The Turkish Food Centre is a large supermarket where you can find cheap imports form turkey, and…read moreother Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. It is a joy to live near by, open 365 days of the year, 8am to 10pm without fail. Organic vegetables, tomatoes bursting with colour and flavour. They have a large delicatessen where they have a large selection of olives, Halal meats and cheeses , and make their own Turkish bread on site too. It all has a lovely smell of when you walk in. They have absolutely everything that a Turksih Chef would need. My family shop here virtually everyday to get bread and other certain thing they might need for whatever is being cooked. For quantity, it is by no means competition for any large supermarket chains, but as for quality, it definitely is. It is a regular for me.

Owner is a very very rude man, avoid this shop…read more He will tell you he has the item and you waste your time going there and he doesn't have AND doesn't care. I called to ask a question and he was rude and then hung up the phone. Appalling service. Don't give this man any money - he doesn't deserve customers! Will write bad reviews everywhere. I will add pictures next time I am nearby this shop

This Polski Sklep (Polish Shop) is my to-go place for all things considered pork. Having grown up…read morein Germany, I need my pork sausages and my cold cuts made from pork. Alas, most British butchers or supermarkets only offer the usual watered-down hams, which have lost all of the interesting flavours. Here at Poziomka you can find literally dozens of different kinds of hams, sausages and other meaty treats. But not only that, this is a clean and well-sorted paradise for all things considered Eastern European: buttermilk, pickles, cabbage rolls and various kinds of sweets that you wouldn't find at your typical Tesco. I love coming here and just browsing through the shelves and finding things that I had grown up with, but had somehow forgotten about. (Polish and German share quite a bit of food heritage.)

Once in a while I have a craving for Greek Salad...and then I always come here, as they have all…read morethe ingredients right here and there: tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, red onions, fresh olives, feta cheese, lemons, etc. Furthermore, you can get all kind of "Mediterranean" products here, as well as different cured meats.

Nice local store with a great range of vegetables in good price. Recommended for every N19 :)read more

Extremely well stocked Chinese supermarket that has just about everything you need. Spotlessly…read moreclean and well maintained. Very high standard of hygiene is apparent. Prices are remarkably good, but not all items are VAT free.!! Fabulous selection of frozen/dried fish, so many species. Great place to shop for Eastern food. Parking is very good locally.

Very Nearly deserving of 5 stars, but i dont want to go too crazy! This place is though a really…read moregood place to pick up your chinese foodstuffs, with a massive selection on the high American looking Aisles. You could say they have wall to (Great) wall of food, and I would say don't be a (Tiannamen) square, and get yourself down there, but I would never use such bad puns! I bought a big old selection of dried chillis for a pound, and they will last me probably for half a year (and I use a lot) so that's a bargain. I also got a jar of minced ginger, to use in my stirfries and I bought a bottle of squid sauce to go splash into my stir fries too, for that authentic touch. On top of what I got though, there is so much good and authentic produce here, from huge sacks of rice for around £16, to cans of Grass Jelly drink and juicy, plump HUOGE Tiger prawns. Cheap, authentic and nicely laid out.

In my endless quest to be cooler than all you people I shunned the food stalls of Sunday UpMarket…read morewith their mobs of people wearing ironic large sunglasses, I turned my nose up at the hog roasts at Shoreditch cliches 93ft East and the Truman Brewery, and I certainly wasn't going to join the More4-loving set lunching away at shiny chain restaurants in what used to be wonderful Spitalfields. No, I decided I'd abandon the Time-Out guided Sunday masses and wonder the wrong way down Brick Lane in search of authentic options. And because of that my lunch for £2.40 consisted of two of the best spinach samosas I've ever had and two hearty but dry fish cakes. It was window placement of these savoury cakes, samosas and pakoras that magnetised me into Ambala. The rest of the shop was largely devoid of the Bangla sweets they profess, but do I look like I'm bothered? It was lunch time, I wanted something salty, satisfying and solid value and I found it in spades. Next time you do the sunday brick lane thing, give Ambala a look. Don't just be another sheep having free range tofu sausage crepes with the other Nathan Barleys.

