ottawa foodies

Fairway Trading is located in the heart of Byward Market and is the first place I ever came across in Ottawa that stocks Asian foods. In truth, you can find a lot more in Chinatown food-wise, but this little store has a lot of other interesting things as well.

The Fairway store is not large – about half the floor space of a moderate bungalow in all – but it is chock-filled with stuff to the point that it is difficult to move without making sure you aren’t about to bring something crashing down. This is a bit of an inconvenience, I suppose but, in fact, the higgledy-piggledy nature of the place is ultimately part of its charm.

There are some fresh foods available, but the range of selection varies from visit to visit and, on this last occasion, there was a nice selection of chilies and some lovely stalks of lemongrass. There is always a decent selection of dried spices as well as sauces and pastes, and many varieties of noodles and soup mixes.

One nice thing I found about this store is the service. On this occasion the clerk (possibly the owner?) recognized me even though it was probably two years since my last visit. ‘I remember you…’ he said. ‘Don’t you come from very far way?” I have to say that this made quite an impression on me and made my visit especially memorable. The guy was very friendly and chatted to me a mile a minute the whole time I was there...

Full Pictorial Review at: sybaritica.me

I just picked up a bamboo mat for sushi making, seaweed, chopsticks, sushi rice, a greeting card, rice noodles, and vegetarian dumplings ALL for under $30 taxes incl. The couple running the store (today) were super helpful, polite and friendly! Great little place to go when you can't make it into Chinatown.