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.

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.

The selection here is getting really good, especially later in the week. I bought 2 beautiful…read morefloral scarves I wear almost on a daily basis for £15 from Mandalay, definitely worth checking out. More recently I had the best banh mih I've had in the UK from a stall whose name I can't remember and which may have disappeared - argh! Grandma's Touch, despite the odd name, seems to be selling some interesting arepas (beef and plaintain - yes!) although sadly when I was there they had mostly run out (I think, they seemed a bit confused and kept mentioning the name of an arepa that wasn't on the sign I was looking at) and so I had the less interesting beans and cheese (the arepa itself seemed good though, and is gluten free). Other choices included grilled cheese sandwiches, Mexican, Spanish, Caribbean and pastries. SO NO PRET, YES?

I usually avoid Manchester on a Saturday for the sheer volume of people. That's where I've been…read moregoing wrong. I'm not sure which speciality market was on today but it was amazing. First off there's food. My favourite type of market. There's regional food, Lancashire beef, cumberland sausage, Cumbrian cheese. Stalls with Eastern cuisine and curry, looked really really good. Homemade fudge and toffee for the sweet toothed. A strange one: ostrich, kangaroo and wild boar burger stall, if you're feeling particularly curious. Then there's some homemade cupcake and chocolate stalls. A variety of homegrown foods here. Once your belly's satisfied you will find lots of craft and jewellery shops, some very pretty delicate pieces. Some Amazonia gifts perhaps? Lots of fairtrade items. Then there's the shubbery and plantation stalls if you're into your gardening. Once your food's part digested why not tuck into some home brewed beer, with the strangest of homemade labels, cat piss? shit stew? brain damage? At £3.50 a bottle, go try. So that was my day and observation at the markets. According to the website it was supposed to be the crafts and gifts market being the first Saturday of the month. Was much more than that today. Any who Manchester markets give good value, quality, local produce. Support.

The last time I went to Venus was just after COVID. I used to do all my food and other necessary…read moreshopping and often used to take my family the takeaway for food. I also used to invite friends for some quick food. However my last experience completely changed my opinion about the store. I went with friends and I ordered lamb donor. As soon as it was placed on the table. The smell of off meat was horrendous. I asked the customer service provider who was wearing big thick glasses to replace with something else, he served me with lamb donor again saying that this is different donor. I asked him to give different food such as chicken, veg or salad except lamb donor. However not only he did not serve different food, did not refund me. I raised the issue with management and management and he could refund me and said, don't worry when I come next time, he would sort me out. What a service!!! I have informed many of my friends about this disgraceful service and will continue to do so. Only to make sure that they don't get treated this way. I have always been in support of local community and local shops although sometimes the prices are a bit expensive then chains, but definitely not support of Venus Turkish supermarket anymore.

Yes! Venus Supermarket is really quite great. What Rob has said basically…read more It's a big Turkish cash and carry place, that sells a wonderment of weird and wonderful food in my drab English eyes. There are more olives here than I have ever seen in my life - literally an entire aisle. There's not much fruit and veg here but there is a meat counter at the back and a myriad of lentils, beans, pickles and that kind of thing. It will definitely make your cupboard in the kitchen twice as interesting if you fill it with some of the goodies from Venus Supermarket.

This is another one those little treasure troves of speciality food that can make buying a ready…read moremade 'take-away meal' from a supermarket just a ludicrous option. Why do that when you can come to somewhere like the Vietnamese Mini Mart and buy lots of authentic ingredients to make something that's at least heading in the direction of being like the real thing. Vietnamese Mini Mart sells a wide range of sauces, noodles and many other Vietnamese things which I simply do not understand. They have freezers stocked with fish and a few vegetables as well. The ladies behind the counter are always friendly and usually giggling and laughing with each other which adds a nice, relaxed feel to the place. Oh, and if you're a student/lazy cook they have a great deal of instant noodles here in all kinds of places for just 35p a pop.

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.

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