Wing Yip - Nechells - 10th April 2014

After reviewing Day in Supermarket a few weeks ago, I felt it was appropriate to review its rival, Wing Yip, in Nechells, Birmingham.

So, what is it like? The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - yes, in general.
2. Friendly staff - Generally okay. Most are trilingual - able to speak English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
3. Aisle width - wide enough for two big trolleys to pass through.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Oriental specialist food is very well stocked. However, it lacks the basics such as buying meat in low quantities, or fruits such as tomatoes, grapes, or vegetables such as lettuce, and potatoes. Also no clotted cream so don't head there if you need to prepare for Churchcentral Forward.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - A fishmonger and a butcher is available. There is also live seafood such as crabs, lobsters and eels. A cash and carry service for traders is available at the back of the superstore. No petrol station though,
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes, in general. There are some reduced goods that are out of date though and are sold at half price. English supermarkets would just throw those goods away.
7. Opening Hours - 9:30am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, 11:30am to 5:30pm Sunday. Could be better in my opinion especially as it's out of town.
8. Speed of till-processing - Quite a few manned tills and are generally quite fast.
9. Self-service tills available - None.
10. Parking facilities - Yes and quite a lot of spaces available. The downside is that parking restrictions are strict and only allow you 1.5 hours. It's okay on a weekday evening but can imagine a Sunday afternoon, peak time for trading, to be a bit of a push.
11. Value for money - One of the biggest Chinese supermarkets in the UK, it's quite good value for money.
12. Organic produce - not available as far as I'm aware of.
13. Cash machine or cash back - Nearest cash machine is the Bank of East Asia which is a five minute walk away. Not sure if they offer cashback.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and are step free.

Overall, the Wing Yip Chinese supermarket is a nice one containing lots of specialist goods. If you need to cook something Oriental, rest assured that you won't be disappointed. However, if you're looking for non-food items or English food, look towards the Big Four supermarkets.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10