Malik’s

Now this is what I call retail therapy. Splash, dash, just don’t forget to pay first. They should call this place Aisle of Can (s). My blood pressure did a quadruple flip when I eyed the assortments of jerks in aisle two. Malik’s is what is referred to colloquially as the «Jalapeño Hook-​up». It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.
Stay strapped if you wanna walk down Stapleton Road though. Nuff man be trying to count your coppers and invite you to Qur’an readings.
Word to the wise: The beef with the «other Malik’s» is still on. «Other Malik’s» is the devilish invention of some local St Paul tricksters. Stay clear, unless you like walking around St. Paul’s with a needle in your left thigh whilst clutching a bedraggled dog called Aidsbones.
To summarise, if you like to get a bit Malikky when the supplies are dusty, it’s well worth a skip to Staple-«My-Uzi-Weighs-A”-Ton road and spunking all that dole money like it’s still legal.
Hop along now, the chicken needs a good spanking and I can’t do it on my own.

I don’t know what’s happening to all of the speciality food shops and general stores that provide local convenience in the outskirts of the inner city, but it looks like the proprietors and their staff have been taking a course of some kind of OCD treatment. Gone is the haphazard stacking of over-​burdened shelves, and the perilous piles of boxes of unrecognizable products cluttering the floors. And Maliks is no exception. In fact, it is an impressive example of intelligent product allocation and order. But, I guess, with the scope of the product that they carry these days, they had little option other than to get it all as neatly stacked as possible.
Specialising in Afro-​Caribbean foodstuffs as well as health and beauty products, they have grown into a reasonably unique entity, owing to the sheer range of brands that they carry. These days they have expanded their business to on-​line shopping, and can deliver anywhere in Europe.
I use Maliks for spices and the occasional beauty product, and called in the other day to try and find some bleach for my hair that actually works. Since, 7:7 it’s been impossible to buy bleaching kits that actually work, and have been wandering around with a curiously orange tinged blonde look ever since. The manager recommended a cream peroxide. When I applied it I was convinced that it was going to work. Nothing could be quite so painful to the scalp without being effective… or so I thought! Truth is, that it didn’t make a blind bit of difference. Any advice you can offer would be very gladly received!

At the start of Stapleton Road, there is a little shop called Malik’s. I say little, but when you walk in, you realise it’s quite big and all the aisles are well stocked and bursting at the seams. They are an off-​license shop and also a hair specialist shop specialising in Afro-​Caribbean goods, and sell practically everything you might need.
It’s my run-​to store when I’ve realised I’ve run out of toothpaste, aubergines, cashews, ginger beer, cheese, canned soup, cereal.. . you get the gist! I did mean it when I said they have practically everything! The foods sold here are interesting too, like many different yams, jamaican breads and all kinds of frozen fish. There are also tonnes of packets of herbs and spices to stock your kitchen.
The family who run it are really friendly, and are always happy to help. Next door is their hair and beauty care supplies shop, which provide wigs, skin care and cosmetics.
A nice shop, that’s great for daily groceries, or for last minute pick ups, for when you’re on the way to a party and have forgotten to bring anything. Thumbs up!