My Favorite Store

 

Curry Power (above) and Jaggery (below)

On Monday, I had another dental appointment for a consultation to go over the rest of my treatment options.  Daughter took the afternoon off from work to accompany me.  Afterwards, we drove to the Sri Lankan store and restaurant which are located fairly close to the dental clinic.  The restaurant was closed (I hadn't realized that it was closed on Mondays), so my plans to get some lunch to go from there didn't work out.  Instead, we went to the Sri Lankan store only.  It has to be my favorite store!

Pappadam

I had a list of items I wanted to buy from this store, including red lentils, mung beans, chick peas/garbanzo beans, dark roasted curry powder, my favorite extra strength Ceylon tea, Lemon Puff cookies, ginger biscuits, and dried pandan leaves.  Red lentils at the grocery store sells for $4.79/lb. while red lentils at the Sri Lankan store sells for $1.49/lb. and comes in 2 lb. and 4 lb. packages.  I bought two of the 4 lb. packages.  

Crushed Red Chillies, Curry Powder, Spices

I bought two of the 500 grams packages of crushed red chillies shown in this picture for making chutney, but, I forgot to put black mustard seeds on my list and I would need that for chutney making (that will be my excuse for a return trip another time!)

Jars of Pickles and Bottles of Fruit Cordial

I bought several small bottle of fruit nectar and a large bottle of rose syrup to make faluda.

Jars of Various Sambols

I didn't buy any jars of sambol this time because I still had some I had bought earlier.

Vegetables in Brine
Winged Beans (above)
Young Jackfruit (below)

I didn't buy any of the vegetables in brine, although I considered buying a jar of breadfruit in brine.  Instead, I bought two containers of fried breadfruit chips which my daughter loves.

Mango and Pineapple Jam

I usually make my own jams, but, I did buy a jar of the pineapple jam as it is one of my favorites.  

The Sri Lankan store also carries a small selection of British specialties

British Goodies

This display is near the entrance to the store. 

A Closer Look 

 

But, if you don't find what you are looking for on those shelves, you might find them on other shelves inside the store:

Marmite

Vegemite and Horlicks

My mother used to love Marmite on bread and she enjoyed a mug of Horlicks at night.

Baked Beans

Of course, all the imported goods are pricey, but, some of us are happy to pay the price for nostalgia, aren't we? 

Frozen Meal - Sri Lankan Style

Since the Sri Lankan restaurant was closed, I bought two of these frozen meals for a late lunch for us.  Rather pricey at $9.99 each, but, a rice and curry take out at the restaurant would have cost more and one frozen meal was enough for two lunches for me.  The food was delicious and had an authentic taste (and was quite spicy!)  My daughter loved it and thought it tasted better than the food at the restaurant (then, again, she has always maintained that my rice and curries taste better than the restaurant's rice and curries).  We will definitely buy more of this frozen meal on our next visit.

Sesame and Jaggery Candy 

I bought two packets of these sesame and jaggery candy for dessert and snacks.  

I bought a lot of items from the store on this visit, including a treat for friend R which we dropped off at her place on our way home.  Many of the items I bought were groceries, but, quite a few items were treats.  I am afraid I spent most of my May grocery budget at the Sri Lankan store this time, although I don't usually consider the treats I buy at the Sri Lankan store as part of my grocery budget.  

At least I didn't buy this tea set, although I thought it was beautiful:

Tea Set

Yes, definitely my favorite store!  And shopping there is a joyful activity!