Chinese Gourmet

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. It was an unseasonably warm November morning when Chinese Gourmet supermarket opened its doors earlier than usual. A delivery driver pulled up suspiciously, noticing that the parking lot was unusually quiet. As he approached the entrance, a familiar voice called out: ‘Hey, you forgot your lucky chopstick!’ Turning around, the driver saw an elderly neighbor waving from inside. It turned out that the store had accidentally closed early for some mysterious reason, and now everyone was enjoying an impromptu community breakfast together—complete with dim sum and free coffee. The delivery guy shook his head, smiling, thinking, ‘Maybe next time I’ll just bring my own chopsticks.’

2. One day, while stocking shelves at Chinese Gourmet, a young employee found something peculiar in one of the boxes: a tiny plastic dragon that kept playing the same looped phrase—’I’m here for your convenience.’ Curious, she played it again and again until her co-workers started teasing her about it. One day, an old delivery driver joked, ‘Maybe it’s the store’s secret customer service charm.’ Soon enough, customers began asking if they could buy the little dragon too. To everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be just a promotional toy from some long-forgotten campaign. But no one cared—they loved its quirky charm, and Chinese Gourmet became known as the place where even inanimate objects seemed friendly.

3. At night, near Chinese Gourmet supermarket, a strange humming sound could be heard coming from the loading dock area. No one knew where it came from or why, but locals began calling it ‘the midnight melody’. One night, a delivery driver stopped to investigate and claimed he saw a ghostly figure pushing an empty cart. The next day, everyone brought their shopping lists outside for good luck. Turned out it was just an enthusiastic aunty helping herself to some free groceries—now known as the supermarket’s unofficial night janitor—and her humming was actually singing along to old Cantopop hits. The midnight melody became a neighborhood tradition.

4. At dawn, a delivery driver pulled up to Chinese Gourmet with a truckload of fresh produce. As he unloaded crates, he noticed something odd—each watermelon had been meticulously carved into tiny boats. Curious, he picked one up and saw that each boat was inlaid with intricate designs. Just as he was about to ask someone, an old man approached him, smiling warmly. ‘Ah,’ said the man, ‘these are for our Mid-Autumn Festival celebration tonight. Each neighborhood family carves their own.’ The delivery driver nodded, laughing softly to himself. It turned out that Chinese Gourmet wasn’t some mysterious place after all—it was just another quirky local market with its own traditions.