Before Lidl came to Oxford Road, Worldwide was the place where I did most of my shopping. My…read moreflatmate and I set ourselves a challenge - each time we went to Worldwide we would buy an item of fruit or veg which we had never tried before, bring it home, attempt to prepare it and sample it. This led to some rather funny looks at the counter. One one occasion, on asking our Kenyan friend for cooking information, he explained to us that they probably laughed at us because *no-one* buys just one bhindi. We soon learnt from this school-boy error. As well as fruit and veg I always picked up pitta, naan and other foreign breads here, but it's probably not the place to go for a reasonably priced loaf of Warburton's. They also sell exciting fizzy drinks from all over the world, baklava, mango lassi and every herb, spice, bean or pulse you could think of, all of which I can recommend. Things that I have purchased from here and regretted include tinned palak paneer, a tray of 30 very unethical eggs, weird smelling incense, cheese and DIY henna. As a vegetarian I've never looked at the meat counter. But I know that my Muslim flatmate bought her meat there as it is all Halal and my Chinese flatmates bought their meat there because they sold all the disgusting-sounding parts of animals that they liked to boil up in stews, such as chicken feet. I challenge you to visit Worldwide and not to come away with more than you went in for. Even the fruit and veg is priced so that you end up with 3 cucumbers (£1) rather than the one (50p) you went in for!

Worldwide Foods. Not just a clever name my dears, certainly not. While its location on the Curry…read moreMile might make you think it's an Indian supermarket, well! Remember that it's not only Indian restaurants in Rusholme. Okay, so most of them are curry houses, and that's reflected in the fact that Worldwide Foods is mostly Indian, but you're just as likely to find your Turkish flatbreads or your Jerk seasoning here as you are your Patak's pastes and poppadoms. But you'll find so much more. As I found out far too late on the way out, there's a massive fresh produce fruit and veg stall at the back. There's also a Halal butchers, and tons of stuff you've probably never heard of. We picked up some unusual little treasures like miniature crisp puri breads with cumin seeds, like tiny poppadoms, sweet buns made with sesame seeds and egg, and crumbly shortbread-like biscuits with coconut and topped with chopped pistachio and almonds. In fact, if you're as unfamiliar with ethnic sweets as I am, you may well spend most of your time in the cookie aisle to pick up new treats. As well as this there are additional niche items like rose syrup (for faluda methinks), tropical drinks, every kind of Bombay mix you can think of, canned goods and tons of pulses and rice... just do what I did and explore. It's so much fun. Worldwide Foods is nothing short of a culinary adventure!

There are plenty of arguments for and against the social impact of segregated communities in…read moreManchester. One of the overwhelming advantages of such communities however, which I'm sure will gain universal approval is their complete immunity from being threatened by giant retail food chains. You know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that've been driving out small independents outta business across across the country. I LOVE the fact that the communities remain militantly loyal to local foodstores like Madina. Upon close inspection, turns out the reason is a little more complex than just cultural affiliation. One of the main one reasons? This place is AWESOME!! There's literally a library of spices to buy (at BARGAIN prices) and experiment at home with. Any foodie/charlie out there who's sick of the monotonous nature of the shopping experience, will find this to be their culinary/chocolate factory. True, London probably bigger volume of such establishments, but they probably cant beat us for sheer quality. So next time you're stuck in traffic driving to town on Stockport road (through Levenshulme) have a break, and instead of having a kitkat, park up and have a cheeky gander.

Despite having a deceptively small storefront, once inside Madina Superstore turns out to be…read moreanother Desi supermarket easily on a par with branches of Worldwide Foods or Manchester Superstore. With the UK 'hungry gap' upon us, I bagged a box of lychees plus sundry Desi vegetable and fresh herbs. Freshness of the produce was very good, although a bit of banter with a Desi customer revealed that he was passing up on the tinda as being too big - although this is no doubt an out-of-season issue. For the mobile cosmopolitan foodie such as myself, the aim is to know where all the ethnic food stores are so that ethnic food shopping can be done with a minimum of detour from other city business and pleasure. Although there is nothing really oustanding about Madina Superstore to make you travel beyond your nearest Desi superstore, it is nice to have a proper Desi supermarket in Levenshulme to save Levy locals a trip up Stockport Road to Longsight. And visitors such as myself can combine a visit to Madina Superstore with a trip to the monthly Levy Market, or else the permanent Trove café bakery or POD deli.

