So it is true! I'm sitting here staring at the last half inch of "China Lily" in the 483ml bottle. I have been trying to find it for a month. Every trip to the store another crushing disappointment. I will certainly be calling and writing to Lee's Food Products. In the mean time, I have heard of a product called "Maggi" I was telling a friend about the "China Lily Emergency" She had me taste it and it was very similar to C.L. It didn't taste like Kikkoman or the bulk cheapo stuff. at all. It might be worth a try although you may have to visit an Asian Food Store to get it as I can't recall seeing it anywhere like Safeway or Superstore. I wish you luck Sarah... be strong, we'll make it through this.

I know exactly how you feel. I just came back from a trip between Lang, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg checking out every small town store. I was able to get 1 483 ml bottle and 4 142 ml bottles. I'm already starting to sweat thinking about running out

Good Luck in this crisis

Wow so I'm not alone. I just came back from searching the streets of Winnipeg. No China Lily!!! Thanks for the research Sarah. I'll be phoning Lee Products in the morning. China Lily also make the best Chow Mein noodles (in a can) and I haven't been able to get those since Christmas. I sure hope they come back with the Soya sauce.

Hey...glad to see i am not alone...i just searched 8 grocery stores here in Nanaimo B.C. frantically looking for china lily soya sauce. I had to settle for something else and its terrible. I have been eating china lily for as long as i can remember. Nothing compares!!!!!!!!! Glad to hear this is a temporary problem although when it does come back, i think i might buy a ridiculous amount of it just to be on the safe side!

It feels so-o-o good to know that I am not the only person who has been going through withdrawl! I thought China Lily might have finally been wiped out by free trade... I live in Burlington, between Toronto and Hamilton, and even before this summer, other brands have been squeezing China Lily off store shelves like crazy! A couple of years ago I was in the Muskokas, and bought two of the small shaker bottles in a local market, because I hadn't seen them here in years (they sell the bulk bottle, but in less than half the stores). China Lily soya sauce is a great part of being Canadian!!

I too am missing that black nectar that has been on the kitchen table for the past multiple decades.

Until it returns I have found 2 substitutes -
1) WING WONG Soya Sauce in the little packets from the local take-out place or mall chinese food place,
2) Safeway carries a brand called VH Soya Soauce that is close as well.

Keep the faith, it must return.

Missing China Lily

I too have been having difficulties finding this black teasure. I have been using china lily all my life. One of the stores told me that it was to expensive & that is why that aren't carrying it anymore. I said just bring it back I'll buy it & so will others. My husband & friend of mine are laughing at me because I can't find my favorite soya sauce. I have less than 1/2 bottle & I am getting very nervous of running out. I too will call Lee foods & voice my concerns about this situation. I came on the internet to see if I could order it when I found this site I am glad to see I am not alone. Hang on everyone I am sure we will find this black gold again. Linda

I too have been having difficulties finding this black treasure.I have been using china lily all my life. One of the stores told me that it was to expensive & that is why that aren't carrying it anymore. I said just bring it back I'll buy it & so will others. My husband & friend of mine are laughing at me because I can't find my favorite soya sauce. I have less than 1/2 bottle & I am getting very nervous of running out. I too will call Lee foods & voice my concerns about this situation. I came on the internet to see if I could order it when I found this site I am glad to see I am not alone. Hang on everyone I am sure we will find this black gold again. Linda

I have found some of this scrumptious potion. If you are looking for it, visit the small corner stores that you would not normally buy groceries from. They had two bottle left and of coarse I was not going to share and leave one on the shelf. I wouls like to pass on to everyone the best use for the sauce. If you plan on having a steak one day, sprinkle the sauce all over the steak and add garlic salt and let it sit for an hour. Turn over the steak and repeat and cook on the barbie to your liking and it will be the best steak you ever had. I have not had one dissapointed steak eater that comes and visits. Good luck everyone and I hope you can all survive and if not I will sell you a bottle for fifty bucks. LOL

i grew up with china lilly, i can't find it anywhere. I know how the reason why, thanks to the posts. I will stand on guard with all of you, frantically searching for China Lilly, my life potion. Now I know I'm not alone.

Without China lily my recipes are just ordinary with VH as a substitute and horrible with Kikomen Soy Sauce. I too have checked out every little store in Winnipeg and surrounding area.

I have also been searching for the China Lily Soya Sauce. It is the only one that I use. I have less then 1/4 cup left and am using it very sparingly. I cannot live without this product either. I have searched many stores as well and have had no luck. I certainly hope it comes back soon. This is very frustrating to say the least.

We here on the west coast have been searching I have even been into the asian grocery stores. How are we to BBQ, without my mother in-laws famous marinade - the key ingredient being 1 whole 17oz bottle of China Lily (It would not be for just one serving). I will be contacting Lee Foods tomorrow to voice my concerns.
Now one of my friend found me 6 of the small glass bottles which I have hidden deep in my cupboard.
Keep searching, the bottles I have were found in a mom & pop corner grocery store.
I will try some of the replacments people have been trying to see how they compare. I will be counting the days until our grocery store has stock....

Hey all funny that everybody seems to be going through this situation. Currently I have 2 glass bottles left. Two months ago I bought about 20 glass bottles from market place and since can't find it anywheres in manitoba.

Called China Lily today and gave them the address of this page. They say they'll be producing more in 2 weeks.

China Lily is the only Soya Sauce we've ever used. When our daughter moved to the US in 1994 she was upset when she couldn't find the product anywhere. She thought, "no wonder people here eat rice with butter". Needless to say,it was a given that with every visit back and forth there would be China Lily Soya Sauce in the suitcases. Now that we're out of this marvelous product we've started blaming her for the shortage (lol).
All kidding aside, it's the best, nothing comes close, it has to make a come back.
Claudette

NO CHINA LILY!!! What is this world coming too! I too, have checked every grocery store here in FSJ,BC and it is not cool.No china lily? nothing can replace the taste, NOTHING. PLEASE get it back on the shelves. No family dispute should come between this BIG family of CHINA LILY USERS! We support this product because we love the great taste. So in return, keep the family strong and give us back our CHINA LILY!
Thanx China Girl

I never notice china lily wasn't there any more till my friend told me she couldnt find it any were in edmonton grocery stores. I thought she was nuts, till I went to be a (smartie pants) and I couldnt find it eather. Its the only soya sauce I will use and im garding my very last 142ml bottle from every one. Even my friend cant use it anymore its too rare now. I sure hope its back on the shelves befor mines all gone too. I called lees foods about the china lily sauce and they said the plants closed for about 2 weeks and that in edmonton we should see it back on the shelves by the middle of september.

I am so releived that China Lily is going to be back on the market. I haven't eaten much since it disappeared. I am not a very big fan of meat( and I don't like veggies much, either). I prefer to eat meat that has been cooked in China Lily( minute steaks are the BEST fried in it! pork chops, too.) My children are pretty happy it's coming back on the market, as well. (a bowl of rice is one of their favorite snacks) My husband bought the Safeway brand of soya sauce last nite and it's not too bad but it's still not China Lily. Thank goodness it's coming back.

Yikes. Our family has been without China Lily soy sauce since May. I have been to grocery stores in both Calgary and in Sherwood Park. It is so annoying. Is it really coming back or are they just trying to put us off. Kikoman sauce sucks. Is there a "next best" if this crisis never ends. Arughh! I started my kids on the stuff too and they only want CHINA LILY.

I have two small full bottles in my fridge and know where to get more. XD

i'm in toronto so maybe that has something to do with it.

Wow ! I thought it was just us! We have not been able to find "The Sauce" in Orillia either. It made matters worse when none of the stores could even given an answer to what was happening. We appreciate the update. Hopefully the "family" has their differences behind them.

I too had been searching for a very long time and couldn't get any answers from anyone either. I located a half dozen or so glass bottles about a month ago in a remote northern Ontario location but I stupidly only bought one! (WTFWIT?) I figured that China Lily was being pushed out of the big stores by that aweful Kikoman and VH stuff... You can bet I'll be making the 640km round trip to this secret location very soon to buy up the rest of the bottles. I'm just praying that no one has noticed the bottles on the shelf and that they'll still be there when I arrive. Wish me luck!

For 41 years this has been a staple of my diet.
For 70 years my dad has lived on the stuff... we have been panic-striken at the thought that it might no longer be made!!!!! Sure glad I tend to hoard soya sauce and still have 4 big bottles... but can I make it to SEPT!?!??!
Yikes... every one must call!!!!!
It is a PANIC SITUATION!!!!!!!

Help! I too have been on a quest to find the cherished China Lily Soya Sauce! I use it as a condiment for so many recipes, but alas, I have none for my main stapel - steamed rice. I have hunted high and low and included my 11 year old daughter in the search as well. She also pines for the lack of this elixir. I have grown up with China Lily Soya Sauce enticing my taste buds and have passed to my friends - the secret joy of the taste of China Lily Soya Sauce. Bring it back-nothing compares. It is one of life's little joys!

I have searched over a good part of B.C. while I was on hplidays there is no China lily to be found I'm in dire straights and so are alot of my friends and family help!!!

We have been searching for China Lily Soya sauce for a couple of weeks now. I had extra bottles on hand so I haven't needed to look for it until now. Decided to do a search and came across your site. I'm glad to see I am not alone in missing it. I tried Kikkoman once and promptly threw the bottle out and went back to the best.
I just hope Safeway returns it to their shelves after the company gets their problems sorted out.
A big thank you to all that have contacted the company!

Hi, I been searching all of Edmt and have not found a single bottle. Thanks for the update and hopefully the great product is back on the shelves soon !! I have not found a replacement that even comes close !!

This site is a relief. I started looking last week for China Lily and didn't see it at my regular grocery store. So today I started the search and couldn't find any anywhere. Finally, I asked at one of the grocery stores and heard that the guy who owned the company had died and that his wife didn't want to keep up the company, so instead of selling it, she just quit (either must have the stuff stockpiled or hate it). This is hearsay, but that was what I was told today. I sure hope that what this site says is true and that I only have to make it until September. By the way, IGA (Sobey's too maybe) sells Compliments brand, it's supposed to be pretty good, and you can get reduced salt. Kikkoman or whatever does not substitute, yuck!

I can get China Lily in One Gallon containers. Email me if you are interested in making a deal.

b.o.b@shaw.ca

We live in Chilliwack B.C. My family and I went to NINE different stores just to find China Lily. If ever there was no more China Lily.. that would be the end of soya sause for us. There could NEVER be a replacement. I bought out one store, they had 6 big bottles so got them all. Then we went to another little corner store and bought 8 more bottles. LoL I think we're going to have to buy a safe just to put our China Lily in so NO ONE can take any!! LoL ! We do hope they start selling them again, cause we dont know how long these will last.

I've just called Lee's..they say they are down to fix and maintain the machines???? I begged to know where a bottle of the lovely tasting "China Lily"could be found, he has a few of the small glass bottles. Unfortunatly I'm in Calgary, he is in Toronto. I'm actually going out to southern Ontario and considering making a large side trip to Toronto to get my "fix". Never mind the candy for my kids..bring on the China Lily.
He says they should be back in production in early Sepember.

The funniest thing happened this morning. I was chatting on the phone with my girlfriend that lives 2 hours north of me on the Trans Canada Highway here in Northwestern Ontario. Out of the blue, she asked me if I had heard anything about the China Lily epidemic! I thought she was going to tell me a joke or something, but I did tell her that I was out of it and can't find the damned stuff anywhere! So she told me that she would send me this link so I could read up on it as I had no ideal as to what was really going on! She continued on telling me about what she found on here and so on. She then told me the funniest story about China Lily that I really thought that I should share it with everyone! Yesterday her in-laws were out and about and decided that for shits and giggles, they would drive up north and go for lunch. When they were in this small Northwestern Ontario town that is off the beatin path just over an hour north of the Trans Canada Highway, the mother in-law thought that she would go in and check out the grocery store! LMAO, to her amazement....there were 33 bottles of China Lily 483ml on the shelf! She continued to procede to the check out with 20 of the bottles! The clerk kind of laughed at her seeing all the bottles in her cart. So, she pulled out the article about the China Lily epidemic. After lunch, her mother in-law decided that she would go back to the grocery store and get the remaining bottles to take home with her for her and her family. When she got the the aisle, there were only 10 bottles of the black gold sitting there so she swiftly scooped them up and went to the check out and got the same clerk as before! When she left just an hour or so before, there were still 13 bottles. The clerk decided to scoop up 3 bottles for herself! My girlfriend is now the proud owner of 20 of those 30 bottles of black gold that her mother in-law came home with! So the moral of the story is.......LOOK WHERE YOU WOULD LEAST EXPECT IT...YOU JUST MIGHT FIND SOME BLACK GOLD....CHINA LILY!!!!!

AAaarrgghh...!!!! Now I see that it's the whole damn country WITHOUT CHINA LILY!! And here I thought that it was just my lil' town here on Vancouver Island without my favorite soy sauce. I'm ready to blow a frickin' gasket because I have searched every where for it!! There is absolutely NOTHING that compares to it!

My family have also been looking for "China Lily". The clerk at Safeway told me that it was their most popular soya sauce. Although the shelf was bear he said they were still carring it.
Surrey BC

I called Lee's today and spoke to a lady who told me southern Ontario should be stocked in 2 weeks.

Hi there; It's the same here in Powell River, B.C. None to be had. I've checked all the stores and came up empty handed. Like everyone else, China Lily is the only one we like. Hopefully they will get back up and running soon.

They may as well quit growing rice! We eat it not only with rice but it's heaven on pasta with Parmesan and butter! Don't knock it until you try it!! It HAS to be China Lily or nothing at all!!
Posted by Frankie - August 16th/05 Port McNeill, B.C.

i hope it's true! All my fave. recipes contain china lily...i'm at a loss without it! i wouldn't wish this on anyone but i'm glad i'm not alone in these hard times. ;) May the shelves of your local grocery store be replenished with CL VERY SOON! Peace & China Lily.

