In the States, Nate and I would make probably two trips to the grocery store a week. One huge trip over the weekend, where we would load a massive shopping cart with lots of food, toiletries, etc. for the week, and then probably one smaller trip for unforeseen necessities or desires. The grocery stores in the States were so big they practically needed their own zip codes, and items were almost never out of stock.
In Hong Kong, many people go shopping every day (or almost every day) for groceries. We probably go to the store 3-4 times a week. There are several reasons for this.
1. Fresh food is very important here, so people shop every day to get fresh produce.
2. Food doesn't keep well. Heat, humidity, etc. Plus, much of the produce we buy was shipped from Chile or Florida or Korea so it's not going to last much longer by the time we buy it.
3. We have a very small kitchen with a very small fridge. There's just not room to stock up or buy in bulk.
Photo of Taste, courtesy of Open Rice
On to the grocery stores. First of all, many people just shop at outdoor wet markets. (We don't because there's not one super close to us.) Grocery stores here are a fraction of the size. A chip aisle, for example, is about 1/8 of the size of a chip aisle in the States...and that's a generous estimate! Honestly, going shopping in the States feels pretty ridiculous and overwhelming after this.
Wet Market in Shau Kei Wan
But the down side is the we have trouble finding what we want. You have to know where to look for items. This makes it impossible to only go to one grocery store. Examples of items we need to buy at specific stores:
Taste: shredded cheese, Finley's organic milk, organic no sugar added applesauce, good hamburger buns, non-dairy soups, reasonably priced pine nuts
Jason's: non-dairy butter, soy yogurt, quinoa, baby puffs and yogurt melts, astringent, Finley's yogurt, ripe avocados, organic apples, frozen organic veggies, veggie burgers
There are plenty of items that you just can't get here at all, but it's not to the point that it hampers our lifestyle. And just because a particular item you like has been in stock for the past 6 months, don't get your hopes up that it will be there this week. It's amazing how foods come and go in the stores here. I remember a year or two ago there was a good month or more when I could not find any sour cream. Anywhere! I always have to be prepared with a backup plan when I go shopping in case they happen to be out of chicken or whatever for the day (or month!).
When we go grocery shopping at Taste, we walk there. It's about a 15-minute walk at Finley's pace. To go to Jason's we take a big, double-decker bus. Either way, I wear Elise in the carrier, and Finley and Cathrina come along. Cathrina has to come to help get the groceries home, because there is no way I can manage bags of groceries plus two kids without having my own car. Even with Cathrina, we may have too much sometimes, like if we're buying diapers, toilet paper, etc. This is where delivery comes in. In HK, because most people don't have cars, you can get free delivery on grocery orders over a certain amount. They will be delivered by the next day. BUT-- you cannot have fresh items like produce or foods that need to be kept cold delivered (thus, I still need Cathrina).
It sounds like much of our time is spent grocery shopping, but it's not really that bad. I'm the type of person who enjoys grocery shopping...at least as long as both kids are behaving! :)
