I just want ketchup....

It has been two weeks since I arrived in China and so far I have managed to go to supermarkets with native Chinese people, therefore giving me a translator. Today, however, after realising that I cannot survive on two slices of bread, I had to go it alone.

Supermarkets are both bizarre and brilliant in China, and no part of supermarket etiquette that I have learnt in England is applicable here. Firstly, you cannot take big bags into a supermarket, for example, if you have bought something previously. Instead, you are presented with a gym-esque wall of lockers in the entrance that you must put them in until you leave. Next is the trolley issue. They don’t do trolleys in China, you either have a basket or you place said basket into a trolley skeleton to create a makeshift trolley. It felt like my trolley had dementia and was being aided by a walking frame.

There is a HUGE dairy section in the supermarkets with 99.9% of the products being yoghurt. Weird, wonderful flavours and bottles and tubs of yoghurt. The best thing about this aisle though is the way that the Chinese get rid of items near their sell-by date. In England, it would be reduced. In China, they stick the pack of yoghurts nearing their sell-by date onto an in-date pack and tape this into a huge bundle with a ‘free item’ such as a bowl or mug. Moral of this story....avoid the free gifts. The remaining 1% is a choice of two milks, two cheeses and two butters. Oh and did I mention that a pack of butter will set you back £4. Yes, £4! I am currently rationing my butter like I’m in the 1940’s.

I have honestly never seen a bigger dried foods section than in China. You name it, they dry it. From fish to fruit, it’s seen as a ‘quick lunch’ if it’s dried. Moving on to the issue of sauces. You cannot get a decent sauce anywhere without it containing some form of vinegar or soy sauce. This is all well and good until I just want something to go with my eggs on toast. Tomato sauces... forget it. Creamy sauces....in your dreams. However, I managed to find ketchup!!! It was an emotional moment realising that there was at least on edible item in the supermarket.

Other random things I found in the supermarket included a whole section for cooking oil. Not just your average litre bottle of oil but huge tubs of oil which were placed nicely next to sacks of rice! Also, most supermarkets have two floors, and my local one has ALL the food downstairs except the coffee, tea, honey and porridge. That apparently fits in well with the clothing and homeware on the second floor.

Cleaning products are my favourite items in China because they have pictures of what they are supposed to clean on them! Ellis 1: China 0. There are also known brands such as Dettol and Mr Muscle which is excellent. On the other hand, you cannot get antibacterial spray anywhere, yet there are shelves and shelves of collar cleaner for shirts?

This first supermarket shop took my over an hour and I ended up buying the grand total of 7 items! As for vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, rice, flour, eggs and herbs, there is a local market extremely close to my apartment and you can buy all of these very cheaply. For approximately £5 I bought a week’s worth of meat, veg, rice, flour and eggs which is excellent for my bank balance. Overall, shopping in China is an exhausting chore but it’s also brilliant fun. You get to haggle for your eggs and choose your own fish. However, what I wouldn’t kill for a bacon sandwich right now.......

xxxxx