Beijing Mart

I discovered this little gem of an Asian market a few years back and will not shop for Asian foods anywhere else. The other Asian market I was forced to patronise after the closing of another market some years ago was a horrifying experience every time I had to shop there. I don’t know who the owners are but the staff, such as it was, were older, spoke very little English, would not take a credit card for a sale under $10.00 and had an attitude that made you feel as if they really did not want your business. Admittedly this could have been the result of the language barrier but you did not even get a welcoming smile when you entered, or a thank you when you left. So I was thrilled when I discovered the Beijing Mart. The friendly young staff all speak English and are happy to answer any of your questions and, if you cannot find an item, point you in the right direction. There is a lovely, small produce section that carries everything you might require when cooking Asian, including a variety of different mushrooms, baby bok choy, cabbages, snow and sugar pea pods, green onions, long beans, bean sprouts and some that I do not recognise but that always peak my interest. They also have a large frozen section of steamed buns, egg rolls, egg roll skins, wontons and all sorts of other goodies to whet your appetite plus a large frozen food chest filled with a variety of different meats and fish selections. And their choice of noodles is virtually mind boggling, including the Chinese soup noodles, you know...the ones they put in never-large-enough-sized bowls that most of us voraciously devour when we are at a Chinese restaurant. Or, at least, I do. I love walking up and down their aisles looking at all types of canned, bottled and jarred foods that I am unfamiliar with but often stoke my curiosity. This is how I discovered their fermented duck eggs which have become a favourite of mine and which, I learned upon checking out the first time I had bought them, make an interesting addition to my easy and quick yet spectacular home-made wonton soup, a soup beyond any wonton soup you might find at your neighborhood Chinese restaurant and in which you can combine a myriad of delicious additions, turning it into your very own house-special soup without it costing you $10.00 a pop. And there is much more to discover here as well. But I will leave that to your own curiosity when you visit. Thus, it is little wonder that they get an overall five star rating. And deservedly so!