I really like the Eastern Chinese Supermarket, which is just down the road from the Millennium…read moreStadium and bus and railway stations. I visit here reasonably often as its next door to The China Supermarket. Despite being considerably smaller than its neighbour, it is well stocked in orderly rows, and tends to be more colourful. It is often busier too. There's always a smattering of people milling around lending the place a breezy vibe. I think that they come here, like I do, for the fresh produce, as it's of a really high quality, and the range is exceptional. Ling, one of the owners, is often serving behind the counter. She's really friendly, and more than happy to point you in the right direction, if you are in a rush. The prices tend to be slightly higher here, but despite the scale of China Supermarket, the Eastern Chinese Supermarket stocks a number of things that you can't buy next door. I recommend that you set aside an afternoon and visit both stores, buying something from each! Heaven!

If you're Chinese and wondering where you can get what you need to do some proper home-cooking in…read moreWales, look no further. I've learned how to cook a bunch of traditional Chinese dishes from my grandma, but was legitimately afraid that I wouldn't be able to find any of the sauces in Wales (unless I ordered online for extortionate prices). After a quick search, I found Rachel W.'s review for Eastern Chinese Supermarket and returned home with a huge haul of materials that I'd never thought I'd find! ~ Atmosphere: To be honest, it's a pretty small and dingy shop. I can imagine that if you're here and you don't know exactly what you're looking for, it may be difficult to manage. ~ Customer Service: I was served by a middle-aged Mandarin woman and when I couldn't find tian mian jiang, she was very helpful with pointing me in the right direction. She also helped me double-bag all my purchases when I didn't even ask! --- I thought the prices were fair for what I got, but to be honest I haven't been to any other Chinese grocers to compare. Even if it is a bit more pricey, I don't feel by much though as it was all affordable and cheaper than if you would order offline. I'm well happy about my visit to Eastern Chinese Supermarket and left giddy and excited that I could put all my grandma's recipes to actual use now!

This well stocked shop is packed with curiosities (curious to a Westerners eyes at least). Produce…read moreranges from red tofu in an eathenware jar to frozen dim sum pastry and an array of functional and decorative kitchenware. A lot of the food is labelled in both English and Chinese, those goods which aren't labelled in English can be translated by one of the friendly staff and unfamiliar food stuffs explained. Most of the ingredients here are really cheap compared to supermarkets. The dried nuts, beans and fruit are particularly good value and I often buy my wolf berries here. Man Fung also stock a fantastic selection of Sake (rice wine), which I am rather partial to. Top tip: Good place to get presents for your foody friends, as a lot of the packaging is beautiful and the produce unusual. Man Fung Store is open Monday-Sunday late.

A small but well-stocked Chinese supermarket, split across two rooms so if you glance in the window…read moreyou'll think it's only half the size it actually is. I pop here all the time for cooking sauces, it has a great range and is generally a bit cheaper, as well as having a more interesting range, than somewhere like Tesco. There are a lot of snack and novelty items- Pocky (biscuit sticks with different flavours of chocolate on- very nice with coffee), all sorts of different nuts and strange seaweed snacks. You can buy things like noodles in bulk. To be honest I would personally avoid some of the frozen meats here, especially the seafood stuff- not because I think it's dodgy, but because a lot of the stuff stocked here doesn't have any English cooking instructions on it and I'd be scared of poisoning myself by cooking something wrongly but that's just me being cowardly. As long as you're not a coward, and you like Chinese food, then this is a great place to get what you need for Chinese cooking at home. Enjoy.

I've moved away from Cardiff now, but I used to live just a five minute walk away and I miss it so…read moremuch. For a small shop, it is super compact and has a really good selection of ambient, fresh and frozen Korean and Japanese products (as well as some from other East and South East Asian countries) when considering the square footage. The prices are all reasonable for imported products, so I've never felt that I was spending too much money. The staff are really friendly. One time, when I was buying a 5kg bag of sushi rice, one of the storekeepers approached me and said that they could keep the bag behind the counter to save me from having to carry it around, which I really appreciated. They're also very approachable, which is good if you're looking for something unfamiliar. This is a family run business which has been in the neighbourhood for over twenty years, and hopefully many more years to come for when I eventually move back to Wales!

One of my housemates went to Asia in her gap year and really misses the food. So, whenever we…read morestumble across a place that might take her back to those suppers in Japan, we always investigate. This little shop on Woodville Road is run by wonderfully friendly people. (They said hello when we came in, they asked us if we needed any help and they said thank you when we left even though, on that occassion, we didn't buy anything.) The shop itself is bigger than it looks when you first enter and is crammed full of some really exciting looking food. I'm not sure what they're called but the icecream that's coated in some kind of rice... those are good! It's also nice to be able to buy soy sauce in a reasonable sized bottle - the ones you get at the supermarket are ridiculously small. The prices are fantastic, especially considering how far its all been flown, so I was extremely impressed.

