Written by Deborah Lau-Yu

Photographs by the Fete Chinoise team including Rhonda Lam, Lilian Mak, Lorraine Ng

The sound of lion dance drums and the aromatic smells of Asian street food made for a festive kick-off celebrating the grand opening of T&T Supermarket’s newest Toronto location at Cadillac Fairview Mall. Open to the public on May 18th, the store is a refreshing addition to a landmark mall in North York, Toronto, where the surrounding residential community has been steadily growing with modern condominiums and revitalization projects. When you arrive at Entrance 2, there is a delightful scent of freshly baked pastries, grilled Chinese crepes, steamed dim sum and other treats drawing you into the bright and cheerful storefront. What a transformation of what used to be a tired wing of Sears and other closed retail shops, and a wonderful new grocery shopping and food destination for all families.

The editorial team at Fete Chinoise had the pleasure of attending the media tour and VIP reception, which was a great Spring reunion of many community and business friends. CEO Tina Lee (featured in our award-winning story “Putting Food and Compassion on the Table” in our 7th Edition of Fete Chinoise Magazine: Perspective), led a scrumptious tour around the store that took guests to all parts of East Asia and in many cases, down memory lane with childhood favourites in both food and gifts.

Guests enjoyed the hour-long culinary journey — a diverse sampling of Asian tropical fruits, Korean beef short ribs, Chinese Har Gow (shrimp dumplings), Taiwanese Mini Pork Sausages, Hong Kong and Portugese Egg tarts, Japanese Mochi puffs, Fuzhou Fish Balls, Chinese crepes from Tianjin, Peking Duck, Jasmine tea and Aloe beverages, and a 10’ long dragon made of Japanese Sushi.

On a regular day, shoppers will be in for many delights. The street food-inspired floor-to-ceiling windowed kitchen faces out to the mall, so that not only the taste but also the visual presentation of food is complete, transporting shoppers to a modernized shopping centre version of Asia’s vibrant street market energy. The bakery features an expansive selection of baked goods, with a spotlight on all of T&T’s special occasion cakes that are creatively presented in their newest catalogue that will put a smile on any child’s face. To make the experience more fun for families, a digital kiosk allows customers to swipe through the selections when they plan for their birthday, anniversary, graduation and all the other special celebrations. The gift section has some special finds, with toys and trinkets that have been thoughtfully selected and hard-to-find-elsewhere: a vintage typewriter and dim sum set that is made of lego-like blocks, Sanrio toys, a Japanese street food vendor vignette, and vintage sonograph building block set.

Notable names in attendance for the reception included Galen Weston Jr., Executive Chairman and President of Loblaw Companies Limited, David Kuo, Head of Network (Ontario) of HSBC Canada, Calvin Liao, Director of Operations at T&T Supermarket, and many more.

As T&T continues to expand its offerings across Canada, this 32nd store is a special location for many young Asian families who grew up and are returning to the neighbourhood. To have such a rich selection of culturally-relevant foods inside Fairview Mall is a phenomenal feeling for diaspora families who didn’t have this access before, and also for all Canadians wanting to embrace East Asian food at home who have been looking for a fresh and inviting environment.

For our readers on the West Coast, the next T&T store opening is coming right up, in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Stay tuned for more details!

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