Shanghai Souvenir Snacks: HotMaxx & Lianhua Mart Picks
Skip the long trek to distant supermarkets! Explore HotMaxx and Lianhua for easy-to-find, delicious Shanghai souvenir snacks. Don't miss the famous Lay's cucumber chips!
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Skip the long trek to distant supermarkets! Explore HotMaxx and Lianhua for easy-to-find, delicious Shanghai souvenir snacks. Don't miss the famous Lay's cucumber chips!
Shanghai Souvenir Snacks
Sharing My Recommended Shopping List!
While Darunfa (RT-Mart) supermarket is famous,
it's located quite a distance out in the Shanghai suburbs.
So, I mainly visited supermarkets located near tourist attractions:
HotMaxx & Lianhua
1. HotMaxx
HotMaxx is a supermarket chain
primarily found in major downtown shopping malls and near subway stations.
They often have great discounts,
so you can usually find things at pretty affordable prices.
After visiting myself,
it felt like a blend between a supermarket and a convenience store.
I visited the branch located near Tianzifang.
If you search for 好特卖 HotMaxx on Gaode Maps (Amap),
you'll be able to find a HotMaxx store nearby.
📌 HotMaxx near Tianzifang (Gaode Maps Info)
好特卖HotMaxx(日月光中心瑞金区店)
Lay's Cucumber Flavored Potato Chips
Among all the Lay's potato chip flavors,
you absolutely have to try the cucumber one.
It genuinely tastes like cucumber!
It's surprisingly addictive, a flavor that just keeps you reaching for more.
While it might not be for everyone, it has a subtle addiction to it,
it's a cucumber-flavored potato chip with a refreshing(?) taste.
*Mini-packs
Lay's Mini Multi-pack Potato Chips
Classic, Cucumber, Lime, Mexican Chicken Tomato,
and Italian Red Meat flavor. This multi-pack contains mini-sized Lay's potato chips in five total flavors.
It's great to buy a few of these to give as gifts.
*Mini-packs
Oreo Multi-pack
Original, Blueberry & Raspberry, Grape & Peach,
Matcha (Green Tea), and White Peach Oolong Tea flavors. This Oreo multi-pack offers a wide variety of unique flavors.
Each individual pack contains two cookies,
making them perfect for sharing as gifts.
With so many unique flavors, they're ideal souvenirs!
*Mini-packs
Crab Roe Flavored Sunflower Seeds
crab roe flavor sunflower seed
My friend who studied abroad in Shanghai
recommended this snack, and it's delicious!
They're salty and perfectly complement a beer.
The individual packs also make them great for sharing.
I'm not usually a huge fan of crab flavor,
but this one isn't overpowering, which makes it delicious!
*Individually Packaged
Luckin Coffee Liquid Stick Cold Brew
Luckin Coffee, the famous franchise cafe in China!
They sell liquid sticks, so I decided to buy some,
and this cold brew is really delicious..! Highly recommend!
*Individually Packaged
Luckin Coffee Liquid Stick Espresso
LUCKIN COFFEE
I bought both types of liquid sticks.
This one has an Italian dark espresso flavor,
and it was clean and nutty.
It's great for making lattes,
and also good for mixing with water to enjoy as an Americano.
Coriander Cup Noodles
As a souvenir from my Shanghai trip to China,
this coriander cup noodle was a recurring recommendation.
I love coriander, so I bought it, but the coriander flavor
wasn't really that strong.. lol
*Individually Packaged
Lemon Boneless Chicken Feet
I love spicy flavors, so I chose to buy the yellow one
on the right.
It tastes like a mix of lemon and mala spice.
It's a spicy, sour, and chewy snack.
It's a fantastic and unique Chinese snack!
There was quite a lot to shop for at HotMax.
Especially individually packaged snacks, liquid coffee sticks, and more
were widely available, making them great as gifts for colleagues.
With plenty of discounts, I was able to finish my Shanghai souvenir shopping affordably and satisfactorily.
