore-mama/
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, blogger, speaker. Past president of a London Toastmasters International group. Private lessons and public workshops on public speaking in China, Singapore and UK. Rent-a-writer. See more about grammar, spelling, public speaking and comic poetry by Angela Lansbury on lulu.com , Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube.
Gulab Jamon, brand Royal, bought as a takeaway from Coriander restaurant in Hatch End, North London, England. That didn't last long. All gone. Must get some more. In Singapore you should be able to find two or three styles (and/or brands) and sizes (e.g. 6, 8, 12, 24) in the freezer/chill chest display sections of Mustafa's in Little India.
