May I please ask you a question? Does anybody know where to by cheap protein bars in Taipei? Back in Colorado we could get them at King Soopers for ¢79 USD
What on earth were they made of? Bear in mind that if the retail price is ¢79, the ingredients cost was ¢30, maximum. I’m imagining an FDA-approved version of pig nuts, which are made from soya and rendered ‘downer’ animals.
Personally I’m a fan of all-you-can-eat BBQ and huo guo. OK, you’ll pay NT$350 (US$10) instead of ¢79, but it is actual meat you’ll be getting, as opposed to “protein”.
If that’s out of your price range, you can get a five-egg omelette (蔥花蛋) and a cup of dou jiang at a breakfast shop for NT$70. Again, not ¢79, but there’s probably three times as much quality protein there.
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Thank you Finley. That was my main concern. I like eating meat, but on a budget it is so expensive here. I am trying to lose weight and get in shape for maybe competing in next month Jiu-Jitsu tournament. Do you know any more dishes or restaurant that have prepared chicken, beef, or pork that is healthy and cheap? Also, thank you for your help 
If you live close to a Costco and have a big enough fridge, you can do bulk shopping.
I buy beef mince 620nt for 2.5 kg
chicken fillets, same weight at 500nt
the chicken is seperated into 6 portions already. The beef mince I weigh off and seperate with cling wrap.
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I also do what zapman does, although not from Costco. I use pork mince and pork belly for breakfast sausage and bacon (all quality stuff, but still very cheap per portion).
If you check the ingredients and calculate it out, you’ll find that protein bars are no cheaper than meat (certainly not at Costco prices) but the protein is shit quality. Here’s a “Cellucor” bar, which you can apparently get for 0.79 if you shop around:
Protein: 20g
Total Fat: 9g (3.5g saturated)
Carbs: 26g (10g fiber, 8g sugar)
Here’s two 50g (medium) eggs:
Protein 25 g
Fat 21 g
Carbs 2.2 g
Which is about as perfect as you can get for weight loss, while the bar seems engineered to make you fat. The eggs will cost you NT$22 for free range, ie., US$0.75.
zapman’s beef mince (90g):
Protein 23 g
Fat 13 g
Carbs 0.1g
Again, great ratios for fat loss, NT$22 per serving. Eggs and beef are both giving you more protein than the bars at $US0.75. Minimal effort to make a burger patty or an omelette.
Processed-food manufacturers depend on the consumer not doing these calculations to make their profits. Their products aren’t nearly as cheap as they make out. Most bar manufacturers are selling at $2 a pop, and the retailer puts $1 of that in their pockets.
If you need your food pre-prepared, you really can’t beat the bian dang buffet shops. They sell at a very thin profit margin and you can heap up whatever you need for your workout nutrition. I’ve never paid more than NT$80 for a plateful of meat, eggs, dofu and veggies - bear in mind that consuming more than about 25-30g of protein (=120g meat) in a sitting is pointless because you can’t metabolise it efficiently.
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I think @Andrew0409 is away on his 12 day military service, but when he gets back, I’m sure he’ll chime in.
In the mean time, I’ll just answer your OP.
I hear good things about the SoyJoy bars that are sold at every convenient store. I’m not sure of the price, but it’s a quick/cheap solution.
I also agree with all you can eat BBQ and hot pot places. They tend to add up though. Gf and I have noticed that most of the time, we’re eating at hot pot places and have since bought an electric/portable stove to eat at home. You buy your own ingredients, so whatever you want to eat, you eat and you don’t waste anything that you paid for.
The at home hotpot is also “reheatable”, all you need to do is wait for it to cool, throw the pot in the fridge, next day bring it back out and reboil. Boom.
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Have not seen good protein bars here so I order from iHerb.
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Thanks Flakman. That is helpful. Also your name reminds me of Victor the original JVlogger
That is super helpful. Thank you. Hahaha, I am now imagining Andrew as a BA Muay Thai commando from an 80s movie.
Thank you very much. It is perfect, fat and protein ratio for all those keto dieters out there
I’ll check it out. It will be neat to see a Costco here. Super helpful post, thanks
Hahaha, I miss those anti viral, CJD, hormone pumped cows 
I’ve never met him, but I get the impression that’s 90% accurate 
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“…with an ego his body can’t cash.”
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Honestly, just make a peanut butter sandwich. Not all protein sources are equal and I’m guessing if it costs under a dollar, the bio-availability of whatever protein they put in it is either low to none.
Any kind of protein supplements are not going to be cheap here. But PM if you really want protein bars and thats all.
Food>supplements all day. It’s not difficult if you make most of your food.
Thank you for your help Andrew. You are absolutely right. It is great advice.
I may be leaving Taipei for a while. But if and when I return I would love to teach Jiu-Jitsu at your place of business, if you were generous enough to have me there, and I would teach free of charge of course.
Also, I didn’t mean for my response to sound so weird. Hahahaha
Flakman, thanks for mentioning iHerb. I’m new to Taiwan and that link looks pretty amazing. They have Quest bars which is the protein bar I was looking for.
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That was pretty awesome. And they are almost the same price as in Colorado. But I think people here are right, it is probably more natural and practical to give up protein bars, and eat natural sources like tofu, chicken, beef. I had this really awesome marinated tofu at a Korean restaurant in Banciao yesterday. It was marinated in sweet chili sauce and Serrano peppers. It was so good
Probably most protein bars contain cheap whey powder and soy, whey powder is made from the left-over liquid from cheese making. The thing they used to give as feed to pigs and other meat animals.
Egg whites contain protein, chicken breast too.
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