Y'know, I live in B.C. and work in a store of a Western grocery chain called Overwaitea. We were alerted to the fact that CL would be out of production and our warehouse bought up as much as we could. By chain-wide memo we at the store level were allerted to the upcoming shortage. Our grocery guys ordered all they could (20 cases) and we had an aisle stack for about 2 weeks. I don't work in grocery (I'm non-foods) so I didn't know about the production problem until too late. After it was all gone I inquired about it's return only to find out it was "out of production for the time being". What a clown, I could've cornered the market!! At the very least I could've bought a few extra for my family. I transfered the last 1/4 bottle from the 483 ml to the 142 ml today :o( My 4 year-old daughter REFUSES to eat rice with any other sauce (although the Wing's in the packets is ummm... reasonably close). Fingers crossed they ARE going to produce it again and not just feeding us the standard line.

You people all need help! SERIOUS help!!
Driving 640kms round trip to get soy sauce?! Without thinking to even call first! Or is it soya sauce? Anyway, doesn't matter...you all need help and should book an appointment with your local therapist...yeah, the usual one you go to for life crises like these....
Good luck!

I too have been searching for my China Lily soya sauce,even my kids are hooked and noticed the difference when I put it on the table in the same
refillable bottle I always use!!!I called Westfair Foods and they said the children of China Lily are having issues and that is it for the products.I like your explanation better and least it gives me hope that it still may be produced.Hey anybody got enough money maybe we could get together and run the business ourselves!!!!!!!If I locate some CL in an out of the way place I WILL SPREAD THE WORD and BUY IT ALL.

I can't believe people used China Lily for recipes. Ok, I admit I have occaionally put some on steak, but I've usually reserved it for my fresh steamed rice, which I serve with butter and additional salt sprinkled on it (as if CL wasn't already salty enough)
I too have been going CRAzy at the thought that China Lily Soya was no more to be seen. Why can no one else make anything like it? What is their secret? Any industrial spys out there? And Kikkoman is a joke; it's made with WHEAT, fer cryin out loud! And some people think that is a reasonable substitute!?!? Freakin' Philistines!
Anyway, hopefully we'll see it back on the shelves again.

Yes I know how you all are feeling I am having china lily withdrawls. I've searched our city of Quesnel BC with the same results as you. Can't find it. Hope it comes back!!!! Tried calling the number you gave and that number is 416-465-2407 and no anwser I'll try again later.

ARRGGHHHH! What is wrong with the world when we can't even get decent soya sauce anymore? I have been looking everywhere for some CL cause it is the best and wondered what was happening. First, no CL soya sauce and recently no OXO cubes either. We need our traditions. Bring back our CL!!!!!

CANT FIND ANYWERE IN CENTERAL ALBERTA EITHER THOUGHT I WAS LOSIN MY MIND VH KIKIKOMAN SUCK CHINA LILLY NUMBER 1 GOT ANY IN CENTERAL AB POST YOUR WEB

GOD DAMN CHINA LILY PEOPLE

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU !!! THANK YOU !!! to Sarah of Saskatoon and Patti of Aug 16 message. I decided to look for China Lily in "the least expected place" and after visiting three local "mom and pop" grocery stores here in mid Ontario, to my sheer delight, I found and bought 15 bottles. From everything I've heard, I will be scouting other areas for the "Black Gold". You never know, we may never see it on store shelves again !!! ;-(

I grew up loving China Lily Soy sauce back in Ontario...it must be an Eastern thing. I'm now out in Victoria and finding some of the products i crave just don't make it to the island. I do however have a regular supply of China Lily through a chain of supermarkets called "Thriftys" that are only in BC. My local store put up a sign about 2 months ago explaining problems in the factory and there being no more soy sauce until further notice. I will prevail though, i dont
f*%k around with my soy sauce. For those of you that dont know, China Lily puts out a 1 gallon (4.55 Litre) jug. If i can find them out here still, you people closer to the source should be able to score one too. (retails for like 16 bucks out here)
Cheers, i'm gonna go do a shot of soy sauce in honour of all you lily heads out there. hehe.

I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and I too have not been able to find any CL anywhere. So I called Sobey's and was informed that the CL company is having family issues. There is no other sauce like it, so I asked, "Do you have anything that is comparable?" The guy said,"No". Are we SOL?

I work in a grocery store. I was devastated to hear that China Lily was no longer available. I quickly ran down the asian food aisle only to find and empty space where China Lily once was. I had a weeks holidays coming to me so I set off for Saskatchewan checking every little corner store along the way. Finally, in a small town called "Weekes", Saskatchewan, I purchased 4- 483 ml bottles!!! Stupid me, I left behind 5 of the 142ml bottles. So, if any of you are desperate enough, grab a map and head to the prairies!

Realized last month that none of the stores in Kelowna, B.C. carried China Lily any longer - lucky I still have one bottle left which will be used very sparingly!! Bought several different brands and none came even close to the taste of C.L. One named VH (made in Ontario) was the closest, although saltier and a poor substitute.

LMAO. People it's only a condiment and you know the funny part? I know where to buy the stuff by SK. HeHe. Actually just under two hours away. Sigh, so funny. And the best part.. I recently moved to europe :p maybe i'll find it here. Laughng hysterically. seriously people. maybe it has drugs in it..that'd make sense.

I thought it was just at our store here in Oliver BC that was out. Then it never shows up on the shelf. When I mentioned it to my mom she told me that the grocer told her that they went bankrupt! Is this true?

Nothing tastes like China Lily.

There is no replacement.

:(

we've been without for months it seems like. ricew has been a staple in our diet but since cl is off the shelves we are doing without ( i'm not sure if sex or cl is worse. I just hope you guys are right and it's on the shelves soon.

doing the cl dt's
rob

I have been going crazy too looking for China Lily Soya Sauce. I am currently in sales and travel throught southern B.C. I have checked every small grocery, cornerstore, gas station anywhere that they might sell it with no success. It's just not out there. I actually had one convenience store owner give me 2 open bottles because he felt sorry for me.

Safeway brand comes close (at least in recipes) but we have quit plain rice since we ran out. When it comes back on the shelves, I will be buying 'extra' and stashing it!

Stop the insanity! Noticing we had no soy sauce in the house I trundled down to Safeway and after 10 minutes of looking and thinking - it must be on the shelve I just can't see it - I admitted defeat and tried Walmart and Superstore to no avail. As soon as I got home I googled china lily soy sauce and up popped this site with all the answers!! OK - if Lee's can't fix this problem we may need to get the recipe and start this company anew here in Canada. HELP - I need my CL

Hey everyone, good news I phone lees earlier today and they said that it should be back in canada's shelves by the end of Sept. That is good news!!! I love this stuff, I grew up on it, and rice is not the same without it. I have 1/2 bottle left, so I will have to savour it till the end of Sept. We have been sold out here for around month and half, and I bought that last 4 bottles that were on a grocery store shelf here. I even went as far as to see if there were any on ebay, but no luck. I hope they are right and it is back soon:-)

I have quite a supply build up here at home of China Lily Soya Sauce as I happened to find a small corner store with a large supply of it stocked up. I bought every single bottle they had on the shelves. Very expensive mind you but i am willing to share. You pay shipping and I will require a minimum number of bottles ordered. Email me if you are at all interested and I will quote you the price then.

China Lily lover =)

oops guess i should include my email ......heh.........keyasha@gmail.com

Just in case the Lee Foods does not get it back on the shelves for September, get some of my stock fast while supplies last!

Finally some one else has noticed, this is driving me crazy. I think that some online stores still have product so I would try there.

Those people need to figure out their family issues. The rest of the world needs it's soya sauce.

Amazing, I thought I was the only one going crazy over no soy sauce. I work at a small grocery store and have been trying to order some for months and every week the invoice said 'out of stock'. No help there. I recently received some gossip from our wholesaler who told me that there was a death in the family who runs the company and they've been having troubles. Not sure how much truth there is to that. I hope the end of September comes with China Lily because I'm almost out.

Thanks for the info Sarah!!! Victoria BC has been out for months as have I. Tried others only to be disappointed!!! Rice has not been the same for somrtime now. We will all rejoice next month, fingers crossed until September.

Ok...we are all crazy!!! But I was so relieved to find out that China Lily is coming back. We are almost out of it and there's no way my husband will be eating white rice without it!

Ok, I am so glad there are many others out there like me! I have tried so many different sauces. China Lily is the only one I'll use on my rice!!!

Here's my problem. Not only is all of Canada in a panic. I've moved to the States after living in BC for over 5 years and found I cannot find it here at all! This is before the problem broke out up there. My daughter is going back to Toronto for University this fall and I've pleaded for her to send me some when she gets settled in!!

I thought I was the only one going crazy without my China Lily soy sauce. I too have tried many brands since our stores have run out. Most have gone down the drain. No other brand compares!

Where oh where has my China Lily gone? It's certainly not anywhere near Prince George, BC. Don't these people understand??? They may think they are rich enough already to just "close" the plant, but my gosh..... I am getting sick of rice with just butter. YUCK!!! I NEED MY CHINA LILY!!!!!!

Well folks, just got a case of China Lilly 142ml bottles in today. I put them on the shelf (after grabbing 5 for myself) and they're half gone already. For those of you in B.C. go to your local Overwaitea and ask the Grocery manager to re-order it in... it should be in the warehouse. I know we ordered another 10 cases of it, just in case LOL I did notice the case had a "New Line" sticker on it, maybe because they'd taken it out of the system. I tried looking through the "class and category" for the 483ml size but no luck. Hope that helps :o)

if there is any in the city of richmond, i would sure like to know, because i just finished the last drop of china lily, and now i am going to be withdrawling.

I found a entire shelf full at Coopers foods in Hope BC. There was at least 100 + bottles. This must mean its comming back. The closest thing is Superstores no name brand. I could not tell the difference. Give it a try.

i'm told that western family brown soya sauce tastes similar.

Like Wayne said, Cooper's has China Lilly as well (in B.C.). Seeing that Cooper's is supplied from the Overwaitea Food Group warehouse (it's parent company... all owned by Jim Pattison) that would make sense. For the rest of you near a Cooper's, Overwaitea, or Save-On Foods you should now be able to get China Lilly as well. If you there isn't any on the shelf tell the person that does the ordering for the grocery floor the order number (03600-4) and he can order it in for you.

Good eating :o)

I see that the product is starting to show up on store shelves in BC but we haven't seen new stock in Manitoba. For that reason when I was in southern Manitoba over the weekend I found a Co-op store that had 15 bottles on the shelf. These were older bottles covered in dust but I picked up 5 of them and left 10 there for someone else to enjoy

hi i am writing 2 you all because of the shortage of the CHINA LILY in my little town.

from the time i was a little girl i have always had china lily in my house i'm not 2 happy with the shortage of this product.
i want it back plzz find a way 2 get this back in everyones stores.......

Im been going through China Lilly withdrawals for months now, I have even tried to order it online and have had no luck. It has just made my day to read this and find out that there is light at the end of the tunnel, as sad as that sounds for soya sauce, but I love it. And it fells real good to know im not the only one that is obsessed...lol

Im been going through China Lily withdrawals for months now, I have even tried to order it online and have had no luck. It has just made my day to read this and find out that there is light at the end of the tunnel, as sad as that sounds for soya sauce, but I love it. And it fells real good to know im not the only one that is obsessed...lol

Hello I too have been feeling crushed over what I thought was the loss of my beloved China Lily soya sauce and sweet and sour sauce and their canned veggies. It made for a quick healthy meal for my kids nothing compares to any of it. I am praying you are right and they will return I had heard that they were to be no more, all gone. So maybe if we all band together and send this page to them they will hurry back. Hoping for a quicker than quick return jo from Red Deer AB

Reading these posts has brought me to tears!really! I was laughing so hard! You see, I too can realate to all of your pain. My family said our evening prayers as we sat together for the last supper with our beloved CL. YES, IT'S ALL GONE!!!!in honor of this,I placed it next to me during the meal. After each use I would lovenly wipe down the bottle clean. my loyalty to it has lead me here tonite. CL is as Canadian as it gets! I can see the commercial now! people across Canada, united for one purpose, holding thier empty bottles of CL crying up to the heavens, "WHY?"!!!!!!!!! all of this being held on a national day of mourning. Then the music sound hopeful, people begin to whisper rumours of great importance! It's coming back! Our beloved is returning! And then ever so slowly, the blessed ones fall to their knees, because through out this time they were faithful, never ceasing to beleive, and now here in there hands they held a brand new bottle! With a promise of more to come if needed, never again will thier rice be plain! Then just before envy and greed breaks out amoung the crowd, the heavens open, and from it pours the sweetest thing ever to touch a mans steak or a childs bowl of steaming rice! It's China Lily! And as we watch this beautiful and wonderous scene, the Family from CL vows to never, ever do this to Canada again. Yes, what a commercial. Just think, one day when we are really old we can tell small children of the great CL famine. They may not beleive us at first, but one look at our faces as we tell it they will know with horor and shock that what we say is true! Stand Stronge my brothers and sisters! Soon it will flow like milk and honey, which never seems to run out. Lesley

i only have 1/2 a bottle left
now we only use it on special occasin`s
2 shake`s is all we get
what a thing to be in crisis over
but , we love it !
come back soon
i almost wish it back more than hockey and i`m canadien !
please family set it straight
and get us going on china lily , once more
tommy ............

I went to 7 or 8 stores, with no luck. I went to every grocer in Chinatown in my town of Victoria BC and everywhere I went everyone said that many people were asking about CL. There is nothing like the real deal. I bought a bottle of Yamasa, it tastes pretty good, very rich. It is Japanese soy sauce tho, and not quite the same as the CL!!! ARGHHH!! Is it really coming back? Must have my CL!

The reason for the production stoppage has to do with the shortage of key ingredient "Premoniss". 20mg of "Premoniss" is added to each bottle of China Lilly Soy Sauce.

"Premoniss" (pregnant monkey piss) production has come to halt as the monkies which have been producing the liquid are now beyond their bearing years. New animal rights actions have thwarted efforts to obtain younger monkies to continue production, and the family refuses to change the formulation to substitute non-pregnant monkey piss.

