The service behind the fish counter is very poor. The fishmonger IS VERY RUDE! He YELLED VERY LOUD at me in Chinese and I had no idea what he was saying. I merely asked to keep the eggs in the fish. I would NOT recommend shopping at this establishment until they replace the RUDE man with someone who values loyal customers. My family and I had been shopping here for decades. Never have we ever had such bad experience! read more

I was getting the full tour of Chinatown on a hot day earlier this month. It was so hot that we popped into Kowloon Market for some relief from the heat! Kowloon Market is the largest supermarket in Chinatown. It serves to be a one-stop shop for your groceries, barbequed meats, bakery, and more. The bakery looked good. Sadly, someone decided to eat the top of one of the pineapple buns. The dome covering these buns was also wide open, so you need to be aware of the cleanliness, or lack thereof. I did my good deed of the day by closing it. No, I didn't eat the imperfect pineapple bun! It has a good selection of snacks and tea. I learned that you can get do-it-yourself candies. It was eye-opening for me, as I seem to be missing out on these trends. I chatted with a 69-year-old woman in a wheelchair while we were browsing. This supermarket seems to be a social area for some, which is nice. I appreciated dropping by this supermarket to cool off while sipping my bubble tea. If you live in the area and don't have a car to get groceries, this supermarket takes care of your food needs and more. (264) read more

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Review Update December 2022: This is still undeniably the best selection of ethnic Asian groceries in Chinatown Ottawa along Somerset Street.... but they don't necessarily have the best prices. Besides the selection of goods, the presentation and cleanliness of the market is also the best on Somerset Street. If you want a well setup and tidy market to shop at, and you mind don't paying the small premium, then this is your grocery shop in Chinatown Ottawa! If you are super price-conscious plus you know exactly what you want, shop around a bit at the other smaller grocery stores on Somerset Street. read more

Worthy of 3.5 Stars It's a smaller market than in Toronto, but has a huge variety of products from China, Vietnam, Japan and Korea. Nice looking produce, tons of dried noodles and taofu-pi. Was very impressed. Prices were reasonable in fact, a few items lower than in Toronto. Saw some Korean products which I have not seen in Toronto, for example apple vinegar. Reminds me of the older Chinese markets in downtown Toronto Chinatown. read more

Excellent new Asian supermarket for the Ottawa area. Highly recommend coming here. Fresh fruit, great value. Lots of selection.

The larger much cleaner cousin of the other Asian supermarket on the block, Kowloon is like a very small version of a T&T. I don't live in Ottawa anymore, but remember Kowloon having a good Asian dessert section, meat section and the staples such as rice noodles and paper, and rice and noodles of all varieties, plus tons of spices and flavorings. It's a bit more expensive than Manphong, but bigger too. Also (and this is a weird side note) they along with the aforementioned other Asian supermarket on Somerset, carry these large size rice papers that we don't have in Toronto. Two sizes actually, 25cm and 32cm. The reason it's odd is that they're distributed by a company out in Mississauga so you'd think they'd make it to Toronto, but unfortunately not the case. Couldn't tell you why. Funny side note #2: I was there a few weeks ago and close to closing, and they just turn the lights off to let you know what time it is. It was actually pretty funny! Like, "Time to GET OUT OF HERE!". Message received! Worth the trip. I hear the T&T in Ottawa is in the south end of town and if you don't have a car, this is where you'd have to go, but its a cool mid size market that's got what you need at reasonable prices. read more

This is the biggest Asian supermarket in Chinatown. It has fresh meats, produce, frozen food, canned/shelf stable goods and a bakery section. Kowloon Market is the cleanest supermarket of all the supermarkets in Chinatown. Although, this is somewhat damning with faint praise. The bakery section appears very unsanitary to me. There is black grimy stuff around the bakery shelves. I have never eaten anything from the bakery. There are items that are individually wrapped. I would maybe consider eating those, but they aren't pastries that interest me. I do not believe that they bake their stuff onsite. If they cleaned up their bakery I would try their stuff. The rest of the supermarket is ok. It's dirtier than I would like, but it's not too bad. They did some renovations and cleaned up their act somewhat when T&T arrived in Ottawa, so if you haven't been to Kowloon Market in 6-7 years, you'll notice a big improvement. In Ottawa's Chinatown it's really slim pickings when it comes to grocery stores, so Kowloon is the best one. They have a lot of variety for their size and prices are pretty good. Some items are even cheaper than at T&T. read more

