Wing Yip, Nechells - 1st March 2015

Today, I went to the biggest Chinese supermarket in Birmingham, which was Wing Yip. It is based in Nechells, in North East Birmingham. Last year, I gave it a 6.5 out of 10. Will it improve this time?

The criteria is as follows.

1. Clean - yes, and the supermarket looks a lot brighter than last year.
2. Friendly staff - Friendly in general. The Chinese staff are trilingual - able to speak English, Cantonese and Mandarin. There is also noticceably a big increase in the number of non-Chinese staff as it starts to offer more equal opportunities for all. After paying for my items, it was pouring outside and the staff were quick to say that it is okay for us to stay indoors and provided us with lovely Chinese New Year sweets!
3. Aisle width - wide enough for two big trolleys to pass through. And big, I do mean big - just like the big trolleys you can get from Homebase or B&Q.
4. Everything I was looking for was in stock - Oriental specialist food is generally very well stocked. The down side though is that you can't buy dairy products such as milk or clotted cream. You are also unlikely to be able to buy normal potatoes - chips is the nearest options. Tomatoes and grapes are also items you can't buy. There is also half an aisle full of vegetarian meat / fish stuff. I was also on the hunt for Ma Po sauce - unfortunately that wasn't available. However, if you're working for the catering business, there's lots of bulk buying items available in the form of cases.
5. Extras: pharmacy/opticians/specialist food/petrol station - A fishmonger and a butcher is available. There is also live seafood such as crabs and lobsters. Eels and carp are not available though. There is though ready roasted duck (with the head!), Chinese roast pork (Char Siu) and roast belly pork which looks nice. There's also a cooking demonstration stall and today, they were promoting Malaysian curry sauce. The stuff was okay, but it's definitely good self-promotion. Free calendars are also available. Finally, you can watch Chinese TV (Hong Kong's TVB) on the big screen.It does lack a petrol station but that is not really required here.
6. Fresh produce with long sell-by dates - Yes, in general. The level of reduced goods has gone down significantly which shows that they are starting to get more serious on fresh produce!
7. Opening Hours - 9:30am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, 11:30am to 5:30pm Sunday. I do think that the opening hours for Monday to Saturday could be improved - maybe opening at 8am? Or it could be that the workers want a lie in!
8. Speed of till-processing - 11 manned tills - an increase compared to around 7 or 8 last year. And it's fast. There's normally three members of staff per till. One to put your items on the conveyor belt, one doing the till processing, and one packing items for you. Service is great!
9. Self-service tills available - None.
10. Parking facilities - Yes and quite a lot of spaces available, even on a Sunday afternoon - the peak time for trading! The downside is that parking restrictions are strict and only allow you 1.5 hours. However, as there is an increase in manned tills, that will give you enough time!
11. Value for money - One of the biggest Chinese supermarkets in the UK, most items are cheaper than the Day in Supermarket at the city centre and Korea Foods in Selly Oak.
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. A let down if you are paying by card is that you need to purchase a minimum of £10. Not sure if cash back is available.
14. Pedestrian access - yes and are step free.

Overall, the Wing Yip in Nechells looks better than it was last year. Both the interior and exterior of the supermarkets has been refurbished and staff are friendlier than they were last year. However, if you're looking for non-food items or English food, look towards the Big Four supermarkets.

Rating: 7.5out of 10