Is anything hard to get in Australia?

[KungFuPanda]

A friend is moving to Australia for a few years.  We're throwing together a last minute send-off.  It's a little sad that we can't do a proper going away party, but we'll have to settle for a handful of vaccinated friends on the deck.  I haven't gotten as far as planning the snacks or a gift.  Is there anything that she'll miss or will come in handy in Australia?  It seems that the two countries are so culturally similar that she'll be able to get her hands on most things, or at least a decent substitution.  She's an excellent baker, so she can make any sweets she likes.  We just threw this idea together today so I'm trying to brainstorm what I can pull together by Tuesday. Any ideas? 

 

[Drama Llama]

Covid is hard to get there and snow and large predatory mammals.

I am not helpful.

Maybe serve uniquely American food — Tex Mex and Jambalaya and peanut butter cookies? 

[Terabith]

Apparently socks

[KungFuPanda]

Is Mexican food not a thing there?  That would make for an easy menu.

[Drama Llama]

12 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Is Mexican food not a thing there?  That would make for an easy menu.

Mexican maybe Tex Mex I bet not.

[Drama Llama]

So the internet tells me that Australians eat Tex Mex and I am wrong.  

[Melissa Louise]

You can get most anything.

Maybe not that cheese in a can? I really don't know about Tex Mex - I've never eaten it here. 

The sock shortage has been exaggerated! 

 

[Rosie_0801]

We have Tex Mex food, yeah. It's easier to find than Mexican food.

 

Where's your friend moving to? You can get pretty much anything here, it'll just cost more. 

[Ausmumof3]

If she homeschools curriculum and book shipping is crazy.  Good quality maple syrup is pretty expensive.  Actually pretty much everything is more expensive. 
 

Also fireworks.  And high powered weapons...  But you probably can’t sent them 😂  also I’ve never heard of a speed queen washing machine down here.

We do have Mexican food but it might be less authentic.  You can get quite a lot of stuff like Hershey’s etc from Aldi or Costco I think.  

[bookbard]

I don't reckon we get proper Mexican food in Australia. The food I ate when I visited USA was much nicer. But depends where she's going, I guess - I bet Melbourne has a good Mexican place, somewhere! So it'd be a great idea for a theme/snacks.

I've heard that proper maple syrup is different from what we get (we can buy 100% maple syrup, but someone I met reckoned it was still not the proper stuff).

Depending on where she lives, hard to get usual US treats - so a treat basket with her favourite chocolates and snacks might be nice. Even coca-cola over here tastes different, because it uses cane sugar not corn syrup. Aldi's sometimes has American-style snacks and foods as a special, but she might want it more than once a year!

 

 

 

[Amira]

Tex-Mex is nearly always easier to find overseas than Mexican food since American food is way more likely to to exported than Mexican food.  

Once when we were living in Mexico, an American friend served what she called “Mexican food” to some Mexican friends.  They were delighted to eat what they called “American food,” which was hard-shelled tacos and huge white flour tortillas with refried beans and ground beef mixed with taco seasoning mix with shredded cheddar cheese and jarred salsa.  That’s the kind of thing that gets exported because it is American.

[Melissa in Australia]

just note that Australia has very strict quarantine rules for bringing in food

[Spy Car]

4 hours ago, Terabith said:

Apparently socks

Beat me to it.

Bill

[bookbard]

15 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

just note that Australia has very strict quarantine rules for bringing in food

Fresh food, but you can definitely bring in processed stuff like chocolates or chips. I brought in some cans of soup once and declared them and customs was fine. But yeah, don't try fresh fruit or plants or seeds. Make sure your boots don't have dirt and grass seeds on them! 

[Ausmumof3]

59 minutes ago, Amira said:

Tex-Mex is nearly always easier to find overseas than Mexican food since American food is way more likely to to exported than Mexican food.  

Once when we were living in Mexico, an American friend served what she called “Mexican food” to some Mexican friends.  They were delighted to eat what they called “American food,” which was hard-shelled tacos and huge white flour tortillas with refried beans and ground beef mixed with taco seasoning mix with shredded cheddar cheese and jarred salsa.  That’s the kind of thing that gets exported because it is American.

That sounds like what goes as Mexican in the supermarkets here though maybe there are restaurants that are better.  We used to love one in Fremantle WA called Mexican Kitchen if it’s still there and still good.  But that was more tex mex style I think. 

[Rosie_0801]

4 hours ago, bookbard said:

I I bet Melbourne has a good Mexican place, somewhere!

It closed down! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

There is a Spanish grocer though.

