My Yummy List of SA goodies~!

So it is with a little bit of shock, a bit more panic and an enormous amount of excitement that I realise this morning that just 5 days from now I will find myself in international airspace, zooting over a multitude of counties and a couple of continents to get to the land I call HOME.   Beside seeing awesome friends and my amazing family and besides DELICIOUS home cooked mother's food (that magically appears and I do not have to leave the house for) there are a few other 'proudly South African' goodies that are adding to my excitement.

This list (most of which I suspect will be edible) should serve both as a check-list for me and 명우, and as a cautionary sequel to the "culture shock" post for my friends who will be arriving soon.  Alternatively it could be used as a guide for whenever you want to send me a parcel of love.

THE LIST

1- ULTRAMEL CUSTARD 

I miss few things as much as I do Ultramel (Vanilla) Custard. Oh good heavens, that bright yellow goodness!  It's like edible sunlight!!! THAT'S HOW HAPPY IT MAKES ME!!!! As a child, teenager, younger me .....well I still have a dream of owning an Ultramel Custard factory with a designated swimming tank. Kind of like the old granny in the movie Patch Adams, with the noodles in the swimming pool - but not. 

2- INEDIBLE SUNLIGHT

3-OUMA RUSKS.

Yes, Molteno*....well done! You have created a void that I crave to be filled, by an Ouma.  And if you don't dip your Ouma, you're no friend of mine. ;)  

*Molteno is a TINY 'dorpie' where an Ouma one day started making the best darn rusks in the world.

4- MARIE BISCUITS

While we are on the subject of dunking and dipping, let us move on to a 'classic childhood memory snack', the Marie Biscuit.  This biscuit, in my humble cookie conesseur opinion, is more 'more-ish' than the so called 'eat some more' tennis biscuit.  Just ask my older sister, she could eat 2 packs in one sitting (no word of a lie).

*Caution: do not dunk longer than 1.8 seconds, and keep a teaspoon handy.

5- MRS BALL'S CHUTNEY

What's in a name?? According to Shakespeare a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  So lets just pretend that the name is not Mrs Ball's chutney and enjoy the magic found bottled up in it. No really, it IS MAGICAL. 

6- ALL GOLD TOMATO SAUCE

Almost as magical as the aforementioned Mrs Ball's condiment and equally as necessary at any braai (and a majority of other meals too) is All Gold Tomato sauce.  With no preservatives and 36 tomatoes crammed into each bottle, how can one go wrong?

- useless fact: my first ever bicycle was won in an All Gold tomato sauce competition. I was about 5 and won a bike that I am sure even Lance would struggle to straddle. So I had to trade in the giant road-bike for my first kiddie-mountain bicycle. 

7- BRAAI

Yes, yes!!  I know I am a vegetarian. Just sitting around the fire with a beer, practising all kinds of superstitions to make the smoke blow to the other side of the circle, while waiting for the salads and potato-bake is enough of a reason to have it on the list. 명우 you are going to LOVE this meat!!! 많이 먹어요~!!!!!! ^^

8 - STEERS VEGGIE BURGER

Call me Pavlov's bitch but you just say steers veggie burger and I could salivate a barrel for you.  With that yummy steers sauce! OH.My.GRACIOUS.!!!! I want one NOW!!!

9- CREAM SODA

Be it at pre-drinks, drinks, post-drinks, recovery-I-think-I-might-die-Drinks or simply soft-drinks this green marvel of happiness is sorely missed in my life.  Sparletta cream soda its so goooooooooood~!!!

10- SWEETIE PIES and CARAMELLO BEARS

These are two things that I do not miss that often, but when I crave them you best not get on my wrong side. They always remind me of last minute pick-n-pay purchases combined with immediate/car park satisfaction.Car park satisfaction sounds dodgy and wrong, but its not the dirty exhibitionist kind that I am referring to.  What I mean is getting lost in the too-sweet-but-too-good taste that can make you forget just about any problem you have with the first bite.
                            

Well there are my top 10, in no particular order.  I realise that all you meat eaters might be in a state of shock that I didn't include BILTONG, DROEEWORS, BOEREWORS, SPUR RIBS and TINNED SMOKED MUSCLES but in all honesty I cant miss something that I wont eat even if it is readily available, right???hmmm.....  ;)

If you are coming to the airport to meet me in SA, or seeing me within the first couple of days reread this post and take notes. :)  And if you are coming to Korea soon, make sure you pack your favourite goodies, and maybe some extra deodorant (it is not ALWAYS easy to come by).

Looking forward to hearing what I have missed out on my list.

x