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Food & Drink

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Featuring a breakfast counter serving jian bing

By Liza Agrba| Photography by Lucy Lu
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The entrance to Fairview Mall's T&T location

As part of an $80-million glow up, Fairview Mall recently converted a former Sears into a sprawling Asian food hall complete with vendors selling soufflé pancakes, Taiwanese milk tea and Hong Kong–style baked goods. But the biggest retailer in the revitalized space is a new location of the Canadian Asian supermarket chain T&T, adding to its 10 other stores across Ontario.

For the uninitiated, T&T is a one-stop shop for Asian grocery needs—Wagyu beef, lychee and dragonfruit, and an exhaustive selection of ramen and salty snacks. There’s also a hot food bar, a live seafood counter, an on-site bakery, a street food section and—a first for T&T—hot breakfast options starting at 8 a.m. (hello, jian bing). Come with us for a virtual stroll through North York’s newest grocery monolith.

Related: Inside T&T Supermarket’s new downtown store at College and Spadina

The first thing customers see when they enter is this Toronto-themed wall art—if there’s something more representative of our city than a Raptor spinning a bao in place of a basketball, we’ve yet to find it.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

There are skin care products from Japan, Korea and China, including at least 30 different face masks.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Moving along to the food, there’s a comprehensive selection of produce...

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

...including this lychee flown in fresh from Vietnam.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

There are also tons of leafy greens.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

These boxes of specialty fruit make for easy gift giving.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

This prized Japanese musk melon is famous for its nectar-like sweetness.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

The durian comes in fancy gold wrapping paper.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

The live seafood counter is home to Dungeness crab.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

These spot prawns, which go out of season in the winter months, are flown in daily from BC. Get these sweet, delicate shrimp (though they look like mini lobsters) while you can.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

There are a lot of choice filets to choose from, too.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

T&T is the only Asian supermarket in Canada that carries certified Angus beef.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

How to stand out in barbecue season: this Hokkaido-sourced Wagyu beef is prized for its fine texture and thorough marbling.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

If there’s offal on your grocery list, chances are you’ll find it here.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Among the abundant offerings from T&T’s private label are these Taiwanese-style pork sausages, voted the brand’s customer favourite in a survey this year.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

This section stocks everything you need for a prep-free hot pot party, like pre-sliced meat, fish balls and dipping sauces.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

When dining out for dim sum isn’t an option, make it a DIY affair.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Be still your beating hearts, ramen aficionados.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

A closer look at some of the instant noodles on offer.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

And the snacks—oh, the snacks!

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Check out all of these imported chips.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

These ones promise to taste like beef Wellington.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

And these cucumber chips sound perfect for summer.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Who doesn’t love Pocky?

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Wash it all down with these imported sodas.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Just follow the smell of freshly baked bread, buns and cakes to find the bakery.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

We’re in mango season, folks. This luscious creation is T&T’s bestselling dessert.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

No trip to this store is complete without a visit to the hot food bar.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

And, in particular, to the section serving up sticky sweet-and-sour pork ribs.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Besides what’s available here, customers can pre-order Peking duck dinners with all the fixings. (It’s a special-order deal because the meat tends to dry out if left for too long.)

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

These bamboo-wrapped rice dumplings are traditionally consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 22 this year.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Shelves of pre-made bubble tea should speedily dispense with any cravings or thirst.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

This is the only T&T location in Toronto with a dedicated gift section. It’s currently stocked with these adorable 3-D dim sum puzzles.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

There’s also this cookware—the Fika saucepan happens to be Tina’s (one of the Ts in T&T) favourites.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

To the left of the entrance, there’s a street food section that serves hot breakfast starting at 8 a.m.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

This is the beginning of a Chinese crêpe made with mung flour.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

It’s filled with egg, crispy fried dough and scallion...

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

...then folded into a portable parcel.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

This is T&T’s signature fish ball soup. Every fish ball is stuffed with a bit of pork and finished with a simple pork broth and a sprinkle of scallions.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

The two make a great combo.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

Say hello to Tyson Li, this location’s manager.

Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

There’s a little food court outside the entrance so customers can have a seat to snack on their treats.

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Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall

1800 Sheppard Ave. E. (Fairview Mall, entrance two), 416-493-8113, tntsupermarket.com

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