Inside the new 36,000-square-foot T&T Supermarket at Fairview Mall
Featuring a breakfast counter serving jian bing
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.
There are skin care products from Japan, Korea and China, including at least 30 different face masks.
Moving along to the food, there’s a comprehensive selection of produce…
…including this lychee flown in fresh from Vietnam.
There are also tons of leafy greens.
These boxes of specialty fruit make for easy gift giving.
This prized Japanese musk melon is famous for its nectar-like sweetness.
The durian comes in fancy gold wrapping paper.
The live seafood counter is home to Dungeness crab.
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.
There are a lot of choice filets to choose from, too.
T&T is the only Asian supermarket in Canada that carries certified Angus beef.
How to stand out in barbecue season: this Hokkaido-sourced Wagyu beef is prized for its fine texture and thorough marbling.
If there’s offal on your grocery list, chances are you’ll find it here.
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.
This section stocks everything you need for a prep-free hot pot party, like pre-sliced meat, fish balls and dipping sauces.
When dining out for dim sum isn’t an option, make it a DIY affair.
Be still your beating hearts, ramen aficionados.
A closer look at some of the instant noodles on offer.
And the snacks—oh, the snacks!
Check out all of these imported chips.
These ones promise to taste like beef Wellington.
And these cucumber chips sound perfect for summer.
Who doesn’t love Pocky?
Wash it all down with these imported sodas.
Just follow the smell of freshly baked bread, buns and cakes to find the bakery.
We’re in mango season, folks. This luscious creation is T&T’s bestselling dessert.
No trip to this store is complete without a visit to the hot food bar.
And, in particular, to the section serving up sticky sweet-and-sour pork ribs.
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.)
These bamboo-wrapped rice dumplings are traditionally consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 22 this year.
Shelves of pre-made bubble tea should speedily dispense with any cravings or thirst.
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.
There’s also this cookware—the Fika saucepan happens to be Tina’s (one of the Ts in T&T) favourites.
To the left of the entrance, there’s a street food section that serves hot breakfast starting at 8 a.m.
This is the beginning of a Chinese crêpe made with mung flour.
It’s filled with egg, crispy fried dough and scallion…
…then folded into a portable parcel.
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.
The two make a great combo.
Say hello to Tyson Li, this location’s manager.
There’s a little food court outside the entrance so customers can have a seat to snack on their treats.
1800 Sheppard Ave. E. (Fairview Mall, entrance two), 416-493-8113, tntsupermarket.com
. 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.
There are skin care products from Japan, Korea and China, including at least 30 different face masks.
Moving along to the food, there's a comprehensive selection of produce...
...including this lychee flown in fresh from Vietnam.
There are also tons of leafy greens.
These boxes of specialty fruit make for easy gift giving.
This prized Japanese musk melon is famous for its nectar-like sweetness.
The durian comes in fancy gold wrapping paper.
The live seafood counter is home to Dungeness crab.
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.
There are a lot of choice filets to choose from, too.
T&T is the only Asian supermarket in Canada that carries certified Angus beef.
How to stand out in barbecue season: this Hokkaido-sourced Wagyu beef is prized for its fine texture and thorough marbling.
If there’s offal on your grocery list, chances are you’ll find it here.
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.
This section stocks everything you need for a prep-free hot pot party, like pre-sliced meat, fish balls and dipping sauces.
When dining out for dim sum isn't an option, make it a DIY affair.
Be still your beating hearts, ramen aficionados.
A closer look at some of the instant noodles on offer.
And the snacks—oh, the snacks!
Check out all of these imported chips.
These ones promise to taste like beef Wellington.
And these cucumber chips sound perfect for summer.
Who doesn't love Pocky?
Wash it all down with these imported sodas.
Just follow the smell of freshly baked bread, buns and cakes to find the bakery.
We're in mango season, folks. This luscious creation is T&T’s bestselling dessert.
No trip to this store is complete without a visit to the hot food bar.
And, in particular, to the section serving up sticky sweet-and-sour pork ribs.
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.)
These bamboo-wrapped rice dumplings are traditionally consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 22 this year.
Shelves of pre-made bubble tea should speedily dispense with any cravings or thirst.
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.
There's also this cookware—the Fika saucepan happens to be Tina’s (one of the Ts in T&T) favourites.
To the left of the entrance, there’s a street food section that serves hot breakfast starting at 8 a.m.
This is the beginning of a Chinese crêpe made with mung flour.
It's filled with egg, crispy fried dough and scallion...
...then folded into a portable parcel.
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.
The two make a great combo.
Say hello to Tyson Li, this location’s manager.
There's a little food court outside the entrance so customers can have a seat to snack on their treats.
1800 Sheppard Ave. E. (Fairview Mall, entrance two), 416-493-8113, tntsupermarket.com){kind=link}