Alfie, the reason why this Worldwide Foods bears resemblance to Worldwide Foods in Rusholme, is…read morebecause they are part of the same chain (see website for details). You whiz past this shop on the train line which goes southwards from Manchester, and I have often contemplated pushing the emergency stop button to come and grab some of their fresh fruit and veg. It is not as large a store as the one in Rusholme, and doesn't have such a sleek and shiny feel to it, but still stocks a wide range of reasonably priced fresh produce out front, and inside they stock all of your East End and Rajah spices, lentils, beans and pulses, rice and miscellaneous objects such as henna tattoo kits, all at reasonable prices - cheaper if you happen to want 5kg of rice, or 1 litre of curry paste. OK, so most of the products are Indian, so 'worldwide' maybe isn't quite the right word, but they do trays of delicious Turkish baklava, as well as English staples such as milk, tea and bread.

Strangely, this Worldwide Foods store has reminiscences of Worldwide in Rusholme, with which it has…read moredefinitely got no relation. This one, on Slade Lane in Longsight, has a similarly haphazard way of arranging its range of foods in a completely incomprehensible order. Like the other Worldwide, it too has a few absolute bargains, and some areas of particular excellence. Here the highlight has to be the fruit and veg, which is piled up outside the store in abundance. The selection is absolutely incredible, and stretches from common apples to lesser muched fruits and vegetables such as yams and pumpkins. They even have some miscellaneous fodder, which I cannot name, as I haven't a Scooby Doo what it is. The rest of its stock isn't bad either, with plenty of cheap tinned and jarred goods. Not the kind that should never be in a tin like spaghetti Bolognese and chilli con carne, but things which belong in tins, like olives and pestos. Its much cheaper than Sainsbury's and Tesco, and not terrible quality like Lidl and Asda, so basically, its really good.

Customer since first opened. Incredibly helpful whenever I've made a trip from France for essential…read moresupplies. Thank goodness you do delivery, you can't get cassia in France for love nor money.

Another jam packed corner shop. This food store struggles to offer you enough crap as you enter…read more Ravi food store arch nemesis to wazi food store (in my mind at least) is again run by the same folk day in day out. I can imagine coming back here in 30 years time and just picking up what I want and leaving my change on top of the coffin behind the counter. Narr but seriously ravi is a choice corner store with everything you could want to get your mitts on, sweets, cans of soup and fresh fruit galore.

Beirut Store is another of the three Lebanese delis on Kingsway, see my review of Lebanon for a…read moregeneral idea of what Beirut sell http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/lebanon-manchester#hrid:mZMEU0Hocvjpedxvz2BN1Q However, each of the three delis has its own unique draws. But the main differentiating factor between the three is that Beirut, like Lebanon, is a halal butchers, whereas Sinbad is no butcher but is an OK greengrocers. Beirut is also an importer, and there is more of a young, lively, ambitious feel here - if there was some Arab item that you couldn't find here or if you needed B2B Arab supplies, it could be worth speaking to these people. Check their website and my photos. I'm giving them three stars, as I'm confident that they are *at least* A-OK as I've only visited once and not really shopped here due to having filled my bag at Lebanon. One thing I am very grateful to this place for is that they introduced me to Pastry House, the Lebanese bakery on Rusholme - thank you, guys!

Customer service is amazing and you could find most middle eastern groceries here loved it.read more

I regularly shop here and I was asked on one visit to leave my bag at the counter. I told them I…read morewouldnt be and the woman started arguing with me. I told her that there is no way that I am leaving my work stuff behind . very rude. if they have an issue with shop lifters they make enough money to have properly security

It's like visiting Asda, but in Morrocco. the only thing missing is wildlife. with it being Ramadan…read moreseason, expect massive crowds in the evenings. There are plenty of cash and carry's dotted alongside Stockport road for all your exotic foodie needs but this place arguably trumps them all. Whilst Ahmad's Cash and carry is just as big, it has a cold and empty warehouse feel to it and is located in an odd place. It really is well worth a gander or two, if only to take in the aromas, the foods and spices you've probably never seen before. Despite the size of the store don't worry about getting tired either dragging that trolley around, there's a cake shop and a small cafe for you to rest and treat yourself. Want more encouragement to visit? The boxes of mangos are going at 3 for £10 a pop. I can personally vouch for the fact they are sweeter than sweet.

Kimchi is a nice casual korean cafe style restaurant and the food here is limited but good quality…read moreand all priced under £10. I had the kimchi tofu jigae and the kimchi pancake which was pretty big but tasted amazing. In the jigae they also added a poached egg into it which gave it a nice taste, and the spicy factor was perfect; not too spicy. The service is average bit efficient, the food came quite quickly and another good thing is that banchan is served complimentary here, which doesn't seem to be the case with many UK korean restaurants. They also have some Japanese dishes on the menu like sushi, gyoza, temaki and teriyaki. There is parking right outside and it's pay and display but very cheap: 50p for 30 mins and £1 for an hour. The atmosphere is very casual like a cafe, so it's great for lunch as well as dinner. Overall, authentic and tasty Korean food that's well priced and made to a great standard.

my friend and i ordered take out during the lunch special hour & picked up right before they closed…read morefor break and they were nice to have made our order in such close in time! i got the bibimbap and my friend got the bulgogi which came in sturdy boxes! the portion size for the bibimbap was really big and was full of veggies and the egg! the bulgogi was mainly rice though but still good!

