Strawberry Garden

As we were eating our lunch in the market, we decided to do something radical — to shop local. All we needed was some veggies for our Sunday roast, so why not?
The set-​up is quite attractive — grab your basket, have a wonder round, then pay up. The produce is piled high and labelled well, making it easy to grab and go. If you’re looking to cook something unusual but don’t want to head into Rusholme or to your nearest Chinese supermarket, Strawberry Garden is for you. Be warned; it can be a bit stressful. There are plenty of people who want to get in and out, so try to avoid going back on yourself within the more enclosed section of the market (as we did — it doesn’t make you any friends!) However, if you’re there with a pre-​composed list, you’ll be fine.
We walked away with 2 boxes of strawberries for £1, green beans, broccoli, potatoes and sweet potato and a slight sense of moral superiority. Next time I’m in the need for a fruit fix, I’ll be coming here.

Not a permanent structure and appears to be a folding trailer in the food court, stacked high with fresh produce. Very attractive.

‘Strawberry Gardens Forever!’ Strawberry Garden has three outlets — in the Arndale Centre, Bury and Ashton-​under-​Lyne — with all of them attracting positive reviews on Unilocal as cheap, cheerful and fresh local greengrocers.
Although I’m based in Lancashire, I seek out Strawberry Garden when I’m in Manchester for a quick shop for my favourite exotics — fresh bay leaf, *big* bunched flat parsley/​coriander, okra. Plantain, yam, scotch bonnet pepper and so on, Strawberry Garden supplies the key fresh ingredients for Asian and Afro-​Caribbean cooking. Sure, Worldwide Foods in Rusholme is bigger but Strawberry Garden is handy for the city centre. Plus, on my last shop at Strawberry Garden, the okra was tender baby okra, and the coriander leaf (which I’ve found highly perishable from elsewhere) stayed fresh for a long while.
Lastly, there must be possibilities for asking these guys to kindly pick you up a box of something special from the wholesale market.

Since finding an innovative way to navigate the record-​breakingly narrow aisles here, in the words of REO Speedwagon, I can’t fight this feeling anymore. I adore Strawberry Garden. It is indeed as good as it gets. Since spending more time here and actually having a browse rather than doing the whole, «I need this, that and this,» I’ve grown even fonder.
I had absolutely no idea that you could get so many exotic fruits and vegetables here. I’ve picked up plantains for my forthcoming Jerk chicken recipe, I grabbed some ‘custard apples’ because they were on special offer, and a bag of chestnuts to roast for 79p. Not that they’re particularly exotic… but special offers are the name of the game here. Hankering to make a batch of banana bread? They’ll sell their overripe bananas at reduced prices to get rid of them rather than waste them. This goes for many fruits.
I gathered several soups’ worth of ingredients on my last visit, as well as the aforementioned, plus grapes, mango, bananas… the whole thing came to around a measly £11, and I had a ridiculous amount. Like two full bags. I mean, beyond five a day. I asked them to keep the change, because another thing I’ve noticed is that the staff are ridiculously nice. Offering to double-​bag your fruit, chatting away to you — I felt like I ought to do *something*.
Occasionally you’ll need a late night fix or you might not be able to get to the Arndale, but goodness me, you should always shop here when you can. It’s epic.

Strawberry Garden is a huge fruit and veg stall in the Arndale Centre Market Hall. Everything looks shiny and fresh, this stall is so inviting!
Oranges, strawberries, grapes, bananas, carrots, potatoes, leeks, whatever. Strawberry Garden has everything you need to keep you healthy.
You’ll also find that their prices are better than the supermarkets and the service friendly and helpful. Make Strawberry Garden a regular stop off as part of your weekly shop.