A few posts back I mentioned my quest to find vegemite.
Usually I don’t take vegemite with me when I go away. It’s not that I don’t
love it but most days on the ship I am not up early enough to eat breakfast and
when I am, I eat bacon and eggs etc.
While I was sick a few weeks back I craved what my Mum would give me in
times of illness, vegemite on toast. So easy
to nibble on, so satisfying but I stupidly dismissed the idea of bringing a jar
with me. (Partially due to my suitcase already being at the limit to fly with
REX)
Jun and I would go in to different stores in the hope that
we might find a jar tucked away in an aisle, maybe with the jams or maybe the
imported section. We became so desperate for the delicious taste of yeast
extract (I say we because Jun loves it, no word of a lie) that each time we saw
a white person, we would whisper “vegemite, vegemite, vegemite” in the hope
they would turn around, proclaim that they are indeed Australian and point us
in the direction of my favourite breakfast spread. This method of course failed
time and time again but it amused us to try….
We had a few leads on where to buy vegemite but unfortunately
these places were well over an hour’s drive away and although I had cravings, I
was not that desperate. We had started
to lose hope when we saw a sign… “Market Australia” - Metro Supermarket. We forced a U turn and pulled in to get a
closer look at the sign. It wasn’t very descriptive as to what kind of market
it was but we did get some vital information, it starts the next day! I’m so
excited, I can hardly wait. What’s more Australian than vegemite? They are
going to have it for sure!
The next day we head back to the supermarket to check out this
market of all things OZ. Hardy’s wine, Australian Cheese, Jatz biscuits,
Australian bacon ($26/kg… pass), Fountain sauces, Australian cereals, Tim Tams
(no big deal, I’ve found them in most major supermarkets here!), Steggles
frozen chicken… but no vegemite. You call this “Market Australia”?! Where’s the
vegemite?! This is a disappointing blow for the Great Vegemite Hunt. I’m starting to lose faith, I don’t want to
hunt anymore but Jun encourages me to go on. We can’t give up. It must be out
there somewhere….
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| Where's the Vegemite? |
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| So many Tim Tams... Good to know they're around if I need a fix! |
Jun’s friend Wam invites us out to hear his band play. I ‘m
really excited for two reasons: 1. I haven’t been to a gig for a long time. 2.
It’s at an Aussie bar, who knows what we might find there… Jun doesn’t feel well, he has a bad headache
but he knows I really want to go. I tell him that we don’t have to go whilst
trying to push paracetamol on him in the hope that the headache will go away.
We’re so close to vegemite, I can feel it. Despite being against taking
medicine, he takes one and starts to feel marginally better and we decide to
go. (I’ve already got my make up on so it would be a waste not to go…)
It takes us an hour and 20 minutes to get there, park and
walk to the venue. I can hardly believe my eyes when we approach the venue and advertised
in the window, something so glorious that I can hardly believe my luck. Here, in Manila, I have found….. a Villi’s Pie!!
(Ha! You thought I was going to say vegemite! Sadly, no.) So what, it’s not
vegemite but is something equally great, a piece of South Australia right here.
We sit outside to enjoy the gig but at the end of the song, they start packing
up. We’d missed it! I’m feeling really disappointed about missing the gig but I
know something that will make it all better, an $8 Villi’s Pie.
The pie was advertised with gravy or with potato and
gravy. I opted for just the pie and gravy
on the side. (Does anyone put gravy on their pie?) My Filipino friends are
curious as to why I am so excited about this pastry and so I very kindly share
it out with the 3 of them. For those of
you who have known a Villi’s pie or 2 (or 20) will know what a sacrifice it is
to share the deliciousness. Once they
tasted the pie, I think all 3 of them realise the sacrifice I had just made to
share a piece of my culture with them.
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| Couldn't you go a Villi's? |
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| Why yes I could! Only $8... |
On the topic of all things OZ, Jun tells Wam about our Great
Vegemite Hunt and you wouldn’t believe the outcome of the conversation. Wam.
Has. Vegemite! (At his house, not on
him. I think I would have tackled him to the ground if he actually had it with
him). It turns out his brother had seen it in a store and was curious to try
it. He didn’t like it and so it had been sitting in the cupboard, unloved and
barely touched for some time. This is no life for a jar of Vegemite! Wam
promises that he is going to give it to me and I am eternally grateful. I now
know where there is vegemite, I just have to wait for it.
The next day Jun receives a text from Wam, he is coming over…
with vegemite! Finally! The time has come and due to a sixth sense I already
have bread and butter in the fridge ready to go. When Wam arrives he passes me
the vegemite. I practically smother him with a hug whilst proclaiming my love
then make a bee line to the kitchen. Its
vegemite on toast all round! Wam has tried vegemite in the past and wasn’t a
fan, however, was it prepared by an Australian? He tries the vegemite and
enjoys it. (This worries me a little, please don’t take the jar away!) It turns
out that when he and his brother tried it, they didn’t realise that you also need
to have butter. In Australia it’s just assumed that you have butter and so it
never occurred to me that someone wouldn’t know to put butter on before
vegemite. I guess, why would you know that if you don’t even know what vegemite
is?
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| Vegemite on toast and a cold milk milo. Yum! |
I have introduced Jun to the toasted cheese and vegemite
sandwich with the butter and vegemite on the outside and he loves it. He now asks me if we can have toasted cheese
and vegemite sandwiches! He is a convert. He is not the only one I have
converted. Jun’s friend Hannah (who produced the Philippines part of “Hamish
and Andy’s Asian Gap Year”) came around and after discussing vegemite, she was
curious to try. We all headed down to the kitchen to witness the vegemite
initiation and whaddya know… another convert!
One by one you shall succumb to the flavour of the Great
Vegemite……
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| I just had to add this pic... This is my shopping basket. I'm supposed to be soaking up the Filipino culture... |
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