Kowloon Market - Inside of grocery store. - Grocery Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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I used to come here a lot when I was younger. Upon returning, I was a little disappointed. Pros: - Most Asian groceries that you'd like can be found - Fish is fresh and pretty good Cons: - The store itself is dirty, messy and it seems like there are random piles of stuff that someone was too lazy to put away so they left it there and put a price on it. - Mislabeling: I saw the price and description of an item that I was looking for, but the product itself was no where to be found. Note: there wasn't a big empty space where it sold out. The shelves were full, but it wasn't the right item that was written on the price card. - Classic bad attitude from the cashiers, but it's expected from an Asian grocery store - The produce does not look great. The bananas looked like they've been sitting there for a month. All in all, a good place to drop by if you need some Asian groceries, but I would strongly recommend to go someplace else for fresh produce read more

Generally speaking there's no big problem in this supermarket. However the seafood area is a little messy. read more

Kowloon Market - In the market - Grocery Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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This market is extremely hit and miss. It's convenient if you're in and around Centretown but the groceries (vegetables) I've purchased from here have been some what sketchy, extremely dirty and not the freshest. Some of the other items like canned goods, frozen foods are ok but slightly more expensive than other stores in town. I find the bakery is the only thing I find decent here. I've never bought meat or seafood from here but they do seem to have a decent selection. The cashiers are typical for what I see at most asian grocery stores and that is that they really do suck. They're not always the friendliest... If you have the time head down to T&T or the one on the other side of the bridge to Vanier. I prefer those 2 supermarkets but again same old cashier attitude ;) read more

The store has gotten cleaner and brighter since the renovation to compete with T&T. However, it still looks dusty and the produce isn't the best in quality. With a few exceptions, employees there are generally dicks. They talk about you infront of your face if they think you don't speak their languange. The old bakery lady is the worst. After I bought 3 buns at $5, still at the counter, she spoke in mandarin to the people behind me that the buns were now 5 for $5. When I asked for 2 additional buns I already paid for, she said the special did not apply to me. I had to call the manager over and put up a big fuss to get the same deal. read more

Kowloon Market is a really great place for all of your Asian grocery needs. It has a huge red sign so you can't miss it. It's the largest one in Chinatown, and also the cleanest. Though it doesn't have as large of a selection as stores you would find in Toronto, you can pretty much find whatever you're looking for. They have produce, packaged and refrigerated food, a fresh seafood section, some barbecued meats, and even baked bread and other buns and goodies. Their prices are comparable to those of other Asian grocers, nothing too expensive, but not overly cheap either. It's also really easy to navigate around, with everything organized in aisles and sections, like your usual grocery stores. It's a great place to find what you need for a decent price! read more

Kowloon Market - Grocery Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

I went in to Kowloon Market looking for some basic bread and was pleasantly surprised to find Filipino pan de sal. Pan de sal is even better than regular white bread and it would work perfectly for the sandwiches I was planning to make so already Kowloon had solved my meal dilemma of lacking bread. Kowloon is a really good Asian market and they have food products from all of Asia so if you like cooking foods from China, Thailand, Korea, or the Philippines (just to name a few) then chances are you will find what you need here. They also have a decent selection of kitchenware so if you need a broom or a big plastic bowl for pho, then you're in luck. I walked out with a bunch of miscellaneous items: Filipino bread, Thai peanut sauce, Chinese chili sauce, Hi-Chew candies, Japanese cookies, and a passion fruit drink. Definitely a fun shopping trip. If I lived in Ottawa, I would come here to buy their vegetables and frozen products as well. read more

This place is fantastic. They have been consistently updating the shop for the past year, adding new fridges, displays, and carrying more and more items. The bakery has some great items and you can pick up homemade spring rolls for a steal. Excellent fresh and frozen fish, meats, and a full selection of soy products for the dairy-averse like me. The butchers are friendly and happy to cut any piece of meat or clean your fish if you ask. I have always found the staff to be friendly and helpful. I probably shop here about once a week. Fantastic selection, and it's very easy to get in and out without spending an hour in the store, unlike T&T which I find harder to navigate due to its size. The only downside to this store is the seemingly random availability of some of the items. They sometimes carry a specialty spice I enjoy, but the frequency it appears in the store seems to be rather unpredictable. read more

Decent selection, bakery looked good although we didn't try anything. One-star review simply comes from my interaction with the cashier, who refused my VISA card. She said they only accept Canadian credit cards! I tried to inform her that visa should work anywhere visa is accepted, regardless of country of origin, but she wouldn't budge. I should have just said its a Canadian card and to try running it anyways... read more

A Cantonese grocery in Chinatown. The price of vegetables, fruits, and premade food are in great value, usually cheaper than 24-hour supermarkets; but some snacks here are more expensive and closer to the expire date. Sometimes you can see bizarre stuffs here, such as currency from hell... There are two things that I feel unsatisfied. One is the price tags of stuffs are sometimes missing or hard to see; another is I can't park my car for free around the store. My favorite part of this market is the bakery, where I can buy traditional Cantonese bread and snakes at an unbeatable cheap price. The bread and cakes here remind me to days and hometown in recall. I love my Cantonese background! Although the store could be better and only worth 3-stars over all, I give it a 4-stars review. read more

