T&T Grocer Mastery
It's safe to say that grocery stores are outside the scope of my usual writing, but I couldn't resist after T&T Supermarket finally opened its new downtown store. After all, this isn't just the latest offspring of Loblaws or Dominion. T&T is the undisputed king of the Asian supermarket world! All of the dingy stores in Chinatown bow down to its shiny, antiseptic aisles and professional service. This is a Bizzaro World where the entire selection of Chinatown (and then some) can be found in 41,000 square-foot supermarket format.
First things first: how the heck can I get to 222 Cherry Street? The location of the new T&T only suits people with cars. Though there is a dedicated bike lane that crosses into the Portlands, the routes are only suitable for those living along the waterfront, the south-east core, and immediately east of the Don Valley. Everyone else can bike to Chinatown much quicker and with less hassle. The same goes for Transit: there are only 2 buses that reach the Portlands, 72A and 172, but they are so infrequent that it's hardly worth mentioning. Alas, like its brethren on the outskirts of Toronto proper, downtown's T&T is an automobiles-only affair where the distance from your parking spot to the front door is a yardstick for success.
Hitching a ride there, we're pretty hungry and it's just past noon. The parking lot is half-full, a sight I'm not used to seeing in other T&T parking lots around the city (then again, this is the middle of the day just 2 days after its grand opening). We grab dim sum specials A and B ($3.99 each), and hit the patio with siu mai, lotus leaf rice, congee and green tea. My pops actually liked the food, and he's fairly picky when it comes to his native cuisine so they must be doing something right!
Inside, the store is very much like its predecessors in the GTA. The shelves are neatly stocked with glisteningly-clean jars and packages. The colour palette of Asian foodstuffs really comes out when everything is put side-by-side. There are more types of hot sauce, Pocky, and instant noodles than you can shake a stick at... and those are just the staples. Anyone who's serious about Asian cuisine will find what they need at T&T without wandering up and down Chinatown.
If only there was worthwhile way to get there by bike or bus, I'd be making runs there for sure. With Chinatown just a few minutes away by bike, I can't justify hauling ass down to the Portlands for a box of Men's Pocky. As it stands, T&T will remain a novelty experience whenever I have access to a ride.
Comments (15)
Yay. 40k sq. ft of shelf space taken up by non-organic, non-local, mass produced goods shipped from half way around the world!
Just what this city needed!!!
The lettuce that I bought at the store was grown right from Ontario. And just because the packages have Chinese or Japanese script, it doesn't mean that they were all imported.
As for Japanese food, there were some soba noodles for sale.
This new store is causing a bit of a stir for some reason. I still can't imagine why I would ever go there after reading the article though.
Kevin -- not everyone who reads BlogTO lives in the West end and it's kinda offensive that you jump to that conclusion.
I mean, you're dissing T&T because of its location... but for those of us who live in Leslieville, it ain't so far away at all. I took a trip down there on my bike last weekend and it took me all of 10 minutes.
It's like me writing a comment, "why the hell would they have this event at the Gladstone?" that's in f*%in' no man's land."
Thanks Steve! I'm totally with you on that--I'm in leslieville and I can walk there. This article doesn't do T&T justice. There's loads of local stuff, some excellent butcher and fish products and full selections of Chinese, Korean, Thai, Malaysian and Japanese. And it's steps from Cherry beach which is one of the nicest and least crowed spots in the city. It will be perfect for picnics! I'm so happy not to have to haul up to the Prominade Mall any more!!
I don't know if it's because T&T originates from Richmond, BC, but I did notice that a few of the refrigerated (preservative free) drinks were shipped from there. Other than that, I also noticed produce from Ontario.
Re: Japanese food. The gigantic fresh sushi bar is only the first thing that greets you when you enter the store! Overhead signage also points you in the direction of frozen Japanese (and Thai and Vietnamese) entrees and fresh and frozen Japanese noodles etc.
BONUS: I was actually very impressed by their Western grocery selection too. Can Dominion beat 2l Silk soy for $2.50, 2 for $3 Fruitopia 2L cartons, or half a dozen Omega-3 eggs for $0.88???
Since I work in the Portlands, I take the 72A/172 bus twice a day and I must agree that it doesn't come very often. However, the bus schedule can easily be accessed at ttc.ca. Consulting it will make your life a lot easier!
I was there last sun, and noticed a couple of things there were different from the stores in thornhill.. their stir fried chicken with chest nut and steamed chicken with rice contained meat with no bones.. wow, finally! I think they might be worried that more non-asian customers are shopping there and they might get sued if people got killed by chicken bones buried in the rice. Second, make sure you check your receipts, I caught the cashier entered the wrong price for several items... their computer system was not updated in real time, so when items were on discount, it was not reflected. The butcher also made errors on the chicken legs I bought, they entered the wrong price per pound, and ended up getting charged 3x the original price... given the store was not as crowded as the other locations, it was a pleasure to shop there,but also this could be a sign that it might not be around for too long if they can't get enough customers...
I'm glad there is a new Asian supermarket in the City south of Bloor. Most of them are in North York and beyond. I'm not sure what the author is complaining about. There are many other Asian places to pickup groceries in the city that he may have overlooked, like East Chinatown (Gerrard/Broadview) and Koreatown (Bloor/Christie). It's obvious that T&T is catering to the Harbourfront, East downtown, Corktown, Riverside and Leslieville peeps. Just go to the place that's closest. There is room for everyone. Furthermore, it's better than another Walmart setting up shop.
Oh~ I was just reading other comments... Some are the great and some are most absurd. (no offence.) I am proud to say that I am addicted to shopping at T&T and have been to all of their location up north. They set the standard for other Asian ones. I honest don't care how some people worry about its effect on the two older Chinatown!! Because it is time they know what hygiene is. (produce outside in a busy street?! Never mind the litters and the smell of spoiled fruit & veggie.) My parents used to own a western grocery store so I appreciate all the effort T&T takes to make it clean.
And I have to make a response on the a few silly comments of some ill-inform people that worry about products that are produce by China. First of all, T&T is not own by a guy from Mainland China, but from a lady from Taiwan. Most of all, you have more than one choice for almost everything! (e.g. soya sauce, from China, H.K, Taiwan, Japan and more.) And being a large grocery store they are more aware of 'imitation'. So it is actually safer than a small store who will buy whatever to sell it cheap.
The only thing that is missing is an organic selection. But they are not stupid. Most Chinese don?t care much about it and they know it is not a big market. So, all you Organic people continue to do your run to the St. Lawrence.
We went to this location on Saturday for the first time and were BLOWN. AWAY. :)
Lovvvvvvvved this supermarket and will definitely continue to go. The cleanest grocery store I have ever been in, amazing selection of both Asian and Western foods, extremely Western friendly, beautifully presented and for the most part, very reasonably priced. I've been recommending it to all my friends!
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