[quote=“500CBFan”]I’ve been enjoying the pictures people are posting here about conditions at the newly opened Costco: facebook.com/groups/366934660044326/
I don’t plan on visiting that place for at least a month! Let the insanity die down.[/quote]
I can’t read much Chinese, but I swear that one of those pictures had a person that was holding up a sign saying it was a two hour wait to get into the store.
Yes, two-hour wait and the other sign said all the free breakfasts had already been given out. It was that photo of wall-to-wall people that made me cringe.
Completely and utterly nuts. Don’t know why Costco bothered with the free breakfasts, judging by their other locations it would be full anyway.
And free laundry detergent. Not sample size. From that new German brand that costs like 400 ntd a pack. I would have queued for that…
Wait…Noooo…I have neen assimilated!!!
Neihu Costco had less people today, which was welcome. I guess Beitou Costco pulled some of them away.
Neihu Costco also had some interesting products for this summer. A non-inflatable kayak for $19000. Also saw some inflatable pools and water slide for kids. Though I don’t know where you would find the space to use them in Taipei.
Also saw some pre-cut red grapefruit in cups. Bit pricey at 545 NTD for a 12 pack.
Beitou Costco Opening
focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201604090006.aspx
People lining up outside the new outlet eagerly waited to get one of the 6,000 breakfast boxes, each of which contained a cake, a pack of rice cake snacks and a carton of juice, and 15,000 packs of Persil detergent.
All of the 6,000 breakfast boxes were handed out before the store opened at 9 a.m.
Since the supply was limited, arguments broke out among the queuing shoppers when some of them jumped into the queue in a bid to get the free breakfast, irritating many others.
I really wish they would start doing the same parking policy from Costco Beitou in the other venues. Look, the firts day, of course, the parking was full. Fast forward second day, more than a hundred spaces left… and increasing, as I am told. I bet it would happen the same, especially in Neihu. No more parking freeloaders!
[quote=“nonredneck”]Neihu Costco had less people today, which was welcome. I guess Beitou Costco pulled some of them away.
Neihu Costco also had some interesting products for this summer. A non-inflatable kayak for $19000. Also saw some inflatable pools and water slide for kids. Though I don’t know where you would find the space to use them in Taipei.
Also saw some pre-cut red grapefruit in cups. Bit pricey at 545 NTD for a 12 pack.[/quote]
Sign me up for one kayak. The only problem is that I would have to move because there is absolutely no room to store it at my apartment. I am also broke which is probably a bigger problem.
Icon, sorry but can you elaborate on the parking policy at Beitou?? Thanks!
Icon, sorry but can you elaborate on the parking policy at Beitou?? Thanks![/quote]
If you buy over 500 NTD, then parking is free. If not, then it is 100 NTD per hour.
Please take into consideration that there are a bunch of parking lots all around the faciity, charging 50 NTD an hour, so, even if Costco’s parking lot was full, you’d still have plenty of options. But it is not. Meaning people who go to buy, buy more than 500 NTD in average AND the freeloaders are kept at large because it is more expensive to park there than elsewhere.
This I stated before. There is no way on Monday morning the parking lot can be so full of cars and the store so empty of people.
Next time I visit I will write this a a suggestion. Please join me anyone who believes this is a step in the right direction. Less freeloaders, less chaos downstairs, maybe will have a beneficial effect upstairs.
So, I have a bit of a problem that I am hoping some kind person can help me with.
I bought their frozen lasagna last week because my daughter had some in America when her grandma made it for her and she loved it. Well I took it home and opened it to separate it in my freezer. Being the idiot that I am, I forgot to keep the heating instructions and I haven’t had any luck finding them on-line. I even emailed Costco with my dilemma, in English because my Chinese isn’t that great, and their response, in Chinese as I expected, was that they needed my member ID number and the order number. All I want is the directions for heating it up.
Does anybody here know what the instructions are?
Thank you.
[quote=“joedog”]So, I have a bit of a problem that I am hoping some kind person can help me with.
I bought their frozen lasagna last week because my daughter had some in America when her grandma made it for her and she loved it. Well I took it home and opened it to separate it in my freezer. Being the idiot that I am, I forgot to keep the heating instructions and I haven’t had any luck finding them on-line. I even emailed Costco with my dilemma, in English because my Chinese isn’t that great, and their response, in Chinese as I expected, was that they needed my member ID number and the order number. All I want is the directions for heating it up.
Does anybody here know what the instructions are?
