Food Purchasing Guide and Tips
 

Hi all, this thread is started for everyday grocer buyers like me; also for food enthusiasts who knows more about where to find good quality food for a good price.

We all want to grab quality food at a bargain, but we also like to know where else we can find them other than no-frills or costco.

Personally, I love seafood, all kinds of it. But I come to ask: Where do I find fresh sashimi grade salmon/tuna other than Fujiya, Kays, or Seaborn? Where do I find fresh oysters where I can purchase in bulk and not to pay $1 - $3 per oyster at a marketplace? Are there seafood distributors where you can walk in and sell you in bulk?

FYI, this thread shouldn't be intended to advertise nor the bang-for-the-buck thread near expiring deals. The question above was originally my personal question but made into a thread for the Revscene community.

Hope it works out

I've been getting tuna from H-Mart and Kim's Mart.
The trimmed bits get recycled into negitoro.

-Sign up for PC plus mobile app and shop at superstore for stuff you would normally buy

note: I am not a PC employee, I just love to shop there

buy in bulk/the biggest size of your item (especially if you buy a certain item frequently).

its always cheaper in the long run vs buying smaller sizes

It's all about looking for the deals, I just the big household stuff at costco since it lasts forever like garbage bags, cleaning stuff, great deals on paper towels, tin foil, saran wrap etc

I always hit up no frills for deals but don't get any dairy from there since it always expires quicker then a safeway/save on.

Then Superstore for larger grocery shopping and just look around for the best deals.

Fresh Street Farm's by my house has wicked sales as well and top notch quality on top of it.

me and the fiance buy 95% of our shit from Costco, and imo it's pretty much the way to go for almost everything. We have a food saver as well so we vaccum pack a lot of stuff, but for the quality you get at Costco, i wouldn't go anywhere else to save a few bucks but have far lesser quality.

when buying chicken, do NOT buy the chicken you see in the cardboard box

its all rubber and barely any protein

I stock up at Costco a lot as well but buy produce from a local fruit/vegetable market all the time. Way less expensive than Safeway/Saveon etc. My kids eat a shit ton of fresh fruit/veggies so I'm there every 2-3 days it seems. Expensive as hell but I can't complain if they're eating healthy.

Since your location says south Surrey the best local produce place I found is Cloverdale Market on the corner of #10 and 168th. Been going there for years and they seem to beat everyone else's prices.

Since moving out afew months ago and doing weekly grocery trips, I've found:

Save-on's has the best deal's for chicken; once a week boneless/skinless chicken breasts will go on sale for about 45% off ($18/.9kg to $9/.9kg) same with their bone-in chicken thighs ($16/1kg to $8/1kg)

Costco has the better prices for the best quality steaks. ($26 for AA New York about 3-14oz's)

Langley Farm Market on Kingsway is the best for Deli meats. (Lyoner sausage that I buy is about $2.89/100g at Save-Ons/Superstore compared to $1.39/100g at LFM)
I also will go to LFM for most fruits/veggies.

Superstore is good for the big bulk of my grocery shopping though. Crackers/Cheese/Milk/etc.

Since I am living on my own, myself and a friend would shop at Costco, buy things we both eat/use and split the items between us. This way, you pay at bulk prices without having to find space to store everything (especially since I live in a condo building).

for you guys that buy meat in bulk and freeze for later, what do you find is the best way to prevent freezer burn?

if you plan on doing a lot of that get a vacuum sealer which is the best way to prevent anything from getting freezer burnt.

you can always just try to eat it within a few weeks or a month or so and you won't have that problem too bad, provided you use a ziplock and try to push most of the air out.

Question: They have the best protein? Compare to say T&T?

like Murdoc said, if you have the vacuum packer food saver, that shit works wonders. Especially on stuff like Bacon, sausages, etc.

If you dont have a vacuum packer, i found that the majority of people online seem to recommend wrapping whatever meat you're wrapping in parchment paper and wrapping it as tight as possible. Freezer burn is caused by the air/condensation from within the packaging you're freezing, so if you can cause the moisture to stick to the paper and not the meat, you're not going to get that nasty ice build up over time. It seemed to have worked when i did a few pieces of rib eye.