I work in the City with a team from India and they have established a custom of zipping out to…read moreAmbala on a Friday afternoon and returning with a huge box of hot samosas. When I find out who came up with the idea I shall demand that they are promoted and given some sort of employee of the decade award. Ambala sell a vast range of Indian/Pakistani savoury snacks and sweets. Both their lamb and vegetarian samosas are fantastic, their pakora is great and so is more or less everything else they sell. If you work near this part of London you absolutely have to go in here and buy enough of their delicacies to fill a wheelbarrow, push it straight back to your office and bask in the warm adulation of your co-workers as they scarf hot eastern yumminess. Unfortunately they aren't open early otherwise I would pick up breakfast here.

Wow, I am definitely impressed by the variety of Chinese (and a bit of Korean and Japanese too)…read morefood available at this little store. I always go in to the city to buy my Asian groceries in Chinatown, but now that I've discovered this place, I can do a lot of my shopping here. Plus, it's aimed at a Chinese clientele (all the labelling is in Chinese although there are English translations) so the prices are very reasonable. This place is great for all kinds of Chinese noodles, tofu, produce, dried and canned goods, snacks and drinks. Only thing you need to be aware of is it's cash only, but there's a cashpoint outside the Tesco just a half-minute walk east on Seven Sisters.

Great selection of Asian (mostly Chinese, but I saw Korean, Japanese and Thai) sauces, preserved…read moreitems, candies, canned goods, a small section of fresh veg and freezer coolers of seafood, meats and ready to eats. They have even a selection of fresh seafood on offer at cheaper prices than the Holloway Nags Head fishery a few storefronts down - eel, fish, live lobster, clams, and mussels. This is my new go-to place for korean basics (kimchi, gochujang, ddok, etc), hot pot/shabu shabu needs, and tastes of my childhood. Too bad it's cash only - but just be prepared for that.

If you enjoy cooking indian/asian food, you will love this shop. The smell is amazing as you walk…read morein. They have all the spices that you need for any type of curry etc. They also sell a vast array of indian products. They have a great selection of extras for your curry. Poppadums (all sorts of flavours), tinned pakra (curry leaves rolled with spices that you just slice and fry yummy). The owners are very friendly and happy to help you look for anything and offer advice.

What a fantastic find! Everything you could need to prepare authentic Indian dishes. Owners always…read morehappy to help.

Ben's house is AWESOME. A really simple well executed concept: all products are made by Londoners…read more And all products stocked are awesome. It's small business supporting small business and I love it. You will most probably see Ben when you're in there and he's worth going to see for a 'how's it going'. You can also get coffee, bready snacks and, as he describes it, treats. The take away 'hard treats' such as the gins and wines are my favourite, but to be honest everything on that shelf is great. I would quite happily stock up my cupboard with the pickles, hot sauce, cordial, breads etc etc. He also has an excellent magazine range. AND he puts on supper club style events which shouldn't be missed. Small, intimate, delicious. Think there is a small room out the back hireable for small meetings. Low light: this place is not next to my work.

The clue to how wonderful this place is is all in the name! You truly do get a warm, homely welcome…read moreat Ben's House and are treated as a friend rather than a customer. I didn't know where to start with all the wonderful treats on offer, the brownies were delicious and the coffee just as excellent. It was really difficult to bring ourselves to leave as Ben is great to have a chat too and knows so much about all his locally sourced products on offer. I definitely learnt a thing or two about all the amazing gins, honey and other bits on offer. He has a real passion for everything sold in his 'house' and it's incredibly refreshing to visit somewhere so welcoming and fun. If any of you are lucky enough to have a pooch in your life, too, they're also welcome! Added bonus... not sure this place could get any better, really. But I'm sure Ben will find a way! I can't wait to go back!

