One of the most underrated and simple ways to improve your experience and add novelty to your life is by buying groceries from specialty shops.

By “specialty” I’m not referring to high-end, bougie shops with over-priced organic foods. I mean specific to a geographic region or culture.

For example, if I’m cooking Asian food, I’ll buy what I can from one of the many Asian grocers in town. Not only can you find interesting items not stocked by typical supermarkets, but the experience you’ll have is also often far more rewarding than wandering the fluorescent-lit aisles of your local chain store.

I make regular visits to the Arab grocers for Middle Eastern ingredients, the Italian shop for Mediterranean, the Latin market and the multitude of Indian grocers. Other times I’ll make occasional visits to the East African shop, Caribbean market or even the South African deli.

People sometimes shy away from these places for several reasons. Typically, they’re not always in the most comfortable parts of the city. People from the suburbs don’t feel as comfortable in these places.

More so, and one reason I avoided for so many years, is the idea that a specialty store must come with specialty prices. However, in nearly every case — aside from truly rare or unusual items such as truffles or other imported delicacies — prices are often far cheaper than regular supermarkets.

Depending on whether you live in a city, and how big the city is, will determine how feasible this is. But most decent-sized cities will have at least a few options.

So if you’re fortunate enough to have a few local options, do yourself this simple favour. The next time you’re cooking something from a specific culture, head to the local shop representing that culture and purchase the ingredients there.

Adding novelty to your life is highly rewarding. And this is one of the easiest ways to make that happen.