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ALDI - Good and bad


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Old 27-08-2013, 21:15
degsyhufc
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I thought i'd post a sister thread to the LIDL one.

Just list what you think are good ALDI products and which you still prefer to get at other supermarkets or well known branded items.

Good: Clarke's Bourbon.
Just as nice as the supermarket branded bourbon from ASDA, Tesco & Morrisons.
The LIDL one I don't like. You'd think they'd be all similar but the LIDL one has a strange aftertaste for me.

The ALDI one is about £13 so a few pennies cheaper than other own brands and a couple of quid cheaper than Sainsbury's.
I'm happy enough with the quality than paying a lot more for JD/Jim Beam or other branded bourbons (or Tennesee Whiskey)
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Old 27-08-2013, 22:58
earthling13
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Good or as good as supermarket:

Most dairy products
New potatoes at the moment
Macon
Pringles style snacks
Gherkins
Kitchen towels
Baking foil
Shower spray ( when you can get it!)
Fresh chicken breasts and thighs
Sweet chilli dipping sauce.......
......and many more I can't think of at the moment.

Bad:

Egg fried rice is vile
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Old 27-08-2013, 23:11
Vernon Bennett
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Good - the counterfeit goods operation
Bad - never actually being able to put together a weeks shopping so I don't bother with the place
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Old 28-08-2013, 12:07
jazzyjazzy
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Their Maris Piper potatoes are very good at the moment and eggs, they are a lot fresher than any other supermarket eggs.
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Old 28-08-2013, 12:40
Porcupine
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I have only been once. I felt like I was in a foreign country and noone spoke the same language as me in there !!

I bought some whisky that was advertised in the paper as coming top of the taste tests. It was jolly good but I can't remember the name of it. Their whole nut chocolate was also great. I did buy some Southern Fried chicken in there, but that was awful. When cooked the coating fell off the chicken was odd tasting.
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Old 28-08-2013, 15:41
JJ75
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Good:
Most of the fruit and veg
Bags of salad - its lasts ages
Tinned chopped tomatoes
Mushy peas - soooo yummy!
Tinned mushrooms
Gammon
Ham
Tuna steaks
Eggs
Coleslaw with cheese
Mature grated cheese - sell by date is long

I tend to stay away from the ready meals so cant comment on those. The chicken seems so cheap that I cant bring myself to buy it - it cant have led a happy life!
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Old 29-08-2013, 08:09
earthling13
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Good:
Most of the fruit and veg
Bags of salad - its lasts ages
Tinned chopped tomatoes
Mushy peas - soooo yummy!
Tinned mushrooms
Gammon
Ham
Tuna steaks
Eggs
Coleslaw with cheese
Mature grated cheese - sell by date is long

I tend to stay away from the ready meals so cant comment on those. The chicken seems so cheap that I cant bring myself to buy it - it cant have led a happy life!
BIB It's British and Red Tractor assured so it is reared by the same standards as the equivalent in any supermarket.


OH had a lemon cheesecake yesterday and said it was horrible. Turned out he thought it was a triffle so the jury's still out on that one!
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Old 29-08-2013, 09:16
bobcar
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Good is the Corale baked beans.
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Old 29-08-2013, 10:46
JJ75
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BIB It's British and Red Tractor assured so it is reared by the same standards as the equivalent in any supermarket.


OH had a lemon cheesecake yesterday and said it was horrible. Turned out he thought it was a triffle so the jury's still out on that one!
Thanks for that - I will give it a try then. How the hell can you mistake a lemon cheesecake for a triffle!!
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Old 29-08-2013, 10:50
earthling13
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Thanks for that - I will give it a try then. How the hell can you mistake a lemon cheesecake for a triffle!!
You don't know my OH!

Like you, I avoided the chicken for a long while. I was buying it in Tesco but too often it was tough so I transfered to my butcher but got fed up with them as they never seemed to have chicken pieces and were reluctant to cut up a whole chicken. Then I noticed the Red Tractor and union flag on the Aldi chicken and thought I'd give it a go. So far, so good.
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Old 29-08-2013, 12:24
farmer bob
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Grandessa Peanut Butter (smooth) is lovely.
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Old 29-08-2013, 12:56
postit
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I can't fault Aldi. I don't buy frozen ready meals so can't comment on those. However the fresh veg is superb and tons cheaper than anywhere else, their bread is lovely and wines are excellent.
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Old 29-08-2013, 15:57
saladcream
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the fillet steak!!! its awesome
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Old 29-08-2013, 17:08
degsyhufc
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Cheesy Curls are as good as, if not better than Quavers
and for what they are, which is puffed up so not a lot for your money, Quavers are very expensive and the ALDI equivalent are a fraction of the price.


I guess the only thing is that although most bags are rightly seasoned some are heavily seasoned, which is no bad thing, but also some are lightly seasoned and don't have much flavour. So there is a problem with consistency.
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Old 29-08-2013, 17:33
earthling13
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Cheesy Curls are as good as, if not better than Quavers
and for what they are, which is puffed up so not a lot for your money, Quavers are very expensive and the ALDI equivalent are a fraction of the price.