Fresh and tempting salad bar with a wide range of olives to choose from to fill the container's…read moresize of choice. Bought Burrata which is rarely found in Cardiff as well as cream of tartar. Staff are always available for help. Very organized and well managed deli.

Great store with fond memories. I've been coming here ever since I was a child and will continue to…read moredo so in order to help small businesses.

The Continental Deli has an exotic mix of south east Asian and Mediterranean food stuffs, the kind…read moreof food you cannot find anywhere else because they don't stock it. The store sells a variety of produce but specializes in Halal meat and poultry. The store is a community shop that meets the needs of the roath residents being quite a small store means a lot is jammed into the isles. As with many market styled shops of this nature the general student and western customer is a bit of a novelty, the staff offer some great recommendations if you get the inclination to try some new cuisine.

Seeing long queues snaking away from the till inside the Continental Deli, I've sometimes wondered…read morewhat this place is doing right that other similar but far quieter businesses in this neighbourhood are doing wrong? Well, first off, I think they have a fantastic range of continental foods and more exotic ingredients on offer that isn't really matched by other shops around here. Also, this place doesn't feel like it's exclusively aimed at a particular target market - it may sell Halal meat but it attracts all sorts of different customers, and you never feel uncomfortable looking around. And, finally, it's got a charming atmosphere about it, making you want to spend time browsing around - whereas in most supermarkets I am dashing about and can't wait to get out.

For Africans living in Cardiff, this shop is a bit of a dream because it offers a little taste of…read morehome - whether you're after authentic snacks or jewellery. Just like Bristol's hugely popular South African Shop, it caters to ex-pats living in Cardiff as well as locals wanting something from far-flung places, and packs in a huge range of produce including authentic African food, spices, art, craft, jewellery, clothing, fabrics, lager, beer, soft drinks, hair and beauty products, and African medicines. Describing itself as the 'Real African and Caribbean Experience', this brightly coloured shop is a vibrant addition to City Road.

Xquisite Africa is one of two African shops on City Road, and this is the one I prefer. It's not…read morethat the other one isn't very good, it's just that this one is more friendly, and better in some respects. Xquisite Africa classifies itself as an African and Caribbean 'experience', that sells all manner of products. I'll attempt to list them here.... African arts and crafts Jewellery, clothing and fabrics Cosmetics, beauty and hair care products (including extensions, wigs and even hair braiding itself) Music, film, videos, CD's and DVD's Food: frozen fish and meats, dry and fresh groceries, alcohol and soft drinks Phone cards and top up's Worldwide money transfers Flights and freight forwarding... And, as they say it, "much, much more!!!!" Yup! You would definitely be forgiven for thinking that this was some large conglomerated company occupying a towering sky scraping monolith of a building.. but it doesn't. All of this wonder is housed in a regular sized retail outlet on City Road, no bigger than a corner convenience store... but it is a bit of a tardis!

OK - Seriously, I agree with Natalie A. that this Tesco is the BEST EVER. It's a shame that I can't…read morebe a regular visitor as I don't drive but I'm willing to find a bus route to this place it's so dang good! Here's a list of reasons why this Tesco is incredible: 1) An actual RESPECTABLE selection of World Foods! Often times when I go to a supermarket, the ethnic foods section is limited to Uncle Ben's sweet and sour sauce. Instead, this Tesco has a range of authentic imported Asian sauces and noodles. If you want to dabble in some real Asian cooking - seriously, this Tesco is the right choice. 2) An actual fresh fishmonger counter with plenty of choice. As a fan of salmon... ohhhh myyyy GODDDDD! 3) In the same vein, an actual butcher's counter as well. Really sick of heading to a supermarket and not finding the cuts I want. ACTUAL pork belly joint instead of thin slices, anyone??? Overall, the selection at Tesco is as good as it can possible get. Ample parking, not far from the Cardiff city centre, Tesco Extra you are a dream come true!

Just off Rover Way about 5 minutes from Newport Road is the greatest Tesco ever. Okay, so that's…read morekind of a silly thing to say, as all Tesco Extras are awesome, and there's rarely a lot of difference between them. In fact, compared to the Tescos of Culverhouse Cross and Western Avenue, this Tesco isn't quite as big, and the clothing range isn't as awesome. But... and it's a big but... This Tesco is never as busy. I don't tend to go to supermarkets until the evening anyway, but this Tesco seems to be quiet almost all of the time, compared to the Tesco on Western Avenue which seems to be busy all the time even if you go at 2am. This alone makes this Tesco the most awesome. No queuing, no having to fight people for the reduced stuff. Just quiet, hassle-free shopping. It's great. And another bonus is that this particular Tesco Extra is open until midnight on a Saturday, which hardly any other big supermarket does. For someone who rarely knows what day of the week it is and often needs something important the second the supermarkets close on a Saturday night, this makes me really happy. Just one more thing: now that I've shared this knowledge with you, please don't all rush over there at the same time, make it really busy and ruin it for everyone!