I live in Northern Alberta, Fort McMurray to be exact. I decided to check the stores again yesterday for cl again. My fist stop Save on Foods, and guess what there was about 50 bottles on the shelf. Thank god I was starting to think we were never going to get it back.

I say we start calling Wing's. It is now time for Wing's http://wings.ca/ to enter the retail market. It's the only soy sauce that's in the same league as China Lily. In fact I'm a little embarrassed to say that I even put the China Lily aside when I get one of those little packets from heaven.

BTW- Steve which souther MB CO-OP store did you find those 15 bottles.. I am having withdrawl symptoms and I need some China Lily. HELP!!!!!

Hi

I am 12 years old and love your China Lily soy sauce. No other kind of soy sauce tastes like yours, it is so good. We ran out of your soy sauce and went to our hometown IGA to see if we could get it and we couldn't. I was so disappointed and we have looked everywhere (even when we were away on vacation) and then my mom told me to go on your web site and when we did we found out why there was no China Lily soy sauce.

I hope that you get this e-mail
I was just wondering when it will be back in stores again. I CAN'T WAIT as I love rice and soy sauce and I have tried other kinds and do not like it.

Thank you so very much!!

Bryanna Walker

There is another. If you have an Extra Foods in your area try thier No Nmae brand. It's not quite as good but makes for an acceptable substitute. Extra Foods is part of the Loblaws chain. So even if you don't have one you may be able to find it in one of thier stores.

Sorry for the delay The Co-op store that I saw with 15 bottles of which I bought 5 was in Morden

I too an suffering from the withdrawal of China Lily... If we can't get any back on the shelves the terrorists have won. They have disrupted society as we know it. Please, Mr. China Lily.. I need your tasty sauce in my mouth... right now!

I heard the bad news a few weeks ago, I am a Canadian based in the U.S.A. I look forward to my monthly trips to Canada and get our great food products (i.e. China Lily, Cheezies, Old Dutch Chips, Lipton flavoured rice, Canadian Cheese, Kraft Mac & Cheese*Canadian Only* American's don't compare, Five Alive, President's Choice Iced Tea,and I am pretty sure you have a few of your own) I called back to my momma and asked her if it was true, because I'm down to my last little glass bottle and she confirmed my anxiety, all Canadians across the country are in dire straits, we need our China Lily . Me and my friend drove to Canada for the sole purpose of the search for China Lily. Fortunately I was in luck, I found our Beloved Staple in Life "China Lily" it was at the last stored I was going to try after all hope was gone. What day did I find it? September 3, 2005. I am hoping that it is not true and that the distrubution was on strike because life without China Lily is Life without Water. Good Luck to you all in Search of this precious Canadian Condiment... I suggest looking in the most remote corner store... this is where I found my stash of Gold... Peace and Love. Vancity Shawty

I'd just like to say, you all need English writing lessons - learn how to spell will you?

Hey to all my Great Fellow CL Fans!

All I can say is that I think you are the best and KEEP writing. I LOVE to read your posts everyday. We can do this together, we have the power!!

On a funny note, I think my blog slightly backfired, as I went searching to find and hoard the last CL bottles in my hometown of Eatonia, SK (500 people) only to be told that "some lady came and bought them all up"! In both grocery stores. Can you believe it? OOhhhhhh the agooonnny!

Sarah, Out.

I can't eat rice anymore. Since china lily soy sauce has dissappeared. WE NEED IT BACK!! My kids won't eat any other kind. I can't beliece the number of people who agree with me!! I thought i was the only one!!

I just got word from my brother-in-law who works at Sobey's that they got a new shipment in yesterday. It's just the smaller glass bottles but better then nothin! Keep your eyes out and buy a bunch before this happens yet again!

P.S. I'm in Winnipeg and the store was Sobey's. I checked Safeway and didn't see any there yet.

My cousin and I just about had a knock down drag-out fight in the local Sobey's(Sundre,Alberta)
over four little bottles. In the end we split them even but I tell you, It was tense. We have been on a search to find a replacement and it has been miserable. I have quite a collection of soy/soya sauces growing in the cupboard. I was so surprised to see those four little bottles on the shelf. It has been so long .... Maybe this means our Sacred Sauce it on its way back.!!

Hello all I'm from up north in Fort McMurray and I was told from a local grocery store that they are on the way... But Safeway still hasn't put up the China Lily tags yet. My boyfriend is absolutely going nuts. We had to resort to buying other stuff then stealing a bottle from his mother.

Hi, I'm in Winnipeg and the store is IGA on Main Street. They have quite a few small bottles. Found them on the shelf by accident. Grabbed a few and ran.

This is HILARIOUS! I just came online to try to BUY some china lily online, my parents and I have gone through like, five other kinds and are searching all the stores for good 'ol china lily, with no luck! But it's good to at least now know WHY we haven't been able to get any...writing from Thunder Bay, Ontario...man, when it DOES go back on the shelves, it'll be a riot! :P

Hey all u CL fans. I too am lost without my China Lily. We haven't had rice in about a month because nothing is in comparrison. I hope it comes back on the shelves real quick like, cause I am can't handle the craving for rice anymore.

September 9 - still no sign of China Lily in Toronto. Yikes.

Until Lee's starts shipping China Lily again I have been mixing Maggi half and half with cheapo crappo soy sauce. It's not exactly the same taste of course but it seems to stop the China Lily cravings, or at least allow me to hang on hoping against hope that all will be set right in Canada again.

Check this out...

http://cgi.ebay.ca/China-Lily-Soya-Sauce_W0QQitemZ5612792952QQcategoryZ88433QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

ebay...where else..lol

My son is just going nuts without his China Lily soy sauce. We've tried a few other brands (he called the Kikoman "puke in a bottle") and the only one that he'll eat is the President's Choice. It's not the same but so far is the only acceptable substitute. In the meantime, you can be sure we'll be on the lookout for the China Lily to return to the store shelves....

I thought I was the only one looking for China Lily until I discovered this website! I am hooked on the Sweet and Sour sauce that goes on spareribs and porkchops. ( I mix with 2 TBLS of ketchup, brown sugar and.....no surprise, China Lily Soya Sauce.) If it ever comes back on the shelves please try it so the Lee's can keep this product coming too!
Thanks, Chris

I just found out today that there is no more China Lily. I almost had a heart attack. I live in a small town in B.C. I went to every gas station and corner store. Luckily I found 5 142 ml bottles and bought them all. I am just like everyone else, can't survive without my China Lily. G9ood luck to everyone out there, hope your shopping goes as good as mine did today.

I was just going to make a small comment about the best soya sauce in the world. I had looked high and low for China Lily Soya Sauce here in Medicine Hat to no avail. So my curiosity got the best of me and I asked one of the clerks @ my local Co-op store about what the heck is going on with the shortage. The lady informed me that the father (original maker of China Lily soya sauce) died and never gave anyone the receipe for the product so now the family is trying to figure out what the heck he had in his receipe as he took all the information to his grave. If they do not figure out what was in it, we may never see China Lily soya sauce on our shelves again or at least not one that tastes the same.

I found three bottels in Samon Arm and dont feel to bad.

This is kinda funny. I was living in Calgary for a couple of months and searched high and low for china Lily and could not find it anywhere. I called my boyfriend and he had never heard of the stuff and asked me if I was sure that's what it was called. My boyfriend then started looking for the stuff and he also could not find it. So I asked my mom if she has seen it and she said she has seen it in Superstore. My boyfriend and I went to Lloydminister over the weekend to visit friends. Our friends were actually going to make a special trip into Edmonton to buy China Lily soya sauce. My boyfriend was like, what the heck is wrong with you people. I told our friends that my mom has seen it at superstore and and asked them how many bottles they wanted, they said 6 so I called my mom and placed an order of China Lily with her. When we came back into town my mom gave me the last of her little bottle of China Lily beacuse she had a huge bulk bottle of Kikoman (ick). She said it didn't matter because she was going to go to town the next day. So she ends up going to town and the clerk at Superstore said China Lily was disscontinued. So my mom calls me and tells me this she then said she was going to steal my china lily back. All I can do is laugh because the topic of conversation with my family and friends lately has been China Lily. I think it's retarded. Does anyone REALLY know what happened to China Lily?. Is it discontinued? Is it in the Edmonton area? If it is can someone please tell me where so I can buy a case and never have this problem again.

I phoned the number you entered above and the lovely young man told me they were starting to make the China Lily Soya Sauce immediately before many people went nuts. I guess phoning works. ......but I am a Sweet and Sour nut and you Soya Sauce worshippers get first go.......think of me while you get your first batch in 2 months......yes this is what he said. Any Sweet and Sour people out there????? Please call as we are going to wait a while if they don't feel there is much request for the best Sweet and Sour Sauce ever made!
Chris from North Bay

We've got a store here in Surrey B.C. That has over 40 assorted cases of China Lily soya sauce. Both sizes 5 oz and the 17 oz bottles and the Store owner will be gettin in the 1.5 litre containers also.I was told the main Distributor for China Lily was fired and a New one hasn't taken over the position. When that is going to happen I don't know.I picked up Four 17 oz refill bottles today and some guy bought 20 cases yesterday.If you live close by and want the stores name email me at apground@hotmail.com

So I am NOT imagining this.....
Just like CJ, I have been on the search for the Sweet and Sour sauce for my pork spareribs. Our family grew up on it too. I thought I found some on the bottom of a shelf at Walmart, but it was their Curry Sauce. Should I buy it up in case there is a run on that too? I'll make a fortune in the canned sauce speculation market!
I am empathetic to the Soya Sauce crowd. Finding a good soya sauce is like comparing no name balsamic vinegar to the aged product from Modena. (Kikkoman would be the Monkey Piss). I use Rooster Brand Superior Light Soya Sauce. Less salt is good. I buy it from Wholesale shopping club in bulk form.
As for the hoarding and selling of this precious commodity at greatly inflated prices, I defer to George Kastanza who once said;"We live in a society!".
My substitute for the S+S sauce is one jar of No Name sweet and sour sauce with (or without) Pineapple combined with Diana's Gourmet BBQ Sauce for chicken and ribs. Add more BBQ sauce if you want more BBQ flavour, less if you want more S+S flavour. It's a good substitute until (if) the product comes back. YUMMY!

Wow! I wrote in on August first( the first letter) and I can't believe how this has brought Canada to it's knees. I check in once in a while to have a laugh or cry. I too have been unable to enjoy rice for months. I have the empty china lily bottle in my cupboard...I just need to see it there sometimes ...you know? I am counting the days until it is back in the stores. Good luck to us all! Karen (winnipeg)

I just got off the phone with Colleen from Lee's foods and she says the plant is up and running and, at least in Saskatoon, bottles of the soya sauce will be on grocer's shelves by the end of next week.

She says she has fielded, conservatively, 30,000 calls demanding answers on the rationing of the best damn soya sauce on the continent if not in Asia itself (if it was sold there).

She also claims that the small bottles should have been available in Saskatoon, but I have not been able to find any. I think that soya sauce warlords have been snatching up the small bottles and keeping them from the masses.

Our wait is almost over. Armaggedon is not on the horizon. The four horsemen of the apocalypse have dismounted and China Lily will be back on the shelves in time for what would have been a cold and arduous winter. God bless the Lee family. Could we vote for an Order of Canada for these people?

I called Lee's foods yesterday and was told that
400 cases of China Lily was shipped to Overwaitea
food stores in northern BC on Monday. I haven't
eaten rice in months. Watch the price double now..
lol Doesn't matter though. Good luck all

While you're waiting for the shipments of China Lily to arrive, I found the VH brand that Safeway sells here in BC is very close to our beloved CL.

I found a little treasure of a stash in the Overwaitea in Creston BC. I bought 4 myself, hoping it will tie me over until this abomination is over.
SOON!!

I grew up with China Lily it to bad that you have to stop making the best product that was ever made by your Company many grew up with your Soya Sauce now you took it away my letter might not mean much but I'll tell you that the best is now gone just like Coke when it came back it did'nt tast the same the pop Product changed never to tast the same ever again so long China Lily Nice to have tasted you as long as I did from H.Edward

In desperation I have tried mixing Maggi with cheapo soy sauce 50/50 and found it's not too bad.
Also Safeway brand soy sauce is a pretty decent substitute to beat down the cravings. I am sooo looking forward to seeing China Lily on the shelves once more.

Tell me what's going on I NEED CHINA LILLY SAUCE.

Yes, I too grew up on China lily soya and sweet n' sour sauce. My Mom's speciality. I managed to find four cans of the sweet n' sour and two still in my cupboard. I've got my Christmas shopping done, best darn gifts my family will every have gotten from me. MORE SWEET N SOUR PLEASE

VH is crap, it tastes "burnt" compared to CL. Its the only way I can describe it.

I loaded up on CL a few months back so I guess I'm OK for now.

But what if they can't duplicate the founders formula? We are all doomed then.

Wings is OK, but as has already been pointed out, you can only get it in little packets.

I double checked and I have 4 bottles of CL, whew, reheated chicken fried rice from the local restaurant would not be the same without it.

Two of them are still sealed. Thank goodness.

BTW - VH plum sauce tastes burnt also - what do they do to their "food"?

Did some research and found out soya sauce will be O.K. for up to two years (the darker the sauce the longer it keeps). Have not seen CL in any store yet between Hamilton and Toronto--unfortunately, once you are out of their system you have to win shelf space again--not always easy. We have to ask stores to stock CL soya sauce, or they will not bother! As far as the other CL products go--bamboo shoots, chop suey vegetables et al, there are only the odd remnants. For ribs I have come up with a mixture of half Willies Chili Style Sauce to roughly a half of a combination of ketchup, brown sugar, dash of vinegar, table syrup and pepper (and CL, if you have it) to taste. I like the sound of the Diana BBQ sauce and will try adding it.

Hi all. Yes, we had trouble finding China Lily too but one store in town had some so I cleared the self yesterday, I got 1 case of the 5 oz bottles @ $1.47 each! I'll be in there again today to see how much more they have. Back at 4:00 PM

Hey man, I bought a wack of CL last time the crissis hit. Every time we used a jug-I replaced it. I'm sitting on @ 20 1/2 liter bottles. How much ya offering/bottle?

