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!

A. J Afro Caribbean (Foods and Veg) in the market is an absolutely delightful place. It epitimises…read moreexactly what is so fantastic about markets such as these. Selling a full array of Caribbean foodstuffs, including seasoning, scotch bonnet peppers, plantain for cheaper than you'd find it anywhere else, and dried fish for £6. As somebody who absolutely loves the firey sweet and sour flavours of the Caribbean, this place is a jewel not to be missed.

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.

We stumbled upon International Foods completely by accident and have been shopping here ever since…read more The staff are very nice and helpful. I enjoy cooking and trying different recipes, there is no problem in finding the ingredients here. For the first time in my life I have encountered fruit and veg I have never seen in my life. Now days good butchers with good meat are difficult to find and to find both along with reasonable prices to boot! Definitely a gold mine.

went into shop today and i had was my daugther who is 2 and son who is 4 when going round shop i…read moreseen a large mouse may be a RAT!!! when eventually got to till with my kid and mentioned i had seen a large mouse he called me a BITCH and swore at me and told me to get out! He had no respect that i regularly buy in this shop. Also he swore infornt of my KIDS. I WILL NEVER GO IN OR ROCOMMEND ANYONE ELSE TO PURCHASHING ANYTHING IN THIS SHOP AGAIN! CUSTOMER SERVICE - VERY POOR OVER ALL EXPRIENCE- ENVIROMENTAL HEALTH NEED TO CHECK THAT CLEANNING AND ROTATATION IS TAKEN PLACE. THE OWNER AND EMPLOYERS NEED TO GO ON COURSES CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HEALTH &HYGIENE. I am asian and this store and people who run this put us SHAME

Absolutely the worst experience of my life. As I type the food is over two hours late and yet to…read morearrive, phone calls ignored, no way to contact them and they clearly could not give a damn about customers. I hope they go bankrupt.

The variety here is amazing the store is very good and a good alternative to the big…read moresupermarkets.The big problem lies on the spacing inside of the store.Very hard to get through other customers as the spacing is tight. The second problem is they over charge you at times on the till.It happened to me last week they charged me for items on special offer,be careful they do not charge you more for special offer items.

Being of Polish descent, with a father who lives out in Warsaw, I have been to many Polish shops,…read morein this country and in Poland in search of ingredents for various traditional meals. I stumbled across the Russian and Polish Delicatessan in the market, and decided to have a peak. Walking in, I truely felt as though I had been transported overseas to do some shoppng. Every jar, tim, packet and sausage had been imported from either Poland or Russia. In such a small space they manage to cram in so much, clearly making i a favourite to the Polish and Russian communities. The staff speak in Polish and Russian and are undoubtedly from either Poland or Russia, making it a truely authentic experience. The only drawback was the display of sausages in the fridge section. It was confusing and messy, looking as though people had rummaged through. If that display had been as good as the others, I could have marked them higher.

The snacks in the supermarket are brilliant and the drinks are very nice I really recommend you…read moreto go to the restaurant and the supermarket

W H Lung or Wing Hing Lung as many Chinese know it, is a Oriental Supermarket located right next to…read morethe ever so popular Tai Pan Restaurant . The store is situated in an ideal place for people from afar, who want to but a few items before or after their meal at Tai Pan or whether it's just for a weekend shop. They are always well stocked with products and have a huge wholesale section at the rear of the building for larger purchases. Staff who are Chinese and British will be on hand to help and advise you of your needs; they will search for an item, especially if it is large and heavy and bring it to you. There is usually someone who helps pack your bags at the check-out too. If you're looking to cook up a treat and try something out of your borders, then you will find a wide variety of foods here whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried. On a weekend, they usually have portions of freshly hot cooked roast duck (laid out near the tills) with an aroma that will certainly tempt you!

The "tindra", a green vegetable, that I bought here, were tasteless.read more