I guess that’s the difference in the north. I can literally walk from my house, in bumfuck nowhere, and buy all BBQ stuff I need. Uber cheap, made in Taiwan mostly. Charcoal is usually indonesia. But metal and plastic is pretty easy to find made in Taiwan, or at least not made in China.
Normally, nationwide, this isn’t a situation where shoppe and alike are necessary. I would say, just walk out and ask. Even in Taipei, just go earlier? This stuff is literally as common as being paper cups and plastic bowls
So many places in Taipei don’t even allow BBQ anymore. Riverside park is no go. Cops will go around writing tickets if you BBQ at a riverside park. So only option is in front of shops, or on rooftops. It’s simply easier to find those all you can eat BBQ restaurants.
This past mid autumn festival there was hardly anyone BBQing.
Sure, they could go earlier. It’s just one of those situations where I think it’s worth buying online to get better quality for the same amount of money or cheaper, or the same (low) quality for less.
I bought some of these things last year - fairly decent quality and NT$39 each on Shopee. The exact same items or similar items were like NT$100-200 in everything stores and other physical stores.
Same with other random household stuff, like those little sprayer nozzles you attach to the end of a kitchen tap. Cheap Chinese shit and I go through one or two of them a year, but buying them on Shopee is like a quarter of the price, maybe less. I usually just chuck a couple of them into the Shopee shopping basket when I’m buying some other stuff.
Not wrong. The advantage with shopping sites is one can compare prices with sometimes quite a lot of competition easily. The convenience tends to end there for me.
Thanks everyone for the detailed and helpful replies. I actually do have a great rooftop space and a shiny new propane bbq that I’m anxious to fire up. I’m off to try my luck at a dollar store.
