Taiwanese Sticky Rice Roll (T&T Supermarket) - Burnaby, BC

I've been to this T&T more times than I'd like to admit and over the years, it's been transformed from grimey grocery store to organized chaos to respected supermarket now with full-serve cafeteria-style dining.  They have everything here: dim sum, bubble tea, ready-serve entrees, appies, roasted peanuts - you name, they got it.  I unfortuntely tried their dim sum and bubble tea one early Saturday morning about a year ago and found it to be stale, chewy and probably left over from the night before so I really wasn't looking to purchase any ready-made food when Mrs. Teddy dragged me in.

"You have to try these rice rolls.  They're so good!" - Mrs.  Teddy.  How good can they be?  They'll have been sitting under a heat lamp for hours!  But she's right...  Called "Fan Tuan" in Taiwan, according to Wikipedia, these beloved rolls originated in Shanghai and were first composed of chinese donuts wrapped in glutinous rice and eaten at breakfast.  I honestly don't care where they came from because they've evolved into delicious treats to be enjoyed at any time of day.  The versions now come with assorted rices and a variety of fillings and can be served as any meal of the day.

The ones served at T&T are not sitting under a heat lamp because they're hand-rolled fresh in front of you.  SUH-WEET!  You pick your fillings which can range from taiwanese sausage and marinated pork ear to seasoned seaweed and eggs.  You can also pick your sticky rice - white, red or mix. 

 

Sticky Rice Roll - $3.29 (Small - 4 fillings)

After watching one get rolled in front of me, Mrs. Teddy and I decide to dive in and make our own.  Since I'm the sticky rice roll virgin, I let Mrs. Teddy pick the toppings: dried fluffy pork, fried egg, Chinese salted vegetables and Chinese donut with mixed rice.  It's not the most visually appealing...  it looks like a lump of rice but once you take a bite...  Oh man.  I have no words.  Sweet, salty, soft, chewy, crunchy, savory...  It hits all of the notes and more.  And it eats like a meal!  I must admit though that it is a little gut-sticking - I could feel it in my belly for a while.  Just go to your local T&T and give it a try!


Pros:

• Cheap
• Located in a supermarket so you can do grocery shopping at the same time
• Free parking
• Cash, credit and debit accepted
• Very filling

Cons:

• Located in Metrotown where it's BANANAS
• Cafeteria dining in a supermarket - no ambiance
• Careful if the ingredients have been sitting to long - you might wanna give them a good look through before ordering