Thank you.[/quote]
Here ya go
livestrong.com/article/42480 … o-lasagna/
Finally had a chance to visit the Beitou Costco. Overall it seems better than the other branches.
The Good
-One level, but it’s in the basement.
-Much bigger food court.
-The first floor entrance to the parking garage opens right into the food court. Probably adapted to the amount of people that use Costco as a restaurant.
-More seats in the food court
-They seem to have a bigger selection of products compared to Neihu Costco
-Can get there by MRT
-More space inbetween checkout lanes
-Dedicated scooter parking outside the parking garage
The Bad
-People seem to be ruder there. More blocking of lanes, leaving carts in the aisle that takes up the whole lane. More not paying attention. More just stopping and blocking the lanes.
-Crowded. Not sure if this is normal or just because it’s new
-It’s on the south side of the MRT tracks, which makes getting there a little tricky since the MRT is above ground and divides the area. Not sure how you get there by car.
-It is a full 10 to 15 minute walk from Zhongyi MRT station, depending on your walking speed.
Allegedly, they have a shuttle mini bus between the station and the store.
[quote=“joedog”]So, I have a bit of a problem that I am hoping some kind person can help me with.
I bought their frozen lasagna last week because my daughter had some in America when her grandma made it for her and she loved it. Well I took it home and opened it to separate it in my freezer. Being the idiot that I am, I forgot to keep the heating instructions and I haven’t had any luck finding them on-line. I even emailed Costco with my dilemma, in English because my Chinese isn’t that great, and their response, in Chinese as I expected, was that they needed my member ID number and the order number. All I want is the directions for heating it up.
Does anybody here know what the instructions are?
Thank you.[/quote]
Made it exactly per the instructions below in a toaster oven and it was delish!
Also had my first visit to the Guandu Costco. Yay! A Costco trip that takes just a couple of hours, and doesn’t eat up most of my day! Due to Sunday morning crowds, I didn’t do the browsing I’d have liked, and entirely skipped the central area with bins of clothes or books or snacks.
The lovely mixed box of Kirkland beer remains missing. Alas.
I also couldn’t find the mixed packs of salami sausage that I’ve enjoyed in the past.
What I came home with: not that much, actually - frozen mixed berries (also available at Carrefour and some organic stores, so not as important an item as it used to be); pepper jack at significantly cheaper than other places; sharp cheddar at relatively cheap price, but unfortunately no extra-aged cheddar; plain goat cheese, pretty much unavailable elsewhere as far as I know; English muffins, unavailable elsewhere as far as I know; and their cheap bagels.
If you go through tons of cheese on sandwiches, they’ve got a great variety of pre-sliced deli cheeses, but I just can’t eat enough to finish those packets off.
They’ve also got portobello mushrooms, and I believe are once again the only source for those - Jason’s/Wellcome had them in stock briefly, but they quickly disappeared.
I didn’t see any western greens, and would have liked to get a big carton of Greek yogurt, until I realized they only had honey-flavored Greek yogurt, not plain.
This is the first time I’ve been a Costco member in Taiwan, and we’ll try it out for a year and see if it seems worthwhile.
[quote=“Taiwan_Student”]What? No JIF or Skippy? I used to pick up a double container every few months. Where are they?
I’m thinking of taking a chance on the Natural Kirkland peanut butter. It’s supposedly healthier.
I’m not sure how long that can stay once opened or if my kids will like it? We don’t consume that much? Also having to mix the oil looks like a chore. I think my kids may make it topple over while mixing causing a mess.
Any thoughts?[/quote]
Sorry for the late reply – I was away traveling. The Kirkland PB is absolutely delicious – just peanuts and salt. The first time I open it, I dump the entire contents into a big mixing bowl and mix the oil back in there (which works great), instead of trying to mix it in the jar (which creates a mess, and doesn’t actually work all that well). After mixing, I put it back in the jar and, as mentioned in a different post, if you keep it in the refrig the oil won’t separate out again, and the PB will keep for just about forever.
I’ve given up hope on those coming back. It’s been way too long now. Enjoyed the Steve’s Holiday Bock as an alternative (and a good one at that!), but they’ve since last year replaced that with Steve’s Ginger Ale. 
They’ve been out of the spicy salami I also used to enjoy.
They usually have a Talimook extra sharp cheddar which is very nice.
I’ll look for that next time - thanks!
So maybe the good salami isn’t just absent from the Guandu branch, but is more of a nationwide lack. Oh well. Damn. I miss having some good foreign sausage inside me.
Kirkland beer should be back for summer beer season according to staff last time I asked.