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| - Hidden in a residential section, just West of the Junction 'hood is Welcome Food Market. Sure, shoppers can pick up groceries at the near by Walmart Supercenter at Runnymede and St. Clair but Welcome Food Market offers fresh seafood and groceries with an Asian twist. This is my go-to place when I run out of black bean sauce or need some Chinese greens like baby bak choi and I'm too lazy to drive to Chinatown or T&T.
To the untrained eye, this grocery store looks like it's closed or condemned from the outside. The large plywood pieces surrounding the store offers zero curb appeal. There is free parking in a small lot though.
Inside, we find an ample fresh seafood counter with pricing on par with other Chinese markets (i.e.: live lobsters @ $6.99/pound, frozen tiger shrimp in shells @ $6.99/pound), an adequate selection of Chinese sundries (i.e.: oyster sauce, curry in a can, etc) and fruit and veggies (bean sprouts sold by weight instead of large pre-packaged bags). Only caveat is that some of the fruits and veggies are packaged in styrofoam and saran wrap, so no picking out your own or purchasing by weight. Do I really need a pre-packaged pack of 100 cloves of garlic? Okay, maybe. Also available is a fresh meat counter.
A bit of a change of pace from the local Loblaws and Fresh Co. in the area, especially when we need those specialty Asian products when the President's Choice Memories Of sauces won't do.
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