Good and bad buys from Aldi and Lidl

Scritti

Yep, got some of those butter biscuits from Lidl yesterday too. Never tried them before - they were indeed yummy. I'd pop back to get more (I live a few doors down from Lidl- yay!) but I've woken up feeling like hell, think I might be coming down with a bug. Bah.

Should've known they'd be nice - the Jaffa cakes are also part of the Sondey range and they are the nicest Jaffa cakes I've ever had.

Also bought 4 of the Schogetten chocolate "bars". Phwoar, they are really nice too. Wish I'd bought more of these as well. Really creamy and the way the chunks were already loose was well handy, so much easier to keep having the occasional chunk or to share with others. Think I might have to ask the missus to pop out for me actually.

Didn't try the Fin Carre "deluxe" bars that are on offer all week. My experience with Fin Carre is that it tastes like candle wax. Putting some cornflakes in it won't change my mind. As the Schogetten is cheaper than Lidl's Bellarom (edit - no it isn't as it's 100g as opposed to the 200g for Bellarom), I was expecting it to be as bad as the Fin Carre. I think I actually preferred it so the Schogetten will be my go-to choc from Lidl from now on I think. Can't beat "alpine" milk chocolate. Milka bars are half-price (50p) at Morrison's at the moment. Yummy. Needless to say, my cupboard is well stocked with them now.

Had a terrible blow-out day yesterday. I'm on a diet whereby I eat only porridge, chicken breast and veg when on work days and can eat what I like on my days off. Went a bit mental last night. A lovely fry-up. Lidl's bacon (yummy) is on offer so had that with Lidl's sausages (just over a quid for 8 - a bargain and they're delicious), Lidl's free-range eggs (£1 for 6 like in Aldi) and Lidl's frozen fries (79p - a bargain but not as nice as the ones from Aldi). No wonder I feel like poo today.

Lidl's half-price weekend is such a brilliant idea - I only wish Aldi would copy it. Things are so stupidly cheap, it's a great time to grab and try new things.

Also - Had my first Aldi dislike for many months recently. Their Gianni's copy of Carte D'Or vanilla ice cream was pretty bad. Not unpleasant but not a patch on the real thing. Luckily, the real thing is almost half-price at Lidl this week so picked up a couple of tubs. Will keep trying the Gianni's range though - the Cornetto copies I had last summer were, I thought, even nicer than the originals - lovely thick, tasty ice cream - delicious!

mcculloch29

Mentioned it before but the Aldi Gianni's cherry with vanilla ice cream is heavenly. I'm also keen on the Ben and Jerry's cookie dough lookie likey.
I second Schogetten chocolates, they were my favourites when I lived in Germany, great to give to small children along with Kinder schokolade.
The Aldi Bahlsen type biscuits are every bit as good as the original, imo.

If anyone here has the Jack Monroe cookbook and has been using Aldi to get ingredients, I've found the Everyday tinned peach slices (for peach and chickpea curry) are fine, ditto the chickpeas, and kidney beans. The Aldi chopped tomatoes and passata are excellent too. The onions seem to be ok again after a longish period of not being ok, though my store is very busy and turns over stock quickly.

Actually, I think ALL Aldi stores are very busy.... the drop in profits for the Big Four supermarkets has to be as a result of sales going to Aldi and Lidl.

Happygreen

Schogetten are not Lidl's own brand but a well loved quality German brand, like the giant square bars Lidl sells of Ritter Sport, absolutely lovely and even at regular price not really expensive. On icecreams, Lidl here still has the Magnum copies (£ 8 for 2.29 XL pack) and I can't tell the difference from a Magnum....I do find Lidl tidyer and brighter, more fun to shop in than Aldi. I tend to have a fixed list for Aldi, which is price and some quality determined. I tend to stick to it , at Lidls I always find more good offers but always have spent less than calculated before the checkout (with the big T I always spend more than what I calculated for what I bought);)

maman

alandbailey wrote: »

I bought a Cherry, Peach & Apple tree - the Cherry & Peach are now in leaf.:j

I've got the lavender, olive and rosemary 'trees' plus I bought my SIL a bay all at £15 each. they're really good, and half the price of M&S.


What I have noticed is that the plants are not well looked after in Aldi. I think they work on the principle that everything will be sold quickly but if it's not they don't seem to be watered and get to look increasingly sad.:(

VfM4meplse

Happygreen wrote: »

she's not selling them on, only was expressing how much she liked them and to get her many! there might be none left anyway by the time we get there

I wasn't referring to your daughter, I was moaning about the retailers that turn up at 8am on the dot and take all the stock

Has anyone seen this HDUK deal on strawberries locally? Thread made me lol :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:And if so, do they taste nice?

Happygreen

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I wasn't referring to your daughter, I was moaning about the retailers that turn up at 8am on the dot and take all the stock

if we ever managed to get up at weekends to hit Lidl at 8 we might consider trying on a business :rotfl:. There was 1 wholesale box left at 4 p.m. and she stocked up with 8 packs from her own money and I bought 2

bluep

Has anyone tried the instant noodles in Aldi - are they as good as any other?

mcculloch29

bluep wrote: »

Has anyone tried the instant noodles in Aldi - are they as good as any other?

I have, and yes, they are fine. I use them instead of egg noodles in stir-fries.
Incidentally Aldi's bagged ready-prepped veg for stir-fries are really good, I've switched to these from the frozen bags of stir-fry at Heron, which are excellent but do cook down a lot, being frozen.

mcculloch29

Tried the Aldi Specially Selected tagliatelle with Jack Monroe's Creamy Salmon Pasta with a Chilli Lemon Kick this evening. Pasta is pasta usually, I know, this cooked beautifully though and was a nice luxury touch for a super-economical recipe.

paulineb_2

bluep wrote: »

Has anyone tried the instant noodles in Aldi - are they as good as any other?

Yes, I also really like the essentials savoury rice, aldi 25p a packet.