NOTE: Most of the shops mentioned here are marked on the map. Click here to view.

Please remember that things change. Shops run out and never restock! I try to keep this up to date, but if you know something I don't, please tell me!

There is a shop near Dong Men (East Gate) which has a selection of western foodstuffs. It is on the same road as Dong Men (Shuguang East Road), at No. 177 (about half way along). It is the second shop from the left (next to the orange shop) in the picture below.

Pork Prices Rise in Scare

Pork prices have soared recently due to a disease which is killing millions of China's pigs. Restaurants are cutting back on the amount of pork in dishes or raising the price substantially. One restaurant I was in recently refused to sell me pork, saying that it was "too expensive".

So much for it being the year of the pig!

More information here.

29th May 2007

Dutch Style Cheese - Continental Salami

The Wooden Shoe Café is offering a range of Dutch style Gouda cheeses. They have a Plain Medium Gouda at ¥120 for 900 grams or ¥70 for 400 grams and four flavoured varieties: Italian Herb, Herbes De Provence, Onion & Garlic, and Cumin are priced at ¥135 for 900 grams and ¥98 for 400 grams. A tasting plate is also available in the café for ¥20.

They have also introduced a range of continental salamis. Pepperoni at ¥14 / 100 grammes, and Nostrano, Napoli and Spianta Salamis each at ¥22 / 100 grammes. A tasting plate is available in the café for ¥25. They also have Prosciutto Crudo ham ¥18 / 100 grammes take home price, ¥25 to eat in the café.

The café also sells hamburger buns (¥20 for 10) and hamburger meat (¥50 / 10 patties)  (Order one day in advance)

The Wooden Shoe Café is at 19 Yuejin Road, Liuzhou. tel: 0772-2806256

For other cheese info, click here.

updated 12th April 2007

Gong Mao

In the basement of Gong Mao department store (next to KFC), at the the rear of the shop, is a small food area. There is not a lot of western food, but they do have cornflakes (German brand - ¥25.80) and Extra Virgin Olive Oil (¥138 a litre).

Updated 24th February 2007

Olive Oil

In their wisdom, Wuxing (Five Star) department store has started selling Greek olive oil. Prices for Extra Virgin Oil range from ¥180 up to an astonishing ¥880 for half a litre! They do have smaller bottles which are proportionally more expensive. They do have one oil at ¥88 a litre, but it is not Extra Virgin.

A much better deal is available in Lianhua (Century Mart) supermarket, where they (somewhat sporadically) have 1 litre bottles of Italian Extra Virgin for a mere ¥88. At the moment (Feb 2007), they are stocking Spanish Olive Oil, (Rhinoceros Brand) ¥109.80 for 780ml.

There is also one of those small specialty stores on Beizhan Road (pictured below) which has Spanish EV oil for around ¥130 per litre. They also have cornflakes and other goodies! See map

There is another shop in the Dongmen area which sometimes has Greek oil (not-EV) for around ¥40. Lots of other interesting things, too. It is marked on the map.

Updated 24th February 2007

Bread

Cherries Cake Shop in the town centre is no longer always baking Western style bread on a daily basis. Instead you have to rely on luck or order a day in advance.

Cherries Cake Shop is at 28 YingShan Jie ()

10th August 2006

Jiayong Sells Out

After about 15 years as Liuzhou's major supermarket chain, Jiayong have sold out to Shanghai based Lianhua Supermarket Holdings part of the Lianhua Group, which is in turn owned by Shanghai Bailian Group, China's largest retailer. The former No. 1 Jiayong supermarket near Liuzhou square is now operating as Century Mart. Tian TIan Jian, the largest store near the railway station also now trades as Century Mart. The smaller stores all over the area will trade as Lianhua.

