Foody Mart

We would buy hot foods here on occasion as it was super convenient to grab the food after grocery shopping. Well, not anymore.
We have tried their pork and chicken with no issues in the past, however, the most recent time it made us super sick. Food poisoning that’s lasted a week. I’ll spare all the details, but this food is not good! So many other choices for Chinese food in Markham that I feel so stupid for having taken the chance all these times.

This place is not the place to go, unless you want to circle and circle and circle for a parking spot. Do you like to fight for a parking spot? Do you like dirty carts? Do you like tons of customers blocking aisles, and long line ups? If yes, then go to Foody on a Saturday !!
Take a lorazepam, before you leave home.
2stars for the selection of chinese groceries when you get inside.

This is a welcome site for a grocery store. It can be crowded many times and you do have to be careful in the parking lot as it can be hard to find parking.
These grocery stores do provide good competition for one another and it helps keep prices at neighboring Chinese supermarkets in check.
Not as fancy, clean or well lit as the TT Supermarkets in the area, but with all the foot traffic, that is a good sign as there is good produce turnover so that the selection can be fresh.
They also have a good hot foods section as well and the prepared foods look delicious.
There is a Ones Better Living next door and it is always interesting to see what they have next door as well.

Foody Mart is a slightly above average grocery store of the Asian variety. With the parking lot being slightly small in the middle of Markham, it can get pretty packed so you may be forced to circle around a few times to find a parking spot, especially in the evening.
I typically go here for hotpot ingredients and they’re all good at very fair prices so no complaints there. They have a ton of stock too so if they stock it, they’ll have it. They have most things you’d expect of a typical grocery store. There’s also a fair amount of variety here too. They also have a little corner of the store where you can buy food to eat for lunch/​dinner but there’s never a guarantee that there’s a free table, as the area’s kind of small.
As a few others have mentioned, customer service is completely non-​existent. People don’t know how to speak English at all. I paid for something in cash and I told the cashier to keep the receipt (since I only bought one item) and she tried to keep the change instead. Oh god…
If you need to go grocery shopping, then Foody Mart isn’t the worst of choices. They are miles ahead of Wal Mart in terms of quality but their customer service is completely absent so you’ve be warned.

It used to be good prices when comes to groceries here but seems like they’ve all gone up. It’s still better to shop at Walmart unless you’re looking for Asian stuffs.
As for customer service.. forget it as you won’t get a good customer service at all and they don’t speak English at all.
Also, be careful going in and out of that plaza at it can be crazy and sad t say… a lot of people there doesn’t seem to know to drive.

Typical chinese grocery store. Go to place for any asian good as the location is quite convenient.
Chinese grocery stores often have the cheapest vegetables (usually greens), and cheapest meat (order at the butcher).
It’s not the cleanest place but this is expected.
What I like about foodymart is their ready to eat sections, try have a selection of dimsum and hot foods that you can order, pay and eat right away. As well they have. Sushi bar. I have often times bought sushi from here, especially late in the day they go on sale.
They also have bubble tea for pretty cheap 2 for 3.50 $ usually. And if they are on sale its $ 1 each.
If you have a ton of groceries to purchase opt for cash/​debit only lines as they are shorter.
On the weekends it gets really busy!!! Also finding parking spot outside can be quite difficult too.

The groceries here are relatively cheap and the store is considerably clean (compared to a lot of other Chinese supermarkets). I come here sometimes to buy my vegetables, meats, and certain prepared foods but I mostly stick to Nofrills.
To me, the only advantage that Foodymart has over the western groceries are the pre-​made foods. l frequently get the not-​so-​fresh-​sushi because of the «deal of the day» ($ 4.99) and I also buy deep fried goods every now and then when they have good sales.
I would however warn you to stay away from one particular item in the bakery department. While reminiscing my childhood today, I bought a duo pack of 1 white sugar sponge cake + 1 brown sugar sponge cake and sadly, both were highly disappointing. The white sugar one was seemingly starting to go bad as it was slightly sour-​tasting and the brown sugar one was extremely dense and dry. Would not recommend.

I am a bit of a spoiled child for traditional Chinese pastries/​baked goods. I admit I have a picky taste buds.
When getting wintermelon pastry (wife cake /​«Lo por bang»), the best place got to be Fragrant Bakery in Scarborough. It was very surprising when we ate the wintermelon pastry from this Foody Mart (not the one on Warden). The filling was chewy and you could taste the crunchy wintermelon bits. It wasn’t too sweet. And the pastry was soft and flaky. It comes in a box of 3 for $ 1.99! Holy that’s cheap! Surprised to find yummy and cheap wintermelon pastry!!!

