Get excited Toronto! A new Asian night market is coming to the city. Superfresh is going to pop up in the Annex which will take over 4,000 square feet of space.
The spot will be filled with delicious food offered by a handful of vendors which include BoaBird by Joybird Fried Chicken, The Good Goods, Big Beef Bowl, Auntie’s Supply, and more!
Plus, there will also be live entertainment, shopping booths, local artisan products, and a ton of culture to explore.
It’ll be located at 384 Bloor Street West and will look like a traditional Asian night market alleyway.
Sueprfresh co-owner, Trevor Lui, said in a release, “We wanted to create a community and cultural hub, not just simply a spot to eat. By curating an entirely authentic and fully Asian concept, it allows us to celebrate much of the things we hold near and dear to our hearts in creating a unique and inclusive space for locals and tourists to explore.”
Many have reported previously that the Asian night market will open in early April, but about a week ago, Superfesh posted on Instagram with a caption that said “Coming Soon.”
Sign-up to the email list and give them a follow on Instagram so you’ll be the first to know right when it’s launched!
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One of the best things about living in a metropolitan area like the GTA? The wealth of international foods and cultures that you can explore. International and Asian grocery stores are the unsung cultural heroes of city living. More often than not, they feature a wealth of spices, sauces, and snacks that you would be hard-pressed to find at your local Loblaws or CityMarket.
Whether you’re looking to get more into cooking this year, or you want to shake up your routine, here are 10 of the best Asian grocery stores to shop in the GTA.
T&T Supermarket
Canada’s biggest Asian grocery retailer and a veritable juggernaut when it comes to Asian grocery stores is T&T and this store has it all. From a bakery and hot foods, to fresh meat, seafood, household goods, and even hard-to-come-by Japanese and Korean skincare products, the store has been a one-stop shop for Asian Canadians. Since being acquired by Loblaws in 2009, the retailer since expanded its offerings to be more accessible to non-Chinese speakers interested in Asian goods.
Sanko Trading Co.
Open since 1968, Sanko is an iconic Japanese store in Toronto with its wide range of imported items. Not only limited to goods of the edible variety, however, the store also carries crockery and knives — both of which the Japanese are known for. Shelves and racks are crowded with Japanese snacks, ceramics, varieties of matcha green tea, miso, and more, and the staff are friendly and more than willing to help you hunt down whichever spice or sauce you need for the perfect Japanese culinary experience.
Heisei Mart
The perfect place to go if you’re hoping to get your Japan fix. Located in Markham’s J-town, Heisei Mart stocks a huge range of dry goods, snacks, sauces, mixes — you name it. Come here to stock up on dry ramen noodles, Pocky, ramune sodas or the kind of canned coffee you’d find in a Tokyo vending machine or convenience store! The store is also accompanied by cafeteria-style eatery Cafe Green Tea and pastry bakery Nakamura.
Galleria Supermarket
Not to be confused with the mall, this Korean grocery store chain has four more locations in the GTA. Special offerings include fresh rice cakes and kimchi (which often go on sale) and a wide range of Korean goods which you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. Recreate your favourite Korean dishes—DIY K-BBQ at home, anyone?—from the comfort of your own kitchen with imported ingredients straight from the source.
H Mart
An easy hangout spot for students (it is right across from Ryerson, after all) — H Mart is a compact grocery store, not unlike a New York bodega with a compact produce section with a wealth of snacks and quick takeout meals to choose from. We recommend trying the oden from the food-stand in the front — a skewer of chewy fish cakes with a cup of hot broth is the perfect way to warm up on a cold winter’s day. The store’s Korean fried chicken and chicken katsu is also excellent! In case you can’t make it downtown, H Mart has 6 more locations to visit all within the GTA.
Seafood City
This Pinoy supermarket is located in Mississauga, but don’t let that deter you. Seafood City is a haven of Filipino foods, from lechon and sisig, to chicken adobo. Featuring produce, seafood, and a food court, this grocery store is the perfect stop for a day’s outing. Plus, the store is located right next door to Jollibee, the super popular and delicious Filipino fast food chain!
Trupti
Offering manufactured spice blends, stone ground flour, as well as snacks and roasted nuts, Trupti has earned a reputation as the city’s most intriguing spice shop. While the store isn’t exactly known for its Asian offerings, the smells wafting out of this Indian spice shop are as tempting as they are intriguing. Depending on when you arrive, you’ll understand — especially if it’s right when the owners have just roasted a fresh batch of coriander seeds, or prepared a fragrant batch of cumin.
Iqbal Halal Foods
Located in the same plaza as Trupti, Iqbal’s sign proclaims a “wide variety of Asian groceries.” The store has been serving the Pakistani and Indian communities for over 20 years and are known for quality and convenience. Stop in for a wide selection of Halal meats, dry foods, pantry staples, snacks, bulk goods, and of course, fresh produce.
Nations Fresh Food
Head over to Nations Fresh Food for a grocery shopping experience unlike any other. Nations offers not only ready made Asian and Western foods, but also an impressive selection of fresh produce, snacks, bubble tea, sushi, K-beauty, and much more all under one roof.
