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What retail products do you miss from home?

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BedokAmerican
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Re: What retail products do you miss from home?

Post by BedokAmerican » Thu, 31 Oct 2013 4:18 pm

PrimroseHill wrote:
BedokAmerican wrote:
monkton wrote:I remember when we first moved here from the US my wife really missed Vitamin Water (it's since arrived in SG). I still miss certain products that I used to be able to walk into a 7-11 or a supermarket in New York and pick up. What are some items you used to take for granted that you can't find in Singapore?
I miss Vitamin Water Zero and Gatorade Light. Only the traditional Vitamin Water and Gatorade are available here.
Did't even know that Vitamin Water Zero or Gatorade Light exist.
Cheese sauce- yes, homemade is better than the sachet.
Maldon salt - for cooking it is $8 here :oops:
http://www.vitaminwater.com/vitaminwate ... nFacts.pdf

http://wikibin.org/articles/list-of-gat ... avors.html

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Post by monkton » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 5:01 am

I'm back in New York now, and I'm blown away by how many new craft/boutique products there are now. Corner convenience stores now carry all sorts of all-natural products - hydrating drinks, healthy snacks to eat on-the-go, incredible craft-brewed beer (my god, the beer selection is mind-boggling!), etc. It was actually a bit overwhelming at first.

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triste
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Post by triste » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 9:31 am

nutnut wrote:I don't really miss anything, just the ability to shop online properly, not on retarded webpages that are written by children (or not at all)
I actually miss many things, but proper store websites is near the top of the list. Especially since now I don't drive, I really miss being able to check which branch of a given store has what I want in stock.

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Post by x9200 » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:29 am

This can be usually checked by calling any of the stores (within a chain).

What is much more annoying is that you never know when and in what condition what you just bought is going to arrive. Small companies are pretty notorious in selling items with no local stock and then, only after you contact them few days of silence later (they do not bother to inform you about such detail) you learn the stock is going to arrive in a month or so.

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Post by JR8 » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 12:12 pm

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/stockcheck/

In case it's of use to anyone, as the function is buried quite deep on their website...

You can check stock at IKEA. Given the hell-on-earth experience that visiting IKEA can be it can be very useful to know that say the sofa or bed you've chosen/specified is available, and if not, it gives you a chance to seek an alternative from the comfort of your home.

I understand that IKEA are pretty renowned for highly efficient inventory/'supply chain management'. The above function would seem to be a customer window (the technical term ;)) into that information.

I suppose the closest equivalent retailer might be Courts. But they're a chain, so you can simply visit a nearby store (in relative peace and quiet) and browse, it's not the 'full-day expedition' that is the IKEA experience.


p.s. IKEA also do home delivery. I was wondering whether the dots have been joined allowing you to shop on-line and get it delivered, but alas no! The reason for that, I'm imagining, is that they probably rely on a material spend on spontaneous and unplanned high-margin goods on the day. 'I mean who leaves IKEA without a bag of 100 tea-lights (mini candles)!?' ;)

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Post by SINexpat » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 1:34 pm

zzm9980 wrote:Deodorant or shaving gel that doesn't suck.
It's even worse being an expat in China for personal hygiene stuff. I've had half a suitcase filled with stuff before just to stock up.

Another one is real branded Q-tips. The local stuff are little tiny things.

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Post by zzm9980 » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 4:19 pm

SINexpat wrote:
zzm9980 wrote:Deodorant or shaving gel that doesn't suck.
It's even worse being an expat in China for personal hygiene stuff. I've had half a suitcase filled with stuff before just to stock up.

Another one is real branded Q-tips. The local stuff are little tiny things.
I basically find the same stuff in China that I can get in Singapore, at the Chinese Watsons or Guardian.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 4:40 pm

JR8 wrote:'I mean who leaves IKEA without a bag of 100 tea-lights (mini candles)!?' ;)
Can't say as I've ever bought a bag of tea-lights from IKEA, but I gotta admit, no matter what I've bought there, I still manage to come home with a bag of frozen Swedish Meatballs. :cool:
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by JR8 » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 6:48 pm

Ooh ah yes! Meatballs, boiled potatoes, gravy. They have them in the in-store cafeteria too - very tasty. Clever bunch IKEA, they know that a customer who can get a good meal (at a reasonable price) might just end up spending the whole day there...

This time of year they also sell festive products, like ginger-bread, and so on. Blimey I'm almost tempted to go and pay a visit...

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Post by nakatago » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 7:12 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:Swedish Meatballs
schweddy... http://youtu.be/Inl700-j_7M
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

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JR8
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Post by JR8 » Fri, 20 Dec 2013 8:00 pm

LOL :)


DIY recipe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55MIeoPaBC4
Swedish Meatballs Recipe -- Beef & Pork Meatballs

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Post by x9200 » Sat, 21 Dec 2013 9:32 am

I made a brave decision to order some stuff via Court's web store. Will see how it goes. The delivery is scheduled for later on today. They have an on line GPS tracking of the delivery van what I think is a cool option.

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Post by jk21 » Sat, 21 Dec 2013 10:09 pm

Fortan wrote:The best bread I have found in Singapore is close to where I work now. In Ikon Village. Give it a try, I am sure you will love it. I am a 'bread-head', I just love good bread and this is brilliant:

http://nickvina.com/
Nick Vina bread is being sold at Cold Storage at Plaza Singapura. They don't promote their name, but I was talking to the cashier to inquire about the ingredients. Really enjoying the taste of a sourdough starter again.

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Post by JR8 » Sat, 21 Dec 2013 10:46 pm

x9200 wrote:I made a brave decision to order some stuff via Court's web store. Will see how it goes. The delivery is scheduled for later on today. They have an on line GPS tracking of the delivery van what I think is a cool option.
That's fun. Gives max transparency to what the truck-crew are doing too, for employer and customer :)

I've just (right now) bought a new piece of dive kit from the UK, it's a replacement SCUBA regulator (a decent one, I hope) for my existing one that a well known dive shop here wanted $200 just to service (double the cost of a service in Europe - how could that be I asked? Met with silence of course... ). Well, there you are circa $540 and I get a brand new, more modern and technically advanced one, DHLd to my door.

Like saying, here we'll service your 10 year old car for $20k, or you can get a brand new one for $54k.

Greedy b'stards, maybe they think they have leverage over the Xmas period. Think again!!
Last edited by JR8 on Sat, 21 Dec 2013 10:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by x9200 » Sat, 21 Dec 2013 10:47 pm

x9200 wrote:I made a brave decision to order some stuff via Court's web store. Will see how it goes. The delivery is scheduled for later on today. They have an on line GPS tracking of the delivery van what I think is a cool option.
Everything went smooth with no problems.

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