Taishan Asian Grocery

Cool store. Wish the staff were more friendly and said Hello or thank you and cool stuff like that.

So Taishan unlike Ca Hoa (at the other end of Queens St) is a newcomer. Been around for less than 5 years but its good for the newcomers from China as the owner comes from there himself. He’s got another branch over at Quinpool Rd.
The owner himself is rarely based here but the fact that its close to Dalhousie’s engineering campus was not accidental and makes it easier for students to head over to it in a jiffy. The only thing I would say is that because he hires students, the service you gonna get is somewhat below para as language may also be challenge.
Initially when they appeared, the variety was skewed towards a Northern Chinese fare but as the years progressed, they have decided to take a more inclusive approach — having more southern and south east asian fares as well.

Prices shown didn’t match with prices paid. Being overcharged for some items I bought last time. The guy was kindly rude when I questioned him about the price differences. Watch out for the prices yourself before you pay. Also I have to agree with Shawna D. on the lack of social skills the staff there. They do need a few lessons on greeting people.

I came across this store while shopping downtown. There seems to be an abundance of Asain Stores popping up. This particular one is not my favorite. It does not have half of the stuff that some other do.
The staff here need a few lessons on greeting people. They lack that. This will fill the void until you get to better store.
I would say location wins out more than anything,

Just up the street, this is my go to place for slightly obscure Asian cooking ingredients that other stores just don’t stock. I get all my noodles, sesame oil, chile oil, lemongrass, rice paper wrappers, etc. here. The store is nothing fancy, but service is done with a smile and they’ve often got what I need. And even though I usually go in for one or two specific items it is easy to browse the aisles for a while — fascinating Asian food products abound, including huge bags of dried foods like mushrooms and taro, frozen dim sum, shelves full of endless bottled sauces, etc. Take a trip here for some kitchen inspiration.

Moving from Toronto, with a gazillion Asian places to shop (my favorite being Spadina Avenue) to Halifax left a hole in my cooking repertoire.
That is until I found Taishan, which actually has two locations (the other is on Quinpool) but this downtown location is my favorite. You’ll find everything from aisles and aisles of packaged goodies from noodles to sweets, jars and bottles of every imaginable sauce.
But my favorite haunts are the freezers, filled with every sort of dumplings for frying and steaming. Dim Sum at home anyone? Frozen thinly sliced beef for soups and more
The only thing missing are the smoked ducks, pork, etc that you see hanging in the windows of shops on Spadina and more fresh Asian vegetables.