Careful in this market!! They don't clean or sanitize their carts, no sanitizing cream around either. The shopping plastic baskets are filthy and the place itself does not show any signs of cleanliness read more

The Kowloon is a cool grocery store that has some very interesting stuff, but can be a bit hit or miss. The vegetable selection is interesting, a lot of Asian vegetables like bok choy etc... but the labeling can be a bit underwhelming if you don't know exactly what something is. I have seen a few different items labeled simply as "Vegetable" and not known what it was. There is also an issue of cleanliness of the veggies, make sure to properly rinse them if you don't like the taste of dirt! Seafood selection is very good and the prices are decent. Bought a bag of clams for pretty cheap, there are also a wide variety of different fishes (including eel!) as well as various weird and wondeful bits of other animals that you definitely wouldn't see on sale at loblaws, so if you are adventurous in meat eating (as I am) then you won't be disappointed. In terms of non-perishables, there are a wide variety of those and they are pretty interesting, however some of them seem pretty expensive so I don't normally spend too much time in that section of the store, but I have it on good authority that they are pretty good. Service can be pretty spotty, have had some friendly cashiers and some grumpy ones as well so if you expect service with a smile every time you go shopping then I wouldn't get your hopes up at the Kowloon. Overall it's a fun place to shop, particularly if you are feeling adventurous, that reminds me, does anyone have any good recipes for eel? read more

I used to go to KL market to get fresh vegetables, until they started to check my bags and shopping cart last year and just recently. Customer service is non-existent, they think every shopper is a potential shoplifter. Not going back again! You can get cheap veggies from a little known store down the street on Somerset & Rochester -- Wahsing. KL you just lost a loyal customer. read more

Kowloon Market is an amazingly authentic Asian grocery experience. If you have ever wondered what it is like to shop in the bowels of Beijing, you need to take a trip to this place. My wife and I dropped by Kowloon Market at around 3pm on a weekday afternoon and, as a testament to its authenticity, the store was crowded with Asian shoppers (and, strangely enough, two Jamaican ladies!). They carry aisle after aisle of Asian spices and cooking ingredients. The seafood aisle at the rear of the store totally brought me back to my shopping trips in Seoul. They had tanks of live fish and the customers choose the ones they want. They even had those gross geoduck clams that look like swimming phalluses. The downside was the butcher section. They had lots of pig parts in open boxes along the aisle, unrefrigerated. This is a truly authentic practice, but it seems a little icky to me. If you plan to cook any Asian dishes, do yourself and your guests a favour and buy real Asian ingredients in this real Asian market. read more

Kowloon Market - Grocery Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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Every january we make several trips to the kowloon market for fish sauce, soy sauce, sambal oekek, dumpling wrappers, tofu and asian greens. Sometimes rice and vermicelli. The lime leaves are fresh and very well priced - the meat is also fresh and the store is very clean altho be prepared for a fish smell near the back. Of course the kids appreciate all the candies and decorations - also there is occasionally some amarylis or gladiola stalks available for the dinner table. Couldnt do a lunar NY dinner celebration without kowloon market. We miss the 168 market and dread going to the TNT superstore way down huntclub. But one thing i couldnt find ANYWHERE this year was fortune cookies! read more

I stopped here to stock up on the first week of a six month stay in downtown Ottawa. While not having the selection of an Asian market in San Francisco or LA, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and value of the merchandise. Unfortunately the store does not have a parking lot. I will definitely be returning! read more

the only place in ottawa where you can find crawfish. mushroom are really nice and affordable.

Ottawa China Town Business Association once quoted the Market's owner Philip Yip "wanted to help the community". Great !? I used to buy Chinese vegetables here, but not anymore. Often enough, packaged vegetables were packed with spoiled yellow ones in the middle & covered with fresh-looking ones. And non-packaged vegetables ( e.g. taro, turnips, bunched veg) are pre-soaked in water. These heavily soaked produced weighed more, cost most than they should be, and didn't last long even though I put them in the fridge. SO does the owner really has such noble heart to help the community ? Or simply the same old same old greedy business mentality-----cheat ? read more

The service at the checkout counter at the Kowloon Market needs to drastically improve both on the grocery and bakery side. They have the worst service that I have ever encountered! The cashiers never smile nor say thank you - sometimes they are extremely rude to the customers! This has also been noted by other people who have gone there. Mangement should consider sending the cashiers on courses to improve their customer relation skills. I no longer shop there! read more