Outside of like little niche butchers, etc. I'd say Costco has the best protein bar-none in the grocery business. Especially for the general stuff you buy all the time, Steaks, Pork cuts, ground beef, chicken, etc.

i fucking love Costco so i might be biased, but a good example of the savings and value you get at Costco is buying good steaks.

depending on location, they typically have a pack of 6 rib eye steaks for around $32-$38, me and the GF can eat a lot of steak, but with these rib eyes we cut one in half, each share one, and thats more than enough for dinner. So 6 AAA Rib eyes for $35

made the mistake one day of figuring that was "too expensive" for just a steak on a saturday night, so we went to our local Safeway, ended up getting two slightly larger rib eyes, only AA quality, for $37, taste was mediocre as best, and the fat marbling left a lot to be desired over the costco pack.

damn son... you eat sashimi grade salmon everyday?

how much you make per hour?

I came in here thinking, where can I find a good deal on broccoli, chicken, rice, some halibut or lentils... but sashimi grade salmon?

Hi Tiger, no I don't eat sashimi salmon everyday but I wish I do.

I guess I am trying to find where to get good priced raw fish than Samurai sushi to bring for a party or something.

I been eating frozen chicken and im pretty sure it comes in a cardboard box but they remove the box and give it to me in a bag. I guess they don't want customers to know where they get it from.
10lbs for $42 from active body nutrition. They say its free range chicken. It tastes good and juicy as hell. Better then the fresh chicken breast I get at costco and cheaper too.

They sell chicken at ABN?

Yeah. They used to have a sign but it's gone now.
You can still ask for the 10 lbs box of chicken.

another good place to go if you are have a party and for bulk good is the Wholesale club in Burnaby. It's Superstores (Loblaws) version of Costco and you don't need to be a member to shop. Tons of industrial kitchen style items and super good deals on bulk food.

Wholesale Club - Select a store

I'm putting my faith in the universe that I'm not going to regret sharing my sources...
Fingers crossed this doesn't screw me over on my dinner event shopping. :eek5x:
Will be less than enthused if you guys clean out my sources.



T&T:
Lamb shoulder (Special. I think they sell a limited quantity each day at a loss).
Black cod (aka Sablefish)


PriceSmart:
Kobe finger meat
Kobe oxtail
Kurobuta Berkshire center cut pork chops
Fresh free range chicken


Kim's Mart:
Pork Belly
Tuna (sashimi)


H-Mart:
High-grade beef scraps
Tuna (sashimi)


Hannam:
Small quantity (2 or 3) small sized ribeye steaks


Supreme Meat:
Duck (fresh)
Ribeye (bone-in)
Short rib (4-bone 1"x1"x8" strips, frozen)
Quail eggs
Pork neck bones
Pork leg bones
Chicken bones (frozen)
Pork skin (frozen)
Beef marrow bones (unreliable stock + they will NOT cut for you)
Beef rib bones (frozen)
Baby octopus (frozen)
Whitebait (aka Chinese "white rice fish", frozen)


Beefway:
Pork jowl (untrimmed)


Note:
H-Mart and Hannam have the WORST regular prices for protein on this list (except for the ribeye at Hannam),
but they also have the BEST sales for everything in general.
So if you were to exclusively shop at only 1 place, this will put you ahead in the long-run.



If anybody has cheap and reliable sources for these, it would be most appreciated:
- Fresh sockeye
- Sashimi grade sockeye
- Softshell crab
- Pork bits (head, jowl, ears, skin, trotters)
- Smoked fish (salmon, tuna, etc)


Any questions?

Active body sells frozen chicken in a box/bag for 9.259/kg
Costco sells frozen chicken breast in a box for 8.248/kg

Don't think costco is free range chicken though.

Just to add in about frozen and fresh chicken. Honestly. I don't believe most people can tell the difference. I've cooked both and compared. If your defrosting and cooking your frozen chicken breast right. It comes out just as good as fresh. IMO. (I eat a lot of chicken. If that matters)

I heard in the past from guys who worked on the assembly line, that companies would inject their chicken breasts with water to bump up the weight before freezing it. Not sure if this still happens today.