A Singaporean In Australia

Even living in a new country for already 4 years, I still learn new things on regular basis. That is the fun part in doing this. This post is about a supermarket that is only a few minute's drive away from where I live and why I found delight in discovering this place.

In a nutshell, this supermarket is a Asian version of the more famous Spudshed in Perth. So we can buy everything we need in a single place without even making an odd trip to the oriental shop to replenish some products. Though it isn't really a big hassle going to two shops to complete the weekly grocery shopping, I would not hesitate to grab a chance to reduce the number of times I have to get my kid up and down the car. With a new baby coming in a few weeks' time, that little difference will certainly be felt.

NP Carousel Supermarket is obviously started and run by Asians. My guess is the Viets. Talking about Viets, I have quite a bit to say about them but I guess I'll leave it to the next post. It should be an interesting one if you stumble upon it. 

Back to the supermarket, it appeared to me it is catered to Asians as well as Africans in terms of their produce and goods. The set up of the place reminded me of Sheng Siong (when it first started), expansive, rugged and offered lower prices than the existing big boys. After Sheng Siong's branches multiplied, got themselves publicly listed and involved in TV game shows, it became as crappy as the rest. They even bothered to make their joints look a bit more high class these days. Many consumers were happy with that but I was not one of them, of course. Simply because those came at the consumer's expenses. I don't need a wonderful shopping experience. I want my stuff at the lowest possible price and get the fuck out as soon as possible. The cheering consumers can rub their faces on the new floor tiles or lick the new trolleys for all I care. What do you expect from a population that votes for an insidious party because of some new lifts?

They were offering some decent prices for vegetables. They ought to, they are Vietnamese! With the amount of farming they do here, they have a good control of their supplies to offer 60c for a ball of lettuce and 70c for a bunch of vegetable. If you are a vegetarian and stay around this area, you can probably feed yourself with $2 a day, consuming these bunches.

You don't even have to munch of leaves all the time. The tomatoes, potatoes and whatever fit for a vege person are reasonably priced too.

These guys are dishing out their share of memorable offers. I heard some weeks ago they were offering free 1L UHT milk for customers. Not expired ones mind you. A tray of eggs going for $2, not bad for Perth's standards.

No free milk by the time I visited for the first time but they were offering some chunky chicken breasts for $6.99 per kg. I asked for 2kg without hesitating. That could easily last us a week or longer.

I noticed the fishes they were selling there. Bright eyes, firm flesh, good prices. I will probably be trying one out next week. They sell meat in huge quantity there and they look surprisingly fresher than what I'd see in Woolsworths or Spudshed. On top of that, at competitive prices. 

Our Singapore loansharks these days are lacked of that little bit of X-factor. It could be due to the diminishing practice of hanging a pig head at their debtors' door. All those childish spray painting does anyone no good. It's like playing with a battery operated lantern on the Mid Autumn Festival. These days, such a practice may be very much welcomed. Back in my days, they would call you a pussy and hound you back to your home for attempting to appear in public without a flamed lantern.

The new age loansharks who think pig heads are passe don't even realise how sissy they are looking spraying paint. What next? Spam their clients' email? Duh.

I'll happy to supply you guys these things. Place an order and I'll fly them over. Don't leave home without one of these.

For Singaporeans who think Singaporeans living in Australia feed on cactus and lamb, we can actually get a fully range of Asian food supplies almost anywhere by now, as long as you live within the metro region. I actually Chared Kuay Teow several times myself lately, completed with lup cheong slices. No hum because someone rich ordered it all for his Mee Siam somewhere.