[KungFuPanda]

I don't want to add to her packing stress, but I like the Mexican food idea.  I think we'll do tamales and margaritas.  I doubt she's ever even heard of canned cheese, so she won't miss that. 😆 She's a fully grown single woman, so Halloween-grade chocolates have no place in her life.  The last time she moved away for a spell she was in Abu Dhabi and Australia just seems like a much easier transition.  I'm gonna miss her.  She was a person I saw in class every week and performed with before the Pandemic and I think I've seen her face once in over a year.  Covid sucks.

 

[Drama Llama]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

I don't want to add to her packing stress, but I like the Mexican food idea.  I think we'll do tamales and margaritas.  I doubt she's ever even heard of canned cheese, so she won't miss that. 😆 She's a fully grown single woman, so Halloween-grade chocolates have no place in her life.  The last time she moved away for a spell she was in Abu Dhabi and Australia just seems like a much easier transition.  I'm gonna miss her.  She was a person I saw in class every week and performed with before the Pandemic and I think I've seen her face once in over a year.  Covid sucks.

 

Covid really does suck.

You know, one thing Australia doesn't have is neighbors. You could do a fun party with a mix of Mexican food and Canadian food.  

If you do Canadian food, I highly recommend Beaver tails Don't worry, I'm not asking you to kill any beavers. 

[KungFuPanda]

27 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Covid really does suck.

You know, one thing Australia doesn't have is neighbors. You could do a fun party with a mix of Mexican food and Canadian food.  

If you do Canadian food, I highly recommend Beaver tails Don't worry, I'm not asking you to kill any beavers. 

That sounds delicious; a lot like beignets. However, I've never heard of anyone missing Canadian food.  I'm sure it's delicious, but we just don't have Canadian restaurants to get us addicted to it.  There are places that serve poutine, but that's about it and it's not common at all.  The only Canadian recipe I make regularly is Herbes Salees so I can preserve my herbs at the end of the season.  It's a culinary game-changer for me, but I'm the only one I know who knows what it is, much less makes and uses it all winter.

 

Annnnnnd now I want poutine  😕 Darn it! There's a place nearby that does poutine with duck fat fries.  I've been known to order them as my meal and announce to the table that if they want some, they'd better put in another order.  I haven't thought of that in a year and now I'm going to obsess.  I'm very suggestible with food!

[Drama Llama]

1 minute ago, KungFuPanda said:

That sounds delicious; a lot like beignets. However, I've never heard of anyone missing Canadian food.  I'm sure it's delicious, but we just don't have Canadian restaurants to get us addicted to it.  There are places that serve poutine, but that's about it and it's not common at all.  The only Canadian recipe I make regularly is Herbes Salees so I can preserve my herbs at the end of the season.  It's a culinary game-changer for me, but I'm the only one I know who knows what it is, much less makes and uses it all winter.

 

Annnnnnd now I want poutine  😕 Darn it! There's a place nearby that does poutine with duck fat fries.  I've been known to order them as my meal and announce to the table that if they want some, they'd better put in another order.  I haven't thought of that in a year and now I'm going to obsess.  I'm very suggestible with food!

I wasn't really suggesting that these are things someone would miss, more that it could make a fun silly party theme.  

I think that the Canadian food that most people enjoy the most is maple syrup.  I just don't happen to like it.  I do like beaver tails though. 

[KungFuPanda]

12 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I wasn't really suggesting that these are things someone would miss, more that it could make a fun silly party theme.  

I think that the Canadian food that most people enjoy the most is maple syrup.  I just don't happen to like it.  I do like beaver tails though. 

I want beaver tails now too.  You're killing me over here. I keep clicking back to that recipe and thinking "I HAVE all the ingredients." It's whole wheat, so it's healthy!  I do not have time to fry dough today and if I eat it I'll need a nap.  I'm gonna leave that window open and think about it . . .  

I didn't even think of maple syrup as Canadian because I thought it all came from Vermont.  The big leaf on the flag should have been a clue.

[Dmmetler]

Apparently some piano book series, even those carried by Amazon in other parts of the world. It's a constant complaint of some of the Australian teachers because the US/Canada/UK folks will refer to something, but they can't get it. (and the NZ folks have even more trouble). 

 

I'm currently in the process of transferring a student who will be moving to Guam and picking up with an Australian teacher virtually once she does to a different series that is completely available digitally because the new teacher, parent, and I, felt that this would be the easiest way to make sure that she AND the new teacher can get the same materials, and so that the transfer will be as seamless as possible. 

[Miss Tick]

4th of July is coming (already in the stores!), so you could send

her off with a flag on everything! I bet that would be tricky to find in Australia.

