When I moved to China from England over twenty years ago, I quickly learned that if I see something I like, I should buy as much of it as possible (obviously not perishables).
Chinese food stores and supermarkets have this insane habit of stocking something, having it sell out within days or minutes, then never restocking. I have a pet theory that they just think it messes up their shelving arrangements.
"People just come in here and empty that shelf I spent 10 minutes filling up. Why can't they just let it be? Don't get that stuff again!"
So I have ridiculous quantities of canned anchovies*, dried cêpes and other 'exotic' mushrooms, various dried pastas*, sea salt, refined salt with added calcium*, high gluten flour, my favourite seaweed crackers*, canned tuna, bottled olives*, my favourite bottled Thai ginger sauce* etc. The freezer is loaded up with enough yoghurt starter* to ferment an entire dairy farm's output for the next year. (I know I could just use some of the last batch of yoghurt but it never works the same.)
*Starred items are those I know are completely out of stock everywhere. Some have been so, for months if not years.
