Ngo Gai

[Atahualpa]

I have made some viet beef balls and wanted to have either some pho or soup tonight. I really like my beef ball soup with ngo gai (sawtooth herb, Eryngium foetidum) so I went to my favourite grocer on Spadina (on the west side in a basement, recently renovated, called Oriental Express??) and they were sold out (I've bought it here before though). So, I tried the little old women who when asked for ngo gai simply said 'I no grow'. So, then I tried Fruits&Fruits and they had it, but it was awful -- torn, browning and expensive. I tried two or three other places to no avail.

Today I was up in the north end for a haircut and I tried T&T and was sorely dissapointed with their produce and herb selections.

So, where do you go when you want ngo gai, rau ram, rau beng, galangal, etc.? I'd like a back up to Oriental Express.

[koknia]

The Fu Yao Supermarket (639-643 Gerrard E) in Chinatown II has a lot of this stuff. They now house all their fresh herbs in a smaller store at the east end of the supermarket.

[sweetie]

In the north end of town, I would try the asian market at Alton Towers (McCowan just south of Steeles). I was there maybe 3 months ago and they seem to have a lot of Vietnamese groceries.

[chalenegirl]

i think that place is called Taiko supermarket. it's very similar to T & T