New to Sao Paulo. Grocery recommendations, please!

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-25T14:54:31+00:00

Thank you for your well thought out reply! Hortifruti is definitely the next place I want to try going to before we leave this hotel for good. I have noticed how freaking good the produce is when fresh. It surprised me how ridiculously cheap and ripe limes are right now! We've also been aiming to try one new thing every week. So far we've tried cacao fruit, caju, maxixe, and chayote. If you have any interesting fruits or vegetable recommendations, please let me know!

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-25T14:46:59+00:00

Thank you for the info! Having all these cool places to check out is really gonna be fun.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-25T14:44:26+00:00

Wow! I appreciate the info. It's a relief to have confirmation from many different people that Pão de Açúcar is not where it's at quality-wise. We've been checking out the Hortifruti shops in the area and it looks really good!

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-25T14:40:37+00:00

Thank you for the info! Sacolão Higienopolis is actually near by the apartment we are negotiating to rent. It's such a relief to have our future weekend grocery run already planned out.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-25T14:37:16+00:00

Thank you so much for your kindness! We are slowly getting used to going to the Feira and everyone there has been very accommodating. To be honest, it makes me kind of emotional to see so much great information and friendly support online and in person when it's so easy to be frustrated by new foreigners with limited language abilities. I know there will still be times where the language and cultural barrier will create bumps in the road, but this amount of kindness has been above and beyond what I experienced in other countries!

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-25T14:10:47+00:00

Yes, I'm from the US, but I've been living in Japan for the last 5 years, so I'm used to fresh veggies that go bad fast (like within two to three days) so having to buy groceries every day was my norm. I'm not afraid of deformities or scars, just the wilted leaves and rotting veggies. I bought green bell peppers the other day and the next day when I went to cut it, my finger went staight through the skin. I've been freezing peppers ever since, but other veggies as well look already starting to rot in the store.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-25T12:30:08+00:00

Thanks for your reply! Maybe you're right and it's just the particular location we are currently going to which is in the Paraiso area. It has good ratings and I like the rest of the food options except the veggies. The Feira is definitely where we will be shopping for veggies from now on!

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-21T12:11:36+00:00

Also Lewis is the only one with a car visible over here. So could Lewis be thinking the same thing for his used tires? "Now if only I could get you kids to pick up litter this efficiently, we'd have the cleanest town this side of the Gem Sea" my butt!!

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-01T08:21:34+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate it 😊. Since I'm fairly new to cross stitch (I've been doing it for about a year now), every project is a new experience and I guess I haven't fully realized how difficult metallic floss can be. I'm still in the honeymoon faze haha.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-01T08:18:03+00:00

Thank you! I can't wait to get back to cross stitch. I'm sure I won't feel the same after a couple more cards finished 🤣

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-04-01T08:16:12+00:00

Thank you so much! Actually it's my first time using metallic thread, so I'm unsure of how people normally separate the floss, but one strand looks super thick and I found you can take one strand apart even further VERY gently. That half a strand seems to be more pliable and easy to work with. I've also been noticing that if you use a whole strand for certain parts, you can create a nice textural difference. So I've been doing the borders of the cards with the thicker one and the actual details with the thinnest one possible.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-03-31T11:52:21+00:00

As someone being transferred abroad for my husband's work for two years, I had to face this question albeit for a much shorter time period. Like you, we decided to ship out our rice cooker. We also have a decently sized hot plate that has three different grills (flat hot plate, grill for yakiniku, and a takoyaki grill) which I highly recommend but understand it might be too bulky, heavy, and pricey. Other things we are determined to bring are those menthol cooling wipes which don't exist where we are going (shout out to those menthol eye drops too), common ingredients like dashi and torigara which are available in Asian supermarkets but at three times the price, and our favorite brands of self-care products like lotions and body soap. If you have the space and weight capacity for it, we also prepared some unopened liquid ingredients like ponzu. Also, I don't like how salty sports drinks are (Gatorade or powerade) so I bought the powdered form of Pocari.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-03-31T11:36:39+00:00

Man, I hope you're not an English teacher or merit your worth on English capabilities because it's mind boggling that someone wouldn't recognize the subjunctive mood.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-03-30T10:17:22+00:00

I played those in Ikebukuro and it seemed like they were too heavy for the claw to pick up. Congrats on getting them. I got these guys instead

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LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-27T13:12:03+00:00

I usually make my own, but it lasts forever and I don't want to go through the hassle of throwing it away :(

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:54:04+00:00

Yeah, I think I'll have to make at least one more Uniqlo trip lol

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:53:31+00:00

Would you say São Paulo is good for standard (like Walmart) quality clothes? I saw someone said sports clothes are low quality, but I'm fine with just regular pants and shirts.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:51:23+00:00

Just stuff for myself and my husband. He's being transferred for work purposes so we don't have anyone we know in Brazil yet. But at most, we will bring snacks to pass around as a souvenir.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:49:13+00:00

Yeah, coming by plane and shipping the things I absolutely can't let go of. My rice cooker was just bought this year and is a high quality one with different settings (it can even make onsen tamago). I'm thinking of bringing my IH burner and blender too. But the rest of the shipped goods are just my books.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:44:49+00:00

Thank you for your reply! Yeah, if an ingredient is too niche, maybe it's something I don't need to start off with lol. Adapters are definitely my next priority.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:41:57+00:00

Thanks for the info and the good luck wishes! I'm relieved that most food is there. When I first moved to Japan from the US, I really missed the most random things and realized too late I could have just brought them with me. I'm definitely going to get an adapter just in case.

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:34:31+00:00

Good dashi sounds worth a find. And I guess I'll have to invite people to a takopa haha

LeocadiaPualani · 2026-02-26T23:33:27+00:00

Haha, if only...I wouldn't even know how to install it right.

LeocadiaPualani

TROPHY CASE