As you drive into the Nechells area of Birmingham, you're suddenly faced with an emormous green and red Chinese archway. It's the entrance to a foodie lovers' heaven - Wing Yip. The seven and a half acre site is one of the locations for the UK's leading Chinese grocer - supplying trade and the public alike. 35 types of tea The Birmingham store incorporates a huge Chinese supermarket, restaurant, Chinese dentist, doctor, travel agent, accountant, solicitor, bank and printer.  | | Aisles are stacked with colourful produce |
As soon as you get out of your car you can smell wonderful things, and thoughts of Friday night take-aways prevail.
Inside is aisle after aisle of delicious ingredients, beautifully packaged and amazingly cheap compared to regular supermarkets. Jars of sauces and packets of noodles imported from China or Vietnam, all sorts of seaweeds from Japan, 35 different sorts of tea, Chinese fresh vegetables, tins of weird shaped mushrooms, racks of blue and white crockery and cooking utensils make a food lover's eyes pop.  | | Fish heads are widely used in Chinese cooking |
The fresh fish are dealt with by Joshua and Antonio and brought in from Greece. Fish heads are widely used in Chinese cooking. Lobster, crab and scallops have been flown in from Canada, and the squid looks yummy alongside the shark fin.
There's an absence of fishy smell - which indicates the freshness of the fish. Mr. Wing Yip The Wing Yip success story started in 1959 when Mr.Wing Yip arrived in the UK from Hong Kong. In 1970 he and his brother Sammy set up the UK's first specialist Chinese grocer in Birmingham. It supplied over 1000 different products to local Chinese families, restaurants and takeaways and has become a huge business success story.  | | Wendy Chan at the cash till |
Healthy diet Traditional Chinese food is far healthier than western diets. The Chinese eat a lot of fresh fish, steamed vegetables and drink tea with health giving properties. The tea is thought to cleanse the body of oils before eating, so aiding digestion, and you'll often see Chinese families drinking tea at the start of a meal for this reason. The Chinese attach a lot of symbolism to food and this can be seen during New Year festivities. Families offer 'lucky sweets' to house guests. Crytallised fruits like watermelon seeds and coconut are believed to bring luck. Symbolism of foods Rice - fertility an account of the number of grains
Fish - luck, brings good fortune
Bamboo shoots - good fortune because of their golden hue and fast growing properties
Mushrooms - prosperity on account of their blossoming nature and fast growing properties
Lotus seeds - fertility
Green vegetables - green and plenty  | | Fortune cookies for Chinese New Year |
Chinese culinary culture Chopsticks
When you pick up a piece of food with chopsticks you are forging the correct ration of sauce-to-meat, ensuring harmony. When you pick up with a spoon, or worse, mash it against your fork with a knife, you are disrupting the Yin Yang universal harmony. Knives
No Chinese table would ever feature knives. All the cutting is done in the kitchen and a chef would not deem himself skilled if he cannot present a meal which all the diner has to do is eat. Seasoning
For the same reason, no salt or pepper sets are offered because to season your food after the cook has spent hours preparing it is a gross insult. Noodles
Noodles symbolise long life and are always served at birthdays and special occasions when long life and age are revered. Cutting noodles at the table before you eat them is also bad for long life. Chickens
Many Chinese restaurants serve poultry with their heads still on. This is because all poultry symbolises the Phoenix rising from the ashes to be reborn and no-one wishes to come back into this world de-capitated. Golden promise
Anything that resembles gold is deemed good for prosperity. The word orange has the same sound as the word gold in Cantonese so oranges are always given out during Chinese New Year. Round
Anything round is perceived as perfect. Hence, banquet tables are always round, cakes are round in shape and spring rolls not only round but represent the shape of early Chinese currency.  | | Wing Yip import shellfish from Canada but export chicken feet to Asia. |
And finally
. Chicken feet are a popular delicacy in China and the country cannot produce enough of them.
We in the UK love our chicken but not their feet so, Wing Yip in Birmingham actually export chicken feet to China. | 
