MediaCity General Store is a new Convenience Store located inside Media City, while the store is a…read moregood size, I do find the aisles to be pretty narrow which means it is often single-file and difficult to get across them, especially when staff are re-stocking which often takes the whole aisle out of bounds. They do have some nice products including a number of Co-Op own branded products, alcohol and a coffee area, I do find the products here to be considerably more expensive though so it is a little pricey. The store still has a nice feel to it and is one of the only stores of its kind following the sad closure of Booths nearby. 3*

This is my local store and I pop in a couple of times a week. The staff are nice and friendly…read moremostly. Its handy for the stuff you run out of but not really ideal for more than that. I struggle to find risotto rice or cream of tartar when I am cooking here but thats me being disorganised. Its very busy with locals buying lottery tickets and cigarettes at times. It has a reasonable supply of wine and my cat gets fed from here when I cant make it to the supermarket . The prices are about 30% higher than the supermarket for some things like 500g rice £2.20. I expect thats why its called a convienence store.

Co-Op Food on Ordsall Lane in Salford looks good from the outside, being on a road which is…read moreextremely dirty and full of litter, it adds something onto the street so it isn't a complete and utter shambles, but as a store its' self, the selection is pretty poor. The stock of most items was limited, for example, they only had one flavour of Lipton Iced Tea and the milk section was so badly reduced, it meant they only had ONE Cravendale 2l bottle left, this meant I was unable to use their multi-buy offer as the staff refused to let me take two 1 litre bottles for the same price, I don't understand why they'd stock an odd number of them as it does work out rather expensive unless you buy two. They refused to do anything to match the price of the offer. £2.30 for 1 bottle, £3.20 for two. (Considering most supermarkets including Sainsbury's' nearby sell for £1.60 anyway with the max price I've seen anywhere else being £1.85 that's VERY expensive for just two litres of milk) The store was also slightly cluttered too in some areas, staff weren't too keen to move out of the way to let customers pass at first. The coffee machine is useful and was fully operational, there was a good number of checkouts including a small self-scanning area. If you have time there is a large Sainsbury's and even other Co-Op locations nearby which sell a wider selection of products with better service. 2*

A bulb of garlic, a stick of ginger, a couple of onions, a bunch spring onions, a juicy red pepper,…read morea few red and green chillies, a huge bunch of fresh coriander.......£2.36? The first time I went in there and bought a similar amount of fresh veg I found it hard to conceal my delight at the price. So hard in fact that one of the brothers asked me if I had expected it to cost me more! I have never bought my veg from Morrisons since. For a relatively small store they sell a wide range of produce (about 8 different types of mushrooms, 10 different types of potatoes etc) and I have never been disappointed with the quality. OK, so I definitely wouldn't eat any of the veg without giving it a good wash first, as it is often a bit grubby and has been sitting outside on a main road all day, and the shelf life isn't as good as supermarket veg. But give me a grubby misshapen apple over a polished supermarket apple any day! The brothers themselves are friendly and hard-working. My housemates often used to chat to them, and they seem to know their regular customers really well. Inside the shop there is a well-priced selection of herbs and spices, rice, couscous and pulses as well as the not so well-priced English essentials such as boxes of PG Tips and cans of Coke. To every Chorltonite's delight the opening of a brand new Tesco Express opposite the store doesn't seem to have harmed their business in the slightest. Long live Khawaja Brothers! PS - there is even a facebook group for fans of the brothers and their shop.

Have you read this? http://www.yelp.com/weekly?editorial_id=zGMtxe-XYdLx73faQYnikw Well there's one…read morepretty serious omission, and that, my friends, is the Mini Market of the Khawaja Brothers. Whether you're concocting a katsu curry or just seeking out some seasonal salad, you can do no wrong by making a beeline for this little place because it's fresh, it changes with the seasons, it has more ethnic ingredients than you can possibly pile into your plastic bag, and perhaps given the first three the most appealing factor... it's almost obscenely inexpensive. I was introduced to this spot by a good friend who waxed lyrical about Pakistani mangoes, also known as 'honey' mangoes. These are orbs of pure deliciousness, sold in handy boxes of 6 for £4.50. They taste like they should be twice that price. Keep them in your fridge and peel them at breakfast time, you shan't be disappointed. In other bargainous news, a recent offer had me reeling with incredulity - surely they weren't selling entire crate-like boxes of tomatoes on the vine? Check my pictures. Yes indeedy they were. Also, their giant dates are just exquisite. Once inside you can get tons of dry ingredients for any kind of world cooking you can imagine, loads of types of flour, rice, pulses... the list is endless. And on top of all that there are exotic fruit drinks and Halal Haribo. Yes, it exists! I'm more than happy to make the journey to Chorlton to grab some essentials (and indulgences) from here, the service is friendly and the location can't be beaten - right near Unicorn? It's a veritable shop-local bonanza!