Chinese Costco

I went to Metro today for the first time.  No, not the metro, but Metro!  You know, the Chinese Costco.  I had heard about this place.  You need a membership to shop there.  They have things in bulk.  They have a good selection of import goods.  The best prices on beer, wine and liquor around.  Kids were not allowed to be in Metro until just recently.  (Sounds bizarre, right?  Supposedly there was a terrible accident a while ago.  I guess with huge boxes, warehouse shelves, pallets and top quality Chinese construction, things are bound to happen...)  Needless to say, I was kidless today.  Not so much that I was worried for their safety but because it somehow is a bigger hassle to shop with 2 babies in a foreign country.  Good thing, too, because they didn't have any of those carts with the kid seats!

Everyone kept saying that Metro is kind of like Costco but I had a hard time believing it.  Nothing here really resembles any type of shopping establishment in the US.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  It really did remind me of Costco, down to the warehouse building, the grayness of it all, and the random assortment of goods there.  It almost made me feel homesick for a second!  They had everything from gardening supplies, TVs, clothes, alcohol, kettle corn, huge blocks of cheddar, frozen chicken nuggets to fresh produce.

They also had duck gizzards and spicy duck neck, in convenient little snack packs.  I'm all for trying new foods and hate acting like an ignorant American who doesn't know any better but had to pass on these today.

Since our HHE (a.k.a household effects, a.k.a the rest of our stuff, including all non-perishable food items I bought prior to coming here) is set to arrive at 10am tomorrow, I didn't need to stock up on a lot.  So I just bought a bunch of Coke Zero (Sold in 15-packs.  On a side note, it is like pulling teeth to find Diet Coke here.  I've yet to see it.), wine, bacon, Danish butter, prosciutto (!!!!!!), and some frozen bagels, etc.  I have heard mixed reviews on the bagels, can't wait to try them tomorrow.  I also bought some frozen pizza dough and have to report that they were 不好. (Did I mention that I started my Chinese lessons?) I'd rather use a tortilla as a pizza crust.

Just another Shenyang shopping experience

Now that I'm sort of starting to get my act together, I decided to organize my kitchen cabinets.  I needed to buy some plastic storage bins.  So I decided to tag along with my friend to Tesco.  Tesco is the closest major store to where we live.  It's basically like a Chinese Walmart Superstore.  You can get household goods, clothes, toys, groceries.  Not the best quality, but good enough.

We pull into the parking garage and saw that the traffic going in was at a standstill.  Man, I really wish I had my camera.  On the opposite side, the garage exit, there is a man lying on the road, just a few yards before the ticket booth.  He is surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.  He is lying sideways, supported by his elbow and hand, almost like he is lounging.  He is hollering something, angry.  I can only assume that he was hit by a car and is waiting for some sort of medical attention.  So the Tesco garage is closed.  My friend and I decide to go to... Walmart instead.

Yes, a real Walmart.  Just on the other side of the highway.  It was my first time.  I think I prefer Tesco but it had everything I needed.  One of the things on my shopping list was a little trash can for the bathroom.  I saw one that was labeled "Wasted Basket."  Niiiiiiiice. 

I then bought a 5 pack of Chinese ramen noodles that came with a random metal bowl, for free.  Yesssss.

There are a few problems with this Walmart.  One, there is a parking garage underneath but it has no light.  Pretty dangerous.  There is ample parking outside, especially when you shop in the morning, but you can't take your cart outside.  So if you have a lot of things to carry (like I did today), you better make sure you go with a friend who can help you out.

While I was waiting for my friend to come back I saw two people speed walk out with a couple of clear gargabe bags filled to the brim with what looked like ground pork.  I wish I didn't see that.  Now I'm going to think about it everytime I order anything at the restaurant containing ground meat.

We then went to the McDonald's next door, which amazingly has a drive through!  But none of my friends use it because they can't understand us with our gringo accents.  I can't even order since my Chinese is nonexistent but luckily, they have a picture menu that I can point at in addition to my charades.  (Can you act out no mayo?  I sure can't...)

Just another morning out shopping in Shenyang.

Grocery shopping in Shenyang

I'm still trying to get the hang of grocery shopping here.  Back in the states there were 3 go-to stores (Giant, Target, Trader Joes- I love you!! I miss you!!) that I visited whenever I wanted.  I was so familiar with these stores that I arranged my shopping list by aisle. 

Here it's not so easy.  At least not yet.  My fabulous sponsor and friend Jen (a fellow foreign service wifey) has been taking me around town to all of my options.  Remember, going anywhere in Shenyang from where we live requires a car so I've always had to catch a ride.  Can't wait until Miss Odyssey (so named by NJ) gets here.  About 2 more months to go, hopefully less.

Our community has a small convenience store that is surprisingly well stocked with random Chinese and imported items.  Many of them are Korean, which is random because I only know of 2 other Koreans who live here.  But they have everything from chips, juice, bottled Frappuccino, cleaning goods, yogurt, bread.  I can definitely throw together a meal from here if need be.

My favorite store here so far is Yoohoo, which is a mostly imported food store.  Sure, everything costs an arm and a leg but for Eggo Waffles and Swiss yogurt, gotta do what you gotta do.  I've also visited 2 other imported food stores.  Riverside, which is tiny but has a pretty good selection.  I found Newman's Own pasta sauce, taco seasoning and Eggo Waffles (can you tell what J likes to eat for breakfast?).  They each cost about $8.  Ouch...  There is another one called Ole (loving the funny Western names for these stores), but I wasn't too impressed with their selection.  I think the foods here were even pricier than the other two.

And to think I used to clip coupons and stalk grocery circulars to use them on top of sales.

There are plenty of Chinese grocery stores.  They tend to be HUGE.  Most that I've visited are spread over 2 floors.  It's OK to shop there but it is a bit overwhelming for me.

On Thursday, a bunch of the Consulate ladies are taking a "field trip" to Xita, which is Korea town here.  We will be able to visit a Korean grocery store, Korean butcher, Korean rice mill.  I can't wait!!