dominoman

Back in the UK we use Tesco delivery service a lot. Same price, and just loads more convenient.

Does anyone use online shopping in the UAE? The cost of groceries seems to be really high, so I'm looking to see how we can avoid spending too much. My wife will be giving up her decent job to come here so we'll be living off just one salary.

What online shopping is available? Is fulfilme.com any good, and does it save money compared to going to Geant or Waitrose?

mission

carefour/geants is the cheapest out here...but the food quality is shyte. I wouldn't even contemplate ordering online.

scrubbedexpat141

Did it once, was alright. Did it again, was a disaster.

Until Waitrose do it, I wouldn't bother.

DXBtoDOH

Carrefour is common and it's not shyte, despite what Mission says. I'm fussy about food and find their stuff mostly fine (though I can't comment on their meat or seafood, but they have a high turnover so it should be fine). They have both regular and organic produce, mostly sourced from Europe, Australia and elsewhere in Middle East. Excellent cheese counter. Big range of store-brand products just as you find in France. Carrefour can be quite busy so go early. Note that there's the big Carrefour hypermarkets and the smaller Carrefour express, the expresses have the leftover stuff and lower turnover for the produce, so be mindful.

Spinneys and Waitrose are the same supermarkets with different names (don't be confused by it, Spinneys is the local supermarket that bought the right to the Waitrose branding for the UAE). Looks like a proper Western upscale supermarket, which is why people pay over the odds for their stuff even though it's not really that better than Carrefour and most of the stuff found at Spinneys/Waitrose are also found at Carrefour but at a stiffer mark up. Neither are quite like the actual Waitrose in the UK.

As for online shopping, your wife isn't working, tell her to go to the market at 9 AM on Tuesday morning and she'll be fine.

scrubbedexpat141

I'm ending this once and for all.

Meat quality in Carrefour is OK. But almost none at all is fresh, all defrosted so can't be frozen.
Meat in Spinneys / Waitrose is better. Better tasting, better quality.

Rest of the shit is comparable. I don't buy the expensive flown in cucumbers, so if it's slightly different in price then meh. It may not be as nice as Waitrose in Salisbury but it's still a lot nicer than other supermarkets out here.

Carrefour and other cheaper are good for cleaning products and that sort of thing but if you want to go to Carrefour at the weekend in MoE you need your head testing. It's hell on earth.

Honestly don't get the issue with going to a nicer supermarket, whether perceived or you find real difference. It's like saying do you want to drive a BMW or a Lancer. If you can afford either then why driver a Lancer?

dominoman

There's nothing wrong with refreezing food that's already been frozen before.

It's an urban myth. I suspect it's because some people thinking that freezing "resets the clock", so for meat that lasts a week you can leave it defrosted 5 days, freeze it, unfreeze it a month later and leave it another 5 days. Too hard to explain to people, so they just say do not refreeze.

Millhouse

Best meat is in the organic shop, or LuLu. Forget the other places.

Spinney's sell chicken breasts the size of footballs. Would love to see those chickens... or the machine that pumps in all the salty water that comes out of it when it's cooked.

scrubbedexpat141

Genuinely didn't know / have never looked into this. Thanks.

Good point, I think I'll go and buy some stacked salmonella from the overflowing puddles of chicken juice on the shelves in Carrefour.

DXBtoDOH

How many people do you know got salmonella from Carrefour chicken?

I've never bought their chickens but I see all the shoppers loading up on chicken and plenty of mates who buy chicken there and no one has ever complained....

scrubbedexpat141

Loads probably. Maybe none. Maybe 34. I don't know....but picking up a packet of cling-filmed chicken covered in raw chicken juices off a supermarket shelf is rank.

Made in Sheffield 1

Just before pay day: Geant
Just after pay day: Park n Shop

Best for...
Fresh meat: Geant
Fresh veg: same same (P&S prices are surprisingly comparable)
Cheese: Park n Shop (I'm partial to a nice piece of Wensleydale)
Toiletries/boring house stuff: Geant
Lovely expat things: Park n Shop (35 dibs for Monster Munch but hey ho)

Best times to go:
Geant: Friday at 9.00am. Any later and it's destruction derby near the fruit and veg but you do get free coffee and croissants.
Park n Shop: Any time. There may be a few spoiled, noisy brats but in the whole, not bad.

Millhouse

Petal