As any time-served, world-weary shoppers heading to the Trafford Centre on "peak times" like weekends and school holidays will know, there's only one sensible way of doing it right.
And that's to get there half an hour before the shops open, bag a parking space right by an entrance thanks to the empty car parks, and then grab yourself a cup of coffee to sit smugly congratulating yourself on how organised you are.
Now, finally, we have a coffee shop at the sprawling shopping mall that makes those getting-up-early-on-a-Saturday efforts so very worth it.
For the newest foodie arrival at the Trafford Centre, Blanchflower, is one of the best independent bakeries and coffee shops we have in the region.
And I could personally not be happier that they have arrived to fulfill my caffeine, cake and sandwich needs before a hard slog up and down the shopping aisles.
Blanchflower is already a firm favourite in the 'burbs, with popular cafes in Sale, Altrincham, and with an outpost of its coffee shop Caffeine and Co at Longford Park, Stretford.
And now it has become the newest venue to open at the snazzy new Eastern Garden food court that celebrates Mancunian-owned businesses including Hello Oriental, Nichi and Chit 'n' Chaat, and is proving to be a big hit with shoppers since fully opening at the start of the year.
Blanchflower's philosophy is simple - "everything is made in house" and with everything baked on the day you know you're getting the freshest possible breads, pastries, cakes and traybakes when you turn up here.
Heading along here as my first pit stop having, yep, arrived at 9.30am on a busy Easter Saturday to get my space on the car park, my plan was to just grab a coffee and maybe something to nibble on before the shops opened at 10am.
But arriving to see Blanchflower's treat-laden cabinet, groaning with pastries and giant Easter-themed cruffins, it's not surprising really that I gave in to temptation.
And I'm mightily glad I did. For that £5 Easter cruffin is singularly one of the best pastry products I think I've ever consumed.
The pastry itself was crisp and crusted with sugar, but biting into it yielded a splodge of delicious creamy innards.
It was so good I had to ask the Blanchflower assistant exactly what the creamy stuff was, and apparently it was "toasted milk and chocolate" so there you go.
And it was also so good that I found myself tiptoeing back at lunchtime to bag myself a sandwich to take home with me too.
This is also a decision that I'm congratulating myself on, having unwrapped and tasted their sublime signature chicken sarnie.
I'm never normally one to go wild with the flavours when I'm ordering a sandwich, but having heard all about this one I decided to give it a go.
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For it was not just any old chicken sarnie, it boasted a rich satay-style sauce drizzled all over, house-fermented sriracha mayo and crisp baby gem lettuce, all wodged into their homemade focaccia bread, dreamily light but with divine blisters of crispiness rippling the top. As close to perfection that a sandwich can get, to be quite clear.
Just to complete things, I have to admit I did also order another sweet treat too in the form of a giant slice of their carrot cake.
I thought I'd take it home to share with some family member or another. But I think we all know that didn't happen.
Let me just say that it, too, was the best carrot cake I think I've ever eaten as well, with a darkly hefty, nutty cake topped with the creamiest frosting you could possibly wish for.
So in total my full-day Blanchflower hogfest came in at £5 for the cruffin, £3.70 for a cappuccino, £8.50 for the chicken sandwich and £4.50 for the carrot cake.
Yep, I know it's not cheap - but I hate to break it to you, nothing is cheap these days. Unless you want to spend all your spare time and spare cash at Greggs or Wetherspoons that is.
I prefer not to do that, and personally I love to find really special places like this where I know I'm going to get a gorgeous home made cake, sandwich or pastry for my money. And to support a true local success story trying to do things a bit differently.
The owners of Blanchflower, husband and wife team Phil and Claire Howells, have spoken about why they chose to open at the Trafford Centre, something they admit they "had never [previously] considered because it is the world of the corporates."
They added in a statement on their instagram page: "But on reflection, we weren’t sure if that is a state of play that should continue without challenge. Business is hard and if we only open indie businesses a few doors down from each other then it’s only becoming more competitive.
"Why shouldn’t we open in the chains’ backyard and why shouldn’t people who go there have a better, healthier, fresher option when they want some food or drink? We want to succeed and we then hope we will be joined by more indie businesses. Let’s keep punching above our weight. Vive la Revolution!"
If you want to brighten up your next visit to the Trafford Centre, then you might want to join the Blanchflower revolution too.
