If you are a university student trying to make ends meet then Yuen's Market could be your lifeline…read more The jam-packed little Asian grocery store is located at the Brisbane end of Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley and has some incredible bargains! Don't be put off by the fishy smell - there is a fish monger at the back of the store where you can get fresh seafood - I have never had a bad experience buying my seafood here. They sell a variety of seafood including fresh fish, live mud crabs, mussels, prawns and squid. You can buy the fish whole or pre-cut, if you do buy a whole fish you can ask them to fillet and skin it while you wait. You can pick up bunches of fresh vegetables here for $1-$2 and there are so many choices of ramen noodles, some starting from as little as 24c (just make sure you add some veggies to your noodles to add some nutritional value). When I was living on Struggle Street during my trainee days I could do my entire weeks shop here for $30 or less! I still shop here at least once a month - it is a great place to pick up exotic ingredients and affordable seafood.

Love this supermarket, I actually prefer it over Burlington's…read more Sure the aisles are narrow and the shelves are jam packed but I find it is well organised and stocks pretty much everything I need. The only thing I wish they would stock is Fresh Galangal. The seafood is always cold and fresh looking, their spice range is great and their selection of fresh noodles, wrappers and tofu is awesome. I love the variety they have on offer. Although it can get quite busy, I have found the staff to be happy and helpful, and then if you can't find something there is always someone willing to point you in the right direction.

An excellent lolly establishment! As a lolly aficionado I would say that The Sweet Zone definitely…read morewins in the NZ candy stakes because they have a lot more variety of NZ brands and treats than other lolly shops I've been to. The other thing that I think is a strength here is that not only do they sell American soda like lots of other candy stores, here they've had the foresight to keep it in a fridge. Everywhere else the imported drinks are just kept on the shelves so you have to carry them home and refrigerate them, but at The Sweet Zone if you want a nice, cold Welch's Grape Soda all you have to do is open the can. The prices of their imported good are also generally more reasonable than a lot of other similar shops who seem to raise the prices more than is justifiable to cover import costs. It's a good thing that I'm usually running late to catch my train because it means that as much as I want to stop and enter The Sweet Zone, I usually have to run past with a longing backwards glance. My waistline would like to thank Queensland Rail for scheduling trains in such a way that I'm perpetually sprinting up the escalators to my platform instead of skipping down the aisles at The Sweet Zone with an armful of candy which is where I'd rather be!

The Sweet Zone is tucked away into Central train station, right after the food court, and right…read morebefore you hit that grungy underground entrance where the buskers and MX dispensers live. You'll often see passengers and school kids stopping by the store for a quick sweet fix for the train ride home. Chances are they'll be picking up some specialty candies, including those exported from the US, the UK, Holland, and New Zealand. I stopped by on the way home and picked up a few treats for my sister (a bag of pineapples), and my best friend (a can of Dr. Pepper). What I love most about this store is it stocks a lot of candies that are hard to come by, and they're sold in snack-sized portions. I picked up a bag of Allen's Mackintosh's toffees, which my mum used to buy when we were kids, but I've since never seen in any other store. I also picked up some Big Red cinnamon gum, which is getting harder and harder to come by.

Shorthand: bulk-billed eye exams in well designed retail space…read more Longhand: If you need to have your regular eye examination and are not tied to a particular optometrist then Bailey Nelson might be your next point of call. With easy online booking for appointments, their on-site optometrist can easily take you through your next check-up. And, best of all it is bulk billed. Plus if you need to upgrade your existing frames or are becoming a spectacle wearer for the first time, you are conveniently in a space full of design conscious frames for $99.

From the owner: Eye Exams, Frame Adjustments, Free Returns and Exchanges, Optical and Sunglass Stylingread more

Brisbane Wholesale City is a Chinese company who have taken over the Old Myer Building in…read moreCoorparoo. The entirety of the building has been filled with wholesale furniture. If you're looking for some new furniture but you're on a budget, you should drop by here. They've got an incredible range of furniture. There's minimalist, low set furniture, classical lounge suits, over the top, orange and white round leather beds and such. Then there's the indoor and outdoor settings and kids playsets. If you've ever wanted one of those reclining sofas (like Kate Winslet laid on when Leo drew her in Titanic, ahem) you can find them here. The cane furniture pieces are unusual, and really quite unique. Basically, most people would be able to find something to their liking here. Some items are only sold as sets, others are available individually (you would have to enquire about a specific piece). The salespeople are very helpful and friendly. Because it's a wholesale store, it's cheap too! As a side note, you will get what you paid for here. Read between the lines. Furniture shopping is great fun. Try out every bed, mime eating a meal at every dinner table, cuddle into all the couches. It's your right to do as a shopper. Try before you buy, right? As I said, come here if you're looking for budget furniture.

I have been visiting this souvenir shop every chance I get when in Brisbane. Timing is important…read moresince the bulk sale specials are random. Today was a good day to go by and select unique gifts over stores would not have or have limited selections. The daytime staff is a lot more friendly and conversational than the evening crew, probably due to age and maturity. Overall, I like the service, especially during the morning hours and would recommend people visiting during these hours.

