convenient store.

The idea of 24-hour chain-store is brilliant. They sells anything you need in any hours, enough said. Though i hardly caters any 7-11 in KL except an occasional urge for a slurpies. We basically walked into a convenient store few times a day in Shanghai. So what the heck were we buying? Nothing for emergency use, but gallons of purified water to drink, and beers! There are too many Quik Stores in Shanghai! You'll come across a Quik store in almost every ten minutes walking distance. Here's my precious find : The Pudong packed Suntory Beers, ranging from RMB 3.20 for standard to RMB 5.60 for premium. They manufactured the Ching Tao beers and other soft drinks. While i didn't dare to try others, the Budweiser was also a good choice at RMB 5.60 for a huge bottle. And mind you, the Oolong tea in a 500 ml bottle is about RMB 2 to 3. So the beers are obviously better choice especially when you're thirsty and cold at the same time.

Other good finds are this "smart" soft drink, which i haven't felt any smarter after drinking the whole can by myself. *grin*. If snacking is your favourite, try some dried beef, spicy meat floss, or my strong recommendation, the de-shelled sweetened walnut. Crunchy and ready-to-eat at RMB 15 per pack of around 450g. All these can be found at the Jia Te Li store, across my room in Aomen Rd. But they close around 9:30 PM. And obviously you can't bargain here. It's not necessary.

If you take a cab, you'll probably see the signboard of 'imported cigarette' once in a while. This is not the advertisement board. Do bring your own supply of cigarette, if you're a smoker; that's if you don't want to spend money taking cabs to specialties shops, and pay extra to get your usual brand. One of the common preference by the local are this "si" brand, made and packed in Shanghai. Since i don't smoke directly, can someone tell me how would it taste?