Since the closing of Giant at Vivocity in the early part of the year, the neighbourhood has been waiting for the new Fairprice Xtra to open for their groceries needs. After a long wait of 5 months, the new supermarket finally opened its door in July. As with any new malls or stores, you can expect many customers flocking to the new supermarket so I waited out for 2 weeks before visiting.
The main entrance of the supermarket is from the basement of the mall and the size is substantially reduced with the area where the cashier counters used to be cut out and leased out to restaurants and store. The moment you enter the supermarket, you can see various bright and colourful decor around the store like this Fairprice Xtra truck carrying caskets of fresh fruits
The overall store is much brighter than the old Giant without the usual metal shelving and the concept feels a lot more modern and open-spaced with different areas for different goods. The fruits and vegetables are all nicely arranged and neatly placed and there are even sections selling imported vegetables and fruits from Japan and Korea
For customers used to the local produce, they can still get them from the centre basket aisle area that carries the Pasar brand of vegetables and fruits. Personally, I felt that the grade of the vegetables and fruits sold here, even the local produce are of better quality than your usual Fairprice stores. They are almost like the ones you find in Cold Storage or Fairprice Finest. I hope they keep this up and this is not only available during the opening as a sales gimmick.
One interesting part of the store is this Com Crop device that shows how urban farming works and how vegetables can be grown on rooftops and amidst our concrete jungle as space runs out. Not too sure if the vegetables can be bought as it was too crowded and I did not manage to properly read the text in the area
There is a live seafood section with many water tanks and live fishes as well as freshly iced fishes on promotion. The area is airy and dry so there is no fishy smell like the wet market. For frozen items, there are also centre fridges where customers can still get their frozen seafood.
There is a butchery area where customer can get their fresh meats, pickled olives and vegetables as well as gourmet hams and cheeses. You can also get marinated meats for your next barbeque. For customers who prefer frozen meats can still find them in the fridges scattered around the area. The layout of the entire space is all nicely mapped out so that there is enough space for customers with trolleys and goods to stroll around leisurely
One of the main key pointers of the new store is this coffee house that provides a small resting area for customers who are looking for a space to rest their feet during their grocery shopping. There is also a full-fledged bakery next to this coffee house that customers can buy freshly baked bread and pastries.
The other area which is a new facility of the store is this centre kitchen that prep and cook your food for you if you are a busy executive with no time for cooking. So basically, what you can do is choose your meats and ingredients from the fresh food area, bring it here for the staff to either just prep, clean and marinate them for you and even to the extent of cooking it for you for a dinner party. There are charges involved so you can check at the counters
Just next to the prep and cook sections, you can also find slow pressed juices, fresh-cut fruits, salad bars, sushi bar as well as fresh soybean milk imported from Japan ready for purchase
Pre-packed durians are also available with absolutely no smell for other customers who do not like durians.
There are also other cute instalments like this ice cream lorry fridge that carries Ben and Jerry ice cream as well as other imported brands. This ice cream truck is placed in between alleys and alleys of fridges for all your frozen needs like pizza, ice cream, rice dumplings, frozen meats and ready to eat meals. One very interesting concept area is free to measure grains and nuts where you can bring your container to contain your own grains, nuts dried fruits and pay according to the weight instead of paying for the container. This is really good to promote recycling but the range of nuts and grains are still a bit limited and the cost is slightly higher than the packaged ones.
The 2nd storey is bigger taking the entire space of Giant and other than the usual dry goods like canned foods, rice, beverages, snacks, wines and alcohol and packaged juices.
Other than the usual dry goods, there are also a few interesting areas like the travel corner with luggage and goods for travel needs, the bicycle workshop where you can buy and fix your bicycle. They also have area selling electronic goods, household products and a smaller section selling stationery and furniture
You can find atm machines and an imported snacks area with famous Japanese and Taiwanese snacks and noodles. Out of the supermarket on the same level, you can find the attached Unity pharmacy which sells medicine, beauty products and health products. This area is the space that the Guardian used to be so the space is quite big. The payment is separate from Fairprice so customers need to pay for their purchase first before entering the Unity area.
In terms of payment counters, you can find more of the usual cashier counters manned by cashiers at the ground floor while there are only 1 or 2 counters on the 2nd floor
There are also self-service counters on both the first floor and the 2nd-floor for customers requiring a faster service.
Overall, I like the layout of the new supermarket with a bright and airy environment and many nice areas to explore. Although the offerings are quite different from the Giant ones I feel it is good enough for our general grocery needs. The new facilities like prep and cook, coffee house and bakery is a good addition to the area especially for new-age customers who have no time to cook.
Address: 1 Harbourfront Walk, #B2-23 Vivocity, Singapore 098585
Operating hours: 8 am to 11 pm
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 