This is a nice Sainsbury's in Fallowfield with wide selection, great service and relatively…read morespacious internal ambiance. Recommended, mate!

This is a large Sainsbury's store, on Wilmslow Road, in the Fallowfield area of Manchester…read more As of April 2023, The store operates a policy, where you must, scan your receipt to leave the store, I can understand why they would want to do this to prevent shop-lifting but the idea just doesn't work for many reasons: 1. The store has multiple entrances, meaning it makes it more difficult to just cut through the store, also if you want to get to the Starbucks or high street, from the car park, you'll be out of luck. 2. If you chose not to buy anything, you'll have to wait for a security guard to allow you to leave 3. I struggled to scan my receipts on the scanner and struggled to exit 4. The systems were setting off loud alarms constantly, bellowing throughout the store, and the gates were very slow to close after one person had passed through, making them pointless anyway. I feel having these scanners on the self-checkout area, would be much more effective, than on the actual exits. In terms of the overall store, the facilities are good, with the store also having an Argos and Starbucks inside, while it isn't the most modern or easiest on the eye, in terms of their interior, the section is pretty good in most areas, stocking the items you'd expect to find here, and the store is reasonably easy to follow with a decent number of staff around the store to provide assistance when required. The store also supports Sainsbury's SmartShop, which means you are able to scan the QR code at the front of the store, and then you can use your mobile phone to scan items as you're going around the store, you will still need to go to the checkout to finalise your transaction though, unlike the smaller Sainsbury's Local stores, that let you pay via the app. I was a little disappointed with the clothing and home section, considering this is a large store, but with Argos now coming into Sainsbury's, who stock many items in this category, it makes up for it, even if it does lack the physical touch/feel before buying, as real in-store shopping. 3* - A good Sainsbury's store, but the receipt gates and alarms make me feel like I'm entering a prison, rather than a place to buy milk and bread.

Middle East Mini Market is a small shop selling all things Middle Eastern, as well as loads of…read moreuniversal good such as one would expect to find in a convenience store. That's basically what it is really, a convenience store. Its got a good stock and you could almost do a weekly shop here, though you'd have to sacrifice some variety and probably a few quid as well. Its worth popping in though because they do have a large selection of Asian foodstuffs that are unavailable elsewhere. If you're looking to cook some authentic curries, stews or kebabs, then pay this place a visit. Plus its nicer inside than the larger supermarkets of this variety in Rusholme such as Meezan and Worldwide. Also, I'd speculate that its family run.

It's relatively easy to cater the needs of the student population, but not so simple to achieve the…read morecult status that Gaff's has achieved. Living in Whitworth Park for 2 years my local off license was McColl's - it was accessible, it was cheap, it had decent opening hours - yet I never would've dreamed of buying a McColl's t-shirt! It is impossible to walk around Fallowfield without seeing a student in a white t-shirt with the red Gaff's logo plastered across the front. Any small corner shop in Fallowfield would be stupid not to stock cheap alcohol, fags, pot noodles and energy drinks. And there are many shops which do, but none which have seen the success and received the following that Gaff's has. Having never lived in Fallowfield I've only ever been into Gaff's a couple of times to pick up cut-price under-the-counter cigarettes for my Fallowfield friends. I'm disappointed to see that this is a service that they no longer provide. I have also heard rumours about the sale of illegal substances out the back, but they are all 'friend of a friend' rumours, so who knows? From the outside the shop looks pretty awful. It is plastered in posters for various clubnights with horrendous names such as Pout and Vodka Island, for which they sell tickets.

Gaff's is a Manchester Student fallowfield life establishment!! This is the first time I am…read morereviewing a corner shop and it will probably be my last. The only reason I mention this place is because of its legendary status in Fallowfield among students. You see this place operates for the sole purpose of making students life heavenly. It is open till late for all your late night needs, it is as reliable as your iPhone. You can buy tickets to all the big gigs in Manchester's nightclubs, dvds and beverages for those late night house parties. Absolute gem!!! In fact I urge you just to pop in if you're ever driving through fallowfield, even if it is for a carton of milk. You will realize that you walk out with more than you came in for, because you remembered you needed it, such is the fantastic variety of stuff on the counter. I love you Gaffs!!!!!!!!