Does Australia have Dunkin Donuts?

I'm thinking we don't have many high-end things that are "native" and tricky to get elsewhere, so shift to the lower end of the cultural measuring stick! Maybe she needs one of those wooden cut outs of the lady working in the flower garden. Or what about one of those front door geese that you can dress up for the season. Does Australia use A4 paper or "regular"? Airmail stamps? FedEx gift card for anything she misses that she can't easily get?

 

**Please note, everything here is meant in good humor and no offense was intended in any way to anyone on this side or that if the Pacific Ocean.**

[stripe]

Are oreos available in Australia? The last time I discussed it with an Australian, they weren’t, but that was a super long time ago.

Canadian food worth missing: All Dressed chips, Montreal bagels, maple syrup, and possibly nanaimo bars. Canadian yogurt flavours are astonishing compared to American flavors.

[Sunshine State Sue]

I went to visit a friend in Australia about 2 years ago.  She's lived there for 20 some years.  She asked me to bring Cheerios and peanut butter m&ms. 

[katilac]

8 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

 She's a fully grown single woman, so Halloween-grade chocolates have no place in her life.   

I feel so attacked right now 😄

[saraha]

6 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

That sounds delicious; a lot like beignets. However, I've never heard of anyone missing Canadian food.  I'm sure it's delicious, but we just don't have Canadian restaurants to get us addicted to it.  There are places that serve poutine, but that's about it and it's not common at all.  The only Canadian recipe I make regularly is Herbes Salees so I can preserve my herbs at the end of the season.  It's a culinary game-changer for me, but I'm the only one I know who knows what it is, much less makes and uses it all winter.

 

Annnnnnd now I want poutine  😕 Darn it! There's a place nearby that does poutine with duck fat fries.  I've been known to order them as my meal and announce to the table that if they want some, they'd better put in another order.  I haven't thought of that in a year and now I'm going to obsess.  I'm very suggestible with food!

Ack, thanks a lot, now I want poutine!!

[Drama Llama]

2 hours ago, stripe said:

Are oreos available in Australia? The last time I discussed it with an Australian, they weren’t, but that was a super long time ago.

Canadian food worth missing: All Dressed chips, Montreal bagels, maple syrup, and possibly nanaimo bars. Canadian yogurt flavours are astonishing compared to American flavors.

Nanaimo bars would go perfectly after the tamales. 

[bookbard]

Oreos and M & Ms are here but not in all the varieties you'd have. Haven't heard of Nanaimo bars. 

It's true you can't get all the kindle books, I don't get why, must be a copyright thing. Lots of specialised books aren't available and are super expensive to ship over here - like Beast Academy. But your basic best-sellers would be easy to get. 

[Melissa Louise]

Nanaimo bars were in Women's Weekly cookbook circa 1982. 

The only things I 'missed' pre-Amazon, living o/s, were particular national junk foods. 

I mean food wise, you can buy all the same ingredients. Except canned pumpkin. 

Just send her off with a hat, some sunscreen, and her favourite Canadian/US specific snack. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Melissa Louise

[Melissa Louise]

Also, Book Depository, peeps.

[Rosie_0801]

4 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

Australia has more Texans than Mexicans ? 🤔

No. It's like Amira said. American culture travels fast.

[Rosie_0801]

1 hour ago, Sunshine State Sue said:

I went to visit a friend in Australia about 2 years ago.  She's lived there for 20 some years.  She asked me to bring Cheerios and peanut butter m&ms. 

We have Cheerios now too.

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, Sunshine State Sue said:

I went to visit a friend in Australia about 2 years ago.  She's lived there for 20 some years.  She asked me to bring Cheerios and peanut butter m&ms. 

You can definitely get peanut butter m&ms...

I may have an addiction 

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, stripe said:

Are oreos available in Australia? The last time I discussed it with an Australian, they weren’t, but that was a super long time ago.

Canadian food worth missing: All Dressed chips, Montreal bagels, maple syrup, and possibly nanaimo bars. Canadian yogurt flavours are astonishing compared to American flavors.

Yeah Oreos are here but they aren’t super popular 

[Melissa Louise]

5 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Yeah Oreos are here but they aren’t super popular 

Except in our house! 

[KungFuPanda]

3 hours ago, katilac said:

I feel so attacked right now 😄

She's also childless, so pillaging a kid's holiday candy stash was never a vital food group for her.  Personally, I'm still coasting off Easter candy.

[bookbard]

2 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Also, Book Depository, peeps.