Liuzhou Jiayong Trading Company was started by a Mr Tan who took advantage of favourable tax allowances for disabled people starting businesses. This scheme was introduced under pressure from Deng Xiao Ping's eldest son who was himself disabled after falling, jumping or being pushed from a window during the cultural revolution. He has since worked to improve conditions for the disabled in China. Helped by the tax advantage in the early years, Jia Yong expanded to become the biggest grocery chain in the area. 

27th August 2005

Diet Coke

Beats me why, but a couple of people have asked me where they can get Diet Coke in Liuzhou. Until now the answer was nowhere, but today I stumbled across a place selling that very commodity. There is a little shop selling soft drinks, sweets (candies) and, of course, tuna fish, mostly imported from Japan! Prices are ridiculously high. Tuna is double the price we can buy it in the 'butter shop' and even Maltesers are twice the price they charge in CenturyMart supermarket. I'm not even going to tell you the price for the tiny bottles of diet coke! 

The shop is in Five Star Street, on the left going south, next to the Mickey Mouse store. 

I'm also advised that it is possible to buy Diet Coke at a little "Beijing Hualian" shop on TanZhong Rd. The owner has gone to great lengths to ensure that a Laowai family in the area can continue to buy Diet Coke, despite a short and nonsensical "Diet Coke is illegal" dispute from the distributor.

Beijing Hualian, north side of TanZhong Rd, close to DongHuan Rd, across from the big blue tax building. I cannot think of a good way to tell people where to find it...it is fairly small. (updated 12th December 2004)

For those who need to know, the Chinese for Diet Cola (Or Coke Light) is

18th November 2004

Chocolate

Totally by accident, I stumbled across a shop selling real chocolate last night. They had a selection of Belgian and other chocolates, including my favourite, dark, bitter real chocolate. Not cheap, but hey!

So what you want to know is, "Where?"

It's on Wenhui Road. I guess everyone knows the downstairs DVD shop. Imagine standing outside it looking towards CenturyMart (ex Jiayong) supermarket. Turn right and walk along the right hand side of the road. It's a tiny shop on the right selling all kinds of sweets etc. See the map.

19th September 2004

Cheese and Butter etc.

CenturyMart stocks processed cheese slices (pseudo-Kraft Cheese) at the ridiculous price of ¥32.60 for 12 slices. Beware! They have been sitting on that shelf for at least two years.

A much better bet is to head to what we call the 'butter shop'. They have Kraft Singles for ¥16. They also have Philadelphia Cheese at ¥25 for what looked to me like a fairly large block. (Can't stand the stuff myself. But then I like cheese!) For real cheese, see above.

They also sell butter. Real butter from real cows! It's in the fridge just beside the cash desk. If you don't see it, ask for .

They also have pasta, real curry powder and curry paste made in India, Tabasco sauce, canned red kidney beans, tuna, black olives and other odd things. Always worth a look. They mainly supply restaurants and hotels, and have a shop in Guangzhou from which they bring stuff in. They are friendly and will try to satisfy reasonable requests.

OK where are they? Click here to see a map. Click on the picture to enlarge.

Coffee News

Gong Mao (the big department store beside KFC) have seven different types of coffee bean. I can't remember them all but they included Brazilian, Mocha and Java. Prices vary but they are around 15 Yuan per liang (50 grammes)! They also have grinders, coffee machines and all the accessories. But, I think I'll wait till my rich aunt dies before I buy it.

I'm informed that "you can get real ground coffee - Vietnamese stuff  - in Guangxi. About 13 RMB for a big tin? The only catch is that you have to go to Dongxing on the border with Vietnam. Someone should source it and sell it in Liuzhou or in the rest of Guangxi. The coach takes 5-6 hours from Liuzhou to Dongxing." 

Any volunteers?

On a more practical note, Hua Lian Supermarket once again have Maxwell House Instant Coffee. It is 57 Yuan for a 200 gramme jar. Cheaper than Nescafé and allows you to enjoy your coffee without feeling guilty about buying Nestlé products. If you are not sure why you might feel guilty, click here.

If you know of any other goodies, please let me know.