Brazil Business Trip - Shopping

I didn't really sight see much as I was rather paranoid about the crime rate in Sao Paulo. So I will blog about the food I ate and shopping I did while I was there. My first real Brazilian meal I had was actually at a food court at Shopping Ibirapuera Mall near my hotel. It was actually ten minutes walk away, and it was a rather old mall. But at the basement, there is a food court filled with people. I tried the steak above. A kind girl help me order everything as I couldn't speak a word of Portuguese. She even recommended how the steak should be cooked. I pick the 3 sides and the drink, and it cost around 8SGD for the meal, and 3SGD for the drinks! I love it as the steak was delicious and around 100g? And the salsa, i love salsa. I had it everyday at the company canteen!

Above is my typical lunch at the company canteen. It's a buffet and you can eat as much as you want, and it's self service. I usually pick a meat (usually beef), and lots of vegetables, and salsa. Sometimes there are paste and pies etc, and I would take some just to try. They also have ice cream and dessert which  I would usually try as well. Everything was delicious to me. And the fact that there were so little carb, I actually slimmed down in Brazil! Just eating breakfast and lunch which is packed with protein and vegetables. I usually skip dinner or just eat a pack of fruits bought from the grocery shop nearby. Sadly I've put it all back one week back in Singapore. 

On the last day of our workshop, our business user's manager treated us to coffee. It was a super thick espresso and it was so good that I felt like an addict when I tasted it. It's like I need a moment of silence just to enjoy it. I really did needed it since my flight was at 2am!

Some stuff I bought back: Brazilian nuts and coffee since Brazil is famous for coffee and I am addicted to drip coffee. Haven't tried these yet.

While I was at Shopping Ibirapuera, I found a small super market in the mall and got all the above as souvenirs for people back home: mainly chocolate and more coffee. 

I came across this bottle which looked familiar and I got one just to try since its not sold in Singapore. Apparently this is the legendary soda that was found in my ex-ex-company last time which someone brought back but nobody drink it cause it was so rare! My indian vendor told me that it was sugar cane soda. I can't tell when I drank it. But it was interesting. 

Beautiful chocolate I assumed. Can't read the labels. I was hoping that they are chocolate drinks, but I think they are just chocolate bars with special message on them. I thought they would make a pretty gift to my girlfriends back home. 

I bought 3 packs of Ethiopian coffee while I was in transit. These cost me USD4 each pack. I recently drank the black pack coffee during the weekend and it was delicious! Thick and aromatic. In fact, my whole bag smells of coffee when I came back with them. Would definitely get more of these if I was there. I had to use my credit card to buy these as they didn't accept anything but USD and pounds. 

I wasn't planning on getting anything else for myself, but my vendor mentioned that Havaianas are really cheap here and very comfortable to wear and that I should get myself some. So I google it and found that there is a shop at the airport. I got these there. The above slippers as a souvenir with the Brazil flag on it. Both pairs cost me less than SGD40. I know some cost around SGD40 per pain in Singapore. 

The 2nd pair was an impulsive buy. The shop assistant that was attending to me was rather funny and warmth. I used hand gesture and facial expression to communicate with her and I think she finds me funny. She was wearing a Carnival special edition and it was all blink, but it was so expensive that I couldn't afford it. So I pick this shiny pair instead cause I wanted a classy slipper to wear. At the counter she ask if I wanted to personalise them with charms. OMG, I didn't even know that was possible! So I picked two shinny stub to go with them. Totally love it! I wore them out last Saturday and they shine in the sun! Super love! Probably my favourite buy from this trip!