Our journalist travels around Greater Montreal to talk about people, events or places that make the heart of their neighborhood beat.
“It’s a Toys ‘R’ Us for me,” says Cong-Bon Huynh.
Can going to the grocery store be so exciting?
It certainly was for the people who formed a long line before the doors of the T&T Supermarket opened for the first time in the borough of Saint-Laurent last December.
“There were so many people,” says Cong-Bon Huynh, who was curious to attend the official introduction in Quebec of the country’s largest Asian grocery chain.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Cong-Bon Huynh, our guide at T&T
To make discoveries among the 20,000 products on sale, we asked the head teacher at the School of Catering and Tourism in Montreal to accompany us from one aisle to another at T&T.
In the fruits and vegetables section, the Montrealer of Vietnamese origin first drew our attention to the dragon fruit, which turns out to be more beautiful than tasty, and on the presence of jackfruit, not to be confused with durian, whose smell is very pronounced.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Evelynne Barten in front of the different varieties of mushrooms
Cong-Bon then said he was impressed by the large selection of mushrooms (about fifty!), and he was not the only one… “I am amazed and even in shock. I’ve never seen so many varieties,” enthused Evelynne Barten, a teacher at Cégep Vanier – located nearby – who made a first trip to T&T to buy mushrooms for a natural science laboratory.
But THE thing that strikes the most at T&T is without a doubt the fish and seafood tank. You can find crab, king clams, lobster, tilapia and even eels.
The offal section is also impressive, as well as the one with bakery and pastry products (your children will love the brioche bread).
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The fish and seafood tank is without a doubt what impresses customers the most at T&T.
Thanks to Cong-Bon, we then learned that candles are made from 100% beef fat, that salted duck eggs have a long tradition in China, and that if chickens are very dark in color, almost black, it is because it is an ancient breed from Asia: the silken hen (silkie chicken in English). The cooking teacher then politely corrected the situation when we dared to say that duck tongues were unappetizing when it is rather considered to be a delicacy.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Among all kinds of potato chips, those of shiitake caught our attention.
We chatted with Long Duc Ong, a regular T&T customer from the West Island. He also heard that a second branch could open on the South Shore, which could indeed be announced shortly according to our information.
“I like coming here: it’s big, it’s clean and pleasant. I look at discounts,” he added, pointing out that inflation is also hitting Asian products.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
It’s pedagogical day. Van Vo is with his son, who loves T&T, and a friend. There are mangoes full in their basket. Dumplings too. The mother praises the ready meals counter.
Popular takeaways
It is not yet 11 a.m. that people line up for the counter of ready meals, take out or eat in. “Lunch is always full”, confirms Alex Chen, store manager.
To say that Tina Lee, CEO and daughter of the founders of T&T, was reluctant to set up in Quebec. “It is beyond my expectations”, rejoices the one to whom we speak by videoconference after our visit.
Of our entire chain, it is the one that attracts the most non-Asian customers. I understood that food is part of Quebec culture on another level.
Tina Lee, CEO and daughter of the founders of T&T, on the Borough of Saint-Laurent branch
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The T&T Supermarket is located on avenue Sainte-Croix, in the borough of Saint-Laurent, near the Du Collège metro station. The 6,500 square meter store is the chain’s largest in the country.
T&T has 31 stores nationwide. Since 2009, the chain belongs to the Loblaw group. When Tina Lee showed a T&T supermarket to Montrealer Robert Sawyer, who had just interrupted his retirement to become chief operating officer of Loblaw, the latter said to her: “We need a T&T in Montreal! »
“Our arrival in Quebec is a big step forward for us,” says Tina Lee looking back.
However, the task was colossal when it came to language and labelling. “We hired a team of seven full-time translators for a year,” she explains.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Beauty products that usually take months to ship from Asia to Canada are on sale at T&T.
Tina Lee is pleased to see that customers of Asian origin mix in her supermarkets, for whom the products are a matter of nostalgia and traditions, and others eager for discovery. “Those who take cooking classes while traveling,” she illustrates.
Tina Lee grew up in Vancouver, where there was no Chinatown like Montreal, she points out. “There were small shops, but none where you could find everything like at Safeway,” she explains.
Her mother, like many busy parents, dreamed of a “clean, modern and big” Asian supermarket, says her daughter, so she and her husband founded the first T&T in 1993.
The act of cooking
“The older you get, the more you go back to basics,” says Cong-Bon Huynh, for whom Tonkinese soup remains the most comforting dish.
“Kitchen design for me is the love you give to someone,” he says.
One thing is certain, there is inspiration for new recipes at T&T.