supermarkets and markets

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Pizzalover
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supermarkets and markets

Post by Pizzalover »

I m sure some feel that this has been done over and again. If so, just move on to another topic.

As internally displaced person from SHV I was pretty surprised to see what PP supermarkets charge. In SHV I thought Samudera was pretty expensive but it seems I was wrong. I have been to Bayon, Lucky, and also Thai Huot. For the items I m interested in Lucky was slightly cheaper than Thai Huot plus they had stuff the others did not have. Obviouly we all have different items on our lists so I do not claim that this holds true for all and each case. As for my needs, PP seems to be at least 35-50% more expensive than SHV. Often more than that.

One example: At Samudera they had some tomato paste that did the job for half or even a third of the price in PP. It was not a fake Italian brand but it worked for me.

My question is are there any other supermarkets? Super duper is far away and probably pretty much the same pricing as the others, so I'll skip that. Maybe some less fancy and more Cambodian oriented supermarket? I just need some staples.

For fresh meat it almost looks like that there is nothing aside from the markets, which make me turn pale, and Danmeats? The latter charges even more than the supermarkets.

My shopping for veggies at the markets was also a very mixed bag. 20% cheating on weight seems normal and that on top of the barang bonus. SHV central market was not great but Orussei is simply bad in terms of prices, selection, and quality. Would Kandal market be better?

Thanks for any pointers. I m just trying to find my way around :)
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frank lee bent
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by frank lee bent »

thai hout is about the best of a bad lot
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Borum-Ex frm TOForum
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by Borum-Ex frm TOForum »

Cambodia Super Store, St1986 Khan Sen Sok, and then the one just before Olympic on SHV blvd of which the name escapes me atm...
I actually don't give a flying fuck, furthermore nice to meet you all here! :thumb:
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that genius
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by that genius »

Super Duper is expensive, more than most places.

Go to Phsar Deumkor, everything goes there first
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timmydownawell
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by timmydownawell »

Get what you can at the markets and mom'n'pop shops, and use the supermarkets as a last resort. It's not like in the west where the big supermarkets are cheaper due to economies of scale, here they are just out to rip off barangs and wealthy locals.
You must walk in traffic to cross the road - Cambodian proverb
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AndyKK
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by AndyKK »

I think the key here. Apart from expensive import foods, is to adapt. Such as tomato paste, come on now............................
Always "hope" but never "expect".
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John Bingham
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by John Bingham »

Supermarkets sell what are in many ways niche goods in this country. There is little in them that a local cooking for a family couldn't find in a market for far less.
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Pizzalover
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by Pizzalover »

Thanks for the info so far and I fully agree with the pointers.

Tomato paste: I did not use it for a long time. Fresh tomatoes were better and even cheaper. Not so in Cambodia. Quality bad and I never got some under 4K riel in SHV. I went 4 times to O'Russei and hardly saw any. Those that I saw were a bad joke.

In the Phils supermarkets were the go to place for meat. They had huge (as in extra huge) meat counters. 30 meters and more. No flies and a good selection. All I have seen here is that vacuum packed imported stuff and those pieces of meat hanging in the open at the markets. Not sure what kind of risks the latter involve.

For some dumplings I ended up with some ground pork from Luckys. Much more expensive than in SHV which I thought was not cheap at all.

As I m used to cook for myself i m at the start of a learning process and a bit surprised that shitty SHV seems to be so cheap in comparison with PP. Somehow I have difficulties to believe it as PP is such a big market. thus, I am asking here the old hands as I have problems to reconcile my observations with my expectations/thoughts.
(┛◉Д◉)┛
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by (┛◉Д◉)┛ »

got a largish mesh bag of cherry tomatoes for good price that were actually tasty on the kampuchea krom exit aisle of central market few weeks back
bittermelon
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Re: supermarkets and markets

Post by bittermelon »

I often wondered whether imported stuff was cheaper in Sv due to coming in through the "backdoor" at the port and avoiding official import taxes.
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