Food shopping in Shawlands

Shawlands in a nutshell

Shawlands sits on the Southside of Glasgow, between Queen's Park and Pollok Country Park. Its centre is Shawlands Cross, where Pollokshaws Road and Kilmarnock Road meet. Kilmarnock Road is the main shopping street, with the Shawlands Arcade close by, and it's where you'll find us, at number 44.

It's a neighbourhood for walking. Most of what you need for the week is within a few streets of the Cross, and three railway stations are close by: Shawlands and Pollokshaws East on the Cathcart Circle, and Crossmyloof on the line to East Kilbride and Barrhead.

Getting around

• Train: Shawlands, Pollokshaws East and Crossmyloof all have direct trains from Glasgow Central. From the shop, Crossmyloof is under 10 minutes' walk and the other two about 10 minutes.
• Bus: frequent buses run along Pollokshaws Road and Kilmarnock Road, into town and out to the south.
• On foot: Queen's Park is on the doorstep, and Strathbungo and Crossmyloof are a short walk up Pollokshaws Road.

Parking

There's on-street parking on and around Kilmarnock Road and the side streets. Always check the signs for times and charges. If you're picking up something heavy, like a whole lamb or a 5kg bag of basmati, tell us when you'll be here and we'll have it ready to go.

Doing the weekly food shop

A few tips from behind the counter:

• Plan two or three dinners around one buy. A whole chicken roasts on Sunday, makes sandwiches on Monday and stock for soup on Tuesday. Or ask us to cut it into curry pieces and freeze half.
• Buy fresh herbs little and often. Coriander and mint keep about a week standing in a glass of water in the fridge.
• Buy spices in the size you'll use. Small packs for the ones you use now and then; big bags of cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli, which go fastest.
• Freeze in portions. Mince and diced meat flattened in bags freeze and defrost quickly. Our storing meat guide has the times.
• Buy what's in season. In October, that's squash and pumpkins, kale, leeks, parsnips, beetroot, cabbage, celeriac, apples, pears. See the whole year.

Halal home cooking on a budget

Cooking at home beats a takeaway on price every time, and the best-value cuts are often the tastiest: chicken legs and thighs, lamb neck, mutton on the bone and fresh mince. A pot of daal costs very little and feeds a family. Our good food for less guide goes through the cheapest cuts and how to cook them, and the student page has a week of dinners from one shop.

• Keema matar Lamb mince and peas cooked with onion, tomato and warm spices. Ready in 45 minutes and good with roti, rice or paratha.
• Tarka daal Red lentils simmered until silky, then finished with sizzling garlic, cumin and chilli. Cheap, filling and ready in 40 minutes.
• Mince and tatties Scotland's favourite comfort food: beef mince simmered with onion and carrot in a rich gravy, with a big pile of buttery mashed potatoes.
• Chicken karahi Chicken cooked fast in a karahi with tomatoes, green chillies, ginger and black pepper. On the table in about 45 minutes.

After Queen's Park

Out for a walk in Queen's Park? Leave on the Pollokshaws Road side and you're a few minutes from Shawlands Cross. Pick up a whole chicken or a leg of lamb on the way home for a Sunday roast; the roasting times calculator tells you when it goes in the oven.

Questions