Grocery Shopping in Shanghai

October 13, 2012

On the bottom floor of the shopping mall near my hotel there is a grocery store (a chain called Carrefour).  Every time I go in there I get a little overwhelmed, end up buying like three things, and leave.  I thought I'd share a few pictures...
 

Live seafood section. Point to your fish, they'll scoop it out for you and wrap it up...alive.

This picture is for Lily and Lucy Langer: Girls, look what they're selling in the grocery store!  Not as pets, to be eaten as food!

Not only toads but snakes too :)

And turtles

The store has the largest produce section I've ever seen with every kind of fruit you can imagine and some you've never seen before.  Two days ago I ordered a fruit salad from a restaurant and of the five fruits in the bowl, only one did I recognize.  It was delicious, I wish I knew what the fruits were.

Fish balls, meat balls, and god knows what other kind of balls.  She'll fry them up for you right there and put them in a cup so you can eat while you shop.  This is a popular convenience store food too.

Chicken parts in an open display case, don't worry they're frozen.  This is mostly feet, legs, and thighs.  You can get any kind of bird foot or chicken part that you want but it's impossible to buy a whole chicken without the head.

Chicken eggs, duck eggs, and every other kind of egg.  There are two of these big shelves and they're double sided so they must sell a lot of them.  Not refrigerated, of course.

Pigs' feet, take your pick

They have a very large prepared food section with already made rice, side dishes, whatever.  And just like you can buy a rotisserie chicken at home, here you can pick out a roasted chick or duck (head on, of course).  Below we have pre-cooked pig snout, yum!

Huge section devoted to bulk spices and tea.

Dried spices like chilies, mushrooms, and onions.  Dried meats like shrimp.  Kind of a stinky area or the store.

They have an "imported foods" section with exotic products such as jars of spaghetti sauce, hot cocoa packets, granola bars and cake mix.  Don't worry, the cake mix is only about $10 a box! 

Western cereals, about $8 a box

Lots of wine but the least expensive bottle is about $20

Looking for a snack?  How about seaweed flavored Pringles?

In China you can get a million flavors of chip (except salt and vinegar!  Where are the salt and vinegar?!)  Here is 'Roasted Mediterranean Chicken Flavor' (which I've had and is disgusting) and 'Finger Lickin' Braised Pork Flavor'.  The snack aisles in this store are huge, filled with chips, candy, cookies, crackers, lots of dried fruits and dried meats, and obviously snack-sized chicken feet.

Chicken flavored Cheetos

Just more produce.  I can't believe the amount of produce.  Who knew that there were so many kinds of lettuce?

Giant aisle for bouillon and other mix-ins like whey protein, which can be bought in huge sizes

Live crabs and wrapped crabs.  I see these wrapped crabs everywhere, not sure if they're alive.  I think that they must be at least partially because otherwise I don't think that they would bind them like this.

With all these delicious ingredients to choose from, is it any wonder that I had bananas and peanut butter on saltines for breakfast?  I had to spread the peanut butter using a chopstick...can't wait to get out of the hotel.

Sort of like a Walmart, the bottom floor of the supermarket is filled with home goods and cosmetics.

I usually don't like coming down here because it's crawling with sales clerks who push products on you.  They're not there to help you, they're there to sell you shampoo, soap, bedding, etc.  They must make a commission.
 

Note:  These photos were all taken with the new Ipod.  My first time using it in China!  Thanks Wallace family!