Comments on: Where to Shop in Montreal

By: Sunny

Sunny — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:23:12 +0000

You forgot Miyamoto on Victoria, which is an ONLY japanese grocery. It is a little expensive, but there you can find yuzu juice, arame seaweeds, dried maitake and kuzu. They have a lot of prepared seafoods and about 15 types of miso! I bought a nice suribachi there! They have a lot of japanese tools, dishes, nabe, okonomiyaki pans… and they also have a bunch of japanese cooking books in french and english. The owners speak english and french and are always very helpful. Oh they even sell snacks, prepared onigiri, sushi… But yeah, the only thing is that it is a little more expensive, but when you cannot find a japanese product anywhere, try it! The only thing tjey didnt have was okara (soybean pulp?), but they have soooo much.

By: kanako

kanako — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:40:12 +0000

Hi Louise,
thank you very much for the adresses! I’ve been to the big Kim Phat in Borssard, but I didn’t know the Marché Long Phat. I’ll check it, too.

By: Louise

Louise — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:10:51 +0000

I just found your site via CHOW-Tofu-Menuism Blog. I’m delighted to find a Japanese source-cook-Montreal-based! Getting your insights about local addresses made my day!

I would like to add two addresses, for the south shore folks:
the big Kim Phat at 7209 boul. Tachereau, Brossard,
and also
the small Marché Long Phat around 1325, boul Curé-Poirier O. Longueuil, near Taschereau.

I am a regular at Marché Long Phat, and there I find almost anything I usually need (from fresh produce to green tea en leaves, bonito shavings, Kewpie, miso, kitchenware, etc.), except Okonomiyaki flour and Okonomiyaki sauce. But those I found at the big Kim Phat. This big grocery store has so many things, some so new to me that I can’t compare prices and quality yet. I was amazed to see that they have 1 meats freezer for (about) 4 fishes/seafood freezers! I keep it as a very good address for diversity, and trying new things, like their fresh galanga root, the frozen eel (with sauce) and their assorted stuffed buns.

By: Lizanne

Lizanne — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:59:17 +0000

Hey guys i know a good Korean/Japanese Store (it’s for clothing,makeup,Jewelry ect) it’s called ViewShop :3 i don,t know the exact adress but it’s on St.Catherine street go check on google.It worth it!

By: Yuri

Yuri — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 01:16:28 +0000

Hi, Kanako san. Hajime mashite..
It is nice to know that somebody doing this and introduce Japanese cooking. And I envy you that you have some store in Montreal. It is difficult to buy some Japanese ingredients for me in my town but I try to use substitute stuff and make Japanese food. It is hard sometimes. However, if you want to eat some Japanese, you have to cook it. So my cooking skill is getting better I think. If you can find some substitute ingredients, please let us know on this website.

By: caracaschronicles

caracaschronicles — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:57:40 +0000

Nice! Will have to check it out…

By: caracaschronicles

caracaschronicles — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:57:25 +0000

It’s a little mystifying. One thing’s for sure, though: EVERYTHING in Westmount costs 3 times as much as in NDG, so maybe it’s not such a big mystery after all!

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:29:27 +0000

Thanks for the reply! It’s really too bad that they are pricing themselves out of competition as compared to the other shops. I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Similarly in Ottawa, the Korean-Japanese stores do a pretty good job of maintaining accessible pricing and a decent selection.

We had a Japanese store on Slater Street, Kaedaya Mart, but it didn’t have a lot of items and prices weren’t cheap there either. Unfortunately it closed down over a year ago.

I have to wonder aloud what the difference is between stores run by Japanese owners and others. The products can only get into Canada in a limited number of ways, so can the wholesale price really be so different? I understand that Japanese people are strongly concerned about food quality and safety (hence the delicious food!) So perhaps owners expect that Japanese customers will pay more for products that are assumed to be exported directly from Japan, and are possibly more fresh? I’d love to know their business plans.

I think it’s still worth a trip to practice my Japanese, but I’ll look at the other stores that were suggested as well. ありがとうございました！

Mike

By: Megan

Megan — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:57:08 +0000

There’s another Korean store in NDG that’s comparable to the two others mentioned here in both selection and price. It’s called Ja Mae, and the address is 2116 Décarie (just south of Sherbrooke).

By: caracaschronicles

caracaschronicles — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:24:29 +0000

Hi Mike!

Glad you like the blog. We’ve been to Miyamoto, and we were not really impressed. Prices are MUCH higher than at either of the Japanese-Korean stores, and the selection is not really better. The only reason I can see for going there is if you’re Japanese and need Japanese-speaking staff, or if you live very near-by (for convenience.) But the Korean-run shop on Sherbrooke West (in NDG) really isn’t that far away, has more variety on offer, and costs a third as much. What’s the point of Miyamoto, then?!

(Kanako’s husband reporting.)