Let's go to the markets
Quality Foods
Address: 47-61, South Road Southall – UB1 1SQ Middlesex
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday: 7:30am to 8:00pm Sundays: 12:00-6:00pm
Website: http://quality-foods.co.uk/
Want to make some typical Indian dishes? Want to explore a different cuisine? Or simply want to have a fun experience? Look no more. Quality Foods is a good choice!
In Southall, there are several stores selling South Asian groceries, but Quality Foods is the best known South Asian chain supermarket. According to Quality Foods’ website, the supermarket in Southall was opened in 1997, but the first store in the chain was first opened in 1981 as a family run business. Pius Sedani, together with two brothers, opened the first shop in Upton Park. A rising demand for Asian ingredients in West London enabled the brothers to expand their business, upgrading a small shop to a large Asian supermarket. However, in the 1990s, the idea to open a huge supermarket in a neighborhood was considered risky. To make the plan possible, the brothers had to borrow money from the banks. In 1992, they purchased a large premise in Ilford and launched the supermarket. This turned out to be a huge success and Quality Foods became a well-known name to customers.
The business keeps expanding across West London and receives a high popularity among the South Asian community. At the present, Quality Foods has successfully launched 5 different branches in Southall, Ilford, Hounslow, Upton Park, and Hayes.
Quality Foods aims to offer customers both a specialist store for South Asian products and the convenience of a supermarket. It is a perfect place for those who are looking for South Asian ingredients and products. You can find everything you need for a typical Indian dish. The store is very big, probably Walmart size. In front of the entrance, there is a section for vegetables and fruits. You can find usual fruit like apples and oranges here, but then you can also find more exotic fruit such as mangoes, plantains, coconuts, and dates, etc. Inside, they sell a wide variety of products used for South Asian dishes.
I felt overwhelmed when I first entered the store. They sell a wide variety of food and non-food products including basmati rice, chappati flour, dal, grains, lentils, ready meal, sweets and savouries, fresh vegetables and fruit, oil, herbs, spices, snacks as well as cooking utensils, soaps, religious goodies, etc.
A variety of spices made me confused and intrigued at the same time. I had never seen so many spices in my life. East Asian and Southeast Asian people do not use as many spices as their South Asian counterparts use in their cooking. Suffice to say, an extensive use of numerous spices is a special character of the Indian-subcontinent. As I notice, South Asian people often cook with turmeric, black and white peppers, coriander seed, fennel seed, cardamom pods, cloves, saffron, cumin seed and the list goes on. Many popular brands like Natco, Kohinoor, TRS, Tild, etc. have a strong presence in the store.
Seeing different types of spices remind me of the movie The Hundred-foot Journey which depicts a food journey of a young Indian novice cook. In the movie, the protagonist uses a lot of different spices which add different layers of flavor and aroma to his food. This combination of spices not only makes the dish more flavorful but also has health benefits.
The prices of groceries in Southall are very cheap in comparison with central London. As Southall is in a surburb area, things are much less expensive. You may be very surprised if you first visit Southall and look at the price for different items. For example, you can buy 8 lemons for only £1, or a big bag of onions for 99p.
Besides Qualtiy Foods, there are also other smaller ethnic stores like Cash & Carry or Mor Foods which sell similar goods that you can also explore.
Southall Market
Address: High Street, Southall, UB1 3DG (Opposite Southall Police Station)
Southall market was opened in 1698 as a cattle market. Until 2007, the market still sold horses, pigs, carts and harness. Poultry was on sale every Tuesday and horses were on sale every Wednesday. However, on 1 August 2007, the horse market ceased to take place. According to Horse&Hound magazine, such a closure was due to the retirement of two executive people from the firm that managed the market. When the market was closed down, a lot of frequent customers felt sad. The market was not only a place to buy horses but also a location for horse-lovers to meet up.
Southall Market is described by Time Out as "a cross between a traditional market and a visit to India".
The market is crowded on Saturday when people do not have to work. Southall market sells a variety of items such as clothes, fabric, jewelry, perfume, cosmetics, electrical items, cooking utensils, furniture, fresh seafood and so forth. Interestingly, the sellers come from all over the places. Some of them are of South Asian roots, while others are from European or East Asian countries.
It is a fun thing to walk through the market, look at different stalls, and check out various products that people sell. Moreover, if you get lucky, you can get a very good deal on food.
