Al Premium Food Mart — Local services in Toronto

I've been shopping here since a few months after the store opened. The selection of fresh vegetables is excellent. Some products are not as fresh as I'd like but the choice is huge so unless I am looking for a specific item, I find more than enough good stuff. They have the usual Chinese greens packed in clear bags like at T&T or Sunny but also some things like sweet potato greens.

I don't buy much in the packaged meat department but recently purchased duck gizzards which were excellent. They have some really unusual products like goat stomach (turkey towel) and pork bung..... I buy my meat at Galleria Korean supermarket instead. More expensive but better quality.

The fish department is selectively good. You need to know how to choose fish, that's all. Everywhere sells fish that is maybe not so fresh. Just check it out before deciding. At least it's easy to handle the fish prior to purchase. The fish guys do a very good job of cleaning and cutting the fish. Much better than many other places like even Diana's. One guy speaks English and is very helpful. The meat counter is painful because the staff do not speak or understand English. Much better service at Sunny.

There is a comprehensive selection of fresh eggs. Blue ones, dark brown ones, duck, quail, organic, free run, whatever. And cheap eggs too. For a while they sold Zam Zam yogurt which is excellent. I don't find it anymore. There's an in store bakery (I have no experience with this) and a sort of deli section where a person can choose from a large selection of cold cuts, hams, cheeses etc. I found some interesting salami types from Quebec.

The hot food section is fine or at least I have had no adverse experiences. The food is cheap. It's not gourmet. The hot food at Sunny is orders of magnitude worse. The servings are huge. One time I bought some sort of salmon dish which was excellent. I have no doubt that was a 'loss leader' item. The Chinese roast pork is also good. I don't buy a lot of hot foods but there are a number of dishes which look very good and over time I will be trying them. The cold Chinese foods are interesting... various types of tripe. Tried them. They are fine. The fried capelin and other fish are from frozen so take that into consideration.

They sell some items which I have not been able to find elsewhere. Muscovado sugar, Barron's Hot Sauce. Since the focus is not on European foods, they do not carry quality tomato products or gluten free pasta. For a Chinese supermarket, their selection of dried mushrooms is limited. The selection of various types of Chinese sauces and ingredients is comprehensive.

The store can be overwhelming and the lighting is problematic for me.

It is worth shopping here. The cashiers have been mostly excellent. I'd rather shop here than Sobeys or Loblaws...

NEVER AGAIN! IT'S DISGUSTING. it was our 2nd time there, spent $110 and almost EVERYTHING WAS EXPIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! usually we check the dates but were busy, and we live 1 hr away, drove all the way for this shop only, THEY GIVE NO DISCOUNT AT ALL. the slippers that were 1.99 the cashier wanted to sell me for 4.99, the neem tea for 1.99 is $5 at the check out, so is some indian candies because they have the wrong codes, probably on purpose!!! in canada the law says they have to charge the price they show on the shelves but they refused! they try to trick you that you think it's cheap you put it in the basket and forget to check the price after u've paid, no my dear, not with me!!! expired items: belgian chocolate, phillippines peanut choc, chips, biscuits, other canned goods.

we also bought a halal kebob frozen and it tasted disgusting and caused us terrible stomach ache, their claimed 100% cane juice is all fake and tastes like GMO corn juice, their raisin bread had to be thrown out as it was so oily , not suitable for human consumption! their chinese egg buns were rock hard, had to throw out that too....the frozen indian foods aren't worth the price as they are awful and such small a portion. we wasted $110 here plus gas! it's the worst ethnic store in Toronto, we know hundred times better than this from Scarborough to Hamilton I can mention at least 6 other places, they are smaller but at least don't sell expired food for...

It is fun shopping at Al Premium food Mart. They carry quite a large variety of different ethnic foods. Just to name a few, there are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Caribbean, North and South American and so much more . There is a bakery, a restaurant where you can pick up a hot meal to go. Fruits and vegetables of every kind and variety to suit ones need. There is also a meat and fish market. What I like most about Al Premium is the little gadget area in the store. A few weeks ago I had a visitor from the US. She saw me cooking in a woke ,she was amazed at seeing how well the woke was balanced on a circular ring on the stove and wanted to know where I got that gadget from. I had that metal ring for many years and could not remember where I bought it. As luck may have it I had to do some shopping at the Costco on Ellington next door to Al Premium so we decided we'll kill two birds with one stone and pick up some vegetables and fruits next door . I went to get the vegetables and fruits I needed While my American visitor went browsing around she found the stove top rings along with some much needed items. My visitor and I had a wonderful shopping experience getting what we needed and best of all was served by some very...