ottawa foodies

The hot food counter has changed (the dim sum, noodle soup, and bbq meat counters are still the same). It is now a "serve yourself" island of steam tables, and the set combo prices have been replaced with a $1.99 per 100 g of food charge. The result is that the food isn't as good (please see my previous post) and is more expensive, with the extra profits likely going to one of Galen's Caribbean "banks". The land has been blanketed in darkness and there is much sadness:(

I find the cooked food here a bit hit and miss, probably because many Chinese dishes don't hold well when spending a long period of time in steam tables, so the key is to get a meal here during peak business hours when turnover is greatest. This was my favourite "build your own" combo to date: salt and pepper pork ribs and spicy stir fried vegetables and pork (with at least 3 different kinds of chilies!) with steamed rice and a side of broth (not pictured). This was super fresh and tasty food for a reasonable price and was eaten in the store's sit-down dining area.

This Calamansi Limeade is unbelievably refreshing and delicious. They were handing out samples when I visited with my daughter and we had to bring a carton home with us. It lasted only a day it was so good. We're not big on sugary drinks in our house but this one was good enough to ignore that.

P.S. (From fruitmaven.com) - "Biting in to this lime is so complicated it is ridiculous. It’s like a cross between a lemon, a tangerine, a kumquat, a hand grenade and a water fight."

We visited TNT after an absence of several months to find that the prices in the store have increased significantly and also that the selection of goods has decreased. I could only find one or two things at TNT that I used to buy regularly. No idea what happened but we were disappointed.

We bought some fresh chicken breast which they packaged for us in a leaky bag. The quality of the meat was so-so.

We couldn't find a variety of nuoc cham without added MSG. ...but I used to be able to get such a thing in a regular grocery store.

We wish they would sell the runny custard buns (Lau Sar Pau) again, as we haven't seen it for almost a year now and they were DELICIOUS.

I also wish they'd put the durians in a closed case or something, they smell really awful...

Personally I'm not very motivated to return to shopping there on a regular basis.

I went there last week and found that the price there has been increased significantly. For regular items (i.e., not on sale items), the average price there is about 20-30% more than Kowloon Market and other Chinese grocery stores.

Duck rip-off at T&T: I bought three frozen ducks at T&T--about 12 bucks each I think. Turns out each one was missing one drumstick--if you read the very, very small print you will notice that it says "Some parts may be missing." Caveat emptor!

If you’re in the mood for some Asian cuisine and not sure where to call for a pick up, get in your car and head to T&T market. I talked about this place in my earlier posts but I want to return to this topic because I feel like this place combines home made taste with the convenience of take out superbly!!!

We were first debating s few different spots in china town but came to the conclusion that T&T was on the top of the list because we can get some ready made food there, as well as pick up ingredients to make the rest of the dishes we wanted – our way.

Here’s what we bought:

* peaking duck
* short ribs
* cabbage sticky buns
* veggie and pork dumplings
* kim chi
* sesame balls
* a package of dry soba noodles (buckwheat noodles)

So everything in our feast was pretty much ready made – we just decided that we wanted to add our own noodles and egg to the kim chi (see the picture above). It was incredible!

BUT I MUST CONFESS that I left the BEST for LAST – all I’m gotta say is that I’m DEF using this spot next time I need a b-day cake or some DIVA desserts – T&T has the BEST cakes and cupcakes I’ve ever seen! Seriously – my mouth was watering when I was walking through the bakery section!

They look FRESH to def and they taste it too!

There are a few little high end cupcake shops in town…But I find that they just use a lot of icing and they’re pretty…but T&T cupcakes are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!

Look at these Babies!

You can get individual ones, tray fulls of them or cute custom cakes that won’t cost you an arm and a leg!

That’s it for now!

Bon Appetit!

XoXoX

I have seen the light…have you?

This enormous grocery store is located on 224 Hunt Club Road. I could write an entire NOVEL about this place but I think i”ll stick to my favorite corner of the store…DIM SUM. YESSSS. I LOOOOOVE dim sum. I always find myself in search of dim sum and always let down because its mostly served only on Sundays.