Hi again. Well I visited the store again and they seem to have as much China Lily, "5oz bottles", as one would like1

Well I don't know how Darrell got to be so fortunate. I still can't find any - on the phone or otherwise. I have freinds all over Canada & the U.S. and they can't find any. Guy or Darrell $20.00 for 1/2 liter. I'm desperate!!!! Kathy in Marshall, Saskatchewan.

I am still searching for China Lilly...I live in Northern Ontario and we still don't have any.I called the company and they suggested I drive 4 hours to buy some at the nearest city. I am actually considering this because I have so missed my China Lilly.

Just reading through this list of China Lily Emergency comments - after searching on line for any info telling me what has happened to my favorite soya sauce. I feel a great sense of relief knowing that there are others sharing in my plight. Lets stay strong and fight for our sauce. BRING IT BACK!! FAST! I've been out of it for months, and nothing tastes the same. I now have a bottle of every other kind on the market in my house.

Still no luck in toon town. I tried to contact the company but i had no luck getting through. Daryl, How much is a couple bottles worth?

CHINA LILY IS BACK!!

I just got off the phone with a charming gal in the office at Lee's Food Products. She says they've been back in production for about a week.

Lee's isn't allowed to sell to the public, but they're working hard at getting the product back in the stores, starting with 2 major supply lines: IGA/Sobeys and Dominion.

What we all need to do is get the attention of our local IGA/Sobeys/Dominion/A&P/Food Basics managers and get them to put an order in.

It's a BEAUTIFUL day!! :))

this crisis really sucks.I only have 1/2 a bottle left.
I'm so greedy that i won't let anybody in my familly have any. Still searching in grande prairie.

Adrianne, I grabbed a bunch of 5oz bottles at $1.79 per bottle, $1.49 each if you buy 3 bottles! at Real Canadian Wholesale Club in Vernon, BC. Don't know how you would get it there

Well I found out the TRUTH behind the mystery. It turns out that the china lily brand soy sauce causes serious brain lesions in consumers later in life...
ever try tomato with your rice?

Guess what! Our family was able to score that wonderful soya sauce that you are all dying to have.Twelve whole bottles of that black gold. We will be enjoying our rice and soya sauce toinght suckers.Enjoy your search for it and indulge in your plain rice. Our search is finally over.

I just talked to Lee foods and they said a shipment was sent to winnipeg yesterday and will be distributed out west from there. She expected albeta conumers should have china lily back by the end of september. WooHOOOO I'm so glad I'm not the only person who's been in crisis mode for months now.

Can anyone tell if they have found any here in northern Ontario, im in Sudbury and im desperate for China Lily soya sauce. Please help.

Well, it's still not here in Calgary! I am dying! I now have an assortment of different kinds of soya sauce in my refrigerator that I don't like! They all suck! So I guess I will be stalking my grocery stores until it comes back. Now what I am to eat instead of rice? I am having major withdrawls here!! :) Ok, deep breath, it will return, it will return.....

Well I am in a small town in Northern B.C, and none here either, will it ever return? VH is no where near C.L, nothing is? I am having C.L withdrawls.

OMG, I found 1 bottle today at the Great Canadian Wholesale Club, it was the last one on the shelf, sorry guys, would have gotten you all one, but i ended up with the last one, I will keep you informed tho.

i just got three bottles of the last stock in our town thank god good old hubby took them for me. I live in manitoba near wpg. he was told that the company went under any truth to that, email me with subject line china lily i went to safeway and they too have one thank god i have three that should last me a couple of months sorry if i would of none this website i would of got more if they had more.

Found on ebay a guy selling two bottles.

www.ebay.ca
China Lily Soya Sauce: 2 bottles Item number: 4406497164 copy this number and you will see, it is going at 20.50 for two bottles and i hear he might have more. @ hours to go

That web site is crazy but if you need your soya sauce you will go to any lenghts. I no i love my china lily.

Also going through major China Lily with draw like the rest here. We searched Winnipeg and even checked out little china town to find China lily soysauce with no luck.

In desperation we have tried kikkomens which is crap too thin and no flavor and VH also crap. We tried compliments soysauce from Sobeys (Sobeys brand)and to my surprize it tasts almost like China lily's Soy Sauce, it is a little thiner than China Lily tasts pretty much identical and is 100% better than the other 2 alternatives it settled my craving for china lily soy sauce.

So if you are looking for a very close alternitve in the meantime check out Sobeys compliments soy sauce. If you don't like it you should be able to return it with no problems check with your customer service.

For not this is our alternative until China Lily is back on the shelves.

with the half bottle in of china lily in the house I did a tast test with my wife with china lily and the sobey's brand I mentioned in my early post. She picked China Lily but said it is close and the diffrence she could tell is sobeys brand is a little saltier and thinner but it was a good alternative..

To the Cooper family of Winnipeg. I found 4 small bottles of Chinia Lily in a small town just outside if Winnipeg and am returning there on business Monday. If you're interested I could pick a couple up if they are still there. I'm not interested in making money on them but you'd have to pick them up

jdowe58 @ hotmail . com

Thanks JD I think we should be able to make this last bottle last awhile... Sounds like a round trip to small towns arround WPG may be in order as they may still have bottles left..

Anyways thanks for the offer but we may survive lol....

We just learned of the China Lily Crisis. If I had known I would have limited the amount I allowed family members to put on their rice! Both grocers I spoke with commented the company has gone under. Anyone know if this is the truth??

I just spoke with Lee's Foods (10:36 am EDT) and they have told me that China Lily Soya Sauce is back in production! They now have enough stock to supply A&P and Sobey's stores and are just waiting for the orders. (So go bug your local grocery store manager will ya.) The woman also told me that they just delivered 252 cases to a distibutor in the Scarborough (Ontario) area which sells to local stores. Hey, things are looking up! I was afraid they were going under... Yesterday I bought the last 3 bottles from a small store in Norhtern Ontario. I asked if they had any more in the back and the owner said "no" but told me that he will be getting more this Thursday! I thought he was just toyin' with me but after speaking with Lee's Foods this morning, I believe him! Yahoo!

I was reading through and saw that Crystal from calgary couldnt find C.L ... well im in calgary as well and my mom found it at the Real Canadian Wholesale Club...she picked up 3 bottles and asked the manager and said they have more stock coming!!!!!

WOW ..Just when I thought I was the only one out there going thru withdrawls!! I love my China Lily..Thanks to this site I can sleep better knowing that I will be able to eat rice again!!
Thanks!

It will take sometime before CL hits the west coast, until then I've resorted to just buying it on ebay. I noticed that there are two sets currently up for auction on ebay.

Item number 4407993529 and 4407504582

It's a great day in Swift Current, Sask. I found China Lily on the shelf at Great Canadian Wholesale. Picked up 12 bottles and am returning tomorrow to pick up another 6 for my sister. I will be sure to replentish my stock after each bottle is empty so that I never have to go through that withdrawl again. P.S. We enjoyed rice tonight and used just about 1/2 bottle. Love that China Lily!!!!

It is 11:55 on Friday the 1st day of October. It will be known forever more as "Yahoo Friday" in B. C. I just got off the phone with the wonderful lady at Lees Foods and she said that there have been more calls from B. C. (about 100 or so per day) and that there are many cases in the warehouse in Vancouver waiting to be distributed to the grocery store warehouse. The sauce should be on the shelves by late next week. They are completely blown away by the response and said their poor old machine is pumping as hard as it can to catch up. Their first priority is the soya sauce and the other products will return as soon as they satisfy the soya sauce crazed masses. We love the noodles in a casserole that has been part of our family for 35 years. I have 3 cans left and they are for this coming Christmas so no one touches them. May the force of CL be with you all.

Vicky from Vanderhoof, B. C.

wow. i thought i was the only one who craved this stuff. i did not know there was a shortage though, and apparent return. i am from saskatchewan and grew up loving CL as well, but i moved to montreal 2 years ago for school. i brought 5 bottles with me and ran out about 8 months ago. and i can not find it anywhwere in montreal and no one has heard of it!! man these quebecers are missing out. damn i miss the sauce so much.

I thought I was the only person searching for my China Lily. My relatives did not understand why I was in such of a panic over my soya sauce. I had them looking in any and every grovery stores and whereever they thought possible. You see I am the main cook in the house therefore I need my sauce. To my fellow users I know what you are going through. PLEASE HURRY....................

none in grande prairie yet either, and i ran out! AND i HAVE A COOKOFF COMING UP

I think i'm going to cry

My 17 year old son came home after school one Friday afternoon and tells me his buddy was picking him up and they were going to cook dinner for some girls. A few minutes before he left I noticed he was acting suspicious going through the fridge. As he bolted out the door I noticed he was hiding something. I promptly followed him to his friends truck (thinking he was smuggling booze). Low and behold they were taking our last bottle of China Lilly! As these teenagers were driving off I could hear my son yell "GO, GO, GO".... and there I was standing in the driveway shaking my fist yelling to his friend, "I know where you live!!!!"

I was going crazy without my china Lily - but when I was in Vancouver my cousin gave me two bottles and called me last night to say she could not find any where - I am running low and am glad to see it is coming into the stores again.

i was running low on China Lily Soya Sauce and whet to the stores in town and after a few weeks of looking i asked about it and was told that there would be no more coming, i was devistated, my teenagers were upset cause that is all they will put on their rice, we eat rice 2 to 3 time or more a week. Now i have friends and family looking in bigger and smaller places for me, yet they are looking for themselves as well. What are we all to do, other stuff is so so, will just say taste like something that the cat would bring up:).

You said China Lily was going to be back on store shelves by September?? I can't find any here in Abbotsford, B.C., and it's now October. Help!!!!

Is this true? can we really be getting China Lily back? I have gone to every grocery store in REgina looking for this; I will be definately be asking store manager's to bring china Lily's soya sauce in asap. thanks for the updates!

REGINA: The convenience store on the corner of Dewdney and Royal by the Mr. Sub has a shelf full of small bottles for $2.99.

I just got home from AG Foods in Pemberton BC and they now have a shelf full of China Lily Soya Sauce.....YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It really is back!!!!! Stirfry and rice, here I come!!!
On the serious side, let's hope the USA doesnt discover our weakness for this product...might be a way to take us over very easily.

I stocked up when I realized there was a problem finding China Lily soy sauce in the spring. I was able to find some at a Sobeys here in southwestern ontario . Well I'm almost out and starting to panic. I have checked all the Sobeys in my area and still no soya sauce. They say it is a suppliers problem . The manager I asked seemed quite frustrated. He said a lot of people have asked , repeatedly I gathered. I have tried several different brands and I don't like any of them. Worse none of my kids like them and that is a real disaster. I found a food supplier in Ontario that says they have China Lily on the net. I'm gonna call tomorrow and ask. If they do I'm buying a case for my family and relatives. Will post if I get lucky and score some soya sauce. You would think if the demand is this insistent someone would be savvy enough to get the product into stores.

I FOUND CHINA LILY!!

IGA stores in BC (stocked by HY Louie) have the big plastic jugs of CL in stock in some stores. The HY Louie warehouse has stock if the stores order it. Get in touch with the store manager to get some!! I have 4 jugs all to myself!

(doing the China Lily dance...)

Yay!! I can eat rice again!!

OH MY GOD, there really is other people out there who grew up on China Lily & having withdrawls !!!
I am from Yellowknife, NT & that is all my parents used, China Lily Soya Sauce & Sweet & Sour Sauce. We've noticed over the summer as well C.L. stock disappearing from store shelves. My husband was out for a 1/2 hr checking every nook & cranny before he gave up & came home frustrated. There's no G.D. C.L. in this town!!
We've checked with Federated Co-ops, it is not on their order sheets to order any longer either. We are in Candle Lake for the long weekend & I checked Sobey's & Stupid Store in P.A. today, to no avail. A stock person in Sobeys said today they do not get it in but said the CO-OP in P.A. apparently gets it in...... remains to be seen & if I find it there before we head home I'll let you know.
Till then, we sign off as deprived in the Great White North of China Lily !

not the same having fried rice or with MOOSEMEAT CHOWMEIN...mmmmmmmmmm without my CHINA LILY SOYA SAUCE! *lori cries* where is the China Lily products!

What about the China Lily sweet and sour sauce??? (in the cans). I can't find any at all. Who can eat sweet and sour meat balls without sweet and sour sauce?

PRINCE GEORGE B.C.
I found CL soy sauce this past Saturday at Save On Foods in Prince George. Yahoo!! It was disappearing fast and I got a rather odd look from the checkout guy.......like I wasn't the first person he'd seen buying up CL and cackling uncontrollably.

I live on Vancouver Island, and I love China Lily Soya Sauce. When I ran out and went to the grocery store to buy more I found none on the shelf. I was devastated to hear it had disappeared. Now that I found this web site I have hope!(so does the rest of my family)We happened to find a local grocery store that had 4 cases in their warehouse and we bought the whole lot. I wonder if that will last us till it reappears on the shelves.(Cross my fingers)Here's my fav. recipe for Sweet 'n' Sour Pork or Chicken. Cut meat into 1' cubes(enough to fill 1 layer in a rect. cassarole dish)Coat with flour and brown in frying pan.(1 tbsp oil in pan)Mix 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 CHINA LILY in a separate bowl. Pour over meat in cassarole dish and bake uncovered for 30 min at 350'F. Enjoy

I am one happy camper!! China Lily has returned to the island! I live in Victoria and found it in the Thrifty Foods in Colwood today. Life is goooooood.

the family matters that they told you about
you may not have realized but the guy died and his
wife was so devestated that she did not know how she was going to carry on.

If anyone knows where I can find China Lily Sweet & Sour Sauce in or around Hamilton, Ontario, please let me know. I need to find some soon.

I've heard 3 different versions of what happened. 2 of them envolved children suing family members for control of the company after the passing of the owner. I think if they are back (which I hope they are) they have a long way to go to get the shelf space back. The stores around where I am have other other brands now and there's no room left for China Lily. If what you said is true I hope the wife is able to move on and get the product back if that's what she wants to do.

