Way back in December 2010 I was heading home after a three-month-long trip to the antipodes and wrote a post about my gleeful anticipation of a few of home's delights. I just had a look over said post and my list of things I miss hasn't changed much.
Though I've been spared the joys of sleeping in dormrooms and been enjoying access to a bathtub and a popcorn popper for most of this past year, I still miss poutine, mom's granola, La Botega's sandwhiches, good pizza and everything else edible on that list.
In case you were wondering, here it is again (with a few added notes):
- Tim Horton's hot chocolate and coffee I will very very likely be scratching this itch within an hour of landing in our fair country. Sweet. (After working in cafés on and off for the past six months, and thus enjoying free, delicious NZ coffee, I can safely say I'm no longer craving Timmie's double doubles. Kiwis do some things really well, and coffee is one of them.)
- Marshmallows It's not that I'm a huge fan or anything, but the marshmallows here are just odd and
fakenasty tasting. - Poutine It is a crime that this has not caught on elsewhere, but to be fair, no one makes cheese curds like Quebec (actually, does anyone even try?) -- acutally, haloumi cheese is fairly close, but you have to grill it before it's really palitable, and I haven't tried it with gravy...yet.
- Air popped popcorn and Kernels I don't think my love of puffy deliciousness is a secret. It was generally the main component of one meal a week in Canada. I think I'm suffering from withdrawal. I'm suffering from withdrawal. (Not anymore since Dave kindly bought me a popcorn popper which I've been using from time to time. Nice. I do, however plan on splurging on some movie theatre popcorn the first chance I get. The stuff here, though just as expensive as in Canada, just doesn't compare.)
- Butter tarts yet another delicacy that hasn't gone global for some unknown reason. Shame.
- Maple Syrup self explanatory.
- Chips of the all dressed and cheddar variety They have lots of very good chips here (or crisps as they say in NZ) and in flavuors we don't have in Canada -- Lamb and mint, chicken, balsamic vinegar and onion, sweet and tangy, etc. But no all dressed or plain cheddar (or dill pickle for that matter, but I don't like them anyway, so I'm OK with that)
- Sandwhiches from La Botegga in Ottawa Take the best sandwhich you have ever had and throw it to the ground, stomp on it, spit on it, and turn your back on it and walk away to La Botegga and get yourself the most mouth-watering square of cheese, meat and bread you will ever have. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
- Pizza from either Picollo's in Lafontaine, or Lorenzo's or Collonade in Ottawa This part of the world has tons of great Thai, Indian, Japanese, Turkish and Cantonese food. But for some reason, pizza eludes them. The crust is dry and bland. the sause uninspired. Cheese is woefully scant. Oh, the humanity. I want a slice (or 5) of pizza dripping with greese and tastiness. (Goodness me is this still true. I've resorted to trying to make my own pizza of late, but it's never as good as what I can buy at home.)
- President's Choice fizzy water It's so good, so healthy, and so cheap.
- My mom's granola and soup
(not together, obviously). My mom may not know how to glaze a ham to perfection, or how to braise a lamb shank (she's a vegetarian), but the woman makes the best granola and soup. Bar none. - KFC I don't eat there more than once a year, but I had a craving some time ago so I bought home here. Turns out the Colonel's secret recipe is so secret that he didn't bother sharing it with the kiwi franchisees; It was bland, greasy and supremely disappointed.
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