Exotic food in France

I find it quite surprising to have found some tetra-pak Ribena drinks under the exotic section in Carrefour. I discovered only recently that my husband (and perhaps 99% of the French people) didn’t even know about this famous drink in England and in most (or probably all) of the Commonwealth countries. I have always known this drink, since young. Everyone in Malaysia and Singapore knows what it is. Children love it. The drink is made of blackcurrant juice. It is tasty, full of vitamins and refreshing.

Actually, the funniest part is that it is classified as “exotic”, and under the same section, I found myself even more surprised and tickled! I found baked beans! Just like Ribena, baked beans became part of the life of Malaysians and Singaporeans and they use baked beans frequently in their local home-cooked meals. For information, baked beans are available in the “Chinese mixed rice” stalls hawker centres.

France must have been, at one moment, been rather enclosed. Foodstuff from across the Channel is rather unknown here. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that the English cuisine does not appeal at all to the French (and to most of us), hence the French people ignored the options all together. But it’s a real pity to have not known Ribena......