1 Comment April 26, 2013 at 12:00 pm

culture

Spice City Toronto: A New Destination for International Food

Al Premium, on Eglinton Avenue East, carries food from all over the world.

By Sarah Efron / Spice City Toronto

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250608 Al Premium is located in a former Rona building. 20130426spicecity1 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity1-100x100.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity1.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity1.jpeg 1024 768 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/04/spice-city-toronto-a-new-destination-for-international-food/slide/20130426spicecity1/ 20130426spicecity1 0 0

250614 Rice galore. 20130426spicecity7 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity7-100x100.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity7.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity7.jpeg 1024 1365 {"credit":"Picasa"} https://torontoist.com/2013/04/spice-city-toronto-a-new-destination-for-international-food/slide/20130426spicecity7/ 20130426spicecity7 0 0

250610 There is a cafeteria where people eat food from the hot food counter and drink espressos and juices from the coffee bar. 20130426spicecity3 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity3-100x100.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity3.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity3.jpeg 1024 768 {"credit":"Picasa"} https://torontoist.com/2013/04/spice-city-toronto-a-new-destination-for-international-food/slide/20130426spicecity3/ 20130426spicecity3 0 0

250611 The hot food counter offers dozens of Asian dishes, such as curries and noodles. 20130426spicecity4 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity4-100x100.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity4.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity4.jpeg 1024 768 {"credit":"Picasa"} https://torontoist.com/2013/04/spice-city-toronto-a-new-destination-for-international-food/slide/20130426spicecity4/ 20130426spicecity4 0 0

250613 There's even a tandoori oven behind the counter. 20130426spicecity6 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity6-100x100.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity6.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity6.jpeg 1024 768 {"credit":"Picasa"} https://torontoist.com/2013/04/spice-city-toronto-a-new-destination-for-international-food/slide/20130426spicecity6/ 20130426spicecity6 0 0

250612 Garlic naan cooking in the tandoori oven. 20130426spicecity5 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity5-100x100.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity5.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity5.jpeg 1024 768 {"credit":"Picasa"} https://torontoist.com/2013/04/spice-city-toronto-a-new-destination-for-international-food/slide/20130426spicecity5/ 20130426spicecity5 0 0

250609 Butter chicken, lamb curry, garlic naan and freshly grilled kebab. 20130426spicecity2 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity2-100x100.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity2.jpeg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130426spicecity2.jpeg 1024 768 {"credit":"Picasa"} https://torontoist.com/2013/04/spice-city-toronto-a-new-destination-for-international-food/slide/20130426spicecity2/ 20130426spicecity2 0 0

Forget about the ethnic aisle. Lovers of international food will be in heaven when they step inside the new 75,000 square foot Al Premium store in Scarborough. It’s located at 1970 Eglinton Avenue East, and it first opened in December.

Al Premium isn’t an ethnic store serving people from one country or region. Instead, it has food from all over the world. There’s a heavy emphasis on Asian, North American, and Middle Eastern foods, but Latin America, Europe, and Africa are also represented. Check out the image gallery for a tour.

Continue the tour at Spice City Toronto.

Spice City Toronto explores Toronto’s great hole-in-the-wall restaurants and strip-mall joints serving food from all corners of the world.

Photos by Sarah Efron.