There is not a single product in Ekhaya Kumusha Foods that doesn't have a brilliant name. I just…read morelove the sound of everything, (even if I wouldn't necessarily enjoy eating all of it). The owners are from Zimbabwe, and so they have things like Boerewors which are sausages that they sell hot if you are on the go, or in a tin for you to eat at home. These come with a sauce that sounds pretty epic to me... the best named sauce in the world... Chakalaka! (I imagine that the person who named it must have been on some pretty hefty train journeys in his time and I envisage him sitting there wondering what to call his newly invented sauce whilst listening to the sound of the train forging its way along the tracks... chakalaka, chakalaka, chakalaka...) They also stock large sacks of Mabela sorgham, and Iwisa maize meal, which are apparently staple in Zimbabwe. Then there are things like the Jikelele Sishebo mix packs and Usavi mix sachets... I have no idea what these things are but I could say them all day with an inane grin on my face, and consider that I may be in heaven!

This is probably the best Tesco ever…read more If you thought the Tesco on Western Avenue was big, you should see this one. I think the actual food section is really only slightly bigger, but the clothing section upstairs is huge. If you like Tesco clothes, this is the best Tesco to visit. The Western Ave Tesco is having a bit of a makeover, and their clothes area certainly looks pretty fancy now, but they only occupy a small space. The clothes at Culverhouse Cross covers almost half of the second floor, and its nicely spread out so you can actually see the clothes on the hangers, rather than having to filter threw the rails for what's hidden at the back. This is also the best Tesco to go to for bargains. In the home section, you can pick up end of the line cups and plates for as little as 10p, and many other items are super cheap while you wont find them in other Tesco stores. I got all the things I needed for my new flat here for less than £1 for each item. I have never been so excited about Tesco as I was walking around this store.

The biggest Tesco I've ever been in, this one's even bigger than the newly-opened one in North…read moreBristol. The Bristol one used to be my local, so what's confusing about this one is that all the aisles are exactly the same- except it's left-to-right flipped. It's surprisingly confusing, especially if like me you tend to go into some kind of consumerist trance when you're supermarket shopping. I like Tesco supermarkets, particularly this one. Yes they're not the cheapest for everything but overall their prices work out very reasonably. They have a good range of stock on most food stuffs, they put the effort in in their larger supermarkets to stock more imported and exotic brands, and they sell decent ranges of things like electrical and clothing goods. Some of the electricals in particular are priced even cheaper than you'd find them online, which is a pleasant surprise. The cafe is useful as well. It sells plain but very cheap meals with no frills. I tend to eat here before doing the shopping rounds, because if I go round a supermarket while hungry, I buy far too much food. Decent parking, straightforward service, no problems.

City Bakery is a great shop, and is steeped in the time honoured tradition of the multi-cultural…read moreconvenience store, that of trying to cram as many products within its four walls as is feasibly possible, and blow the need for order! I love it! This shop is chock-a-block with goodies. Being a bakery it has a great selection of eastern sweet pastries and breads, but it also stocks a huge amount of exotic dry foods, tins and fresh veg. It's got everything, including household cleaning products, toiletries and perfumes, and even an attempt at proving the kitchen sink... they sell a small number of sundry stainless steel storage items! And, of course, they have the obligatory hookah pipes and associated paraphernalia. Basically, if you can't get what you want from this shop, you would be hard pushed to find it anywhere else. There's always a queue at the counter, which is heart-warmingly comprised of people of all cultures and ethnic origins. The people who work behind the counter could be accused of being a little sombre, but who wouldn't be when working such long hours every day of the week? These guys work hard with little reprieve, and there's no crime in being subdued... they are never rude, which would be a different matter entirely! This is definitely one of the better stores of this type on the City Road.

Not a bakery at all, as far as I could work out. More of a corner shop, really, which - as it…read moreshould - provides all of those things that you forgot to pick up at Tesco. And, not that you should really admit this, but I think I would normally go back to Tesco rather than to here. I don't know why this is because the prices are pretty good and there's all the basics that you need. I guess I was just put off because I was in a bad mood at the time and the service that I received wasn't great. Looking back on it, I'm unsure if this was my own foulness colouring all I did, or if the service actually was sub-par. In any case, as it provides all you need at pretty low prices it's become lodged in my head as one of those 'Oh, yes, I need to get some rice... oh, here's a shop'-type places.