lichee in Westmount

[crispy1]

when I find something unusual or noteworthy I feel compelled to give fellow hounds a heads up. Yesterday I was in Metro and stumbled across fresh lichee. I must admit I was skeptical as I dont know how to judge ripeness in these fantastic fruits. I bought two prepackeaged offerings both equally sweet, delicious and ripe. YUM!!

[moh]

The best deals in lychee tend to be in July in Chinatown or in big Asian grocery stores. You can get a gigantic bag of them for about $6-10. I wasn't particularly impressed with them last season, I am hoping they are better this season. If you are already finding good fruit, it is a hopeful sign.

[maisonbistro]

Ummm, lychees have been around for ages, and available pretty much anywhere. Just beware of the big golf ball in the middle but otherwise a delectable fruit. A little labour intensive but also great to cook with.

[Alyson777]

I always buy Fresh Lychees from the Asian grocery store in La Cite Market. They have two different kinds of Lychees and I think I bought a whole package for $1.25 (special).

Also National supermarket on Sherbrooke st and Prince Albert in Westmount has Lychees as well as other hard to find Asian fruits. They even carry Dragon Fruit which is really hard to find here.

4903 Sherbrooke Rue Ouest, Westmount, QC H3Z 1H2
in between Claremont & Prince-Albert
(Cross Street: Sherbrooke RUE O and Prince-Albert AV)
Phone: [phone]

[carswell]

«They even carry Dragon Fruit which is really hard to find here.»

Not really. Chez Louis at the Jean Talon Market almost always carries it, as do the various Kim Phat stores around town. I've also seen them at other Chinese/pan-Asian stores like Marché Hawaï and the nexus of stores around Van Horne and Victoria (Marché Victoria Oriental, Kim Hour, etc.).There are other places, too, though they appear not to have been caught in my sieve of a brain.

[Alyson777]

That's good to know! I never heard of Marche Hawai where is that? I will check out Kim Phat I didn't see it the last time I was there but maybe I didn't notice. Great!

[carswell]

1999 Marcel Laurin, Saint-Laurent, QC, 514 856-0226. The name's spelled with only one "i" btw (no idea why). It's a great store, though I don't find the produce section to be their strongest point.

The Kim Phat on Goyer and Côte-des-Neiges had dragon fruit this spring. I don't go there or any other KPh store frequently enough to know whether they stock it every week but I've often seen it there.

[Alyson777]

Thank you so much!

[maisonbistro]

I have also seen and purchased dragon fruit at Loblaws (St. Jacques) and IGA in the CSL shopping center - but not consistenly.

[carswell]

Saw some today at both ExoFruits on CDN and the Metro in the Wilderton shopping centre.

[SourberryLily]

Lychee are somewhat common now. You can find good ones at Sami Fruit (various locations).

As for Dragon Fruit, they are semi-rare. IGA and Metro now carry almost rotten ones at outrageous price (almost 5$ each).

Asian groceries will be more reasonable but i do not like the ones at Marche Hawai. They were grayish when i got them.