I'm excited to visit MK this week and want to do some shopping. I'm looking for: Raspberry Pi, fake meat, real meat, dad clothes. Suggestions?
Posted by RearAdmiralP@reddit | miltonkeynes | View on Reddit | 29 comments
Hi! I'm taking a short city break to MK this coming week. I'm thrilled to be visiting your wonderful city again. I'm American, but I live in Hungary, and visits to MK are a special treat for me. I really enjoy being in a modern city, and being able to get around hearing and speaking English everywhere is so relaxing.
Anyway, I'd like to do a bit of shopping while I'm visiting, and I thought I would ask here for suggestions about where/what to buy. I'm looking for the following stuff:
- A Raspberry Pi 5. I can easily order this online, but, when possible, I like to buy things in physical stores. Are there any around selling them? Does anyone know if the museum shop at the National Museum of Computing, which I plan to visit, might happen to sell them?
- Fake meat-- specially a fake "roast". The roast in this picture is from the American brand Tofurky, which I understand used to be sold in the UK but no longer is. Can anyone suggest local brands making something similar and where to buy one?
- Black pudding and white pudding. I assume I can just buy this at Sainbury's, Waitrose, etc., but I don't know which brands are good. If there's a local butcher that makes some in-house, that would be even better.
- Dad clothes. I can, of course, just go to Centre:MK and walk around (okay, I plan to do that a bit anyway), but if anyone can mention that places where middle-aged men buy trousers and pants and such, I would appreciate it.
Sorry if it's a lot of questions. I've done a bit of research on the topic myself, but I would very much value the input of locals-- you know your city better than google or I do. Thank you so much!
sealedtrain@reddit
Sainsbury do a great fake turkey roast
mkroberta@reddit
You can try Cyntech for the raspberry pi: Cyntech Components Ltd 6 Clitheroe Croft, Kingsmead Milton Keynes, MK4 4HD, UK Tel: +44 1908 373927 sales@cyntech.co.uk
Sedulous280@reddit
Costco used to sell massive Black pudding. You can go to palmers butchers in Bletchley for most real meat 🥩. The might sell white pudding. Never seen anyone selling raspberry pi . Tesco has many fake meats now. Different brands but same thing
RearAdmiralP@reddit (OP)
In the US, a membership is necessary to shop at Costco. Is it the same there?
I checked Palmer's website and didn't see any puddings, but I did see some nice looking biltong, so it's worth a stop anyway. I'll ask while there.
I was planning to visit Tesco anyway, and the M&S the other guy suggested is in MK1, so I'll keep an eye out for good looking fake meat and clothes while there.
Thanks for the tips!
lostuk19427892@reddit
I like Palmers. I find it's a good butchers. They have big packs of sausages. Their steaks are great. UK beef I believe is mostly grass fed.
arghness@reddit
Costco membership is even trickier in the UK, usually have to be a business or government / council worker, I think.
Substantial-Rip2571@reddit
Haven’t heard of having to be a business or government / council worker for a Costco membership, someone in my family has one and isn’t apart of those jobs so I don’t think that’s a thing anymore if it used to be
shdanko@reddit
Fairly certain anyone can just pay a monthly membership now. And there’s tiers of membership… my girlfriend has one and has zero business / government / council ties.
KingDaveRa@reddit
Yes, but at long as you have a membership, you can get in. I.e. If OP has a valid one from the US they can get in.
jaceinthebox@reddit
I'm sure one of the many butchers in Bletchley will sell it, I can buy shark in Bletchley.Â
lostuk19427892@reddit
If you're a foodie and you want some good food you gotta try Five Akhis or Five Akhis express. Award winning burgers.
Personally I find Centre MK is like a concrete maze. I always get lost even though I've been there so many times. I end up using Google maps to get where I need because I can never tell where I am in this mile long shopping centre or however long it is. I end up planning to go from Boots to Marks and Spencer and realising I'm walking the wrong way. Is it just me? Stores only sell skinny people clothes anyway. I can never find my size.
realintopotatochips@reddit
American in MK here. I miss Tofurky! There’s a brand called “THIS” that make a vegan chicken roast, I get it from Sainsburys or Tescos. A bit different than Tofurky, but really great.
Longdan’s plantbased store is really just their “plantbase” products dotted around the entire store. Still worth the trip as there’s a frozen section full of many vegan meats beyond a typical roast.
Veggie World is an excellent all vegan Chinese takeaway-only spot in Bletchley. The correct menu is on Facebook. Call ahead as they book collection times over phone only. Enjoy MK!
UsefulAd8513@reddit
For the RPi, if you have the time, they have a store in the centre of Cambridge 40 miles away from MK.
RearAdmiralP@reddit (OP)
That's perfect! I don't mind the trip at all! Thank you so much!
Notagelding@reddit
I have one that you could buy. I'm not sure if it's a 5
shdanko@reddit
Cool had no idea they had their own stores
shdanko@reddit
Raspberry Pi is a difficult one but off the top of my head I’d try CEX, would be second hand though. I checked their website and apparently stocked as close as Bedford (about 30-40 mins drive).. I bet there are some independent computer shops around you’d find them at though.
Dad clothes TK Maxx is pretty good and good prices! There’s a big one in CMK and a bigger one in Bletchley.
I suck with food so ill bow out of those questions with my head held high lol.
TheMopFromMars@reddit
I bought some fake chicken for Xmas dinner from Wolverton Tesco!
jenny_quest@reddit
Hi I'm about 80% sure.. Maybe more..I saw raspberry pi being sold at the national museum of computing. It was a year or so ago so maybe call/email to check. It's a great museum with a fun shop!
bigboyjeff789@reddit
For fake meat - you could try Longdan MK in bradwell, they have quite a lot of vegan/plant based fake meats. For dad clothes you could check out stony Stratford or Bletchley high streets which both have a lot of charity shops, which are great for Middle Aged bloke clobber.
suicine88@reddit
If you'd like a veggie meal, I'd recommend Veggie World in Bletchley. Pretty good!
Odd_Kaleidoscope3723@reddit
Second that on veggie world! Worth the trip, but I think it’s takeaway only since the pandemic.
RearAdmiralP@reddit (OP)
It looks like there's a "Plantbase Store" inside of the Longan. This looks promising. I love charity stores. Thank you for the suggestions!
Interesting thing-- in Hungary, charity stores advertise that they have "English clothing" and often will incorporate the UK flag in advertisements. English used clothing has a good reputation.
ExtraPersonality1066@reddit
Longdan isn't a charityshop, it's a really nice Asian grocery store though. I
frugalacademic@reddit
Be aware that you cannot bring meat products from outside the EU (thank you Brexit) to an EU country.
RearAdmiralP@reddit (OP)
I think it's that you cannot legally bring meat products into the EU. If the customs man asks about the sausage in my trousers, I'll tell him that I'm just happy to see him :)
Sedulous280@reddit
MK one retail park for clothes is another option
ExtraPersonality1066@reddit
You can buy 3/4 of those things at Marks & Spencer. There's one in Bletchley near the Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park. I don't know about the Rasberry Pi sorry.
RearAdmiralP@reddit (OP)
I had a look at the Marks & Spencer website, and it looks like they primarily (only?) sell own-brand products, so I wouldn't need to choose between several different versions of the same thing, which sounds nice. Thank you for the suggestion!