Food cravings of an expat

Old Nov 7th, 2010, 05:06 PM
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Food cravings of an expat

Which foods do you miss when you are away from home? I just posted something on my cravings here in Montreal - a long way from England. Please feel free to leave a comment on my blog.
http://annekostalas.blogspot.com
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Old Nov 9th, 2010, 11:32 AM
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Anne ... we have an ex-pat Brit friend in Puerto Vallarta. He's been there for many years now, and still misses many of the foods and stuff from back in Britain (the likes of: Typhoo & PG Tips teas (loose, no bags please!!), clotted milk, Mc'Vities (sp?) biscuits, Boddington's ale, and the like). We, and others bring him a few of such goodies each time we go down, so he gets a little Brit fix once in a while!!
For us - we tend to miss Chinese food - especially dim-sum!! We are heavy into such here, and sure look forward to it when we return (for the past several years, all our out of country travel has been to Mexico). My partner in travel says she also misses good mashed potatoes and gravy!!
How do you like the tourtiere pies in Quebec!! I used to live in New Brunswick, and loved the Acadian French influence. I was not into poutine, but sure enjoyed the pies!!!
Good luck with finding some 'old' favourites of yours.
Peaked at your blog -- looks good -- love the pictures, and will read more soon.
Cheeers!!
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Old Nov 9th, 2010, 03:34 PM
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Anne!

Like Montrealers living without Imperial Cheese, Kraft Dinner or St. Viateur bagels? Gack... I hope you've not decided that this defines what Montrealers crave (we're a diverse bunch)! I think many Montrealers I know could happily live out their years with never eating KD or a St. Viateur bagel again (I know I haven't had either in a good number of years!). Most I know are into a combo of flavourful combined with healthy eating. More haute cuisine than Kraft Dinner, I'd say. (Of course, there is the Saint-Hubert chicken, Mae West and poutine crowd... but none of my friends seem particularly to fall into this category.)

I enjoyed your thoughts; I lived in London, England as a child age seven to eleven. I remember missing Buck's Fizz (North Americans have never heard of them), Maynard Wine Gums and Knorr's Oxtail Soup when we moved back to North America when I was a kid. Wine gums appeared at one point, I can listen to Buck's Fizz on youtube, but oxtail soup doesn't seem to have yet caught on .

Thanks again for this blog! Daniel
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Old Nov 9th, 2010, 04:36 PM
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>

When I read this, I thought "What a precocious kid, drinking champers and orange juice" I hadn't realized that Buck's Fizz was also a pop group named after the venerable cocktail. I am certainly among the North Americans who had never heard of them.
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Old Nov 11th, 2010, 06:48 AM
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Thanks for all your comments! Great to hear from you. What I wouldn't give for a nice McVitie's digestive biscuit right now. As a kid I used to eat them with butter on. I was being slightly cheeky about the KD and Imperial Cheese - but actually these seem quite exotic to me as 1. we don't have them in Britain and 2. they seem such a basic part of childhood memories to my Canadian friends. Just had a St Viateur breakfast yesterday - always love it especially the bottomless coffee cup (unheard of in Britain).
I'm fascinated by the rose-tinted memories that these foodstuffs conjure up. Possibly a time when I didn't have to cook and it was all served up to me by my mum who is an excellent cook.
Quebec specialities seem heavily meat-based but I love tourtiere, creton, but not crazy about poutine - chips (fries) should be covered in vinegar not gravy in my book. Interestingly on the Montreal fried chicken front - Brit chef Gordon Ramsay has just announced he's taking over Laurier BBQ today!
PS there are more comments from folks about their food cravings at http://annekostalas.blogspot.com
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Old Nov 11th, 2010, 02:03 PM
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Anne .... enjoyed reading your response to these comments. Enjoyed the responses on your blog as well - fun to read.

I seem to have left out kippers in my short list above. Our friend "down south" is always asking for 'real' kippers -- I can remember them from my childhood days, and the strong aroma their cooking created throughout the house - ugh!! Tasty little critters though!!

My Mom did great Yorkshire puddings, and my Nana made the best plum pudding!!

McVitie biscuits are quite readily-available out here in 'British' Columbia!!

Heh, I was born and raised here in BC, and I'm craving some of those good old days of British, or at least British-style cooking!! Wow, has it changed since those days (of the 50's and 60's)!!!!

Cheers!!
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Old Dec 7th, 2010, 03:56 PM
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Thank heaven - I thought this was going to be a very brief post about "Canadian food".

(ponders: Just what DOES it mean when the travel guide says:

"Cuisine: Canadian" )


(yeah, I know:

Syrup
Poutine
Back Bacon

and maybe a Fried Mars Bar.
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