CHINESE NEW YEAR is alway an electric zap to the sensorium ... especially the frenetic shopping process and the binge-eating that soon follows. Sometimes I do remember to carry my smartphone, and typically I take more photos with it than I ever make calls. Here are a few examples of what I've been noticing in Metrotown this week:
The treats are certainly piled high at T & T Supermarket in Metrotown Mall, including an astonishing array of Chinese New Year gifts and snacks. We filled two shopping bags with goodies... everything from fresh Taiwanese bamboo shoots to a tray of just-baked egg tarts.
The seafood section at T&T has a choice selection of product including Live Alaskan King Crab, but what really caught my interest were the Live Farmed Sturgeon. Massive sturgeon can be caught in the Fraser River, about one kilometre east of us, but this is the first of the farmed variety I have encountered.
We regularly select from the offerings in the prepared meal section at T & T Supermarket.
Frozen Chinese and Japanese treats in abundance. Even the packaging is dreamy! For those wondering how prices compare, I can confirm that they are competitive with other chains, such as SUPERSTORE. For example, in the T & T pharmacy I picked up half a dozen packets of FISHERMAN'S FRIEND throat lozenges, priced cheaper than either COSTCO or WALMART. No kidding.
Sending Christmas cards seems to be falling out of fashion, as it now cost $1.00 in postage to send one out. At T & T Supermarket they offer Chinese New Year cards, but I didn't catch anyone poking through them.
I also enjoy shopping in the marketplace located on the ground floor of CRYSTAL MALL, and it is particularly enticing during Chinese New Year week. Parking sucks, but I usually stop at the Burnaby Main Library first, leave my car, and cross the street to the mall.
Whether you are making careful selections for your hot-pot dinner or searching for special treats to entice visitors to your home... it's all there in the Chinese marketplace at Crystal Mall.
Inexpensive orchids offered today at the COSTCO store on Willingdon Avenue. I popped in to pick up a deck of batteries to feed my Apple mouse and keyboard, but I couldn't pass up a chance to poke my nose through the thicket of pretty plants. Enjoy your Chinese New Year weekend!
R.J. Jack in B.C.
