Fong On Foods

This place is a BIG hit or miss! I love fresh soy bean milk and was so happy to hear this store sells it freshly made but everytime I ask for the sweetened soy bean drink there’s always a high chance I get a bottle of the unsweetened soy bean drink.
After today’s visit I will definitely not go back. The lady at the cash register sold me rotten soy bean milk and I didn’t realize til I got home. It stunk, was curdled and chunky, and was browning at the bottom. To top that off she didn’t give me the discounted rate when you purchase two or more bottles!

This place feels more like a factory than a store really. When you walk in, almost everyone are busy working, mixing, steaming in the kitchen behind the counter. They typically ignore you unless you start the conversation or picked up some of their items and stood in front of the counter for awhile with hopeful look on your face that someone will eventually talk to you. Service and atmosphere in the store are not something that will make you want to stay there any longer.
HOWEVER, they make AWESOME fresh Bak Tong Goh (literally translated white sugar cake) as mentioned in the review below. That’s not the only reason why I would go there, they also sell fresh tofu pudding (tofu hua or taufu fa) in a tub (500g?), which is something I regularly get whenever I’m in the area. Do request for the syrup, or you can add maple syrup/​honey on top of it when you get home. In the summer, I like a get a tub of cold tofu pudding and eat it in the park with my friend.
The only thing to take note is that they do overcharge you. One tub of tofu pudding is $ 2, with syrup (a small container) it’s $ 2.50. It’s still consider as really cheap, but 25% increase in price just for a small container of syrup. ?
I have yet to try a lot of their products, which I will eventually cos they do look really yummy. A lot of Asian Supermarket actually do carry a lot of their products which would usually be in the bakery section. Don’t discount them just because of the appearance of the store or the staffs, in my world, nothing beat FRESH.

If you love «Bak Tong Goh» (Chinese Steamed Rice Cake), then this is THE PLACE in Toronto! For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, these are jelly like pieces that are usually cut in the form of a triangle and served at chinese dim sum and bakeries. In my mind, this is the only place that makes this dessert the best. Everywhere I go, if there’s a chance to try BTG, then I will seize the moment and everytime I am reminded that I’m wasting my time and Fong on Foods still rules!
Alongside this cake, they make other things like tofu and soya milk but what makes this place reputable to me is the fresh Bak Tong Goh that comes out. It’s the right texture, thickness and balance of sweet/​sourness that you would come to expect.
Again, I must reiterate that if you are a fan of Chinese Steamed Rice Cake, then go here. Otherwise, save the trip if it’s out of the way for you because this is what they’re good at only. If your curiosity must be satisfied though and you live uptown, a chinese grocery market at Peanut Plaza (near Don Mills and Finch) distributes their prodcut. Remember to look for «Fong on Foods» labels.
If you don’t believe I’m a fan, for goodness sakes my parents bought me the whole entire cake one time to substitute as my birthday cake. It’s steamed in cylindrical wooden vats and looks like a giant pie out of the steamer so I had a lot of fun holding it up like a giant pizza!
Enjoy!

Imagine! A place that makes tofu! What a wonderful non-​stop eating frenzy of a world that would be!
So when you find that place, please tell me, because it ain’t here.
I want to like Fong On more, support the immigrant business world, and keep Kensington old-​school, but with its history of health inspection closures, not to mention soy milk that goes bad within a couple of days, I have to turn the other way.
I even tried some of the steamed rice rolls. Let me tell you, those things aren’t good unless they’re freshly cooked and not sitting on a tray open to every fly that makes its way through the door.
They also overcharged me for my purchase, which I didn’t even notice until I did the calculations again in my head later on. Of course, that is my fault for not noticing, but man, it just adds to the pain of the overall experience.
And, yes, I am crying over expired milk.