Food Fails

[liuzhou]

I don’t know what’s happening. In the last couple of weeks, things have been going wrong.

 

First I cooked some black boletes. I’ve been doing this for years and always bought them from the same seller. About half an hour later, I started shouting for Hughie*. Since then I can’t even look at a picture of the things without feeling distinctly nauseous.

 

 

Things went downhill from there. A few days later I discovered my local donkey meat supplier has ceased doing their wonderful ‘donkey burgers’.

 

I can still find the meat, but I liked the convenience of just ordering them online and waiting 30 minutes for them to be delivered. Anyway, I kind find the bread they used anywhere.

 

 

The it got much worse. For unknown reasons my favourite Portuguese canned sardines have disappeared from China! I used to bulk buy them, but now I’m down to my last two cans.

In fact, ALL European sardines have disappeared except Porthos brand which I don't know.

 

 

It’s the end of civilisation!

 

* A Scottish phrase attributed to my old friend Billy Connolly meaning to projectile vomit. A fine example of onomatopœia.

As can been seen here. You may need an interpreter – this was recorded in Scotland.

 

Billy Connolly _ Two Scotsmen in Rome - YouTube

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 08:25 AM by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

Don't look now but I think you've moved to Costa Rica. Things like that are just daily occurrences here.

[liuzhou]

They are here  too. Things come and go in mysterious ways. I've seen stuff  selling like hotcakes and the stores never restocking. I think they find it messes up t heir shelf stacking rotas or something.

 

We don't want to sell that! People just go and buy it!"

 

Also stores disappear, too; restaurants more so but that's common everywhere.

 

But this is different. Several stores carried those sardines. And I've been buying them for years. Suddenly they disappeared from al the stores at once. The stores are still there and trading though. Even through the pandemic, I could fins them easily. Í've never seen anything like that before.

 

Also, the donkey restaurant is still there doing all the same dishes as before except the burgers. Most odd.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

14 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

We don't want to sell that! People just go and buy it

That's exactly what we've said about the stores down here. All of a sudden there will be something in the store that we've never had before and it's a really great find. Then you never see it again.

Your sardines are like our frozen peas. Every store in the country carried frozen peas and all of a sudden they disappeared. Everywhere! I haven't seen a frozen pea in 2 years.

We had a type of salami that was pretty good and it was ubiquitous. It too has disappeared never to be restocked.

Edited Wednesday at 06:51 PM by Tropicalsenior (log)

[gulfporter]

Too true in MEX re: one time finds.  Our motto-- See it, like it, buy it. NOW. 

 

Another local shopping oddity that at least 3 small business owners here have confirmed to me. When a new item becomes so popular that it flies off the shelves, the business will stop stocking it.  Their  rationale (?) is they don't like disappointing their  customers. 

 

Go  figure 🤔 

[liuzhou]

A related issue here is that we get streets full of small stores all offering the same basic product. Whereas in western countries we tend to locate businesses in areas with no others doing the same, but with customers who would prefer to buy locally, here the businesses like to cluster together.

 

So, we have light bulb alley, kitchen equipment avenue, liquor lane (aka whisky street), tobacco terrace, banana boulevard etc. OK, I made up the banana one.

Beats me.

Edited yesterday at 09:11 AM by liuzhou (log)

[gulfporter]

@liuzhou  Same in Guadalajara.  It's 2nd largest city in MEX, 6+ million population.   Literally blocks long for things like sewing machines and repairs; used car parts (at least 3 long blocks); fabric stores, etc.  

 

I live in a village of about 6K.  There are tiendas in every block many in the front room of a home.  While they carry the same snacks and beverages, they all have some sort of 'specialty' such as one sells eggs, another sells fresh baked bread, another sells fruits, another sells cheeses, another sells brooms and mops.  It's word of mouth or visual inspections to find out their specialties that the other tiendas don't stock.  

 

Over time since our arrival in 2008 these tiendas are fewer due to the expansion of larger groceries and OXXO's (think 7-11 type).