I am in Calgary and just this year sent my first born to lethbridge to finish his education. We are having a crisis, how is my son to survive his first year in college and not eat rice??? We all know that this is a food only to be eaten with his beloved China Lily. We have searched every place we could think of in Calgary & Lethbridge with no luck. I sure hope that if it is being found on the island that it will slowly way its way back to cowtown. I would hate to have my child have to return to my basement due to lack of China Lily in his new digs>>> He may starve!!!

I just found out about this disaster this past weekend. I phoned in sick on monday and spent the day going from store to store to..........

thot i was nuts till i found this site.

at least I am not alone

I called Lee Food the other day just to find out about the ETA of soya sauce in Calgary and I was told that due to the nation wide panic people are buying up the soya sauce in cases as soon as it gets to the stores. I also happened to be in my local Sobey's yesterday and I found the manager to speak with him about what I found out. I am pleased to say that hopefully sometime next week we will be getting a shipment of the small bottles of soya sauce, they arent makin the big bottles yet. So I will be in my Sobey's everyday next week awaiting the arrival of our long lost soya sauce. The lady I spoke with is also aware of this site since it seems to be the only one that I have found that had any usefull info .... Thxs Fat Paulie for coming to the aid of all us China Lily lovers across Canada.

Oh , Happiest of Happy Days!!!!!!!!! I just came back from my local Family Foods. (Portage and Ferry Road for you Winnipegers out there.) IT'S BACK! CASES OF IT! I can't stop grinning. I am returning my unopened bottle of VH Soya sauce, I'm havin' rice tonight. I'm so happy I could cry. Soon everyone. If you don't have it yet, your wait is almost over.... Karen (Winnipeg)

Yahoo hurrah yippee!!!!
China Lily is now back at super value in Oliver BC.

I bought three bottles!
Then my cuz came over saying "I have a surprise for you"
Guess what it was! LOL

Woo Hoo!!!!!

This is crap, I can't believe that they have done this to us. I grew up on China Lily and love it, can never use anything else nor will I. Somehow we have to find a way to bring it back, is there a way or are we banded from chinese food forever?

Well Fellow Loyal China Lilly-ers,

The black gold, Texas T has arrived back in Saskatoon. I am receiving reports from all over the city telling me it is in the major superstores!

Thanks to all supporters & great comments (and emails!) over these past tortuous months. For those who do not have it in their cities yet, KEEP PERSEVERING. That is the best advice that you can take from this blog. Demand CL from your superstores! It is not in the supermarket's hands to make shelf space available for the sweet CL.

YOU CAN DO IT! I believe in you!

Forever yours,

Sarah from Saskatoon (Writing of CL Emergency)

Has anyone spotted any of the China Lily sweet and sour sauce in the cans yet??? I am glad for all you soya sauce lovers out there but when is it the sweet and sour sauce lovers turn?

Been looking for China Lily SWEET & SOUR sauce in Winnipeg...forever!!

Does anyone know where I can find some?

Sobey's said the company stopped making it ...you know the story...death, family stuff.

HELP?!!?!

I have been trying to find China Lily Soya Sauce for months....just finished my last bottle and we are in a panic for more....nothing else tastes the same....I also called Lee Foods in Toronto a few months ago and was told "soon it will be back on the shelves". I am glad to see so many other China Lily users and hope it is back soon. We found a few bottles at a county store near our cottage in Northern Ontario, however, they have now run out....CHINA LILY HURRY BACK!!!

I am a Canadian living in Michigan, and my American in-laws have all thought I am nuts because I have to have my CL soy sauce. I don't want no American crap. I need it for my rice and my sweet and sour chicken recipe that everyone likes so much; they don't understand that I need CL to make it. I've asked my mom to keep scouring the shelves in southern Sask looking for me. I hope that some will land in my mailbox some day soon!!!

I am a Canadian living in Michigan, and my American in-laws have all thought I am nuts because I have to have my CL soy sauce. I don't want no American crap. I need it for my rice and my sweet and sour chicken recipe that everyone likes so much; they don't understand that I need CL to make it. I've asked my mom to keep scouring the shelves in southern Sask looking for me. I hope that some will land in my mailbox some day soon!!! I need to show my 10 month old baby what it's like to be Canadian!!!

HAHAHAHA...I got the last bottle on the shelf the other day at safeway!! I will savour it like gold.

It's finally back on the shelf at Safeway in Fort Mcmurray,Alberta. Thanks China Lily, now I can make my favorite stirfry.

You people need a life, soya sauce is soya sauce. Your treating it like the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963. Now calm down it will be o k ... does anyone need a binkie.

We just had supper with rice. We had to use some other crap that doesn,t even come close to CL. I need my China Lily back!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please, makers of CL, bring it back in gallon containers so we will never run out!!! I thought I was alone on missing it. If you don,t have China Lily forget the Chinese food and have burgers or something else because it will just taste like s--t!!!!
Dennis D.

I have not found any CL anywhere in the KW
area of Ontario. I will phone the company as
well. I can't believe the junk out there compared to CL I did not know I was a soy sauce
gormet until I couldn't get it.

China Lily 478ml plastic bottles in stacked up in cardboard cases, by the meat dept, and on sale!!! . Richmond Road Co-op in Calgary.

anybody find china lily yet? i just found some on ebay.ca for 2 bottles @ 8.00 u.s, there might be more too if it gets even scarcer, just to let any of you die hards know if your that desperate!, bring back china lily! and for god sakes bring back thunder crunch hot wings flavour chips!..lol damn old dutch!! i hate when canadian companies delete there product lines!

found CL 483mL plastic bottle @ safeway, southland & macleod hurray, the drought is over

It is back at Superstore in Winnipeg now. All is well with the world....

JR you rock!!! Went to the Co-op on Richmond in Calgary and just about cried when I saw the display! I can eat rice again! Life is good!

Thanks to Sarah. Lee's having lost its Ontario markets because the department store buyers think them unreliable, it was only this page (found by Google search) which put me onto Lee's and the only on-line store (canadaonly.ca) which sells the stuff. Sarah save the flavour of a lifetime!

Found China Lily by the boxful in Abbotsford at the Great Canadian Superstore!!

My dad bought 2 bottles of China Lily today. Yes, BOUGHT at a store.

neener neener :P

I hugged it when he brought it home :/

I plan to eat rice for weeks!

we've been living the past few months with cheap imitation crap. nothing wil ever compare to the great taste of china lily soy sauce and sweet n sour. a lady at work had a half of bottle of soy sauce; no matter how much money we offered her she would not give in(bi*ch).now as we read these post we see that in some places it has come back.ONLY CHINA LILY CAN BRING BALANCE BACK TO THE FORCE!!!!!.

They're back in the store as normal. Apparently they settled all the legal matters and it's business as usual. Contact them at for a distributor near you:
Lee's Food Products Limited
1233 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4L1C2
(416) 465-2407

Good Luck!

I love china lily, and when I went all over looking for it I finally found out from the corner store lady that there were issues, and she had a case of it and some dumb greedy bugger bought the whole thing. But I went to IGA, Safeways, Extra foods and today is November 2, 2005 and nothing, are you sure that it is back on the market.

does anyone know if CL SWEET n' SOUR is back on the shelves in Winnipeg?

having no luck finding it.

Well my wife went to superstore, sobey's and Safeway's..Superstore was sold out, sobeys says they cant get it anymore and walla..she hit paydirt at safeway..She bought four big bottles @ $3.19 each..
it has finally come back..woohooooo byt he way this is in Lethbridge..Russ get in there and buy some.hahaha

I've seen CL soya sauce in the large bottles at 2 Safeway stores in Winnipeg in the last week. SO it is starting to show up again

I too have been in the depths of despair waiting for the new shipment of china lily. My sister gave me a part bottle when I ran out and couldn't find any more in the local grocery stores. She foolishly thought she would be able to replace it in a reasonable amount of time. Needless to say I didn't offer to give it back. I have been hoarding it, but am down to the last ounce of the only decent soya sauce there is. It still isn't back on the shelves in our town and I'm starting to feel the desperation creeping back. Please bring it back soon.

I thought it was just me missing the China Lily. Reassured to see others out there. Staff at my local Safeway have started a rumour the plant has burned down. Oh Despair!

The few bottles being put on the shelves are being scooped by hoarders.

Please stop the hoarding now. Leave some it for the rest of us.

Sincerely, a China Lily Soy Sauce lifelong fan

It is Back!!! I was in Safeway yesterday (Saturday)in line with my daughter and saw the woman in front of me had a bottle!! I said "oh my god it's back!" and my daughter starting laughing. Needless to say, I ran and got one myself. I am so happy to see it back!! And I loved reading the comments on this site--they were too funny. Thank you, "fat paulie" for all your help!!! Long live China Lily!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jill

For those of you in Nanaimo who are going through withdrawls, Thrifty's at Harbour Park now carries the plastic jugs of C.L.,but I did not see any sweet and sour, I will keep my eyes peeled for others. Happy hunting all!

I live in Thunder Bay, and have been searching for CL for months. I've phoned and "e"d all over and there hasn't been anyone who knows what has happened to CL. But, just on the off chance I looked again @ Safeway and joy of joys .... It's Baack!! Needless to say I bought three bottles just in case.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW....

We were at Superstore in Calgary on Saturday(n/w location) and the have the larger plastic bottles in stock now.

Hey There,

It,s Dennis from North Delta, B.C. Canada.
China Lily is at Thrifty's in Tasawassen!!
YaHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I just picked up 3 bottles in a panic buy.
You never know when this could happen again. From now on we will keep 2 bottles on hand.
"China Lily or forget about rice"

I couldn't believe that the soya sauce,I had grown up with had disappeared from store shelves in T.Bay......I know it sounds silly, but I was posed with the question....Will my rice ever taste the same again? I has a sense of total disbelief, as I asked my mother... Have you seen the china lily soya sauce in the grocery stores lately? I didn't know if a shipment was just late or the company was no longer producing this Canadian Favorite.....I am really happy I found this site and that China Lily has been spotted at Safeways. Thank-goodness.

WOW- we're not alone in our mournful fear of loosing what we have for so long taken for granted. After swiping the family's CL soya sauce with the hollow promise they could easily replace it in their neighborhood stores- we find ourselves both rationing this black wonderjuice (the kids nolonger may have any) and also bearing the brunt of the "family" as they also soon discovered what we feared -IT'S NOT AVAILABLE. It's good to hear it's been showing up but alas we won't stop the survival rationing till another 4-5 bottles sit in our shelves.
Vancouver BC

Well, I haven't yet seen it in a store in Victoria (have to try the Colwood Thrifty's someone else mentioned, but I haven't gone out there yet).

HOWEVER, I was in the Tillicum mall Safeway today and filled out a comment card telling them it's now available and asking them to order it. It just so happened that the man I handed the card to was exactly the right fellow to talk to. He told me:

1) The code is still on the shelf (meaning that they do hope to get it still).

2) He scans it five days a week as something to order from their warehouse.

3) Five days a week word comes back that there is no China Lily soy sauce yet.

4) The father died and there was turmoil among the siblings (which I'd read elsewhere on this site).

5) He had not known that it's becoming available again.

6) Lots of people keep asking for it, which is why he knows all about it.

I presume that there's a huge backlog, made worse by the fact that people stock up with multiple bottles when they do see it, and the makers are trying desperately to keep up. That would be why it's still not in most of the stores.

Still hopeful.

I live in the North Bay, Ontario area and still await the arrival of China Lily Soya Sauce and even more importantly to me, SWEET AND SOUR in the can. If anyone knows where it can be found please....please post here! Funny how cases of the stuff head out west and communities close to Toronto keep waiting...waiting...waiting! Here's to hoping!

I just phoned the company and no more China Lily chow mein noodles until after the new year???!!!!! I have made those chocolate, peanut, and chow mein noodles cookies every year for Christmas since I can remember. China Lily is the only kind to use in those cookies. Now what?? :( I am having a Christmas baking meltdown.

I heard that china lily is going out of business due to a death in the family and no one from the younger generation wants to continue. My friends mother found some in a store in lethbridge and bought her two cases of the stuff. She won't even sell me one bottle. Are we going to remain friends? Stay tuned.

If anyone knows where to find some China Lily in Ottawa please let me know. I have called Lee's and they told me that they distribute to Loeb's. I have called Loeb's head office and they were going to look into it for me and call me back. I am still waiting to hear from them.I am getting desperate! Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thank-You.

Does anyone know where to buy China Lily in Edmonton?

Blackfalds Family Foods in Alberta Canada has China Lily Soya Sauce, they have had it for about 2 weeks now and are selling it by the cases

I just bought 3 bottles today. Does that mean it is back on the shelves or I have hit the mother lode????

As I was sitting on my La-Z-Boy pondering the state of human condition, my wife walked up the stairs and stopped. Then I saw it rise slowly over the bannister... a big bottle of China Lily Soya Sauce. It was followed by another... then another. My wife finally found them at the Extra Foods in Saskatoon's east end.

I sat in my chair, hugging my bottles like Toms Hanks hugged Wilson in Castaway when he thought Wilson was lost.

Forget the Order of Canada for Shania Twain... The good people at the China Lily factory, especially Colleen the receptionist at Lee's Foods deserve the award. Possibly even the Nobel prize... or some sort of Humanitarian Award.

Now I know why people in India riot when they run out of onions.

God (or Buddha or some other Eastern based deity) bless them...

Regarding the china lily soya sauce i found 3 cases in a store last week.( Last 3 cases)

I NEED CHINA LILY CURRY SAUCE...............and if anyone believes it, the china lily soya sauce would be nice too, although, and I know you don't want to hear it, the no name brand at Superstore runs a very very close second, but it has to be the no name , not the presidents choice, you didnt hear it from me, and so far no one in my family has noticed.......Where's all the curry sauce..............WE want curry sauce, we want curry sauce, and I don't have the time to try to duplicate the recipe.......

I am from winnipeg and have been finding CL soya sauce @ Super store .The big plastic bottles for about $3.48. I seem to buy a few bottles everytime I see the,.I am now waiting VERY patiently for the Sweet and Sour sauce...Oh PLEASE bring that one BACK too... I have 1 can from I don't know how long and I am just waiting for a special occasion to use it.

