I've currently got a thing about Chinese supermarkets. I like the serried rows of colourful, chromo-lithographed tins, cartons and bottles; the general abundance, the kitsch, the smell of sweet Duck fat, the fact that you can buy a steel wok for a few quid, or a lethal looking cleaver for slightly more.
The brusqueness is quite appealing in a funny sort of way too- it's the diametric opposite to the hushed atmosphere of old school English establishments such as Bate's the Hatter, New & Lingwood or Budd of Piccadilly arcade- Chinese supermarkets are no place to linger, especially. There's pace in spades - and don't the shop owners let you know it?
I love the packaging for Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Flavoured Sauce; the soft blues, pinks and yellows of the old-fashioned, rather 50's looking label:
