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Post by Pistachio on Dec 14, 2012 21:48:39 GMT
Hi all!
As we move fwd with our move to KSA, I have some questions re packing some items:
I received the list of prohibited articles and restricted articles from the company. This list says "no food items are allowed" ... Has anyone brought in any food at all? I really want to bring arriba dark chocolates (specialty item), grey poupon (mustard), special olive oil, along with other products and certain spices. Please tell me about your experience/advise bringing food items into the kingdom. Feel free to PM or post in the board. Many thanks!
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Nola
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Post by Nola on Dec 16, 2012 16:35:31 GMT
You can bring food items in your checked luggage on the airline. I wouldn't put any food items in your surface shipment as they will be exposed to a lot of handling and the elements. But, honestly, don't bother. You can find everything here you could want. We buy Grey Poupon at the store, you've never seen so much chocolate as there is here, you can find great olive oil this close to the source, and every grocery store has a huge spice counter. Grocery shopping here is no different than where you are shopping now...except for prayer time...and meat. Just clear your mind of everything that you are worrying about.
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Post by Pistachio on Dec 21, 2012 22:02:34 GMT
Thanks, Nola! I found it difficult to adjust to the idea that I won't have Whole Foods around, or my favorite specialty stores...but I will be mindful of what you are telling me-- at least lamb would be fresher and tastier over there  |
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Nola
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Post by Nola on Dec 23, 2012 16:36:00 GMT
I miss Whole Foods, too. But, between the commissary, Tamimi, and Lulu you can find most of the things that will make you happy. It took me a minute to get my head around the pricing. Things seemed expensive at first in riyals but when you do the math it all comes out about the same (and cheaper than Whole Foods).
I had the same thought about lamb coming here, but I haven't found it to be true. The meat selection in every store is not to my taste. You'll find Pakistani, Indian, "local", New Zealand, Brazilian, and Australian beef and lamb here but all have had a very, shall we say, barnyard flavor to them. Not bad, just very different than American, corn-fed, steroid meat. We have recently discovered Irish beef and it's our new friend. The lamb selection and cuts in the store have been a let down. Now, if you are willing to go pick out your own lamb, that may be a different story...
Chicken, on the other hand, is bountiful, delicious, and inexpensive.
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Post by Canucks on Dec 26, 2012 7:45:04 GMT
I noticed the same about beef and lamb at the commissary and some of the local markets. The best I have found (personally) is at Safeway, especially the ground beef. Note that it is more expensive but doesn't seem to have that 'barnyard' flavour/texture.
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Post by Pistachio on Dec 27, 2012 20:02:42 GMT
Wow, I totally expected lamb to be delicious as it is already a challenge to find great quality lamb in my area. Maybe I will have to go down to the animals' market and get my own sheep! Haha Glad prices are more affordable than WHole foods or comparable, I'm coming from a city where prices in groceries is alrady absurd so anything that is less pricey than in our hometown sounds like a deal  ThAnks so much for your input Nola and Canucks regarding meats in KSA. Hope to meet you at a backyard bbq and prepare some chicken while remembering how amazing prime beef is here in the US! Haha |
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Post by deuxislandmat on Apr 1, 2013 16:52:47 GMT
o!
My family will be leaving for Saudi at the end of this month. I could have sworn that with "browsing" this forum for about 6 months now, I was fully informed about getting ready for the actual move.
I had seen an earlier post about packing some Ramen Noodles in checked luggage but can't seem to find it now. After reading the "Restricted/Contraband Items List," I got concerned as I was planning to pack some dry packaged food items (noodles, soup, etc). Thanks, Nola, for clearing this up for me.
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Post by vpainter on Apr 1, 2013 19:18:10 GMT
Bring your food stuffs, its not a problem.
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Post by Hadia on Apr 2, 2013 3:32:06 GMT
I'm not sure why you'd want to take up precious space and weight in your baggage with something like noodles or soup packets. They are abundant here in the stores and very affordable. I'd opt to use that space for something more useful, but that's just my opinion. An exception might be if I use a special cooking spice that I'm not sure can be found here, such as pumpkin pie spice, Old Bay, etc. But Ramen noodles? They sell those by the case.
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Post by deuxislandmat on Apr 2, 2013 4:25:03 GMT
Thanks Vpainter, Hadia.
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Post by TrainingProf on Apr 3, 2013 14:05:28 GMT
I am guessing, and have read elsewhere but maybe not, that pork products may be the exception here. When I was an expat in Norway one thing that I brought in on a regular basis in checked luggage were frozen tubes of Jimmy Dean and blocks of sharp cheddar. I never had anything come up missing or questions asked at the border but SA may be a different story :roll:
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Post by Hadia on Apr 3, 2013 16:10:08 GMT
You cannot bring pork or alcohol into Saudi Arabia.
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Post by Globetrotter on Apr 4, 2013 19:20:39 GMT
Hi, I'm new to the forum and as I was reading through the threads I came across with this one and I was wondering if there are really available everything at the local shops? We are mostly vegans which means we don't eat animal products but eat a lot of quinoa, millet, chia seeds...and organic veggies and fruits. Are these things available there? If not, are we allowed to bulk up and buy all these food in advance and bring them with us in the shipment or only in our suitcases? Any reply in this regard would be very much appreciated! Saludos from Madrid and have a great weekend there!
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Post by vpainter on Apr 6, 2013 18:36:17 GMT
yes there are some foods for vegans here. Not a huge selection, but each one of the local grocery stores carries some organic and vegan foods. Someone was just proclaiming the other day they found chia seeds at the new Danube store.
If there's something you really don't want to be without, bring some in until you can get settled and look around to find the things here you'd like.
The commissary on camp carries a small amount also.
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Post by Globetrotter on Apr 7, 2013 5:10:03 GMT
Thank you for your reply! This is what I have been thinking that we'll bring couple of the most important food items until we can locate everything in the area. Probably my only concern and question would be whether plant based milks like rice milk/almond milk/coconut milk are available at the stores?
Again, thank you for taking the time to answer 'us' all back who are not yet familiar with life in these compounds. This forum is a real gem to find all the information what we need for such a move. Have a great day to all!
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