2. Lianhua Supermarket
The second supermarket I'll introduce is
Lianhua Supermarket.
Compared to HotMax, this place definitely felt
more like a local neighborhood supermarket.
I visited it on my way back to my accommodation after stopping by Hongkuijia People's Square Branch, a famous crawfish restaurant.
📌Lianhua Supermarket near People's Square - Amap Information
联华超市(上海金陵店) Lianhua Supermarket
Unique Oreo Cookie Flavors
In China, there are so many diverse and unique
Oreo cookie flavors!
Peach & Grape, Oolong Tea Dual Cream flavor,
Matcha Ice Cream flavor, Sugar-Free Rose flavor,
Birthday Cake flavor, Peach Oolong Tea flavor,
Matcha Fig flavor, and more... many fruit-based
You'll find so many unique Oreo flavors, making them absolutely worth picking up!
Lay's Potato Chips
Lay's potato chips with unique flavors –
I even spotted them at Lianhua Mart!
Beyond the cucumber flavor, they also had Lay's chips in unique flavors like Fried crab
and salted egg yolk. So intriguing!
Honestly, I was so curious about all of them, I wanted to buy every single bag! Haha.
Gaoliang Liquor
Lianhua Mart especially had a wide selection of alcoholic beverages,
including Gaoliang liquor.
I recommend picking up some smaller sized bottles here!
Huge 2L Beer
I'd never seen such a huge beer before!
This is the signature Laopijiu Old Lager.
It's a whopping 2 liters and only costs around ~$3! What a steal!
I grabbed one to share with my friends, haha.
Chinese beers come in such a wide variety,
and they're perfect for enjoying with a meal,
so they make great souvenirs to bring back home!
P.S. At Lianhua Mart, they also had fruits
sold in convenient smaller portions.
If you're exploring Shanghai,
you absolutely MUST try some local fruits like
mangoes, Hami melons, and watermelons!
They are seriously sweet, affordable, and incredibly delicious, haha!
3. Shanghai Supermarket Snacks & Souvenirs
Recommended List Summary
Today, I shared a list of recommended snacks you can find as Shanghai travel souvenirs,
specifically from
Hotmax and Lianhua Mart,
rather than just RT-Mart.
▪️Lay's Potato Chips (Unique Flavors)
- Cucumber, salted egg yolk, crab flavor, etc...
▪️Oreo (Unique Flavors)
- Peach Oolong Tea, Birthday Cake, Strawberry Blueberry, etc...
▪️Luckin Coffee Liquid Sticks
▪️Crab Roe Flavored Sunflower Seeds
I really hope you'll give these a try!
Wishing you a wonderful trip to Shanghai ✈️
📍 Shanghai
Shanghai City, China
📍 Lianhua Supermarket
839 Ren Min Lu, Huangpu District, Shanghai City, China 200010
You can find nearby stores by searching for '好特卖 HotMaxx' on Amap. Specifically, the store near Tianzifang can be found by searching for '好特卖HotMaxx(日月光中心瑞金区店)'.
The Lay's potato chip mini multi-pack sold at HotMaxx consists of five flavors: Classic, Cucumber, Lime, Mexican Chicken Tomato, and Italian Red Meat. They are individually packaged, making them great for gifts.
The HotMaxx Oreo multi-pack includes Original, Blueberry & Raspberry, Grape & Peach, Matcha (Green Tea), and White Peach Oolong Tea flavors. They are individually packaged with two cookies per pack, making them great for souvenirs.
Lianhua Supermarket sells the signature Lao Pijiu Old Lager 2-liter large-capacity beer at an affordable price of around ~$3. It's great for sharing with friends and enjoying with meals.
At Lianhua Supermarket, in addition to Cucumber flavor, you can also purchase Lay's potato chips in Fried Crab flavor and Salted Egg Yolk flavor. You can experience a variety of local Chinese flavors.
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