Sichuan-inspired noodles and grocery with daily specials












"Chef Anita Yue Ming Feng’s compact lunch counter and grocery on Beaubien in Little Italy is a midday rice noodle resto for slurping her Sichuan-style bowls, with grab-and-go options for dinner. Feng has carefully selected a range of quality ingredients to play with at home: vinegars, rice, noodles, sauces, and at least two kinds of buzzy peppercorns are available, too." - Ivy Lerner-Frank


"Chef Anita Feng is inaugurating the first Lunar New Year at her Beaubien East épicerie with a Sichuan-inflected feast for two, mashing up her passion for spice with some nostalgic dishes from her childhood. The spread includes tiger (laohu) salad, radish cake, Yuxiang-style stuffed cabbage, mouthwatering (saliva) chicken, and two golden salted egg baozi. Pre-order essential, with pickup on January 29." - Ivy Lerner-Frank

"Now operating as a takeout counter and grocery on Beaubien Street just east of Saint-Laurent, J’ai Feng was promoted from Anita Yue Ming Feng’s pandemic-era undertaking after months of buzzy pop-ups and collaborations. I found the pint-sized space stocked with jars of her raved-over chili oil, pickles, and imported Chinese goods, alongside a takeout menu that highlights regional Chinese cuisine with an emphasis on Sichuan cooking; there’s space to sample on-site but room for only four diners. J’ai Feng is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m." - Valerie Silva

"Started as a pandemic side project when former Trilogie chef-owner Anita Yue Ming Feng began making chili oil and pao cai in her home kitchen, J’ai Feng has evolved into a cozy grocery shop and tiny counter eatery at 43 Beaubien East, just east of Boulevard Saint‑Laurent. I see its deep grey and natural-wood interior as compact but well-equipped, with ample shelving for J’ai Feng’s spicy oil and pickles, soy sauces, bean pastes, and sourced items such as fruit sodas and noodles from China. With only four counter seats and a tiny kitchen constrained by fire regulations, weekday offerings will focus on grab-and-go canteen-style boxed lunches (noodles or rice), warming broths served from the sliding front window in cooler months, and shaved ice with Chinese flavours in summer, while changing hot-food specials will run on weekends. Feng plans to experiment with Chinese-inspired fermentation—including Guizhou’s sour, spicy fermented dishes—use the walk-in fridge for pickles and marinades, collaborate with Jean Talon’s Boucherie dans la Côte for meats, run workshops on regional Chinese cuisines, and is working with her sister Amy front-of-house and designer Rock Anctil on branding; opening is slated for late October, city permits permitting." - Ivy Lerner-Frank

"For a pop-up Chinese New Year collaboration at Jean Talon Market, Chef Anita Yue Ming Feng has created hulu ji (gourd chicken): a deboned, deep-fried organic chicken shaped like a lucky gourd and stuffed with sticky rice, shiitake mushrooms, lardons and peanuts, served as part of a two-course holiday meal." - Ivy Lerner-Frank