Foody mart has a wide selection of produce and grocery items at decent prices. Shopping here actually puts a smile on my wallet as compared to no frills. The quality of produce is a hit or miss though. For example, the corianders today were very soggy. The green peppers were also really beaten up. This does not represent the general quality of stuff here though but missing a single item on your grocery list is quite frustrating sometimes. Now I have to drop by no frills for green peppers and coriander.

I don’t even want to give this place a *
I purchased chicken breast and got home to use it, started cutting away… But I noticed a foul smell. I paid only $ 6 for a couple pieces. The smell was so bad, I just could bare the thought of paying for something so bad like this.
I decided to return it and bring it to their attention. I never shopped their since.

Foody Mart is close to home so I often make a trip here. The parking lot is often rammed and the line ups during prime time weekends (I.e mid-​afternoons) are long. I even once lined up down a full grocery aisle just to buy pork chops (they were $ 0.88 a pound).
The best time to go is a weekday before 4pm or at night after 8pm. The store closes at midnight.
They have fresh produce and seafood at a great price., cheaper than T and T. Their chicken wings, bones etc are bagged wth tons of nasty juice and blood, but if you don’t mind cleaning it yourself at home, than the deal is really good. Otherwise, stick to T and T for cleaner packaging and standards.
I bought lobster today and the live seafood section (except for the fish) is self serve. As I had a small baby, I asked the fish monger to help me out and he wouldn’t. The lobster was really active and the tank water splashed on my face. At $ 7.88 a pound for a lobster, I’ll suck up the tank water today. In the past, they’ve been helpful in suggesting the types of fish for me to steam at home.
I don’t prefer the cooked food here although it is inexpensive. Quality and taste is not there.
I will continue to have a love hate relationship with this place. The cheap and fresh produce, distance to home and Chinese grocery selection (frozen, dried goods) keeps me coming Back.

I like Foody Mart. Their weekly sales items are actually things that people usually buy most. I wouldn’t say it’s the best bc T&T sometimes have better deals. You just have to check the flyers before you go. Make sure you don’t go on weekends. It’s like a mini war zone. I’d say there’s enough parking, but Saturdays just isn’t enough. Sometimes I want to go to mcDs that’s in the «plaza» and I won’t find a spot to park bc of the crazy «see lai’s» getting their groceries.

I love the price war among the various grocers in Markham. Last week, I noticed from the flyers that the prices of the on sale vegetables here matched First Choice. I visited and was surprised that all on sale vegetable were available on Saturday evening. The quality of Gai Lan was great ($ 0.88/lb) but the celery looked closed to rotten ($ 0.99 each). Therefore, customers still must watch out.
The availability of on sale products is an improvement that worthy of updating my review.

We do our weekly grocery shopping there and we’re there the first thing they open. Sale items are usually in stock, no line ups at the cash register, but we have to always wait for the staff to put out the veggies.
We’ve saved so much money doing our weekly grocery shopping there, that means I have more money to spend on clothes. YAY!

My 4 star might be a over rated score for Foody Mart, but it does work its magic in it’s weekly sales to keep me going back for more.
Pros:
Food Mart is unlike anything you ever seen its literally China town in Markham
Prices: Everything is affordable, killer weekly sales, Contemporary Chinese Supermarket with BBQ, Dim Sum, Hot Foods, Bubble Tea, Sushi, Bakery, and all your standard departments.
20 Dollars spend gives you around 5 bags of food enough to kill your fingers just walking back to your car unlike a 20 dollar per bag @ Loblaws that literally feels like a loaf of bread.
Cons:
Food quality is lacking, I mean there has to be a Sacrifice somewhere, its certainly not A+ Grade, Your mind says no but your hands keep putting those items in the cart.
Parking This place is hell for parking especially during peak hours, It is also hell when you go @ peak hours line up at cash registers are LONG even when all registers are open.
Sale items often gets sold out, even though you and I know they have more in the back.
If you want to shop smart, shop here there is no sense in paying for something that is 5 dollars at a competitor when its 3 for $ 5 @ Foody Mart. This place is a must go, Shop smart and use it’s prices to your wallet’s advantage.

I always come here for the sales. I’m writing as I am lining up. Sometimes they have very well priced items that are relatively cheaper than the major competitor but only on certain items not all.
It’s always busy and full whenever I come. There is rarely not a lineup at cashier when I’m here.
This place is about quantity and not quality. If you need to feed a full family and on a tight budget, this place is for you. In 2012, I don’t think any other place can pretty much beat this place in price.
They have seafood counter, meat counter and bakery. Kind of like the replica of T&T but quality is slightly lower.
If you buy dry products, remember to check the expiry dates as they probably have too much stock and don’t check it as often.
Not all items are cheaper but most are. They also have a big selection of ethnic foods such as: flip, jap, korean, east indian and etcc…
The parking lot is a chaos all the time. Be very careful or else you may get hit and it would be worthless to save a few dollars and lose a few hundred.
All in all, I try to come at night so its not as chaotic.

