I went to ‘Asian Costco’ and it was better than T&T

When a friend sent me a video asking me if I’d been to the “Asian Costco” in the GTA (I hadn’t), I knew I had to see it for myself.

I love Costco, I love Asian supermarkets — I didn’t need much convincing. Located in Vaughan near the CN MacMillan Train Yard, KFT Wholesale Cash & Carry (KCC) follows the same concept: a wholesale membership-only warehouse supermarket selling items in bulk for way cheaper than regular supermarkets.

My husband and I headed over on a Saturday night, the parking lot nearly empty as most people hunkered down for the weekend deep freeze. The plan: a quick recon, maybe pick up some snacks, and head home.

That plan fell apart almost immediately as we browsed the aisles and recognized familiar brands of cookies, chips, snacks, and drinks, alongside plenty of others we’d never seen before.

The majority of the products were from Korea, and if you shop at T&T or H-Mart, you’ll probably recognize most of them. I also found Japanese KitKats and brands like Calbee, and Filipino products like banana ketchup.

However, unlike Asian supermarket chains, at KCC, you can find gochujang paste by the gallon, as well as buckets of soy sauce. If you’re looking for pantry items like rice and noodles, this is the place to stock up.

It’s also got loads of instant ramen and appears to carry nearly every flavour of Buldak noodles. If you like to cook, there are also loads of sauces, marinades, and ingredients worth trying. Some of my favourite purchases were the packs of freeze-dried chopped onions, pepper, ginger, and green onions — just add a spoon of water.

And similar to Costco, KCC also has a tasting station, which we unfortunately missed out on on our way out. It also has a photobooth if you’re in the mood for a quick photo op.

The frozen food section is its own entire space in the warehouse. Here, it stocks hard-to-find seafood, hotpot ingredients, endless types of dumplings, and a variety of frozen cakes and ice cream.

Behind the rows of freezers is the produce section, which looked a little empty that evening. However, according to the store’s website, it also brings in seasonal produce from Korea, such as oranges from Jeju Island.

KCC also promotes local brands, as we spotted bags of coffee from Toronto-based coffee brand De Mello’s, all of which were about a dollar or two cheaper than what was listed on the company’s website.

Some fun finds included a strawberry makgeolli kit, a Korean rice wine drink — all you have to do is add water. It also has some really, really cute Sanrio and Hello Kitty toilet paper that I very nearly justified buying for $16.

Walk a little further, and you’ll find the homeware and cookware section, which feels a bit like shopping at Daiso or Muji. But what KCC lacks in size, it more than makes up for with its variety of Korean toiletries and beauty products. Prices here were on par or even, in some cases, a little cheaper than most Toronto stores that carry K-beauty products.

We hadn’t planned on becoming paid members, but before I knew it, we were brand-new KCC members after paying for the $20 annual membership. You can sign up for a membership at the customer service near the cashier, where you’ll be asked to download the app, which will include your detailed receipt, as well as your membership number. And just like Costco, you get a glossy new membership card and a little matching keyring card.

All in all, we spent $282. It sounds like a lot, I know, but I did some price comparison and found some items to be significantly cheaper. For example, a box of S&B Japanese curry costs $3.48 at KCC, while the same item is listed for $5.59 on the T&T app.

If you’re not ready to commit to a membership yet, the store offers a general membership for free; you need to register and provide a valid piece of ID. Other annual membership options include the Gold membership for $20 and the Black membership for $50. Gold members get a two per cent rebate, while those with Black memberships get the same benefit in addition to a five per cent bulk discount.

There are some cons to shopping at KCC.

If you live in downtown Toronto, it’s pretty far, about 30 to 45 mins by vehicle and an hour and a half by transit. Now imagine having to lug all those products back with you on the subway.

We showed up at around 7 p.m., when people were mostly home due to the weather, but I imagine the place gets pretty packed on weekends. KCC doesn’t have a food court, but if they do decide to add one, I can imagine Korean street food being quite popular.

But if you can manage the occasional trip to Vaughan, then it’s totally worth it, especially if you regularly shop at H-Mart or T&T, as, for the most part, KCC has way better prices.

Skincare fanatics might keep an eye out for the occasional K-beauty product at Costco, but here, there’s a whole section dedicated to it. Finally, I have to add that the store has an excellent K-pop playlist. That’s something you won’t experience at Costco.