PAT Central
Situated right on Bloor West is PAT Central and it’s known for being a Korean grocery store that also carries Chinese and Japanese items. The shelves are filled with delectable treats, fresh produce, and affordable meats and folks say that it’s the spot to visit for that those hard-to-find Asian ingredients. In the mood for a snack? Don’t miss out on the Bungeoppang which is delicious fish shaped pastry that’s stuffed with your choice of red bean paste, custard, and black sesame.
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Time to say goodbye. It’s been announced today that T&T Supermarket is closing its only location in downtown Toronto.
The grocer will be vacating its current location that’s situated in the Portlands neighbourhood at 222 Cherry Street by January 30, 2020.
“Despite the upcoming closure, we are happy we can serve our downtown Toronto customers through one last Chinese New Year, which falls on January 25th this year,” said Samuel Lee, Store Manager, in a release. “We are committed to providing the same level service and quality products our customers have come to expect from T&T until our last day so our customers can celebrate Chinese New Year 2020 with all their favourite Asian foods.”
While this news is devastating for T&T’s downtown fans, at least the chain isn’t going under.
The B.C-based grocery store still has seven locations in the GTA that folks can visit to grab all of their Asian grocery essentials.
“I want to sincerely thank our Cherry Street customers and colleagues for their loyal patronage and support over the past 12 years,” said T&T Supermarkets CEO Tina Lee in a release announcing the news on Tuesday. “We are truly saddened to leave this location, but are committed to serving our downtown customers despite the closure.”
BlogTO reports that T&T plans to still serve its downtown customer base by launching an online shopping platform
This online shopping experience is expected to launch in January, so it’s not live on its site just yet but stay tuned.
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Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai. This is just a sampling of the ethnic food choices you can find in abundance at T&T, Canada’s largest supermarket chain. Imagine an entire aisle filled with all kinds of Asian noodles, another aisle filled with different of dumplings, and another with every kind of Asian sauce imaginable. Getting hungry yet?
If you like to cook Asian food at home, or prefer to take it home already prepared, T&T is the store that has everything, including free parking. Even better, the prices are very reasonable, especially on ethnic/exotic items that cost a fortune if you can find them at your local Metro or Loblaw’s. Items such as star fruit, lemongrass, pea shoots, taro root, and long beans are readily available and so inexpensive. Don’t feel like cooking? You can choose from a huge assortment of Chinese dishes on their steam table, freshly prepared sushi, dumplings, noodle dishes, barbequed and roasted chickens, ducks, and pork. Portion sizes are generous and well priced. If you go 30 minutes before closing, you can usually get 50% off on sushi. After a long day of shopping, you can eat at their dim sum café which is filled with a variety of Asian cuisine. Check out their weekly flyers online before you go to see what’s on special and sign up for their points card to collect points towards free food for every $20 you spend.
In addition, T&T sells cooking equipment, such and steamers, and utensils, baked goods, including fresh bread, pastries, and cakes, and has an amazing produce section. Check out their fish section, with their aquarium of live crabs, lobsters, geoduck, and fresh fish. Fishmongers clean and gut the fish for you. In their butcher area, you can get some great Asian cuts of meat, such as thinly sliced ribeye and beef short ribs. T&T stores are spacious, well-lit, and have the fastest check out counters anywhere. They also hold a fun-filled and popular night market in the summer.
Would you eat these?
Headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Cindy Lee, a Taiwanese-Canadian, opened its first store in 1993. The name T&T represents the names of Lee’s two daughters, Tina and Tiffany. Since then, it has rapidly expanded to include ten stores across B.C., five in Alberta, nine in Ontario, including downtown Toronto. The chain’s 25th location will open at the corner of Bayview Avenue and St. John’s Sideroad in the fall of 2018. Loblaw Companies purchased the chain in 2009.
Have you been to T&T? Let us know in the comments.
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** UPDATE: T&T has backpedaled on a plan to cut paid breaks, following the public’s anger over some Tim Hortons’ franchises decision to slash perks in response to Ontario’s $2.40 minimum wage increase, the Star reported. **
The largest Asian supermarket in Canada is in major turmoil. Serious complaints from employees at T&T Supermarket have come to light.
According to the Star, the grocery giant claimed “it implemented a number of changes last year to make its operations more competitive and attractive to talent. These included better pension conditions, higher starting wages, as well as the elimination of pay breaks.” This was clearly false.
Now, we know the truth. The supermarket supposedly terminated lots of employees late last year and now are facing a number of other “serious allegations.” Some of these include, “laying off older and longer-time employees, cutting hours of part-time workers, and cutting back benefits for full-time long-term staff.” These issues were sent in a letter to Labour Minister Kevin Flynn from the Toronto based Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. Apparently, most of these issues began post-November 2017, stated the Star.
“T&T told the Star that the dismissals had nothing to do with tenure and that almost half the people recently let go had less than five years’ service with the company.” They were also forced to sign a confidential release form in exchange for an extra sum of money.
Most of the employees are immigrants with English as their second language and weren’t able to fully understand the document they were signing. The Star reports, “the letter raised concerns about how people understand their rights at the time they are being terminated.” It’s unjust not to allow people to understand their human rights. It’s appalling that these types of things are happening in the world in 2018. Even more disappointing, is it’s happening on Canadian soil.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJDSXc9hR8a/?taken-at=251002404
Source: The Star