8 things to know about the T&T mega supermarket in Montreal
Employees of the new T&T supermarket preparing for the opening of the store.
The first T&T supermarket in Quebec, and the largest in Canada, opened its doors on December 15 in the borough of Saint-Laurent, in Montreal. The 6500 square foot establishment offers an impressive amount of products from Asia. Here are 7 things to discover about this highly anticipated new Asian supermarket.
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King crab. Photo: iStock: Lightasafeather.
Several basins filled with shellfish and fish are arranged in front of the store's fish counter. Live lobsters, sea bass, geoducks or even king crabs are stored, before ending up in the fish counter in the middle of ice cubes… T&T CEO Tina Lee said at a press conference that there is enough water in these ponds to fill a swimming pool.
50 varieties of mushrooms and tofu
Enoki mushrooms. Photo: iStock, 4nadia.
In the fruit and vegetable department, you can find 50 different species of mushrooms, ranging from the fine mushroom with the bulb head Enoki, to the very hairy mushroom called “Lion's Mane”. On the refrigerated side, more than 80 kinds of tofu are available, ranging from classic tofu to “dessert” tofu with almond or coconut.
A T&T house line
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< p>The supermarket has its own range of original T&T “homemade” products. Among these, we find peanut or sesame rice balls, Chinese mushroom or tofu steamed buns, some varieties of noodles or even sweet yam buns.
Loblaw is the owner
Photo: Courtesy Loblaw
The T&T chain, inaugurated in 1993 in British Columbia, belongs to Loblaw Companies Limited, which has also owned the Maxi and Provigo chains in Quebec since 2009. Moreover, the Montreal branch is located in a former Loblaws.
< h3 id="h-fusion-kitchen-plenty">Fusion-kitchen galore
Stuffed turkey. iStock, Koval Nadiya.
In the perspective of being able to bring together North American culture with Asian culture, Tina Lee wanted to offer in her supermarket an Asian-style stuffed turkey with sticky rice. “This is how to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas by mixing our two culinary cultures,” argued Ms. Lee.
Ready-to-eat!
Steamed Chinese buns. Photo: iStock, Niuniu.
Many dishes are prepared on the kitchen side, with a choice of sushi, steamed dumplings, iced tea drinks or Peking duck. On the bakery side, many brioches and pastries occupy the windows and a birthday cake ordering service is also available.
< strong>Impressive collection of Asian beers
Photo: iStock, AzmanL.
A large collection of Asian beers is available in the store, such as Asahi or Suntory brand beers, with or without alcohol.
Exotic Christmas boxes
Dragon fruits. Photo: iStock: Environmental.
As the holidays approach, boxes of exotic fruits imported from Japan, Korea and Chile are displayed at the entrance to the store. Melons, Muscat grapes, dragon fruit or even Asian pears make up these batches. Everything is displayed next to the highly prized Japanese melon Mino, priced at $118 Canadian. Yes, just that.
See the supermarket in pictures
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