Food: Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)

Welcome to Coles! The most welcoming grocery store since Amsterdam. It didn’t take long to become familiar with Coles, which is the local grocery store in Australia. The logo caught my eye first, because it looks very much like the Target logo. Even Nolan thought it was a Target.

In our neighborhood in Sydney, the Coles was about a half mile from our apartment. By now, we are used to walking to-from the store, and Sydney was no different. I really enjoyed all the fun finds at the Coles, things I hadn’t seen in a while like, Cauliflower Rice and Sweet Potato Noodles. I also found a few favorite Australian products like, Gippsland Yogurt and fresh Australian apples!

Here’s my research data on Coles, East Village:

10 apple varieties
60 bread varieties
15 milk varieties
14 aisles

After arriving to Melbourne, I knew I was on the hunt for a Coles. A quick google search led me to a brand new Coles that had just opened. Walking into the Coles in Kew was easy-peasy. Same products, same layout, same check-out process! I even made a friend — his name was Ben and he worked at the Deli / Meat counter. He was there most everytime I went and we struck up a little friendship.

Here’s my research data on Coles, Kew:

6 apple varieties
32 bread varieties
10 milk varieties
11 aisles

Other comments about food in Australia (Sydney & Melbourne):

It was fall! Pumpkin was everywhere and I took advantage. I made a few recipes in pumpkin and it was lovely. I missed fall back in Indiana, so catching Fall in Australia was really cool.
I so enjoyed being back in an English speaking country. Grocery shopping in a non-English country can be tough. After 3-months in Asia, I don’t think I realized how much I missed wondering a grocery store and looking at products. I was able to find everything I needed / wanted easily. I even found a few products just by wondering. On more than one of my days to explore, I went to Coles and wondered.
Grocery shopping was still lots of short-trips. After the inital big stock-up shop, I went to the grocery store about every-other day to pick up dinner. It isn’t comman to do a big weekly shop in Australia. People shop for a few days at a time. I never saw anyone in Coles with a cart full of groceries.
When we arrived in Sydney, we quickly noticed a number of over-weight people, which isn’t something we’ve seen in awhile. It was easy to see why from the grocery store. All the packaged products were back on the shelves at Coles.
I was back to cooking in Australia. After eating out so much in Toyko, we took a break from eating out and it was welcomed. I was actually able to find and try some new recipes in Australia, which was really wonderful. I so love cooking. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.

Here are a few of my favorite Coles products: