In 1978, Hoa Ngo and his family of 10 left a refugee camp and boarded a plane to a new country. They had endured the hardships and witnessed the atrocities of the Vietnam war, became displaced as refugees, and lost everything but they had the hope and determination to start again. They arrived in a country where they couldn't even speak the language, yet nothing deterred them from their dreams of
succeeding in Canada. Not the bees that stung them while they picked berries or the dogs that bit them on their newspaper routes... not even the foot of snow during winter months would stop Hoa from his 20km bicycle ride to his job at Minter Gardens. In 1984, the ambitious family pooled together their savings and opened a tiny coffee shop in Surrey across from Guildford Mall, right beside the big chain family restaurant, Bino's. Admittedly, it wasn't their greatest idea and they were lucky if they had more than a handful of customers in an entire day. But the family had a tenacious drive to succeed and after a run of trial and error, the little coffee shop called Hen Long became Hen Long Market--the first Asian specialty food store in the Fraser Valley. Building a strong rapport with the locals, their customer base grew steadily as did their offerings of Asian foods and goods. Eventually the physical capacity of the small shop was overwhelmed by the demand the of community and so the family decided to move Hen Long Market to a newer and bigger location at 104th street and 144th ave. The larger space enabled them to experiment with more imported items and also established Hen Long Market as a trusted local wholesaler to other small local business. And now once again Hen Long has expanded. Hen Long Market is now Hen Long International Plaza. Still at the same location but in a big new building with everything you need in one place. There is a Seafood Department where you can buy fresh and live seafood. A fresh meat department offering every cut of beef, poultry, and pork imaginable. A new in-store bakery where delicious pastries and bakery items are made fresh daily. And of course, the ever so popular Vietnamese Sandwich and BBQ Meat shop. Equipped with two levels of underground parking and two upper levels of office space, the new plaza is still in the beginning phases of exciting things to come. The Ngo family has come a long way from picking berries and delivering newspapers. We would like to thank everyone that has visited Hen Long and supported us. You are a part of our journey and we thank you for your continued loyalty throughout the years.
