Lulu’s Hypermarket – undoubtly the best place to buy groceries in Dubai. And I’m not even paid to say that. Lulu’s tops the list of Dubai’s or Sharjah’s most affordable shopping that when you shop at say, Spinneys or Waitrose, you’ll smack yourself ridiculous when you get your bill, “damn, why didn’t I go to Lulu’s!”

We go to the Lulu’s branch in Qusais. The store caters to the huge Indian population so when you’re there, you might think you’ve been transported to India…except that there are Filipino ladies manning all the cash registers and the Nepali’s packing your groceries.

Recently, Lulu’s is trying to reach out to other shoppers other than the traditional customers who frequent there by selling products you would only normally find in posh-er grocery stores.

Here are my recent interesting finds:

There was a Mango Mania 2013 event going on last Friday – with a very catchy: “More than 100 varieties of delicious mangoes from around the world”.

BAM! You know me and my incurable addiction to mangoes. I was excited!

Would you believe, these mangoes looks so much alike but they are different varieties!

I was actually tempted to buy one of each variety.

When it’s mango season in India, I am always in trouble. It’s like I’m on a stocking expedition everyday, experimenting on a variety with the aim to try it all!

So far, my favorites are Alphonso and Badami. Then there’s this variety from Thailand which is pricey. I have to give up my other vices for that (chocolates, duh).

Meanwhile, at the baby’s section, I saw this, way down the rack:

Gripewater for colic! Where was this when I was feeling so helpless colic with Benjamin?

Another great find: Ella’s Organic squished fruit smoothies that Ben loves so much.

These are a few dirhams more expensive at Spinneys but only AED6.75 (US$1.8) at Lulu’s! I know what I’m going to bring on our long flight to Japan next month.

Next is what you won’t expect to find in grocery stores here: MOCHI!

Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a short-grain Japonica glutinous rice. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape, often with sweet fillings. The ones sold in Lulu’s are green tea, red bean, peanut, durian(!) and black sesame. We first found it during the Singaporean Festival event but glad they continued to sell it now.

Next, I found a butter that tastes like…real deal butter.

There are a lot of other interesting stuff at Lulu’s lately: Gluten free items, Onken natural biopot yogurt (way cheaper), etc, etc!

TIP: The best times to shop at Lulu’s is early mornings, especially on a weekend (Friday/Saturday here). I often leave the house before 9am because that is the only way you can maneuver your shopping cart without bumping on anyone or you can have your fruits/veggies weighed or getting fresh grated coconut without having to endure the cue like you’re in Disneyland!

Once I finish my grocery shopping and come out of the store at around 11am, it’s mayhem! And the roads just outside of Lulu’s? Traffic, traffic, traffic! All roads lead to Lulu’s on the weekend near noon time and Thursday night and all other nights beyond 8pm!