Excellent customer service provided by them. Went out of their way to make sure I received…read moreeverything I want to order.

This buried away Mediterranean food warehouse offers a pretty respectable selection given its…read moremodest size. It is probably the best place for plain dried beans and grains I've seen in Brisbane, and I was able to get one of the few decent servings of hummus I've had in this country. You could really do well for your health by shopping here. They don't have any fresh vegetables or anything; it's all canned, dried, or in a freezer. My real source of ire with them is that their hours are annoyingly limited, even for this town, including not being open on Sundays, on relatively minor holidays, or during the evening. I wonder when they think people buy food.

Pssst! Listen up home cooking foodies. I'm going to let you into a little secret. (I think I am…read moregoing to regret this...but I'm such a blabber mouth) This magical hidden oasis is where you can buy a whole bunch of flours, nuts, legumes, spices, olives, cheese in bulk and save big! This is where you can get half a kilo of kalamata olives for $4, 1 kg of spelt flour for $3.75, and 1kg of dried chickpeas for a coupla bucks. Not to mention the bags of nuts! I grabbed a 1kg bag of cashew nut pieces for a crazy $9 (to make raw cheesecake etc). I also buy my Tahini from here, $19 for 2kgs. They have lots of great Greek and Middle Eastern inspired ingredients as well, which can be hard to find elsewhere, such as frozen artichoke hearts and the proper haloumi made from a mixture of goats and sheeps milk. Do yourself a favour and check it out! Or don't. Actually don't, more for me. I'm going to hypnotise*** you now and hope you don't remember this post. ***Look into my eyes, Look into my eyes, no, not around the eyes, the eyes, Look into my eyes,*click* aaaand you're under... You didn't just read this post, and you know nothing of Mega Continental Deli in West End and how awesome it is for food stuffs. 3, 2, 1 aaand you're back in the room. ***

Only recently have I begun to be consumed by the world of comic books and graphic novels. I have…read morealways had a interest in them but never to any deep extent. I loved the cartoon adaptations of comics when I was a kid (like X-Men, Spiderman, and Fantastic Four), I bought the figurines, but I never actually read the comics. It was not until later in life that I started on a few graphic novels and comics. Now I am hooked. Ace Comics and Games is the perfect spot to indulge my new found love of comics. They do tend to stock more graphic novels and don't have the biggest range in their Queen Street store but the staff are awesomely knowledgeable and friendly and if they don't have something in stock they happily source it for you. You might not even notice Ace Comics unless you were specifically observant or were looking for it on purpose. From the Queen Street Mall all you see is a sign near a doorway next to Wallace Bishop. Walk up a few steps and you make your way into the kind of old looking shop but who really is looking at the paint work when the walls are lined with comics anyway. Ace comics really is a good shop to browse, buy or just generally stand in awe of the awesomeness that surrounds you.

Ace Comics have been around for years and they have greatfully served the gaming community, they…read moreare old school and abit behind here and there but overall very happy to see them doing well and continue to serve the gamers of Brisbane faithfully and wonderfully as they have. Also great place to host DnD games night!

Beads and Beads is a refuge and playground for me. After all of my city missions have been…read morecompleted, I take solace in being able to go to a store and being able to play and craft and create something of my own. They don't have as big a range of beads as a wholesalers does, but never mind that, there's enough beads there for everyone. They sell your semi precious strings (between $10- $100 depending on what you want), glass and recycled glass, plastic, wooden, bone, seed, coral beads as well as crystals and imitation pearls. The way the system works is that you take a small tray that is divided into nine sections. You collect your beads in your tray, and then you can either choose to make your creation on the spot, enlisting the help of the talented staff, or take your individual bits and pieces home with you. The purpose of the tray is so you can see what goes together with what, and so the staff can add up the prices efficiently. When the staff aren't serving you, they're making beaded creations at the counter themselves. There is a long wall of cabinets filled with creations that have been made in house that you can buy, or you can use them as inspiration for your own pieces. This place is great fun, and the staff are lovely. Come in and walk out with something uniquely yours after a day in the city.

Whenever I come here, it's to buy a clasp for a broken earring or to look over the beads and stones…read more- but never to buy them. I think these beads are amongst the most beautiful I've ever seen. However, they're very expensive. This is to be expected, though, given that Beads and Beads imports semi-precious stone beads and fresh water pearls. These are quality beads. Therefore, they're for the hardcore bead aficionado. (I do suspect such people exist, presumably to make their own top-quality jewellery. Given how cheap, however, beautiful bead bracelets are nowadays, I'd think it would cost a lot more to make jewellery from these items than to buy the item already made. Thousand Island Dressing is a store that comes to mind, though Beads and Beads' offerings may be slightly higher-end.) For someone like me - who occasionally makes their own jewellery, but not often and not passionately - this store isn't up my alley. I like to look at the beads, and if someone threw some my way I'd be delighted, but I've never bought any.