This is where Auntie Fe and all the hardcore Filipinos in Toronto shop for ingredients for Pinakbet (Filipino Meat Vegetable Stew with Shrimp Paste) and other Filipino dishes as well. As always major cities must have their Chinatown - unique shops, vegetable stands, butcher shops, cash only restaurants, phone card stands, bootleg DVD's, knock-offs, and gifts / specialty stores. And this was a great adventure with my Auntie Fe....to see her best kept secrets and hook-ups. The sellers knew her well and always gave her the "discount". I found myself as the "carrying" boy as we ventured from vegetable stand to vegetable stand. After each purchase I was the one holding all the bags. I didn't mind because this activity because it reminded so much of my grandmother. There were times I actually had déjà vu and almost called Auntie Fe by my grandmother's name. The only thing I dreaded was her smiling at me and asking, "I'm going to buy a 50 pound bag of rice, you can carry it - right?"
Walter P Trip Advisory:
- Bring cash. It helps when bargaining.
- Backpacks are the way to go. I learned the hard way the first time. Those cheap plastic bags break easily - especially when carrying tons of vegetables.
- Parking: Forget it. Take the subway train and get off at the nearest stop. Walking isn't far (about half a block away).
- Venture here during the late morning into afternoon. At night, it gets pretty ghetto.
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