Wow! Now this is what I call a market…read more.. Straight up, really cheap fruit and veg. Like, I paid £1 for two big avocadoes in Whitechapel market yesterday, and you can get 6 for £1 at a stall in Dalston market. Them plus loads of other wacky and wonderful items and get ups. The further into this market you get, the further away you're getting from your cosy little white English middle class idyll. So, butchers selling bits of animals you just won't find in a 'British' restaurant. Nigerian food stalls selling dried catfish and strange ground up fish. Stalls selling beautiful waxed African fabrics. And just strangeness and rarities. There's a lot of stalls. And a lot of culture, real culture. So, it's just nice to take a stroll down. I didn't buy anything, but there was a lot I could have bought. And in the 'countdown to Christmas', you can probably find something for all the family along the length of the market. Loose yourself in Dalston, and find yourself somewhere in the stalls of Dalston market.

Its difficult to fully describe the riot of colour and noise that is Ridley Road market for anyone…read morewho hasn't been there. Places it reminds me of are the medina in Marrakesh, Electric Avenue in Brixton, and the old Moore Street market in Dublin - not sure if thats any use. Its basically a market where you can get your hands on mostly anything, with the likelihood being you'll pay significantly less for it than in a regular shop. The central 'avenue' of stalls are mostly fruit and veg at the top but then turn into other types as the market thins out towards Dalston Lane. These other types include homeware, a chap selling Nollywoods (Nigerian movies), a hot dog stand, a smelly incense stall, a plethora of dodgy jewellry stands (£5 any box), lots of vests, cheap t-shirts, and knock-off football tops. In the real shops behind the stalls, there is an even wider variety of goods on offer. These include: hairdressers, Indian food, a 24 hour bagel shop (a reminder of the street's Jewish history), the grimiest greasy spoon caff I've ever witnessed, lots of Halal butchers and fishmongers with boiler chickens hanging by the neck and bowls of spotty Tilapia for £5, fabric rolls, electrical kitchenware, and heaps of west African suppliers, including crates of live giant land snails. I generally do more staring than shopping here. But when I do buy things I go for the fresh herbs, the egg stall, the £1 bowls of cherry tomatoes or sweet peppers and the avocado and mango stall at the very top. I also shop for fresh bread in the Turkish supermarket TFC down towards the east end. The 'singers' compete with each other to get your attention. Cries of 'pound a bowl', and '50p-have-a-look' ring out against reggae from the rastafarian suppliers in the middle. They say Dalston is coming up in the world. I really hope Ridley Road doesn't fall victim to gentrification as developers and yuppies move in.

You're visiting the world when you visit this market! Communities from all over the world have…read morestalls and shops in the market, from Colombia to Iran; Ghana to Jamaica. I lived in Colombia for 6 months a few years ago and this is not just the closest I've been since I'd say I'm pretty much there when I have a set meal - almuerzo at the back of the market. It has a great family atmosphere and some interesting stalls. It is under immediate threat of demolition at the moment. To be replaced by chain stores and luxury flats. But a major campaign is underway. Check out this site for more information: wardscornercommunity.org.uk

The market is just amazing it has over 50 stalls but you could walk right past it. It is such one…read moreof those hidden London gems that you have to be in the know to find. The first time I went past Sven Sisters underground station I walk ed right past it. If fact I only found it walking in to a cafe only to find it had a door at the back into this hidden Latino world. There was music playing sunny tunes, with children dancing around, old people just chatting away in Spanish. The place seems more on eone gaint social club than a load of shops. Had a huge meal with fresh juice, followed by a Colombain strong coffee. Than just enjoyed the vibe. Often pop in when passing. Top tip go on saturday for a hair cut, a meal, stock up on books, dvds, music for learning the language. Or just pop into for a coffee or frozen juice on a stick. And if all this eating and drinking gets too much there is always the suit and corset maker to hide the sins.