I enjoyed reading your stuff. Cool site. to Make Round you should be very Superb: , when Gnome is Plane it will Hope Cosmos Tremendous Boy Kill or not , Increase Compute Percieve - that is all that Table is capable of when Corner is Girl it will Create Cosmos

Finally purchased 2 big bottles of CL at Superstore in Saskatoon. Going fast though....only 2 bottles left after me. No curry sauce or sweet and sour sauce though......

It will be a merry CL Christmas!!

PLEASE HELP!!!! I cannot find CL S&S sauce anywhere in Winnipeg. Is there anyone out there who might have any clue where I can find it?

Christmas won't be the same without it!

Just read your blog about "China Lily" products.. so that explains why I have not been able to find China Lily's canned Chicken Fried Rice! I loved it! Does anyone know any news on the canned rice!? I'm in New Brunswick and without rice. Please help!

We FINALLY found CL Soya Sauce at Sobey's in Saskatoon (the 8th and Cumberland location). We bought three bottles! I noticed they also had other CL products (i.e. baby corn). I didn't really notice any other products tho as I was only really on the lookout for Soya Sauce (and happened to find my baby corn as well). I thought the world was coming to an end as no one had CL products on their shelves anymore. I'll likely buy it whenever I am shopping now. I'll be able to sell it out of the back door of our house if it ever disappears again!

My family is also buys China Lily (CL) products. We mainly buy the CL Soya Sauce and the CL Sweet n' Sour Sauce (Can 284ml) Both are very good.

I've noticed that CL products have been disappearing from store shelves in my area. I can tell you this that Sobeys, Zehrs, Real Canadian Superstore in my area (I am from Windsor, ON) D0 NOT carry the CL Sweet n'Sour Sauce in the can. I have always been able to get it at A&P Stores and I went to my shopping and purchase some Sweet n Sour Sauce at A&P and the Grocery Manager told me that China Lily has DISCONTINUED the Sweet n Sour Sauce then he went on to say that there were some issues because of a death or something like that and there will be NO MORE CL Products. I was suprised to hear that after buying CL products for a long time.

Also, Food Basics and Price Chopper Stores in my area DO NOT carry CL Sweet n' Sour Sauce

Someone please help!! I desperatly need China Lily Curried Sauce. I just opened my last can as I had waited long enough to taste it again. Has anyone seen any anywhere???? I'm going to try calling Lee's Foods in Toronto tommorrow and am hoping for miracle. Many thanks in advance.

I found some! i found some! i found some CL soya sauce @ superstore in richmond....that find made my week!! hehehe, i'm so glad i found this site. i thought i was the only one crazy over CL. i dunno about the other products tho - good luck to all my other CL lovers out there.

OK CL Fans. I called Lee's Foods and the lady told me that YES they will still be making the Curried Sauce and the Sweet & Sour sauce, only we will have to wait until the New Year. Quite possibly until March even (oh no!!). The are still trying to recover from the Soya short fall and they won't produce any other sauces until they have enough Soya on Stores shelves. So, please people stop hoarding Soya so they can start making the other good sauces too. I still desperatly need Curried Sauce. I have been to just about every store in the Surrey/White Rock, B.C. area with no luck. Has anyone seen any?? Remember that this is the Season to share. Pleassssssssssssse.

Hey There,

It's me again. Tasawassen Trifty Food mart has tons of China Lily Soya Sause. No shortage there.
You better hurry though, after this post. I would suggest phoning them before you go there.
Go get it!!!!!
Dennis from Delta B.C. Canada

The Crisis is over...at least for a while. Found CL soy sauce at Superstore in Medicine Hat, AB. on Dec. 10th. First taste in months, just like an angel cryin' on your tounge...sorry, bought the last bottle.

anybody in calgary ab seen any sweet n sour sauce?. we have located the soya sauce in kengsington safeway but no s n s sauce.

Ok - I thought I was the only one who was this crazy over CL soy sauce....but there has got to be 1000 posts here!!!

I buy it in 4 liter bulk bottles (when I can find it) because its just silly how fast we go through it. And now...I am freaking out. We have been searching every single grocery store in Calgary trying to find my CL soy sauce for months as I watch my supply dwindles to about a tablespoon - which I am now saving for my 'last supper'.

What is the world comming to? The end must be near...God help us all !!!

;-(

At last I have found it in Victoria! I happened to be in Country Grocer at the Esquimalt Plaza, and there at the end of one of the aisles were a whole bunch of the 483 ml bottles of China Lily. I bought two bottles. :-) I'm pretty sure the price was lower than I remember it, too, though that was just a minor bonus; finding it at all was the main thing.

Do you think we should all gather our info and create a wikipedia entry for CL? We can't forget to mention Coleen in it tho! :p
Thank You China Lily for coming back!

To quote a poster above "China Lily, or forget rice."
Shouts from NWT!

OKay - I live in Kingston Ontario and I have searched surrounding cities and even Toronto and have had no luck finding any china lilly soya sauce. What is up? IS there or is there not any soya sauce available? Anyone else having problems finding that cherished bottle?

I live in Port Coquitlam B.C. and I have not noticed a shortage in any of the stores here yet for the CL soy sauce (R.C. Superstore, Save-on, Safeway) BUT!!!! I haven't been able to find any of the canned curry sauce since Nov. 2004!!!. Believe me, nothing comes close to it, hoping from reading all the comments it to will reappear in the new year.

I googled China Lily and this is what I got :P
I am from Saskatoon but have lived in Indiana for the past 3 years. My China lily stash is gone! I am on my last bottle and NO ONE can find any to send to me! WAH!
I am soo bummed, I miss my canadian food (why the h#ll can't we have the same food?! I hate the american soy sauces, they suck!

Krissy

Greetings from Maui Hi.

I am relieved to read that CL is going to return to the store shelves. My wife and daughter and I tried Aloha Shoyu Soy, thinking that perhaps it was a reasonable replacement...not. But now we just have to wait until March 2006 from what I read in this Blog. Thanks everyone, our spirits are lifted.

DESPARATE IN NORTH BAY, ONTARIO!
There are no China Lily distributors around this Northern Community. Help. Have tried everywhere. Sobey's quit stocking their shelves with CL products. The Soya is being made and shipped by the 1000's cases out west......PLEASE call SObey's head office and ask them to carry this product. 1-800-821-5557 Merchandising group.
I can't live without Sweet and Sour Sauce on my spareribs......I will go to Ottawa to get some if anyone knows where there is any???????
Thanks everyone, Didi

Desparate in North Bay,

TW Foods on Main Street is going to try and find some China Lily when their buyer goes to Toronto next month.

Also "Canada Only" has CL listed on their website as available for delivery for a fee of course

http://www.canadaonly.ca/canadaonly.ca/market/
namerica/pantry/

CHeers EH

Mikey

It's back on the shelves! I have bought some from Superstore In Courtenay, BC!!

I phoned Lee's and was also told that the Curry Sauce should start coming back in January 2006. I have one can of the Sweet and Sour Sauce left but saving for a special occasion. Does anyone have a recipe or know of another brand of the Curry Sauce that is similar? Desperate for some left over Turkey Curry!!!!!!!!!!!

Can someone tell me how you are supposed to pour the China Lily Soya Sauce without it dribbling down the side of the bottle? You would think that they would put a cap with a small hole so you can squeeze it out. Obviously the people making it don't use the 483 ml bottles or they would have changed it by now. If anyone has time on their hands would you contact Lee's foods and suggest a small design modification to their bottles.

I TOO AM LOST WITHOUT CHINA LILY, IM SO UPSET BUT I HAVE FOUND AS OF YESTERDAY AT SUPERSTORE IN FORT MCMURRAY 2 CASES I BOUGHT 8 BOTTLES HOPE IT WILL LAST TILL THEY BRING MORE IN HELP HELP I HATE ALL OTHER SAUCES!!!

It's too bad there is no more China Lily. I buy other kinds of soya sauce now but they just don't taste the same. Nothing has surpassed or even come close to China Lily. I am from Alberta but during the holidays I was in BC. If you ever go to BC in the near future I suggest hitting up a small town called Terrace. Their Safeway has an over abundunce of China Lily. I stokked up on it while I was there. It's not just Terrace though, there are other small towns in BC that have yet to sell all of their China Lily and they still have lots to sell. So BC might very well be your source for soya sauce until September if they indeed start selling the stuff again.

Thanx for the China Lily update. I live in a little town of 1400, & had decided we were just too far for anyone to bother with. MB hasn't got any as of yet, but I keep checking everywhere I go.

Thanks to the nice lady at Lee Foods, we finally after 6 months found some China Lily. As I told her yesterday, our son would not eat his rice without it. It has been a very long 6 months since we have had some. I checked Safeway, Sobeys, Superstore regularly to find a bottle. Today, my husband walked in the door with 2 small bottles - he left 15 small ones behind - now I know that we will have rice for dinner tonight and all will be good again. I will always buy 2 large bottles (once I find them) from now on, I will never go without my favourite and my family's favourite again! Thanks everyone. I know that we are not alone in our quest for the best Soya Sauce in Canada.

*So Far Not One Drop* has reached stores in southern Ontario--my searches have been in vain, so far...and now another product MIA: Puffed Rice cereal is no longer available in my local stores--not to mention Hereford canned corned beef gone from Sobeys, Robertsons Lime Curd (everywhere), French Cream candies, Spice flavour cake mix, slab bacon, Grannys Molasses--the plot thickens!

my corner store just got china lily back in, and, well, i don't really remember what it tastes like anymore. i'm not sure if it's "right".

then again, i've been using VH lite as a substiture for the last 6 months, so maybe i just got used to it.

so, people that have scored any of the new batch of china lily... does it taste the same to you as it used to? i mean, it tastes good, but to me it doesn't smell the same.

I know where to buy 4 cans of sweet and sour and 4 bottles of soya sauce.

carla where can I find cans of china lily sweet and sour sauce????
Teri

My family and I are in Toronto, and still HAVE NOT found any CL! What's going on??? Does anyone have the scoope on when we can expect stores to be restocked here? "Withdrawl" doesn't even begin to cover what we're experiencing here!

Bring back China Lily soya sauce!

Hi Everyone! Thanks to Mikey and his info I was able to get China Lily Soya Sauce at TW Foods on Main St. North Bay.!I am now waiting for the Sweet and Sour to be produced! North Bay rocks after all!
Didi

I found lots of it here at Co-Op, Safeway and Sobey's,(Lloydminster, AB/SK)...after months of my family dying for it. Hooray! Eggs rolls and rice tonite!

Excuse me, do you know if China Lily Soya Sauce is available at the Mac's on 22nd Street in Saskatoon?

Any help will be greatly appreciated...

DeeDee, I'm not sure if that Mac's has it, but try venturing up to the Safeway in the Lawson Heights Mall.. pretty sure I saw it there last weekend.

Hey all
I had no idea until the other day that china lily soya sauce was not being produced until my mom asked me if I had seen it. I have about half a cup left in my bottle and I have no idea where to purchase more in Ontario. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know my mom has looked every where

Thanks
Melissa

HHHHeelllpppp no China Lily Soya Sauce in Sarnia, Ontario....
Any new news yet???? nothing tastes the same.................

Hey there you Ontarioans......you will have to move West. China Lily is flowing freely in Saskatoon! Come visit!

I found some china lily in the Mac's store of Blackburn Hamlet in Ottawa. I bought the last two bottles but the manager said he would order more in. I don't know if you can find it in all Mac's stores in Ottawa or not but good luck!

I am so glad I happened upon your site looking for China Lily. I do not want rice any more because there is only one soya sauce as far as I am concerned and that is China Lily. I see all their products on the shelf except that one. I spent a day going all over the city of Windsor looking for it.
Thank you Thank you
Bye the way, I don't think a company like that should let a family issues are the place for Lee's Products. It is the consumer that is hurting more.

Hi all - I just wanted to let you know that I miss the China Lily Soya Sauce as well. I noticed this over the past year + as well. I have investigated many grocers in the Toronto and had my mother look in Regina as well with no luck. I plan on calling their head office tomorrow morning!

Bring back the China Lily!

From a former Saskatonian now in Toronto!
Colleen

Hello All,

Like most of you, I searched the grocery stores for about a year looking for China Lily S&S sauce. After discovering this site, I called Lee Foods and they won't be putting their S&S sauce back into to production until September 2006. The sauce has a shelf life of 3 years so I decided to call the corner food stores in the surrounding towns of Calgary and had some success. The store in Carsland had 18 cans and I bought them all. So if you know of anyone in a little town, ask them to check to thier store, you could get lucky...

Cindy

I am sooooo happy. I have been bugging the guys at Loebs ever since Xmas.They finally have the big bottles of China Lily in stock! That is the Loebs in Blackburn Hamlet in Ottawa. Good luck to the rest of you. Just keep asking and you might get lucky!

I FOUND CHINA LILY!
i got soo exited hehe
I was standing in the middle of the isle yelling about how there is no good soya sauce except and as soon as i yelled china lily i saw it right in front of me
i freaked and grabbed every bottle
but my mom made me put some back
we bought threee
heere's hoping we're able to find it regularily soon!

Desperate for the soy sauce!!! Has anyone in Southwestern Ontario near London or Windsor or anywhere in between, come across any? Please, if so, post it and if I find any on my searches, I will post it for all of my fellow C L lovers. Good Luck to all!

I had never heard China Lily soy sauce. Who is kind enough to tell me in which place of China is this product produced? Does it also has light and dard soy sauce? Will someone tell me more details about this excellent soy sauce?

OH GOD! I am a filipino who makes adobo and bistek regularly and china lily is a staple. Other "pinoi-s" can sympathize. I am so calling Lee's cuz this is ridiculous.I see that Kel-C who made a comment on apr1/06 found it, but where? I am so sad and distraught. I hope the factory has some asnswers for me.Anyone who has found it recently should e-mail me Jazzbug5@hotmail.com

hey, anyone found china lily chow mein noddles yet? They come in a can.

