I remember when I lived on St. Thomas in the Caribbean and a gallon of milk would cost eight US dollars. It would then expire two days after you bought it from one of their many clean and sanitary grocery markets.
Ahhhh, island life. Sometimes I miss it a lot. Other times, not so much.
But now I live in Abu Dhabi -- which technically, is also an island -- but our grocery options are a little more vast. At the same time, there is a huge dependency on the other countries around us.
Simply put: there are only so many kinds of food you can grow in the sand.
I do most of my grocery damage at a special little place called Lulu, the most popular grocery outlet around these parts. Each mall -- there are many of them in this fair city -- have a Lulu Supermarket. And you know whenever you put the word "super" in front of anything, it becomes that much more awesome.
I really like their advertising campaign, too:
On one side, you have a happy Emirati family enjoying an afternoon at the grocery store. Looks like mom fancies some top-shelf goodies. Go ahead, girl! When you look at the other side, it tells me: Oh, and we also allow white people to shop here, so throw on your favorite pair of blue jeans and get on down here.
I joke because I love.
Seriously, Lulu is actually a very good market -- any consumer's one-stop shop.
A simple stroll through their fresh vegetable isle is like taking a flight around the world. Of the groceries I bought yesterday: the salmon was from Norway, the lettuce was from Holland, the red onions were from India, the avocados (Miranda's favorite) were from Kenya and the red apples were from New Zealand.
We also got to enjoy farm fresh, locally-grown UAE mushrooms, eggs, tomatoes and beans. And after last night's dinner, we indulged in some chocolate from Kazakhstan for desert (thanks, Kristen).
This is what 543 dirhams worth of groceries from Lulu looks like. The black bags contains about 687 dirhams worth of whiskey and wine I bought at a nearby liquor store...
Yes, you are a math whiz. On this particular shopping spree, the alcohol did cost more than the food. Don't judge. Did I mention I'm on a diet? Which means no more international chocolate for me. It's OK. Next time I need to get my Kazakhstan fix, I will just holler at my good friend, Borat.
Ahhhh, island life. Sometimes I miss it a lot. Other times, not so much.
But now I live in Abu Dhabi -- which technically, is also an island -- but our grocery options are a little more vast. At the same time, there is a huge dependency on the other countries around us.
Simply put: there are only so many kinds of food you can grow in the sand.
I do most of my grocery damage at a special little place called Lulu, the most popular grocery outlet around these parts. Each mall -- there are many of them in this fair city -- have a Lulu Supermarket. And you know whenever you put the word "super" in front of anything, it becomes that much more awesome.
I really like their advertising campaign, too:
On one side, you have a happy Emirati family enjoying an afternoon at the grocery store. Looks like mom fancies some top-shelf goodies. Go ahead, girl! When you look at the other side, it tells me: Oh, and we also allow white people to shop here, so throw on your favorite pair of blue jeans and get on down here.
I joke because I love.
Seriously, Lulu is actually a very good market -- any consumer's one-stop shop.
A simple stroll through their fresh vegetable isle is like taking a flight around the world. Of the groceries I bought yesterday: the salmon was from Norway, the lettuce was from Holland, the red onions were from India, the avocados (Miranda's favorite) were from Kenya and the red apples were from New Zealand.
We also got to enjoy farm fresh, locally-grown UAE mushrooms, eggs, tomatoes and beans. And after last night's dinner, we indulged in some chocolate from Kazakhstan for desert (thanks, Kristen).
This is what 543 dirhams worth of groceries from Lulu looks like. The black bags contains about 687 dirhams worth of whiskey and wine I bought at a nearby liquor store...
Yes, you are a math whiz. On this particular shopping spree, the alcohol did cost more than the food. Don't judge. Did I mention I'm on a diet? Which means no more international chocolate for me. It's OK. Next time I need to get my Kazakhstan fix, I will just holler at my good friend, Borat.
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