It's owned by Amazon now, so I avoid it. Most things I can get with an Australian book company (Boomerang Books for example). But not all. 

[Hoggirl]

When we lived in the UK for a couple of years we became friends with a family from Texas also living as expats.  The husband was a rugby trainer.  We went back to the states, and they went to Australia. This was 20 years ago now. I sent her a care package with Velveeta, Ro-tel tomatoes, malt-o-meal, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and cornbread mix. I think maybe the Velveeta didn’t make it though because it was labeled “cheese food” (or something like that).  

Anytime anyone came to see us in the UK, I asked for a couple cans of Ro-tel tomatoes. 

[Melissa Louise]

2 hours ago, bookbard said:

It's owned by Amazon now, so I avoid it. Most things I can get with an Australian book company (Boomerang Books for example). But not all. 

Most independent bookstores will order anything in. I can't say I've ever had a problem accessing o/s fiction or non fiction here. 

[Terabith]

Maybe send her with microchips?

[Ausmumof3]

Booko is great for price comparison on books too

sorry we are all presuming books are a key thing here 😂

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, Hoggirl said:

When we lived in the UK for a couple of years we became friends with a family from Texas also living as expats.  The husband was a rugby trainer.  We went back to the states, and they went to Australia. This was 20 years ago now. I sent her a care package with Velveeta, Ro-tel tomatoes, malt-o-meal, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and cornbread mix. I think maybe the Velveeta didn’t make it though because it was labeled “cheese food” (or something like that).  

Anytime anyone came to see us in the UK, I asked for a couple cans of Ro-tel tomatoes. 

I’ve definitely seen Reese’s here

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/34517/reese-s-peanut-butter-cup-milk-chocolate

 

im not familiar with Ro-tel tomatoes though 

[bookbard]

She probably won't know what she wants till she gets here. Most Australians seem to get an absolute longing for vegemite as soon as they leave the country, even if they don't eat it that much at home. I'd get a care package from home with vegemite, and it'd be gone in 5mins from all the other Australians using it up! Your friend might discover something she misses after a few weeks too. 

[SoCal_Bear]

If taco seasoning isn't easy to get. A Costco cannister of taco seasoning could be really useful to take there.

I heard before that you can't get Flamin' Hot Cheetos or real hot sauce like Cholula or Tapatio. 

Edited April 19, 2021 by calbear

[Laura Corin]

13 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

We have Cheerios now too.

I don't know if it's the same as the UK, but the original Cheerios are not sold here.  Those are much lower sugar than the versions I see in the supermarkets here - my kids used to eat them dry, when we were in the US visiting, as relatively healthy snacks.

Edited April 19, 2021 by Laura Corin

[stripe]

9 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

I don't know if it's the same as the UK, but the original Cheerios are not sold here.  Those are much lower sugar than the versions I see in the supermarkets here - my kids used to eat them dry, when we were in the US visiting, as relatively healthy snacks.

Yeah,  “Honey Nut Cheerios“ are sugary. The original ones are not sweet, so parents do give them to kids dry to nibble on. I looked at their website and they have a horrifying array of flavors now. My husband bought the pumpkin spice ones last year, and....we didn’t like them. The multigrain ones are also sweeter than regular.

5 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

im not familiar with Ro-tel tomatoes though 

They are canned tomatoes with chili peppers (capsicum). (I’m practicing my Australian.)

[stripe]

14 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

Nanaimo bars were in Women's Weekly cookbook circa 1982. 

The only things I 'missed' pre-Amazon, living o/s, were particular national junk foods. 

I mean food wise, you can buy all the same ingredients. Except canned pumpkin. 

Just send her off with a hat, some sunscreen, and her favourite Canadian/US specific snack. 

The Women’s Weekly cookbooks are really awesome. I definitely don’t see a problem making nanaimo bars almost anywhere in the world. The custard powder would be easier to get almost anywhere in the world than it is in the US.

Aren’t Australians big into sunscreen and hats?

[Tina]

7 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’ve definitely seen Reese’s here

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/34517/reese-s-peanut-butter-cup-milk-chocolate

 

im not familiar with Ro-tel tomatoes though 

What?!  You still have Woolworths?!  My favorite store to wander back when I started college.  A store I could afford. lol

[HS Mom in NC]

On 4/18/2021 at 12:55 AM, Rosie_0801 said:

We have Tex Mex food, yeah. It's easier to find than Mexican food.

On behalf of the United States, I'd like to formally apologize for Tex Mex existing and being inflicted on innocent people.  May God send you some New Mexican, Sonoran, Baja, and Mexicali Mexican food to heal your injured souls.