My Shanghai: grocery shopping

One of the things that has taken a bit of getting used to since moving to Shanghai is grocery shopping. Unlike Australia, Singapore or the UK, there is no one-stop shop like Cold Storage, Woolworths or Sainsbury's. Here, you can spend HOURS and HOURS shopping for your groceries from a combination of sources. Fortunately, Shanghai is really, really into online shopping and home delivery. You could literally get one lemon delivered to your door. If you were really lazy, that is!

So here is my shopping hit list:

Fields - For some reason I avoided using Fields for a long time. But recently they have improved their delivery times. For example, if you order before midday, you can have delivery between 4 and 6pm; if you order the night before, you can have a delivery between 9am and midday. And I'm sure their prices have dropped slightly. Their fresh fruit and veggies are great quality - and most of it is organic. As is their meat. I've not tried their seafood, but will do at some stage. I find their website very easy to navigate, so this is now my main go-to place for a weekly shop of fresh goodies.

Feidan - this is my closest shop (left) within walking distance that I can pop into for import goodies. Perfect for milk, cheese, yoghurt, wine, cereal - whatever I've run out of, really. And best of all, they stock the Financial Times weekend paper (from 5pm on Saturdays). And they will home deliver if you spend over 200 kuai.

City Shop - I usually shop regularly at two of their branches - the Shanghai Centre on Nanjing Xi Lu or Huahai Lu (near Shanxi Nan Lu, downstairs from Sephora). You can also order online, however it's actually quicker to pop in and do a shop yourself and pay at the checkout as they will then deliver it within an hour or two. They stock loads of imported brands and have a decent selection of fresh fruit & veggies and sometimes meat and salmon. Remember to check the prices before buying. This place can add up!

The Avocado Lady - I don't know what this lady's real name is, but she's known around town by this moniker and it has stuck. She has a fruit & veggie stall on Wulumuqi Lu (about 10 mins walk from my place) and always has a queue of laowai (expats) and locals running out the door. She stocks more than just fruit and veg; she also sells imported cereals, wine, olive oils, olives, sardines, anchovies, capers, muesli, tinned chick peas and a good selection of fresh nuts and herbs. She also has a fridge full of cheeses that you can buy by weight. Best of all: she is CHEAP! And she's honest to boot. She'll often throw in free herbs with my veggies. And if she thinks the raspberries aren't going to last well, she'll tell me to eat them that day or not bother buying. A smart lady. And she almost always has avocadoes in stock.

Dia - is located directly opposite The Avocado Lady on Wulumuqi Lu. Apparently it's a cheap chain run by Carrefour (but don't quote me on that). It's good for stocking up on essentials like toilet paper, soap, shampoos and the like as their prices are considerably cheaper than the import-heavy supermarkets like City Shop and Feidan. I give their "fresh" fruit and veggies a wide berth as they look like about as fresh as Lindsay Lohan after a night on the tiles. They don't do delivery (or if they do, I can't figure it out), so bring your own bags and muscles for the walk home.

Baker & Spice - this is my favourite bakery. It's on Anfu Lu, just a hop, skip and a jump from Feidan. I absolutely adore their baguettes and mixed olive sourdough bread. And I'm quite partial to their zucchini and carrot cupcake, jam doughnuts and raspberry/chocolate tart. Oh and their lemon meringue tart and pain au chocolat. And their parma ham and rocket panini. You get the drift. It's all good. There's always a queue here. You can eat at the big communal table (or out on the footpath on a stool - no tables) but I prefer to take-away and avoid the crowds.

Sunflour - this bakery (left) only opened recently (at the Wukang Lu end of Anfu Lu). Their croissants and pain au chocolate are better than Baker & Spice and definitely worth trying, as are their cakes, particularly their chocolate mousse cake. I've not tried their bread, bagels or pretzels yet, but am sure they are delicious. It's nice to see B&S with some competition. It can only be a good thing for the consumer.

Marks & Spencer - I really got into M&S when I was living in Singapore, mostly for their frozen foods  particularly their quiches, curries, fish, sea scallops and pasta (I love their spinach and ricotta ravioli). We pretty much stock up here at least once a fortnight and fill our freezer for easy mid-week meals (for those nights you don't really feel like cooking from scratch). I also throw pasta sauces, tea bags, canned soups and biscuits into the trolley. And don't forget to stock up on their wine. If you buy six bottles, you get a discount. The store is located on busy Nanjing Xi Lu but there's a metro station next door - or you can get taxis fairly easy at the front door (but avoid rush hour).

Ikea - it might sound odd, but I visit this Swedish furniture store to stock up on their food. It's only two metro stops from my place and they have some great products: crispbreads, condiments, cordial, salmon, chocolate and their famous Swedish meatballs.

Carrefour - if you have a death wish, you can shop at this big French supermarket chain. Prices are cheaper but you have to get yourself to Gubei (about a 25-minute taxi ride from my place) then battle crowds, hideous muzak, more crowds and yet more crowds. But if you want to buy wine, toilet paper, a live fish, a duvet, a billboard-size TV and an electric scooter, you can do it all under one roof. They also have a good selection of organic veggies and their wine selection is vast. But there's a catch: there's no dedicated taxi queue. Good luck finding a taxi and battling the crowds on the footpath while wrestling with your heavy shopping bags. You can also shop online, but the site is clunky, takes hours to navigate and then when you do press "buy", a message appears: "we'll deliver sometime in the next three days. Cash on delivery". So you're then house-bound for three days waiting for the delivery. Burned once and never again.

GL Japan Plaza - this is a new supermarket to my repertoire. Located in Xintiandi, it's a basement-level Japanese supermarket chock full of imported goodies, fresh meats, fruit & veggies, a bakery and sushi counter. The prices are good (particularly with a member card) and the experience is entirely pleasant as the shop is clean, easily laid-out and spacious. I've never encountered any crowds here and it's never a problem to get a taxi on the street. If I'm down Xintiandi way, it's an easy supermarket to pop into.

Wet markets - I do know that some of my friends shop here for their fresh veggies - and some meat. I don't. Since falling pregnant I am extra careful about what I buy and where. Mostly because of pesticides and health standards. Prices are much, much cheaper, but for me, it's not worth the risk. Particularly when I see meat that's been sitting out for hours and from dubious origins. My Chinese teacher once said to me: "We Chinese believe that every food is poisoned, so we just eat a little bit of everything rather than a lot of one thing. Just in case." 'Nuff said.

Things to remember when grocery shopping in Shanghai:

1. Cash is king. With all home deliveries, you will need to have cash for the delivery driver. Some places accept PayPal (for example, Fields) but most don't. So you always need to have a cash supply handy.

2. Meat comes frozen. If you want to cook dinner tonight with the meat you're having delivered at 4pm, think again. It will be frozen. Plan ahead.

3. Not everything is in stock. Most places will give you a heads-up phone call if something you've ordered online is not in stock. But if they ring me at 3:55 for a 4pm delivery and I placed the order at 9am, they can expect me to be annoyed. More often than not if I get suitably outraged, the item magically appears at 4pm.