Now, I can proudly say that I’ve found my DIM SUM heaven. There’s delicious pre made dim sum to go… and then there’s glorious, absolutely amazing, fluffy, melt in your mouth, FRESH made dim sum that you take home and eat while its hot.

An endless amount of dim sum at T&T...what more can you ask for?

To end, I’d like to state that I’ll be writing more about T&T and focusing on the other magical parts of this store…there is so much variety there that its gonna take more than a few posts :p

Bonne Appetit!

Hi Shnicken,

I wrote too fast about the oysters it looks confusing. To clarify, the Malpeques oysters were $0.99 cents each at TNT. At Whalesbone, they were 12 for $19. Whalesbone may have a larger selection of different types however.

The HUGE oysters 6 inch long and about an inch deep at the base (I forgot the name) were $1.99 each and Whalesbone didn't have any of these at this time.

Last week TNT had the famous large Fanny Bay oysters in tubs for $16.99 and now they're sold out. I'll keep on the lookout for these again. Check it out, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!

I hadn't felt a huge need to go here....until I read about the oysters - KC you've now given me reason!

The Beef Rib Fingers (Intercostal) is on special ($6.35 per kg) and I grabbed a package right away. Tonight's dinner is curry beef rib fingers with potato. Yum Yum. Do you know where else sells Beef Rib Fingers in addition to T&T?

Who would have thought that fresh Portuguese egg tarts would be available from the bakery of a giant Asian grocery store?

These are sold still warm, and they are very popular! I picked some up today for the first time and I can say that they are as good or better than many I've had in Portugal.

Note: These are the straightforward, eggy kind of pastel found in most Portuguese cafes. The elusive (and superior) Pastéis de Belém (www.pasteisdebelem.pt/en.html) are found only in one shop in Lisbon, and differ by their thinner crust (more like phyllo, less like puff pastry) and the aromatic hints of lemon and cinnamon in the filling.

These currently go for $1.09 each or $4.99 for six.

Decent Banh Mi from T&T. I went for the spicy option which had lots of meat/pate, pickled carrots and diakon, and diced chilies but was lacking in the cilantro department. Overall a great sandwich for $4.

Picked one of these up while my wife was grabbing some sushi for lunch (see above review).

They aren't spectacular and more loaded with meat than with vegetables which oddly enough, which is a disappointment to me. Also, there are none that come with hot peppers, so I added my own jalapenos to the second I had for lunch.

However, they are more sizable than the 2 to 2.50 dollar ones you pick up elsewhere, but not as tasty.

Overall, not too bad, but nothing to really recommend over any other place.

Much like grabbing sushi at a grocery store, if you don't expect the best, it's a good way to kill the craving.

Too bad you didn't get bone in. Much better for smoking and BBQ. Luciano's can get this cut for you so can Brian's or Sasloves.

I was able to finally find Boston butt cut of pork, which is a shoulder roast cut. This one is boneless. It is used in Southern US cooking, BBQ and especially in pulled pork dishes. It is also a cut preferred for carnitas for tacos and other pork dishes in Mexican cuisine.

Neither Loblaws, Metro nor Farm Boy carried this cut of meat and most seemed baffled when I asked for a shoulder roast cut. Only the butcher at Loblaws seemed sad when I asked and told me that he couldn't get the cut even if his LIFE depended on it. He was the one who recommended to check Metro, which also did not have it.

But they had it at TnT along with a gigantic selection of cuts of pork, beef and chicken. The meat is very fresh and comes with a variety that I have not seen in the Ottawa area.

I can finally put together my Puerco Pibil dish without having to substitute for a different cut of meat!

Yes! The seaweed! I am totally addicted to the laver seasoned with sesame oil and salt - it's better than potato chips!

The one pictured by FF below is particularly delicious too! YAY FOR SEAWEED!

My wife is hooked on these fried seaweed snacks and I can't blame her. They are wonderfully seasoned and hit all the right snacky craving triggers. A number of flavours are available, some spicy and some not.

This is what the bag looks like! "GARLIC FLAVOUR - Crispy Chicken Skin Chips"

Ingredients: Chicken skin, vegetable oil (Canola or Soya), MSG, Salt, Garlic, Vinegar.