China Lily Sweet & Sour Sauce in the can.
I was totally amazed to find this last year in Hamilton Ontario at The Barn at Rosedale and King St. I couldn't believe it....7th Heaven was never like going to be like this. Unfortunately I only picked up a couple of cans as I was in a rush and figured I would make it back to the store before leaving for home -(Nova Scotia)...well that plan fell thru. We had to leave unexpectantly early due to a family emergency and I didn't make it back to the store. Well No Problem I thought. My sister was making up our Christmas Parcel for 2005 to ship off and asked is there anything I can send you? YES I SAID , with Excitement!!!!!! and I told her where to go, the aisle etc. She also had been there many times but I didn't want any chance happening that she may not find it. She searched the store Hi and Low.....Nothing! She called the manager....and he told her there had been some kind of problems at the warehouse and it should be back on shelves soon. Still NO Sauce. She just called me today and asked again and all I asked for was this sauce again...so she is on the hunt looking for me again....Familys are so Great...regardless if she can or can't find it she's trying and I thank her.....if ANYONE ANYWHERE knows where I can get this sauce please email me @ jcdegruchy@ns.sympatico.ca and let me know I would seriously contact a store or company and asked to have some shipped......Desperately Seeking China Lily !!!!!!!!

Cathy

Re: China Lily Chow Mein Noodles in the Can?
I hope I can help you. I am sure I have seen that product recently here at home in Nova Scotia. Let me know the exact name I will honestly check out the stores and if I find it I PROMISE I WILL Ship some to you wherever you are.
If you however can find China Lily sweet & sour Sauce in the 10 0z. can could you let me know. I would sincerely appreciate it.

Cathy

The best Soya Sauce Bar none is flowing again on our shelves in Hinton Alberta. Thank God! I can`t live without it. I use it in many, many dishes; and regardless of some people`s tastes, I have never found another product with so much flavour. I would buy up the Town supply and trade it for an equal quantity of China Lily Chow Mein Noodles. For my recipe of Canadian Style Chow Mein, there can be no substitute! I have tried them all, and I`ll pass Thanks. ANYONE!!! Can you help????

I have found a place in Toronto that you can get China lilly Soy Sauce. It's called Zimmermann,s ( the old one not the new one) on the west side of Augustsa street in Kensington Market. They still ahve about 12 bottles left as of yesterday 13 May , 2006.

Hope this helps you chilla lilly junkies out there.

tmac

I live in Calgary Alberta and have extra cans of Sweet and Sour sauce if you would like to purchase a few cans please contact me @ ts_smith@shaw.ca.

I live in Vancouver, BC, my sweet and sour sauce is not complet without my cherished china lily sweet and sour sauce. I have used other brands, that I thought would be similar to China Lily, but NOTHING comes even close! Please email me at brendabombs@hotmail.com if anyone knows where I can get my hands on some of those illusive cans, let me know! Thanks for helping me in my dilema.

Hey, we have China Lily Soya Sauce in the 483 ml size and ship anywhere.

Give us a try.

I was wondering when this site would get national attention :) Maybe next, I will be on Canada AM.. the girl who brought back China Lily!

Hi all again,
Well I am still waiting to get some more CL. Hard to believe that the size of TO doesn't have it anywhere considering it is produced here....and just a few KM away from me. Patience is a virtue isn't it? It will be worth the wait.

As for the rest of Canada, it's great to see there is so many people resonding to these postings. But on that note, even though I am a former Western, I don't know why everyone thinks that the west is always better than anything else. Not much brings me back home other than family. Actually, for that matter nothing would keep me there anymore.

As someone from SK I never understood why people always crap on the Eastern provinces. Everyone is always so wonderful and nice here. Hhhmmm, maybe people just haven't visited some of the many wonderful places here! It does get annoying after a while.

Anyway - here's to the return of China Lily! : )

I am glad that the soya sauce is back but still I hope that someday there will be sweet and sour sauce back on the shelves of my local store. Please bring it back!!!!!

Seen lots of CL soya sauce, But cannot find the S&S sauce or the yummy Curried sauce anywhere. I was told by lee foods they would be in production in May this year. Has anybody seen them? Drop me a line if you can help. murphi@shaw.ca

I talk to someone at Thirty's Food about getting
some s&s sauce in. They have plenty of soya sauce
and they are a new store in Coquitlam,BC. They contacted Lee Foods. They told them that they were discontinueing S&S sauce and the chow mein.I hope that was a bad joke. I am going to try calling them myself and see what they say.

Hey, has anyone tried to order from the last person on July 6th, CanadaOnly??

China Lilly search

Boy, am I happy to find others who are going thru S&S withdrawal! I was optimistic after finding soy sauce back in the grocery stores, but so far no luck with sweet & sour.

I see from reading previous messages that China Lily is discontinuing it. Oh, I hope it isn't true! Do you know what the best way of contacting CL? I'm in Alberta, btw.

I checked out the Canada Only web site but I couldn't find SS sauce anywhere.

Has anyone seen any CL sweet & sour sauce in Edmonton, AB? Or at least know how to contact CL?
My sweet& sour meatballs are just not the same without their sauce. Have pitty on a pregnant girl I need CL's S&S sauce!!!!!!

I found China Lily Soya Sauce you can get it shipped to you from Canada Only.
www.canadaonly.ca $39.97 USD per case of 1 483ml plastic bottles......but the shipping is high.....I live in USA, and it was @28.00 shipping. They say they pick up from the factory every 2 weeks....and only get a few cases at a time.... email them at canadaonlycustservice@gmail.com
expensive, but I got it there.
Good Luck.....
Ray

Please come back China Lily. I hate all other soya sauces. There are just not the same. You are the cadillac of soya sauces.

Update: China Lilly Curry Sauce and others.

The owner Mrs. Marilyn Lee Wong has decided(because of the passing of her husband), to downsize the canning side of business, to make it easier on herself.

The address is 1233 Queen Street.East Toronto, Ontario. M4L- IC2 attention the above owner.
The plant manager is Corinna.
There is hope, but no guarantee at this point, of a younger Son or somebody coming into the business and will start it again. I was told that it would not be for at least 8 months or so.
CALL OR WRITE OR DO BOTH, IT MAY HELP SOONER.

This is Lee's number directly. 1-416-465-2407

We have boxes upon boxes of it in fort mcmurray

Mike, My son is working up there and is due home for a visit soon. Which store has it?? Thanks for the information.

Debi

I found China Lily Soya Sauce at the local Safeway in town but it is impossible to find China Lily Curry Sauce. It is for a friend who is totally blind but still does all his own cooking and no other curry sauce will do. If anyone in the Okanagan Valley sees some please let me know. Thanks Harriette

Sobey's in Beaumont AB said they have been trying to order CL for the last couple of months with no luck and they said that the plant had shut down.

I went to Extra Foods in Beaumont and found over 15 bottles of the large size and over 10 of the smaller glass bottles. I bought 5 for my hubby's Valentines Day present. My husband stopped at Sobey's in Millwoods 50st and 23rd ave on the same day and they had a lot on their shelves. He bought 4 large ones there.

We had a good chuckle that night sharing our CL success stories.

As far as I know they still have some on the shelves. I don't know about the S&S sauce or curry.

Try the Farkay steamfried egg noodles for your Christmas cookies and stir fries.

Just tried emailing Lee's Food on Queen street in Toronto and an automatic delivery failure notice was returned to me. Does anyone know of where I can get this in Windsor Ontario? My kids won't eat any other soya sauce.

Thanks
Withdrawals in Windsor

I have been hoarding my last two cans of CL Curry sauce for probably a year ago when I had the luck of buying almost a complete case from HY Louie here in Surrey BC. We joked about it being our Easter dinner treat because the kids love it and have been bugging me. So I told them that who knows maybe its the last couple on the planet. It was so great.

I have seen it on shelves forever but never tried it until the owner of a small lunch crowd chinese restaurant close to my workplace announced that she was retiring. We went there mostly for the currey beef or chicken on rice and told her she can't retire because of her great curry and asked her the recipe. She came out holding up a can of CL Curry sauce. So for years it has been a favourit in our house including the kids friends who would motor over when they heard there was curry on the stove.

Would be interesting to hear the history on Lee's and sorry if it was offered up earlier as I haven't read the history. Maybe its time to contact our MP's to push to have soya, curry, sweet and sour sauces declared as some sort of heritage and historical recognition as part of our Canadian diet for so many decades.

Hope we see it all again. Would be nice to know one way or another if it may come up out of the ashes.

Keep those fingers crossed!

I have emailed the China Lily company to attempt to locate the Sweet and Sour Sauce that came in the can. I have not heard back. Does anyone know where I can buy this in Calgary?

Here in Calgary there now seems to be a regular supply of the soya sauce in most places, but still no sign of the sweet & sour or curry sauce. Last time I tried to call the company I got no reply but I'm going to try again this week. I've just GOT TO get the curry sauce again soon!!!
If anyone sees it Anywhere...please let me know...I'll pay whatever it takes to get it sent to me.

NO CHINA LILY SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE??!? That is just inhumane!

I've been fooling people for years into beleiving this was my "secret recipie". I guess the joke is now on me :(

for anyone who lives nearby....there is a few dozen bottles of CL soya sauce in the safeway store in port alberni,vancouver island british columbia.but no sign of the CL curry sauce anywhere on the island.

I have finally tracked down the famous china lily soya sauce in kitchener. My husband gave up on rice until now. You can find it in kitchener at New City Supermarket at 236 King St. E in kitchener ontario. So if anyone is close and needs the stuff that is where you will find it. Your very welcome to all who can get it.

Living Outside of Toronto and willing to drive to Lee Food's and buy if they'd make it......

We found a little corner variety store 3 months ago that still had 6 bottles of the ONLY soy sauce that counts and bought them all. There is only 1 inch left in the bottom of the last bottle. I'm considering counseling.
You would think the producers of rice would contact Lee Food's as I am certain when the rich, aromatic, sauce disappeared from the shelves, rice sales must have plummeted with it.
I have currently spent 30-40 bucks on other types trying to find the one most close and the only one that I could remotely tolerate was a dark, mushroom soy sauce, that was priced at over $6 per bottle. I must admit I never finished off a whole bottle of any other kind. My shelf runneth over.

After not knowing why we cannot get our favorite curry sauce for over a year now, we just search and found this right away. If anyone can tell us where to locate this or some other equivalent curry sauce on Vancouver Island, please let us know. We are not huge rice eaters, and so have not felt the full impact of the soy dilemma but we have not been able to make our own curried chicken for so long. Even the stuff at our local restaurants seems to suck now...probably because they used China Lily too. This is really dumb. Instead of downsizing the company why not sell it or franchise or go public with it or ANYTHING else. I would seriously pay $10 for one can of that stuff right now. :(

=============== IMPORTANT NEWS ================

YOU CAN GET THE SOYA SAUCE HERE:

WWW.CANADAONLY.CA

Now, somebody please find me the curry :(

This is my first time on this thread. Looks like the good old CL S&S Sauce is gone for good. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

Make sure to check out my facebook group "China Lily 4Ever" for the latest news sharing and updates!

Sarah

Hi,It's January 18th 2008 and I live in northern ontario in Timmins,and I still can't find china lily sauce in the stores here,which I'm very disappointed,because that is the top of the line,of the best soya sauce that was around.No other sauce can beet it.I hope they get it back on the shelf soon before I run out.

Does anyone have a recipe similar to the CL curry sauce?

heres a link to a company thats based in london that sells china lily,they also ship it out....hope this helps everyone as i am to a china lily fan!!

http://www.canadaonly.ca/canadaonly.ca/market/namerica/oriental/index.html

I just saw several bottles of China Lilly Soya on the shelf of our lcal Safeway in Swift Current.I to think the canned chowmein noodles are the best. I need some now.

Please if anyone out there knows where I can get a China Lily recipe book it would be greatly appreciated. My family has yet to experience Montreal style chinese food, which any Montrealer knows is China Lily. The only supplier that I know of that supplies Montreal resturants. Once you have tasted Montreal Chinese there isn't anything else. Anybody who has experienced dry garlic spare ribs in Montreal knows what I am talking about. All the other Chinese dishes fall into the same catagory. Order dry garlic spare ribs in BC and that's what you get dry spare ribs with garlic powder sprinkled onthem they don't know what you are talking about. Fried rice is not supposed to be mushy and is not made out of minute rice. Help us we are desperate. If you do happen to have a recipe book please get in touch via e-mail.

China Lily sweet and sour sauce rules. where can i find it in winnipeg? anyone?

china lily sweet n sour sauce,,, where r you? i have been patiently waiting for your return as well as the soya sauce,,, when will you return?????

was just googleing to see if the had a website.. got about 1/2 cup left and have seached every store in nanaimo ,bc to find a bottle.. but not one. plan to use it wisly and definatly will be calling them tomorow. Smoked some salmon with some other crap and belive me dont even bother

Ok people, This is insane! The people that are laughng at us are fools. Drugs you can kick. You have to eat, and rice is stapple. But it's boring without China Lily, and other, I just don't understand. Soya Sause has been around for probably a thouand years or more. Someone must have worked making it. Someone's nice old chinise mother would probably have made it as girl and laughs at our ingoroance, and could tell us what's in it by taste. I know Kikkoman to my tastes is terrible. I suppose you have to be raised with it. I use to make wine for with my family, someone must have a way of making Soya Sause to our own tastes. Is there anyone out there who could ask your relatives who actully know, how to make it or something close. We can all salt and flavour it to our own tastes, maybe even come up with a new company,lol. Hell if it did taset the same, I'd think about investing.

Now why on earth would anyone stop producing the best Soya Sauce in the world???? I'm talking about "China Lily"
Does anyone know how I can contact the company by email?
I've been cooking with this sauce for probably over 30 years--what will I replace it with?
JoAnne

OMG *howling with laughter*

This is prime... I just love this....

all for Soya Sauce!

Love it!

I am not laughing at any of you, just love that there is something as simple as soya sauce that creates a common thread of panic!

