Mar 02 2009
These things *should* get through US Customs/Agriculture unscathed…
I don’t usually do this. I am usually fine making do with whatever food / spices / sauces I can find in the local grocery store in Chicago.
 Stuff I’m bringing from Malaysia to Chicago via Zurich |
But somehow, I went hogwild while shopping for stuff to bring back with me this time around: I got me nothing but foodstuff! I took a photo of one of everything / every type… here’s the list:
- Maggi goreng instant noodles - original and spicy versions
- Kimball chili sauce - original and Thai versions
- Lingham’s chili sauce with garlic
- My’yaya black pepper sauce (I’ve never had/tried this sauce let alone the brand… wish me luck!)
- Delimas sambal with crispy anchovy (ikan bilis)
- Delimas sambal with crispy prawn (udang kering)
- Sinlong Nasi Lemak Sambal Chili (… this and the previous two are products I’ve never used! I hope the sambal is edible..!)
- Maggi Honey Chicken paste (A good complement to briyani rice)
- Maggi nasi goreng (fried rice) mix - briyani, kampung and paprik versions
- Brahim’s Kuah Masak Lemak (Spicy yellow coconut milk curry)
- Kerisek Kampung (roasted ground coconut flesh)
- Tom Yam paste (you know, the spicy Thai soup…)
- Boh vanilla teacino (never tried this… my brother wants to stock up on this, so I bought one pack for myself… )
- Indocafé unsweetened white coffee (Went to so many Old Town White Coffee joints during this trip, figured I’d bring some back with me, but didn’t see any on sale in the supermarket… so went with this one since it had an unsweetened option… then can add sweetener instead of sugar mah… hopefully it’s drinkable!)
- Boh Songket series - Passionfruit tea (hidden under the Indocafé bag in the pic… the packaging makes for a nice gift, and my Swiss relatives seem to like this particular flavour, so I buy lah for my in-laws…)
And before you ask.. no I have no idea what it all costs… (but they weigh a total of about 10lbs / 5 kilos - this thngamajiggy is quite the useful tool!) … I’m pretty sure it’s much much cheaper than what I would find them going for in, say, Chicago’s Chinatown.. but that’s only if I were to recognise them (the last I tried, I didn’t dare buy because the labels were all in Chinese, so I didn’t know what exactly were in those bottles…)!
 Mok Yee |
These are all commercially prepared items, and therefore *should* pass with no problem.
I’m still debating getting a few packs of Mok Yee, a type of dried mushroom that’s supposed to have medicinal properties. THAT I have less confidence about… I assume the country of origin is China… and the packaging is sooooo flimsy … I doubt it would get through unscathed.
.. and remember, I need to bring these things through Zurich too! (And by the time this is published, I should be there already. Gotta love scheduled posts! Especially when today.com cooperates…)
Good luck! It’s amazing what goes through and what doesn’t.
so much for our diets….!!! maybe we’ll starve ourselves and then indulge in a special meal once-or-twice a week?
this posted while you were in the air, i believe. at least, still haven’t heard that you landed at Zurich.
hope you got some sleep….
I’m a licensed customs broker. Some food items need FDA approval, but maybe since you have such a small amount
you might be okay.
Hope both you and the food items arrive safely in Chicago.
Balik already?
Got a sms about an hour ago, saying that Lynne was about to board the flight in Frankfurt. Going to get her at the airport soon.
Thanks for the Boh Tea-Cino.
BTW - I usually refer to the Tea Cino as “Chinese Tea”. Why? Try using the kelantanese accent to say “cina”… “Teh cino dari Kelante”
Bad joke, I know…
If you were entering Australia, ALL of those items would be confiscated!! There are very strict regulations that do not allow any foreign items of food to enter Australia. I hope that you manage to get past the Swiss and US controls.
By the way, I received your second postcard today - thanks! I’ll blog about it in the next few days. Strangely, I still haven’t received the first - perhaps it has gone on a round-the-world trip!!
Enjoy the next leg of your journey,
Roz
Had to laugh at Martyn’s comments. Co-incidentally hubby is arriving home tonight (3/3) from UK. Since the EU ban on belachan (dried prawn paste for the uninitiated *wink*) last year, I told him to scower the streets of Soho n get me a supply. He had the same idea as Martyn - that the sniffer dogs might go ape wild at the pungent aroma - hahaha. I’m just relieved n very glad that I could make rendeng daging, indo nasi goreng, chicken curry, etc again. Hv tried making them without the belachan but u can taste right away that something is missing. On 2nd thought, does anyone make curries without the belachan n it taste ok to u ?
Our return trips from SG is also stuffed with food. The supermarkt here is slowly catching up but the range is limited n it’s very expensive. When they r on offer (to clear the stock in time !), I practically am the only asian to snap it up. This week I bought 42 packs of Mamee Instant Noodles for € 0,26 each (UP 39ct). The dutch brand SUPER noodles r of better quality with a wide range of european, indian n asian flavours - costing 69ct each. Mamee from Malacca is always chicken, beef, garlic prawns n mi goreng (it’s not spicy nor resembles the mee goreng I know !). Instant noodles with a cheesy flavour is yummy. Try googling abt instant noodles around the world. It’s an interesting read !
Back to ur barang-barang. Learned a few new items. Sambal with ikan bilis or prawns makes my mouth waters ! Roasted coconut flesh - what r u going to do with it ? I hv a surinam friend who uses fresh coconut (frozen) to make a nice bandung drink *lips smacking*.
Hubby n I travel with one change of clothes n a supplement that we leave at mom’s n use all the space of the luggage to lug back 40kg of goodies. It’s worth the backache bec they r stuff which r not available here, even in Amsterdam Chinatown (85km from our home). Vacuum-packed durian is a must-have on our list. My dutchman is addicted to it !
Hv a good journey back.