Manchester is one of the best market towns in the country. If it isn't the weekly farmer's markets…read moreor the Sunday carboot and flea markets, it's the specialist markets that take place around the calendar. Apart from the now very famous Christmas market, my next favourite annual event has to be the Fine Food Market, usually held between September and October every year in St Ann's Square. This is one event that no epicurean in their right mind would miss. Bringing together some of the biggest talents and producers in the North, expect to be fed by the best restaurants in town and offered some of the best home grown produce in the country. According to the government website, 'speciality meats, smoked foods (fish, cheese, meats and poultry) cheeses, chutneys, pickles, black puddings, ice cream, specialist ales and sloe gin' are just a very few items on sale here.

If you're a fan of hog roasts, paella, wood-fired pizza and vintage-style tea shops, head to the…read moreManchester Markets on St Anne's Square before it disappears again. A mooch around the market is the perfect way to liven up an otherwise dull day at the office (or living room, if you work from home, like me), so as soon as the clock strikes 1pm, get yourself there. You're going to spend, on average, about a fiver for takeaway food from one of the stalls but portions are good - especially at the Hog Roast stall, where they'll ram your baguette so full of pork and apple sauce you won't know where to start. As well as food, you'll find a number of stalls selling art and hand-crafted decor for the home, plus vintage furniture and clothing in the market's main indoor area; The Orangery, where you can also see/hear live music at certain times throughout the day (check the signage outside for more details). I'm really impressed with this little market. It's brought a much-needed injection of 'quaint' to the city centre. I wish it was here all the time!

This is a fabulous Garden Centre in a beautiful setting. The cafe is lovely with great service and…read moredelicious food. The shop and butchers is also excellent. We have had many plants, turf, bulbs, stones, logs etc over the years and everything is first rate. The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgable. We always get our Christmas tree here too!

This is a very nice garden centre but it is a bit out of the way in broadbottom. It sells lots of…read morevery large plants in huge pots which you will need a truck to take away and lots of interesting shrubs and potted plants. There is a lovely teashop attached and it has some homemade fare.In stock is a nice array of little gifts and greeting cards as well as flower and vegetable seeds and plenty of bulbs. a good all round selection.

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!

The Garden of Eden is basically a green grocers but kind of a fancy one, with local chutneys and…read morecheeses and some useful store cupboard ingredients (including Patak's tandoori paste, which I had ended up taking a BUS to get from Sainsburys). They do some more unusual vegetables like pak choi and yam as well as a great range of fresh herbs, which is useful for recipes. There's also an extensive pet food selection! The only negative point is it shuts at 5pm, which means I don't get to shop here nearly as much as I'd like.

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.

Sweet Sensations brings up that nostalgia in me that makes me long for the days when I would buy a…read more20p bag of sweets in a small paper bag on my way home from school. Honestly, those days did once exist. And they were brilliant, let me tell you. We're talking bon bons, liquorice, chocolate buttons and far more besides. I love all of those things. They also sell a range of drinks, crisps and chocolates that are more like the regular confectionary you find nowadays. Sweet Sensations is located in the bustling food hall in the Arndale Centre.

Lebanon is one of a trio of Lebanese delicatessens on Kingsway, which offers to meet 'all of your…read moreArabic household needs'. Their focus on the Lebanese/Arab niche also makes this a worthwhile destination for the serious foodie, both for the range of unique goods and also the strong Arab cultural vibe to welcome and inspire you. When I visited, it was staffed by a timid, veiled Arab girl, for whom my Scottish accent and loud personality were just too much! No problem, this gave me a chance of some banter with the whiskery main man, who came out from behind his halal butcher's counter where he had been busy spicing meats. I walked out with a dozen items - saffron, za'atar, rosepetal jam, date syrup, dolmades. Here you have not one, but half a dozen choices of each of za'atar, tahini, dolmades, vine leaves, floral waters. A can of dolmades is a easy way to add another mezze to your Arab feast. Many of the other items combine to provide a whole palette of mild but interesting flavours unique to the region, which I would recommend as having a broad appeal to most palates. They stock the widely-available El-Ammar khoubz wraps, which seems to be the biggest Arab bakery in Manchester, and very fresh bread too since they are local. I had already planned on lunch in Rusholme, but as it was getting late I decided to have dessert in advance - a takeaway selection of Lebanese date rolls, coconut slice and others, all very nourishing and energising when eaten in moderation whilst waiting at the bus stop! It is less of a trek than you might think to get out there, easily reached on the frequent 50 bus service from Parrs Wood, itself easily accessible from the Oxford Road corridor. Other than these Lebanese delis, I'm not sure that Burnage is much of a destination although I have an idea there are some OK restaurants - message me if you can recommend any! However, for Lebanese restaurants and takeaways, Rusholme is the main concentration.

From the owner: Great business here at Lebanon supermarket I have been a butcher I like to call myself king of…read morehalal meat I have any Arab food , Bosnian and I have over 1000 make please come and visit

Absolutely brilliant service, will definately order again with this company, thanks againread more

From the owner: Wholesale Supplier for Italian Fashion, French Clothing…read moreLadies Fashions Italian Plus Size Clothing Plus Size Fashion Lagenlook Clothing UK