Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kimchifart]

Came back here after a year long stint at home...cheese me up!

I'm guessing this is because of the FTA with the EU?

Emart had a ton more cheeses than a year ago and also they are cheaper (they are all 7500 won or below; 4500 for a fresh mozzarella ball)

Am I imagining it? Is there a greater cheese range and more affordable prices? The cheddar was about 6-7000 won and I remember it being up to 9-15,000 before.

[ghettofabulous]

yes, i've noticed it too. homeplus now has the tesco brand block of crumbly feta cheese for less than 7k. made my day cuz i love putting it on salads!

[Adventurer]

[quote="ghettofabulous"]yes, i've noticed it too. homeplus now has the tesco brand block of crumbly feta cheese for less than 7k. made my day cuz i love putting it on salads![/quote

Yes, I noticed that a few months ago, and I noticed very cheap British cheddar cheese at the foreign food market at a cheap price. A friend bought some. I remember when we had to shell out 11-12,000 won for decent cheese. That's why I hardly ate cheese back then. If it's a big block, it will be more, of course.

[Kimchifart]

Personally speaking, this is one of the best things that could happen to me as an expat here. Cheese is the life breath of the expat.

It was always the thing I craved but felt too guilty dishing out 13,000 for a packet of cheddar. Now the prices are such that I can buy it regularly. Superb.

[alongway]

I got cheese at costco about hmm...3 weeks ago? 4 weeks ago?
their aged (sharp) cheddar block, the price was 500 won up.
I'll check next time I go.

[toonchoon]

I haven't noticed this. I have, however, notice, LOTS more American food at Costco, at rather inflated prices. I hope this corrects itself once the American-Korean FTA kicks in, in a week or so. We'll see... I assume it'll take months though.

[Kimchifart]

[12ax7]

[byrddogs]

Can you still get blocks of Tillamook at Costco there, and if so how much?

[saram_]

Not a huge cheese fan but I ll consider buying some from now on..
I've heard the complaint about cheese for a long time!

Little things like this that Korea is getting right make it a much better place to be.. ---- inch by inch Korea is getting there!
Korea in ten years time will be a lot different to now..

I'm expecting it to be a lot more foreigner friendly and pleasant in different ways!!
I wonder what will the complaints be then ..

[amnsg2]

A friend brought back some blocks of British chedder from Homeplus as a gift and we celebrated by making cheese and pickle sandwiches, our hearts lifted and our spirits restored...

For about a month, until the new cheese disappeared again

Sad times.

[allan of asia]

As a brit, i adore Homeplus - Costco is good for the americans here - but most of the brands mean nothing to me there and some are as unfamiliar as Asian foods! Homeplus carries a lot of Tesco products now - way more than before - like wonderful non sugar pumped cereals! ^^ - and it means 4 things -

1 you dont have to trail out to a Costco,
2 you dont have to buy a membership
3 You dont have to buy 25kg of everything which you will never use in a lifetime of certain things (and i know some people share things, but to be honest, I cant be arsed with all that hassle)
4 You dont get treated like a criminal with staff checking your receipt and your trolley on the way out to check you havent nicked stuff - I know this is doen to everyone not just the foreigners at Costco - but I think it is a DISGUSTING policy. They trust precisely NONE of their customers.

I digress - the reason the cheddar and greek cheese and so on is a little cheaper is anything imported from the EU has had tariffs reduced or removed, so you should start to see even more of it! I cant wait till they start stocking more European cheeses that dont cost 21000won for 150g (this used to be the price of stilton!)

[alongway]

[pkang0202]

I like HomePlus, but there is no HomePlus near me.

[orosee]

This is good news but...

Does the anglo-saxon culture [url]only[/url] know Cheddar as cheese, perhaps with a measure of Gouda or Mozzarella thrown in for the more adventurous?

Or is Cheddar somehow better suited to be sold in export markets (e.g. because fungi refuse to grow on it)?

It works okay in a sandwich maker and melts nicely in a microwave over nacho chips, but on bread I need to put horeseradish or mustard on it just to get a decent flavour out of it.

Anyway, here's a tip for those near Hanti Station: The Lotte department store there had a very decent cheese collection as long as I remember, and right next to the cheese (which is sold in the wine department) is an almost excellent bakery selling very very nice breads. Used to set me off 50-70k for 3 days' worth of delight, but maybe the prices ther have dropped as well.