Pekanbaru - What is not available locally

Hi Tricia, we need also to have a list of items that are not food related: ie electrical appliances, medicines etc...

In truth, you can find almost everything in Pekanbaru, the problem is more when, where and how!

In fact supplies are erratic and it could happen that for a while certain items are not available on the shelves, then there is the time of plenty.

Items you cannot find

Brown flour
Granary flour
Fresh mushrooms
Fresh herbs (apart from coriander and parsley)
Western grown dried herbs such as rosemary, marjoram etc
but Asian herbs and spices are in abundance
Western diary products such as quark, mascarpone etc

Items difficult to find

Coriander
Zucchini
Spasmodic supplies of items such as:
Fresh milk (UHT and dried is available)
Ice cream
Cheeses (apart from processed Kraft cheddar)

The key of living in a fairly remote spot is to embrace local traditions, try everything and find an Indonesian / English cook book featuring local recipes.