I guess the only thing is that although most bags are rightly seasoned some are heavily seasoned, which is no bad thing, but also some are lightly seasoned and don't have much flavour. So there is a problem with consistency.
That's the same with their Pringles style snacks but they're never completely tasteless.
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Old 29-08-2013, 19:07
TigerBlood
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At 99p, their fresh filled pasta is a match for any of the supermarket brands I've come across (how much is there really that you can do wrong?)

Also happy enough with their fruit and fibre cereal, comparable to the supermarket own brands, at supermarket value brand pricing
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Old 29-08-2013, 23:47
angel10578
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Aldi cooked meat and cheese selection is amazing and far far cheaper than any other supermarket. Their houmous is lovely too and again half the price of other supermarkets! I also love their 3 pack of medium sized frozen cheese and tomato pizzas (I don't buy frozen pizzas usually as most are dire) but these are really good and you can add toppings as extra. The chocolate ranges are great too. Love Aldi!
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Old 30-08-2013, 11:47
Wallasey Saint
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I like Aldi, one near me that was built a couple of years ago. The Lasagne is as good as the major Supermarkets, the 1kg one which in my local Aldi is about £2:75 can easily make a meal for 2.

Love the Southern Fried Chicken pieces, get a few more pieces than the major Supermarkets & only just a bit more expensive, in my local Tesco something like £3 for 6 pieces, local Aldi about £3:50-£3:80 & a few more pieces which fill the baking tray.
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Old 30-08-2013, 12:01
Shrike
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I like their "St Etienne" Belgian beer
- nicer than the Stella its clearly trying to rip-off
Other than that there isn't anything I particularly go there for, and like others I rarely go in as I can never find everything I want for a full shopping list.
I do occasionally buy stuff off the central "offers" area - but I'm sure I'd use the place more if they scrapped that and had a larger stock of permanent lines.
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Old 30-08-2013, 16:01
grassmarket
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I like their "St Etienne" Belgian beer
- nicer than the Stella its clearly trying to rip-off
.
The Bavarian wheat beer is very good as well, just as good as the brands you pay £2 a bottle for. The German lagers are not much cop, mind.
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Old 30-08-2013, 18:04
curvybabes
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I like Aldi but being strict on the diet just now I,m staying away as the place just has so many cheap goodies .. the fruit and veg is great but I not enough willpower to walk past all the munchies to get to them
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Old 30-08-2013, 18:14
degsyhufc
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That's a good point.
Our ASDA & Morrisons has fruit and veg at the front of the store.
ALDI and LIDL have the fruit and veg at the back.
They both start with cereals and biscuits followed by sweets and crisps.
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Old 31-08-2013, 14:21
Isambard Brunel
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Bread - Their toastie is a Warburtons clone and is good for 75p. They also do 4 large soft rolls which are nice. Lidl's large burger buns aren't as nice. I also like Aldi's muffins and naan.

Biscuits are nicer than Lidl, especially wafers and other ones with chocolate and caramel in them. The cereals are also nice, though I've never tried Lidl's so I can't compare.

Beef joints (21 day matured) taste better than the equivalent in Asda and is cheaper. Half legs of lamb are also nice. The fresh ones are nicer than frozen, however the 'fresh' ones also arrive frozen but get put out overnight to defrost.

Salads are great, as is their premium coleslaw.

Gin is nice, at least as good as Asda's own brand but cheaper. Lidl's is vile. I think Aldi's white rum is also slightly nicer than Lidl. When they do it, their advocaat is very nice for £5.

Wines are nicer than Lidl. Aldi have a new "Exquisit Collection" of reasonable wines for between £5-7.

Milk and cheese is good, better than Lidl.

Cream crackers are as good as Jacobs, better than Lidl.

They do 4 "Specially Selected" frozen quarter pounders for £2, which are much better than Lidl's version. Less grease comes out when you cook them. Maybe there's less horse in them or somthing.

They do nice frozen tarts. I like the chery & custard one the most.

Frozen pizzas are as nice as Goodfellas but cheaper, and better than Lidl.

They do 49p 1L bottles of a morello cherry flavoured fizzy drink that's nice. If you like Red Bull, they do their version in 1L bottles as well as small cans, unlike Lidl.

Packets of 10 hot dogs are nicer than Lidl.

Free range eggs are very good, like Lidl.

Their "Specially Selected" two large pieces of battered cod or haddock are very nice.

Specially Selected chunky maris piper oven chips are lovely.

I don't like their hair gel, Lidl's is better.

I don't like any of their ice creams, even the premium ones. I much prefer Lidl.

Their cheesecakes are far too sugary.

Their dark rum is nothing special, neither is Lidl's.
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Old 31-08-2013, 19:27
degsyhufc
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Half legs of lamb are also nice. The fresh ones are nicer than frozen, however the 'fresh' ones also arrive frozen but get put out overnight to defrost.
Confused about that. Are they the same price?
If cheaper then why not buy frozen and defrost it yourself?
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Old 01-09-2013, 01:36
CombatHamster
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There's an Aldi at the end of my street that was only built about a year ago and tbh I can't really fault it. Pretty much everything they do is either as good as or better than Tesco/Sainsbury's etc. Even their frozen pizzas are nice. And their fruit is fantastic, and the cereals, fresh pasta and pizzas, quiches, salad bags, cottage cheese... All cheaper too of course.

The only thing I don't like it their tomato pasta sauce (only about 35p for a big jar so I wasn't expecting luxury) it has a horrible cheap taste to it.
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