Hyper-inactive
If it ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it, says a nonplussed James Fryer after a whirl through Dubai’s latest supersized shop.
Crossing grocery shopping with the concept of a zoo-gone-wrong? Genius. But our twisted illusions were shattered and it soon became apparent that the much-awaited HyperPanda was more subdued than the name suggests. (What is it with the store name anyway? Whose idea was it to combine the concept of hyperactivity with the panda, an animal so breathtakingly lazy it can’t be bothered to mate on a regular basis?) There wasn’t anything particularly hyper about the seen-it-all-before supermarket on our visit, particularly as the staff to customer ratio was dangerously teetering in favour of the rows of smiling, if nervous-looking, employees lining the tills.
But there’s no doubt things will pick up and hungry shoppers will drop by to find a decent bakery, a tempting array of Arabian sweets and an impressive rainbow of fresh fruit and vegetables. Aisle after aisle is stacked high with kitchen cupboard staples and, on our visit, deals such as a whopping 2.5kg of powdered Tang for Dhs36.50 – yum! And we did bag ourselves a serious bargain in the form of a curiously labelled “Big Australian Hat” for just Dhs6.95.
Familiar homewares, clothes, luggage and toys are next in line, just before the all-singing-all dancing electrical section with an array of big-brand TVs, laptops, mobile phones and cameras. You’ll even find the odd Nikai product knocking about. Sigh.
Unless you already happen to be in the neighbourhood scouting out BILLY bookcases and Swedish meatballs, it really isn’t worth a special trip on the tangled roads of Festival City, let alone diverting from the original, and perfectly good, Carrefour. Chuck in a few amusing animals, call it Zoo City, and we might be back.
HyperPanda, Dubai Festival City. Tel: (04) 2325566.