You’d have to undergo a lot of yoga and patience in order to survive this place known as Foody Mart. Metaphorically speaking of course ;).
Similar to T&T Warden, this place is another case of lack of parking spots. Except this one you’re battling Mainland Chinese drivers, aka the WORST of the Chinese drivers.
I’ll give you guys pointers on how to navigate the parking lot:
1. Stick to one place when looking for a spot, and STAY in that one place. Use park, I don’t care, but don’t move around the parking lot looking for a place, or risk having a driver with huge glasses crashing into you accidentally.
2. AVOID the McDonald’s drive-​thru area. There are parking spaces behind the drive-​thru area, but you would normally have to cross through a lineup of cars waiting to buy their Big Mac and coffee. Not worth the hassle.
3. Shop at around the lunch hour, or slightly after. I find the peak times in this supermarket is around 10 – 12, then 2 – 5.
Now we got that out of the way, let’s talk about the supermarket itself.
— It’s relatively a run down version of T&T, mainly for the lower income people. With it of course comes less options, but cheaper prices.
— I generally don’t like their produce, it ain’t exactly fresh.
— Their dim sum/​hot good section is relatively comparable to T&T, although they both offer different selections.
— The BBQ place is better than T&T’s. T&T BBQ food is too dry and lacking of taste.
— The fish and meat market is where Foody loses points in terms of customer service. The people there are generally rude and unwelcoming, yelling at you saying «Yeah what do you want?!», etc. You also mostly won’t get a decision on the fish or meat you want (e.g: I normally want chicken breast meat that’s not as fatty, which are usually placed at the back. However the meat clerk always takes the front ones, saying choices aren’t allowed. Well then how come I can choose in T&T and other places?).
— Similar to T&T, the cashiers are welcoming and put a smile on your face.
With all that and done, 3 stars.

There should be a law in Ontario that you can’t open a Chinese grocery store that occupies more than 500 sq feet unless it provides a parking lot the size of Canada’s Wonderland. T&T, Tone Tai, and Foody Mart all kind of demonstrate the wisdom behind this rule. The amount of carbon you pump into the atmosphere while driving around and around and around a parking lot is pretty terrible.
Luckily we went on Sunday and we parked in the BMW parking lot next door.
Foody Mart clearly keeps overhead down by not spending large amounts of money on big money branding consultants. It’s a mart and it’s, oh, foody. Well, that’s a name.
I wish more Western grocery stores used the roller baskets you find in Foody Mart and Tone Tai. The discount stores like Food Basics with their narrower aisle should take extra heed.
Prices are great. I liked they had premade Bahn Mi for $ 1.79. Actually a woman was at crotch level marking them down to $ 1.49 as I was trying to put about 80 of them in my basket. It was love at first sight.

It’s the No Frills of Asian grocery stores!
It’s everything I expected from a place called «Foody Mart».
I generally go to T & T, so I couldn’t help but continuously comparing the two.
*The parking lot is a death trap as expected.
*Fresh cheap produce and all the Asian groceries you could want.
*The dim sum selection was lacking a bit, not sure if it’s because it was late at night.
The only reasons I would come here versus T & T:
* Prices are slightly cheaper
* Larger selection of bao. They had these dried pork bao options that were super yummy… if you are into dried preserved pork.
I think I’ve been pampered by non-​Asian grocery stores too long…
And I found this particular location a bit more… ghetto.
It didn’t help that I started getting attitude from the cashier.
I reached out my hand for the change
She dumped in on the counter.
I had some… stern words for her.
She pretended she didn’t speak English.
I’m pretty sure my mom who was with me also wished she didn’t speak English
Anyways, other than the attitude I got, it’s a good place for groceries if you live nearby. Otherwise, I’m still a fan of T & T.
And they were playing sexy R & B music which really weirded me out.
At T & T, I may not know anything that they are playing, but at least I don’t feel like someone is trying to seduce me while I peruse the produce.

The biggest Asian Supermarket in the area!
I just love it
— since it is just opened, everything there is nice and clean, no funny fishy smell like some of the other Asian grocery place
— big and roomy with bright lighting
— large selections of ethnic food: Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, East Indian
— large selections of fresh vegetables and fruits
— in house bakery that preparing fresh buns and pastries
— cooked and prepared food that you can order either to eat in or take home
— loves those cute little pull baskets, great if you buying a few things and you don’t have to carry them in those carrying basket
— Price is good, watch out of weekly specials
— accept Visa, Mastercard and Interac as form of payment
— Open late, till 12 PM 7 days a week
— a lot of cashiers working in pairs, so no long wait
They accepts Visa, Mastercard and Interac!