Over the past few years the Punjabi Market district at Main Street and 49th Avenue has been, well, evolving.
The building that the All India Sweets buffet used to be in on the southwest corner was torn down and a new mixed-use thing is currently going in, sending the beloved restaurant to a new location across the street. An illegal weed dispensary opened then quickly closed. More and more shops are shutting their doors leaving much of the retail strip vacant, newspapers covering many windows where there used to be posters promoting acts from India performing in Metro Vancouver (often Surrey).
While it feels a bit grim there are more than a couple businesses still open, and the business owners who have stayed are still very much keeping the spirit alive. Walk one block south from the core intersection and pop in to the Punjab Food Center and you’ll find what I consider to be the best deal on the best pop in town: Thums Up.
Markets further north on Main Street in Mount Pleasant stock “imported” Cherry Coke and flavours of Dr Pepper you’ve never heard of. They bring it across the border from the States, much to the delight of people who discover it tucked away in their coolers. However nothing tops this exotic Coca Cola product from India.
Priced at $1 a bottle, the charm of the glass alone is worth paying for. After a decade of drinking it I still can’t tell whether they’ve been recycled a hundred times and are scratched because of that or if the weathered bottles are the result of being brought over on a slow boat from India, clinking against each other for weeks on end before landing at the port. Presented in the box they were shipped in, the temptation to grab an entire 24 is hard to resist.
I can describe the flavour as a lot like Coca Cola but with a spice that I can’t quite put my finger on. Drinking it straight out of a cold bottle on a hot day, I sometimes feel like I’m in a 1990s commercial, wiping sweat off my brow and going “Ahhhhh!” after downing a swig.
Next time you’re on Main Street pop in and grab a bottle and check it out. You might find yourself returning to pick up a box, or to dig in to the other imported pops from India.
