Yes Jaykay you do indeed live in another HK.
Because your experience must be limited to Sha Tin or just NT.
Go to TST and City Super. Adjacent is Little Mermaid Bakery. IMHO the best western bread products in HK.
Go to Tai Koo - Jusco Bakery has a French Branding - Has bread product to die for. ALL MADE ON THE PREMISES - INCLUDING Croissant that got me out of bed early on a Sunday morning for that melt in the mouth experience only achievable with Warm Croissant, Strawberry Preserve ( not jam but pure fruit ) and a big mug of fresh cappuccino.
The Baguette is made with imported French flour ( same as Little Mermaid ) - I checked !
Now I live in NT and the local products suit local taste - so perhaps that's your problem. However in Tai Po there is a little Japanese Bakery that's OK. When I am traveling about I stock up on what I need and 80% of Expats live in areas with easy access to these places.
Don't tell everyone you can't do something when you blatantly can !!
Oh and your comment about good bread from the "sheds " in UK. SHEDS don't have an in store bakery -- FYI - they just have bakery ovens and they all use part made product from the majors. Which - shock horror - has transfats. This has lower price advantage and can react to local demand. Do me a favour and get your facts right before you come out with this crap.
When you say " I cannot get a decent wholemeal here for example and I've tried them all. " maybe you should travel outside of NT. Or if you still not satisfied - make your own. All the makings are here.
Have you EVER shopped in a Jusco - obviously not when you come out with garbage like " Fresh meat and fresh veg, yes all from across the border. Tell me where I can get a decent cut of beef or a leg of lamb? And also remember that the requirements for organic food here do not match those elsewhere. " Total Bollocks !!
Chicken from Brazil, Beef from USA and Australia PLUS now able to stock Japanese. Norwegian Salmon. REAL German sausage
Mushrooms from Aus. Peppers from Malaysia. Pineapple from SA. Tomatoes from the US as well as Apples and fruits of all kinds. You pay premium for it of course BUT ITS HERE IF YOU WANT IT.
Have you ever been to City Super? - Its got even more that Jusco in foreign branding PLUS a wonderful Deli section.
To quote a good friend of mine on Geoexpat - You need to get out more !!
I disagree but can understand your point.
You should visit and experience what you can expect in the majority of the time here. Not the extremes. Air con on Buses , MTR, Shopping Malls and in every home makes life bearable in those weeks.
ALSO - learning to walk in the shade is in all the local DNA but takes an active understanding in the Expat community !!
Er Boris,
I travel all over HK, yes even (shock, horror) go shopping in Jusco. TST City Super, yawn, been there, done that. Still haven't found what I want. Put up with it, but of course my tastes are probably much more modern than yours.
"Chicken from Brazil, Beef from USA and Australia PLUS now able to stock Japanese. Norwegian Salmon. REAL German sausage
Mushrooms from Aus. Peppers from Malaysia. Pineapple from SA. Tomatoes from the US as well as Apples and fruits of all kinds."
Food that is frozen in transit I do not class as fresh. Fresh food is that which comes in and has never been frozen. Yes there is a difference in taste. I often buy NZ or Australian steaks, better than anything else I can get here but they have still been frozen and are NOT as good as fresh.
Maybe I get out and about too much, that's obviously my problem.
Oh, I think that July is fairly representative of what HK is like for at least six months of the year. It's the winter here that is the extreme and short outlier (I love being able to walk around now in a t-shirt without breaking into a sweat).
When it's hot, I also play the game of "let's see how far I can walk and stay in air conditioning". I'm from Australia, so I already have an instinct for walking in the shade, and thought it was hilarious that Brits have the opposite.
Aircon makes things more bearable, but the OP has stated that outdoor sports is important to them. It's a bit hard to do any of these in the summer, when even the water-based ones are quite punishing in the humidity. When they invent the personal, portable air conditioner, I'll be the first in line.
Oh and on organic foods in HK Consumer Council
Why do you continue to talk out of the orifice you spend most of your day sat on????
For meat " Chilled " does not mean frozen. Your " Fresh Beef " in Tesco comes the same way. This due to the Draconian EEC produce regulations. Also - actually - Aus and Jap beef is much superior to Tesco . This ( as I am sure you know ) due the marbling required for the AP market.
You can't freeze vegetables without destroying them and all Jusco's come in on air cargo, next day fresh.Same as your Israel Kum Kwats or whatever. Same as local produce also, which Jusco test themselves before display, shame Wellcome and PnS have not done in the past.
FYI - learn to read labels. Jusco clearly marks product " FROM FROZEN PRODUCT " on lines that are. MOST ARE NOT that are quality produce ranges. So does Taste. City Super doesn't have those ranges I think .Can't say for others
I don't believe you travel around and have an understanding. The details you give are truly bogus.
I am off to Jusco now, so if you want another go at this leave it until later and I'll show everyone what a idiot you are with up to the minute facts !!!!
Why do you want to argue with literally everyone on this board because you are so set in your ways you cannot change now? Luckily even my Dad's not that far gone!
You are of course aware of the local sourcing done by supermarkets in the UK. No? Well you should be. Never found frozen food in the fresh veg counters here? Blimey then you have missed something spectacularly great. And yes I can read where it says "Product previously frozen"...............
And let's get to the crux of this. There are certain items you can get in this part of HK or that part of HK. BUT should you spend half your time farting around to get this thing here, that things there when in UK you can just pop to your Co-op Mini-Mart and get it all in one go and HAVE choice. Not everyone has as much time to contemplate their own navel as you do and are not going to spend half the week just food shopping. Now who needs to get out more......