"Enjoy a Crispy and Tasty Snack! High in Nutrition, Energy and Protein." Hahaha! It's salt and fat, with 10% protein by weight.

I think it was $2.99 for the 100g bag. Great eaten with raw broccoli and dip! All I can say is it's a tasty, evil, wonderful conversation piece. :-)

A like-minded coworker introduced me to Crispy Chicken Skin Strips. If the idea of eating KFC skin without meat appeals to you, then this snack will pop your eyes wide open! It's basically pork rinds but made with chicken. Seasoned with garlic and MSG, it's already halfway to KFC's recipe.

The quality is a little bit variable, even within a bag. The pieces with some meat attached tend to have a slightly rancid taste. The other ones are pure heaven though. You never know what you're gonna get! LOL ;-)

Ok, so Char Siu was on sale last week at T&T and we decided to try it out.

The result: Unbelievably tasty, the best char siu I 've had in a while in Ottawa. Just the right mixture of garlicness and sweetness without being too salty (a common sin). The bargain price of $3.99/lb only made it better. There was a long queue and they even posted a little sign telling when the next batch would be out to avoid disappointment.

Way to go, whoever's manning the bbq!

The new T & T Asian supermarket (Hunt Club & Riverside) has Ito En bottled green tea - in both single serving and 2 L bottles, and in cans, which I've never seen before.
It seems the New York distributor is now shipping to Canada too.
Try this tea - you'll love it! And if there is volume in sales maybe it will stay on the market here...
Note: most varieties are unsweetened, so this is not North American style green tea "pop". There is a honey lemon slightly sweetened flavour though.
If you are new to real green tea, I suggest you avoid the barley flavour!

Actually, intercostal beef in those shrink wrapped packages is readily available at Loblaws Superstore on Richmond Road.

My better half's mom has bought them from the Loblaws Superstore in Kanata.

Loblaws has been advertising these in their Asian fliers since the last Chinese New Year.

Only, when T&T opened, they cost less than what Loblaws Superstore usually sells them for, normally $2.99/lb. I picked up two packages for the freezer.

I use them to make great pots of stew, both Asian and European.

I picked up two of their Ready-to-Cook soup packages ($6.99 each).

One package is "Arrow Root pork bones soup" containing pork bones, arrow root pieces, red beans, date, honey date. I boiled a pot of hot water and put the pork bones in it for about 1 minute (to get rid of the blood from the bones). After throwing away the boiled water, I boiled another pot of water and put all the ingredients into the boiled water. Let is simmer on heat for at least 2 hours. If the meat falls off from the pork bones, it is done and the broth should taste very sweet and delicious. (Note that if the soup is not simmered long enough, the soup will be tasteless.) I put about 2 ml of sea salt into the soup when it is done.

Another package is for "Pork with Turnip & Carrot Soup". This will be my tomorrow's soup since I still have some leftover soup from yesterday.

This kind of "ready-to-cook" soup package provides convenience and time-savings to moms. At least I don't need to cut up all the ingredients.

Note: When we eat soup for our daily dinner, we normally throw away the ingredients and only drink the broth. There will be oil on top of the broth and I use a special container that can filter the grease on top.

Update (Nov. 14): The price tag has been increased to $7.99 per package. For this price, I won't buy it any more since I can buy the material separately and it's more economical.

Huge variety of baked goods. There are so many different things that I have yet to sample them all in several trips to the store. The mousse cakes, red bean cakes, and the steamed cakes are frequent purchases of mine, and my family is addicted to the egg tarts. I like that many of the items in this section of T&T have a subtle sweetness, compared to many other supermarkets that use lots of sugary icing and whipped cream with sugar, and sugar coated sugar with chocolate and sprinkles. The latter: not so good for you, and hurts my teeth personally, so three cheers for T&T!

I love that T&T has many excellent egg bread goods as it is hard to find this kind of bread in other chain supermarkets. If they had egg bagels there sometime it would make my week. They sometimes have ensaïmada with a bit of cheese which is delicious warmed in the microwave -- however I haven't seen it lately and recently the ones I found were stale.

