Hi! I am Sujata Singh from India and I am studying MA Media & Communication. Before coming to the UK, my biggest worry was food. Like any other person, I love Indian food, and thought that it might be difficult to find. Believe it or not, I actually packed my luggage full of Indian snacks when I was moving abroad. I had lots of snacks, Indian spices, and things like Poha. I literally packed everything that I could think of and it took up more space than anything else in my luggage, which is really amusing when I think about it now. I had to carry so much extra luggage to the airport because of all the food.

However, once I got to Bournemouth I realised that there are so many great Indian shops that have everything that you need for Indian food. Here is a selection of my favourites:

• Yaawin Global Spicy Supermarket – This is by far my favourite place to buy Indian snacks, like Banana chips, fruits like Mango and Indian sweets like Rasmalai, Gulab Jamun and Rasgulla. This shop has not just Indian food but food of other South Asian countries as well. I like this place personally because it is in such a convenient location. It is opposite the Studland House library at Lansdowne, so if I feel like eating anything while I’m studying, I just step out of the library, cross the road and it’s right there.
• Asia Store – The second place on my list is on Old Christchurch Road, and is the Asia Store. This store is really good and has a huge variety of food items that you might want. It has food from almost all the Asian countries, and therefore it’s quite popular among the Asian population in Bournemouth. I am really glad that I found my favourite green flavour of Lay’s American crisps here.
• Makkah Food Store – This is the Indian store, which is really good, in Charminster. I still remember that when we celebrated Holi we bought food from here, in bulk, and also the Holi colours.
• Bournemouth 360 Mini Market – This is also a famous Indian grocery store, located in Winton, near BU’s Talbot Campus. It’s open every day from 10am to 5pm. I’ve never personally been to this store, but it’s good for the people who live in Student Village, Okeford House or any of the private accommodation near Talbot Campus.

You can find everything in these Indian shops… Everything! You can find Haldirams, Maggi, Mathari, Chakli, Lay’s, Kaju Katli, Ladoo, all kinds of Namkeens, and all the other snacks. And how could I forget Gol Gappas? Everyone’s favourite.