Aldi Goodies

Having moved here from Perth, I did not know about the Aldi brand. The first venture into the Aldi at Point Cook was a completely disorienting experience - goods were left in cartons instead of being neatly stacked on shelves like those in Coles and Woolies, brands were unrecognisable. I left it and never returned. That is, until early this year.

I was at the Aust Post and Aldi was just around the corner. Why not check it out? After all, I had time to kill.

And this time, I discovered some great stuff - lilies and roses at $4.99 per bunch, tripled washed and ready to eat salad leaves at $1.99 per 100g (please note that the salad leaves that are selling for slight over $2.00 in coles have to be washed before consumption), whole chicken at $3.99 per kg,  lebanese cucumbers at $2.98 per kg, and so on.  These are items of which brand name did not matter.  I happily grabbed a trolley and started shopping. Since that day, I became an Aldi regular. And, a braver one, after gaining more confidence in their products.  Recently, my son fell in love with their organic milk ($1.99 for 1L) that tasted very creamy and full of milky flavour. I love their organic raisins which are an excellent addition to my bircher muesli ; they are not sticky with sugar coating unlike those in other supermarkets.

Every week, I would check the Coles and Aldi catalogues that come into the mail box.  For those items that are on special in Coles during that week, I will buy from Coles while the other groceries will be bought from Aldi.  I do like Woolies for its meats but have to forget Woolies since moving here as it is 4km away in Werribee and the savings may not cover my petrol unless there are heaps of goodies on sale. Since my family eats in most of the weekdays, we do buy a fair bit, and my savings per week is about $20. Well, $20 can buy a lot more!

If you are like the disoriented me on the first visit, why not give it a second chance? We all need more of the equivalent of Aldi's to stretch our dollar further.  When you do go, bring your own shopping bag and cooler bag. It does not provide plastic bags. Also, bring cash or pay by EFTPOS. There will be a surcharge on credit card.  Once you start becoming more familiar with the Aldi's layout, you will discover more and more gems. Best time to go is late morning when the shelves are filled with fresh stock. Worst time is after 3pm. By then, the stock is already low or sold out for some items.

Enjoy!