The cakes you see behind the glass are light and fluffy. The whipped cream icing is not overly sweet like other supermarket cakes and tastes like real whipping cream. If you want something different try the taro cake.

Some of the cookies you find in the area may not taste very good to westerners that are used to the overly sweet brands we have here. One package of T&T cookies was so very bland to me (sawdust texture) that an Asian friend offered to take them off my hands. She then promptly devoured them so they probably aren't bad if you have the acquired taste.

Overall very good, very impressive selection.

Be aware that some of their baked goods, especially those which were open to the air in the store at some point, can have the same fishy aroma to them that the store tends to emanate. Bread absorbs the air around it! The aroma ranges from "hey it smells like T&T" to unpleasantly interfering with the taste. Right now I have a whole package of red bean cakes I cant eat because the smell is so bad it's more like fish cakes. Previously I had a package of cream puffs that I couldn't eat for the same reason. YMMV, in fact this might not even bother you (my family eats it anyway), but it bothers me.

I found an odd cake that I just HAD to try here and I think I am hooked now. I was a swiss roll style cake, white cake and a creamy filling. But it also had dried pork and green onion! The combination is strange at first but quickly grew on me! Last time I was there they didn't have any but I hope it comes back.

The pear or teardrop shaped almond cake is also AMAZING!

I took this photo before their staff told me that camera is not allowed. (So this is the last photo inside T&T). All packaged cookies and rolls can be found in the aisle across the Fresh Cake section.

This is the Mango Cake that we bought for $3.49 (special price for the week and don't know what the regular price is). The cake has disappeared from our kitchen already.

In two separate trips I bought some "fresh" mangosteen, but none of them from either trip were fresh at all. The inside of all of them were rotten or half rotten with a yellow substance, so I wont be buying them from this store again. Sadly fresh mangosteen are not easy to find as it is.

Recently had the har gow and siu mai fresh from the counter.

I was impressed with the size of the pieces. The taste was pretty good too.

Since the fresh dim sum section has a long lineup, I bought the vegetable and pork bun from the open fridge section (near the won-ton wrap area). They are from Toronto and not bad, but is not the best I've tried. The package has 6 buns inside for $3.39 (note that they are not the frozen ones). I steamed them for about 10 minutes.

This week I went after work and picked up some mixed dim sum packs near the end of the day. They were under $3 a pack and had a NICE combo of things such as radish cake, red bean paste bun, and crispy pork dumpling. I grabbed 3 packs and had enough for 2 good home feasts for under $10.

This is the cooked food I bought - sweet and sour shortribs (the one on the upper left), General Tao chicken (the one on the upper right), cold spicy pig ears (the one on the lower right), and cold marinated dish combo-A (the one on the lower left).

I like the spicy pig ears and marinated dish combo. For the hot food, I think they are okay for general customers. You can also add rice and noodles for 2-choice, 3-choice or 4-choice combo. This kind of combo will be welcomed by the university students. For me, T&T is running an efficient kitchen based on the same cookie cutter formula (deep fried and mix with a variety of sauces to finish up). I will buy the cold appetizers again. For the hot food, if they are on special price, I may buy them again sometimes later.

Bought some pig ears from one of the refrigerated display cases. They seem to be have stacked many ears and gelled together before sliced by machines.

Tasty with a bit of heat, it is the best takeout from the stores. Kowloon used to have very nice ones from Toronto but they now do their own and it is not to the same quality as the previous ones nor the new T&T ones.

My wife picked up a mixture of sushi today for lunch after noting the prices the time we were at TnT earlier.

She agrees that the rice was a little sweet; it needed more vinegar in it. It's also not restaurant quality sushi, so don't expect it to be that high of quality.

But it is at least on par with Farm Boy in quality of take-out sushi, with greater variety than Farm boy and much, MUCH better prices.

I tried one of the sushi boxes at T&T and I have to say it is a good value. It is definitely fresh and much cheaper than other grocery stores. The rice wasn't the best, and a bit too sweet. I would say it is worth a try, for a cheap sushi fix.