Woo Sang

What a great supermarket in Chinatown. All the kinds of Asian frozen foods, noodles, sauces, and snacks you’d expect to find, and what looked like a small selection of alcoholic options behind the counter. They had bags of 10 individual packs of fortune cookies for 99p and I really, really wanted to buy some, but I couldn’t think of when I would use them — there was also no obvious useby date and I’m sure I could probably find an equivalent back home in one of Glasgow’s Chinese supermarkets.
I like browsing Chinese supermarkets I happen upon and quite often buy a drink or snack for the road, and today I found a great range of non-​dairy coconut mochi frozen snacks in a freezer by the entrance. I opted for a box of 6 of mixed flavours (£3.65) — vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, mango, black sesame, and green tea. Maybe a bit pricey to buy regularly when I could get a big tub of ice cream for that, but they are imported from Thailand, and it’s great to try a new frozen treat that’s ready to eat.

I’ve been coming to Woo Sang for quite a while which is basically one of the smaller Chinese super markets in Manchester but still seems to sell everything. Situated down in China Town and opposite I am Phở, it’s a bit narrow and claustrophobic but it’s worth it if you’re on your way back to Piccadilly station (like I often am) and looking to pick up some tasty Asian ingredients)
There’s frozen seafood and meats in the back, plus frozen dim sum and pork buns — loads of drinks, booze, sauces, spices and pickles — plus their selection of fresh fruit is pretty awesome, I’m amazed by how much variety all of these shops around here stock!
They also seem to have a sideline in electronics and fixing things — I really wish I could read Mandarin/​Cantonese as I reckon there’s some cool stuff to be found here. They unlock phones too, I had my iphone done here at a much lower price than the high street!

Lovely little shop, sells many different things from typical thai cusine to authentic cooking utensils and imported drinks! Staff very helpfull and friendly :)

Considering the crowds whenever I come here (which, admittedly, has usually been after indulging in an inadvertent bar crawl down Oxford Road) it’s difficult to believe I’m the first person reviewing Woo Sang.
Attached to the brilliant Woo Sang Supermarket (home of over 90 different varieties of packet noodles and for that reason alone a regular stopoff during my student shopping trips) this restaurant is a real Chinatown original, cooking up grub for hungry Mancunians for over 25 years now. It was also one of the first Chinese spots to offer an all you can eat buffet (before the days of dedicated as-​much-​salty-​gloop-​as-​you-​can-​ladle-​from-​a-​hotplate establishments like Buffet City) and on a Saturday and Sunday the restaurant still offer this option.
But is it any good? My acid test for Chinese restaurants is prawn toast. Get this fishy bread right and everything else will follow. I’m delighted to announce that the prawn toast was darn good. Woo! Not much of a reveal really — you’d already seen the star rating — but allow me to try an inject some suspense into things at least. Jeez.
It misses out on that final star for one reasons — the food is very good but the menu definitely seems to play it safe, being made up almost solely of Cantonese dishes which are so unadventurous that you could well fall asleep whilst eating some of them. It would be really fantastic if there were some spicier alternative Szechuan offerings.
This aside Woo-​Sang really is the cat’s pyjamas or, you might say, the ‘prawn’s toast’ No? no. okay.

I like this Chinese supermarket. They probably are not cheapest, but some items are good price compared with other Chinese supermarket. I normally go a few of them to find what is the best price. For instance, sesame paste in the shop sells under 2 pounds but the other shops sell nearly 4 pounds! You really need to know the decent price. The staffs are ok and they speak English without problems (I think they are BBC). The shop is very clean and you do not smell something funny unlike other supermarkets.

Woohoo for Woo Sang! Another fantabulous Chinese supermarket in Manchester’s illustrious Chinatown. Now, don’t worry, I still love Hang Won Hong, but there’s enough room in this girl’s heart for two Chinese supermarkets.
This place is a crazy tardis like shop. It seems tiny when you go in, and then your sight adjusts itself and you see that you’re staring down the longest aisles ever, all laden with exciting foodstuffs and whatnot. Woo Sang stock a wide range of Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese foodstuffs, particularly specialising, it seems in dried goods. So, here you will find about 30 different varieties of tasty instant noodles (sooo much tastier than Supernoodles, and cheaper!) and a gamut of snacky things including lush Japanese rice crackers and dried fruits. They also have a good selection of wasabi snacks, big faves of mine. The sauces on offer here are plentiful and impressive; there are many different seasonings and different oils, and a huge variety of soy sauces.
The frozen and fresh sections really don’t compare to HWH in terms of size or scope, but the other groceries on offer more than make up for that. I would say that if you’re planning on making a fresh curry or stir fry, then HWH is better, but WS is definitely the best for stocking up on cupboard essentials. They also stock their ‘famous’ rice parcels, wrapped in leaves. I don’t know what’s so special about them, but I am definitely going to give them a go next time!
As well as an awesome range of foodstuffs, Woo Sang stock Chinese beers and wines, good for adding the finishing touch to your oriental dinner party.
Oh, and they sell those lucky waving cats, massive, for £14! Awesome!

This supermarket i think is the oldest chinese supermarket in chinatown,
Their goods are probably not the cheapest, most things I find are very expensive. u only need to walk a few more meters across the road or round the corner and u can save a bit.

Great Chinese supermarket, packed full of fresh, chilled and frozen food. And unusually the only place in Manchester that I’ve found that sells A&W Root beer!
Some great value for money products, a lot of my friends come here to buy the fruit and herbal teas, at a fraction of the cost of Major retailers. It has a few steps up, so not accessible to the less abled person. 2 tills and very friendly staff!