Interview with the owners of Kim Phat
La Presse has an interesting interview with Yip Chee Sing, the onetime refugee who established the Kim Phat chain of Asian grocery stores, although now the majority is owned by Sobey’s.
I’ve shopped at the one on Jarry, a bus ride from here. One aspect that wasn’t mentioned here is that they don’t have only Asian products, but also a selection of Latino foods, in response to neighbourhood needs – a smart decision.
DeWolf 13:15 on 2022-11-01 Permalink
The new location in VSL also caters to the large West African population nearby. There’s a bit of overlap in terms of fresh ingredients.
Interesting to see this PR push just as T&T is about to open. Montreal will suddenly have an abundance of large Asian supermarkets…
Meezly 16:49 on 2022-11-01 Permalink
The new T&T is opening in the St-Laurent borough, which is harder to access for me by bike, bus or metro, compared to if it was in a more downtown location. I hope T&T will expand in Montreal, like Adonis has.
Kate 17:03 on 2022-11-01 Permalink
Does anyone know what “Kim Phat” means?
DeWolf 17:51 on 2022-11-01 Permalink
@Meezly, I’d also like to see a Kim Phat in the downtown area. At least there’s Newon. That said, the new T&T is only a ten minute walk from Du Collège metro. Not ideal if you’re getting a ton of groceries but perfectly doable with a backpack or a trolley.
@Kate, my wife says it means “Gold Prosperity.” Not sure what kind of romanization Kim Phat is, but it’s pronounced more like Gum Fat in Cantonese or Jin Fa in Mandarin.
Kate 18:09 on 2022-11-01 Permalink
Thank you, DeWolf (and please thank Madame).
Ian 18:58 on 2022-11-01 Permalink
I forget who was asking about potato starch but on the subject of Asian groceries I went to Marché Newon, on Jean Talon near Décarie a couple of days ago. They had it. Same strip mall as the Village des Valuers.
Ephraim 08:04 on 2022-11-02 Permalink
@Ian – It was me… trying to make karaage and potato latkes. I found it at Anatol. There is a G&D in Chinatown, downstairs from where LanZhou is located https://goo.gl/maps/yoqAkFP1pLax78wr9
But we find ourselves going over to C&T and Lian Tai in St-Laurent from time to time, not just because of selection and price, but also they have these prepared food sections that are really inexpensive. C&T even has an enormous Cantonese chow mein that they will prepare for you in store that you can take home. Lian Tai has more vegetables, which I hardly thought would even be possible. You have to be very careful with dates on the really “super” specials. Like this week C&T has Cracker Barrel Mexiqueso on sale for just $1.68… I would be checking the BB date on that like a hawk.
Ian 11:06 on 2022-11-02 Permalink
I do most of my Asian grocery at G&D but just happened to be out at Village des Valeurs looking for Hallowe’en stuff 🙂
Ephraim 13:36 on 2022-11-02 Permalink
G&D has the best foreign Lay’s chip and foreign Kit Kat collection that I have seen in town. If you know someone, like me, that would delight in eating any new flavour of chips, they have hot squid, hot pot, ghost pepper and more! Need some green tea Kit Kit… that’s your store.
Ian 08:27 on 2022-11-03 Permalink
Agreed 100%, they even get in limited edition KitKats. I too obsessively buy chip flavours I haven’t had before. They also have a superior variety of instant ramen, even some harder to find kinds like the Marutai regional style 2-serving packs…