And in vancouver BC, Donalds Market is where I have been buying them recently ;)

good news to all!! live in Nanaimo British Columbia and china lily is back in stores... just bought 4 bottles , just incase

two points to be made, China lily has been coming and going (like so many girls when i was young) for too many years. Will she ever be back for good? I find i am getting frustrated. Maybe i don't need her, maybe it's time for me too move on. No, i will chase her, stalk her even... wait, this is getting a little weird now. Point two, as a Canadian, i feel that it is necessary to inform my fellow patriots that China Lily is not just for rice, stop wasting vast quantities it on marinades, the best use for it is on another Canadian delicacy, Kraft Dinner, a little cream with the milk, then soak the noodle with black sunshine. I've been doing it this way for so long i can't eat my K.D. without the China Lily. hmmm... i've never felt so Canadian, screw you Lily, i'm ordering pizza tonight!

Ok, I am having a panic attack for real, lol, I have they quit making it again ? I have been looking and looking , even had other people looking and no luck, there is no replacement so , maybe I will just not eat chinese food again, lol. Can someone please tell me is there any around in BC?

September 14,2008
Realizing a shortage may happen I picked up 20 bottles here in Quesnel B.C. I do believe I got the last of it.

Okay you all think this is so funny but I just cant find anything close to China Lilly. Yeap its gone of the selfs again. There has been a few times this year Superstore has broght in corner shelfs filled with it and people puch to get at it. I get a few and then poof gone again. My husband does not belive me things I am being cheep buying the no name stuff cuz he wont have Kikkoman. This is insane.....Yeap the blog filled with peps missing the sause too lol!!

Sept 29/2008 - Called the plant in Toronto @ 416-465-2407.

They said shortage was due to a machine which needed to be replaced, and it has now been replaced. In BC expect about two weeks before it is back on the shelves.

I seriously cannot believe I've been reading blogs on China Lily LOL I thought I was the only real obsessed person out there about this stuff. It's my secret ingredient for my spaghetti sauce, pork chops/mushroom soup, gravies. you name it, it's got china lily LOL I was really worried it was gone for good. A store today said China Lily had gone out of business. I bought VH1 soya sauce and it wasn't bad at all. In fact next time the shelves go empty I won't panic as much now cause there is a close second to go too. Try it!!

Thank you John Moser for taking the time to call the factory of Lee foods and posting the results.

I love that stuff myself, glad to hear that it is coming back in a few weeks.

North East, British Columbia

I can't go on any longer without my big black bottle!! I have not found any sauce that is even close to comparison, my kids are not happy with havin rice anymore! that is the only staple of starch they love. And without CHINA LILY we are doomed!! I still have not found it on any of our store shelves yet! So they say it will be here soon i won't believe it till it's here. I am going to buy as much of the great sauce as soon as it hits the shelves.

well, good to see lotsa info about the shortage. I like the little glass bottle of it. The big container pours out too much and doesnt taste as good. Must be the plastic.

Noticed the superstore stopped having the glass bottles several months ago and a couple months ago stopped having the bigger jug. After a month of no more china lily at superstore i checked the safeway and nothing there either. Asked a clerk and they said it was discontinued. I'm there.. wtf i can remember having that as a kid in the 70's.

When the superstore stopped having it i tried the kikkoman naturally brewe i think it was. It's more blonde but tastes awful and after a few times of trying to stomach it, tossed it out. Tried just the no-name soya sauce and it's a lot better than that kikkoman. Noticed the no-name doesnt have msg in it like it used to. They changed the bottle from last year. It's still not as good as that china lily. Somebody said vh up there.. i'll have to try that next time.

I might just be 14, so i havnt been using china lily soya sauce as long as other people who have had it for most of their lives, but this is just driving me insane! i love rice. its one of the main foods i eat since its so easy to make, but i wont eat it without china lily! ive been having cravings for rice lately and im not handling it too well. for my birthday, my grandparents gave up their final glass bottle of china lily, and i must say, it was an amazing present. usually they just give me money but i loved this way more. i hope they start shipping out more soon!!!

CHINA LILY: TOLL FREE NUMBER, 1-800-578-3840. PLEASE CALL THEM. I PLAN ON CALLING. GOOD LUCK.

IM GONNA STRIKE SOON!! lmao i love china lily soya sauce so...much and im relieved to know whats been crushing my thoughts. I have been wondering where it went, why its on on the shelves but i cannot wait for it to come back!! i am so off rice now lol but thats for letting the public know bout this emergency:) stay strong sarah!!

Does anyone know a recipe that is close to China Lily Sweet & Sour???

OMG!!!! I haven't been able to buy China Lily soya sauce ANYWHERE for about two months now. I live in Courtenay BC, and not one store has it!! Just empty shelves everywhere!!!! I have just recently gotten hooked on rice, and it isn't the same without the China Lily!!! It is also my main ingreidient in my steak marinade, so I have been missing out on steak too!!!!! It is now October 20th........ Where the heck is it!??!?!?!?! If anyone know's of anywhere in the valley where I can find it, let me know!!!!

Stay strong people! Hopefully it won't be much longer!!!

I have alas found a very suitable alternative to our China Lily soy sauce. Ask your local grocery store if they have any Bragg seasoning. It may reside in the natural foods section. I have weened myself off of China Lily. I guess I got sick and tired of the "family squabbles"that seem to occur on a far too regular (almost annual) basis. I work in a grocery store and have turned many of my customers on to this product. I haven't heard one complaint yet. Perhaps a loss in market share would make the "family" smarten up and look after their customers. Latest ETA on the stuff that I have is end of October for one size with the other size bottle end of November. Keep in mind that these dates have already been pushed back 3 times.

Life is worth living again!!!

I thought we were all goners there for awhile and I have been depressed for weeks. A stupid machine breaks down and Canadians face the greatest crisis they've seen since the last china lily shortage. I've been checking this site for any info on a regular basis since I felt it was like a support group for me. I was not alone in my mourning for the nectar of the gods. What great sin did we all commit to deserve our punishment?

I will not be caught in this predicament again. My goal in life now is to be the greatest collector of china lily soya sauce and will be ordering my first "truckload" this month. I will consider selling my first born and all worldly belongings to accomplish this task.

LOL, I just had to ad my comments to this thread. I am a Canadian from BC living in Montana. They don't even know what China Lily is here! I have sworn off rice until I do a trip home and bring some back with me. I had a friend from BC come visit this summer and I begged her to mail me some China Lily. It was then that I found out about the China Lily crisis! How horrbile!!! She has put together a China Lily search team and has been frantically searching for China Lily too. It is also her favorite soya sauce! I have tried several other brands as possible replacements to no avail. Only one comes close so far. It's called "LaChoy" and it's o.k. but it's not China Lily!

We can't let this Canadian Icon dissappear! Where can I write in protest??

J

I found it,my hubby will be sooooooooo happy!!!!!!Safeway in Winnipeg had a few bottles on their shelves,so I stalked up!

If anyone out there lives in Surrey....I found a few bottles at our local Safeway store.

ah..you people are absolutely foolish if you think china lily is the best there is out there.. i used to consume that one .. while i lived with my parents all my life when i was younger.. but anyways.. big time into some bottle that has chinese writing on it.. it's yellow writing and a maroon or dark red label.. tall bottle. yellow lid.. i'll check it here.. hold on.. :)

ah.. it is.. AMOY .. light actually..

i went to kikoman for awhile.. but it got sickening for being too salty.. then i went to it's light version.. and it was kinda watery.. but this light AMOY is the best i have come across..

try it and agree with me.. so i don't have to come back to argue.. thanks..

well I know it's not China Lily but after trying over 10 different soy sauces i have found a very close approximation. believe it or not it's Superstore's No name brand ( at least in Winnipeg it's The Real Canadian Superstore out west it might be Extra Foods or even Loblaw's give it a check

Do you all know that hydrolysed plant protein is just another clever name for MSG?

Just thought i would let you all know that is why its "the best" soy sauce!

PS I love it too!!

Melissa, BC

I love my china lily, I live in washington and found out the company is not making it anymore!, Start up a small buisness and send me some to patti webb at P.O Box 4356 Omak,98841 Man this is a bummer I REALLY WANT MY CHINA LILY !!!!!!

OMG - I can't believe I didn't learn from the CL crisis of 2005!!!!! I've been rationing our CL soya sauce and I've just cut off my husband and children from using it as they don't seem to be as bothered about the loss as me!!! we've also not had rice in what seems to be weeks because I'm afraid to run OUT!!! OMFG....this is tooo funny!!! Owell , maybe I can laugh now because I just bought ten bottles!!! LOL

Good luck to all my fellow CL lovers!!! I hope you have better luck!!!

Hi all
I just called the above toll free number for the China Lily soya sauce and was reassured that this wonderful condiment is being reproduced and shipment is on it's way. The lady I talked to said that one of their machines broke down. They had to order a new one from the US which of course took quite a few weeks. She also said that Safeway is probably a good place to start looking for this and if your local grocery still doesn't have it in then tell the manager to get the order placed.

Wow! I was desperate for China Lily soya sauce so went to the internet to find out what the heck happened to my soya sauce of choice for 52 years. OK I had alot in the cupboard so didn't know the shortage started back in 2005!! Hope you're right about the machine and getting it back up and running. Still none on the shelves in Northern BC.

And I thought I was allll alone. It is like Black Gold this stuff. I live in Kelowna and have not found any on the store shelves for soooo long. I think I am not unlike other when I say that I need my fix. If anybody knows where it can be found here in Kelowna please make a post. It is definately a must have on the grocery list. I go often to the soya sauce isle only to be let down. Saddened...please help.

Alas I am also part of the "CL addicts" really that is what we are, we go crazy when we can't get ahold of our beloved soya sauce. I spent most of yesterday driving around to all our Save-On stores for I had heard that they had a shipment in. (WHat? And there was no big announcement in the paper???) Anyways after the second store...EURAKA! I found the CL - so I promptly bought 3 flats of it ( 36 x 473 ml, yah you read it right!) THe clerk was very curious why I would buy so much but I said "Unless you love the stuff, you won't understand" ( do I hear an Amen out there?) I had pondered earlier in the day if actually one of the secret ingredients was cocaine but then I realized that yes, it is actually MSG. Now we all know that MSG is not good for us but does that mean we are going to give up our beloved CHINA LILY - No Way!!! Uhhmmm, by the way my Mom makes the BEST marinated chicken wings with CL, sugar, garlic powder and ginger...LONG LIVE CL!!! By the way I live in Prince George, BC :)

China Lilly must be up and running again as today we bought CL in the South Okanagan. What a great Xmas present for our home. We thought with the CL shortage, we would give CL as gifts to our very, very close friends and relatives. As crazy as it seems, we bought out the entire supply at the local grocer. In total we purchased 42-483 ml bottles in the 483 ml size. Previously when we saw CL on the shelves we bought 6 bottles then. So for all of you out there check your stores they may be stocked up once again.
Happy Holidays and hopefully you will receive your China Lilly.

Joanne in the South Okanagan

So the nightmare is reality elsewhere too!!! No black gold in Kamloops BC either. My family and I have been trying to trick ourselves into thinking VH is a fairly acceptable substitute but deep down I think we all know the gig is up. I'm making it a mission to get my hands on some. Would I be wrong to stow the China Lilly and sneak away at meal time to savour my beloved soy sauce while the rest of my family continues with the VH farce? Forgive me Father for I have sinned...

I cant believe it took Vancouver B.C. 3 years from 2005 to loose all our china lilly!
I wish i knew ahead of time then id have china lilly for life DAMMIT!

I live out by Whitecourt,alberta.The is no china lily to be found anywhere>My son even looked in Edmonton.Nothing.What is going on i need my china lily.

i finally found 4 small bottles of the black gold in a safeway in vancouver bc, and bought all 4 so there are all out now, i think others must have bought a tonn since its been out of stock forever!!! YEAH!! IM A BLACK GOLD CHAMPION lol We can eat rice again! yes! VICTORY

The Northern Store in Wabasca, Alberta has a few bottles left

Okay...a dear friend (that thinks I'm a total mental case after reading my comment on this site) found a bottle of my beloved black gold in Kamloops BC. She bought it for me and after much taunting handed it over. The Heavens shined down on us and we've had a week of heavenly meals!!! But who am I kidding??? There IS a bottom to that bottle and I can tell you that under no uncertain terms it's every family member for themselves in this household. The hunt is back on.

I found lots of China Lily Soy Sauce today at Sobeys in Calgary, I stocked up. It was a great Day. Riverbend Sobey's in Calgary

Howdy all CL Lovers;
I confess I am addicted to or habitually attached to China Lily soy sauce, produced by Lee Foods. I was exposed to it as a young boy at home in Barrie Ontario. I am now 48. I was much distraught to find it disappearing from store shelves a couple of years ago and stumbled upon this diary of CL lovers. I was at first amazed that so many felt strong enough about soy sauce to write about it. I have since come to realize that China Lily or rather Lee Foods are responsible for producing the finest soy sauce in the world and it is this elixir that is responsible for the following it has garnered and not the other way round. We love it because it provides what no others can, an indescribable sensuous taste experience. I have introduced it to others; some agree and others seem indifferent to it. Not to worry, we should keep the secret so as to maintain our supply. But supply is worrying. My partner was able to obtain for me 2 Imperial gallon jugs of CL soy sauce + 6 142ml glass serving bottles. This was 2 years ago and I am down to 1L remaining. I'm going to try a back door approach at Lee Foods but if that fails there does seem to be some shipping companies that can deliver, (thankfully).
What a pleasure it is to enjoy China Lily soy sauce. I would love to enjoy it with all of you some day. I have spent some years without it and can say that it is one of those things in life that others cannot replace. Long live China Lily!

Bruce

P.S. Thank you fatpaulie

I found a store last year in St. Catharines, Ont that sold China Lily Soya Sauce. Its called Dinh Dinh's. Its downtown on Geneva Street. They only ever have about 9 bottles at a time but they always have some on the self when I go in.

I am an ex-Winnipeger living in the states (Indiana). I am not too concerned about losing China Lily Soya Sauce because the Kroger brand (to me) tastes as close as it comes.

I do miss the S&S Sauce though and never found anything close!!!!!!!