New Century Plaza at 398 Ferrier St, Markham, ON L3R 2Z5:
New Century Plaza is a well established commercial plaza tucked into a convenient location in the heart of Markham. It may not look flashy from the outside, but it’s a bit of a hidden gem, especially for those interested in Asian cuisine, specialty groceries, and niche services.
What to Expect:
• Food Options: One of the plaza’s biggest draws is its variety of small, authentic Asian eateries. Whether you’re in the mood for bubble tea, dim sum, Korean BBQ, or Vietnamese pho, you’ll likely find something satisfying. Some restaurants are cash only, so it’s a good idea to come prepared.
• Shops & Services: There are a few unique stores and professional services inside, including herbal medicine shops, hair salons, and tech repair businesses. It’s the kind of place where locals go when they know exactly what they’re looking for.
• Parking: Parking can be hit-or-miss depending on the time of day. Weekends get particularly busy, and the lot is a bit tight, so be prepared to circle a bit during peak hours.
• Atmosphere: The plaza has an older vibe and isn’t particularly modern, but it’s clean and functional. Don’t expect a high end mall experience it’s more utilitarian than stylish.
Overall:
If you’re looking for authenticity, variety, and a touch of nostalgia, New Century Plaza delivers. It’s a practical destination for both everyday needs and cultural experiences. Perfect for locals and curious visitors who want to explore a slice of Markham’s...
Read moreThe New Century Plaza has various Chinese stores within. There are multiple Chinese herbal stores, flower stores, a Chinese department store, the New Century Chinese restaurant, hair salon(s), stores that sell Chinese trinkets, stores that sell Chinese art, maybe a art school (?), and many more.
There are many small restaurants packed side my side within these small halls. The hallways feel overcrowded and it also feels like a maze. Twisting and turning. There's really no directory or signage telling you where things are. The sign for where the restaurant is... Is really small and out of the way.
The outside of the plaza, the building itself is just one solid block. A cube. The outside of the building doesn't look like much, but inside is very busy and full of people. And it seems like the banhmi place just opened up recently, cause they have a line that's growing right in front of their little restaurant stall thing.
Overall, it's a very maze like Chinese strip mall. The hallways are very crowded as all the vendors merchandise spill out onto the pathways. There's an elevator that goes to 3 floors: the plaza's strip mall floor, and 2 parking garage structure floors.
One thing to note is that, my mom noticed that all of the Chinese herbal stores seemed to have the same prices and the same wordings on their signs and stuff. She theorizes that all the Chinese herbal stores have a hidden agreement with each other so that they could all make money (so no good/cheap...
Read moreNew Century Plaza has been around since the late 90s early 2000s? I remember going there when I was a kid having dim sum and seeing its transformation, and the plaza itself was a little run down through out the years, and has been taken up a special identity on its own. In parts because two main shops has taking up most of its internal real estate - Ruby's floral, and the Ginseng guy. I only ever go for specific purposes. Lately I have gone back more frequently. For the basement shop - it's a Chinese Walmart on steroids, for flowers ofcourse and I find myself attending funerals more and needs that from Ruby's they are by far the most affordable funeral floral arrangements, and they do the whole one stop service - headache free. Their dims place sucked for a very long time, until more recently they renovated and place and hired a new team, the food is amazing and I see them having a come back. Go to the dimsum place now, before it becomes too well know and you have to start...
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