Hey! I’ve been wanting to go up to Costco in Taipei, but I’m in Taichung, and I’m not quite sure what the best (aka, easiest and cheapest) way to do it is. I was planning on going by bus. Does anyone know if there is a bus from Taichung that happens to stop near a Costco in Taipei? We haven’t done Taipei yet, so we don’t know where anything is.
Thanks!
Karen
I would think a bus which goes to Sung Shan Domestic airport would be the closest you can get to Costco. The airport is on Minchuan E. Road and Costco is about a $100 taxi ride from there. You’d have to get a cab on Minchan heading east, tell the driver to “gwo Minchuan Da Chao”. (bridge) and you can see Costco on your right as you cross the bridge.
Not sure, but don’t you need a membership card or something to shop there!?
Yes you do need a membership card of 1000 to shop there unless they are members from the USA Costco. The only thing that is unique to Costco are some imported frozen foods in large quantity not seen in other stores but it would all be defrosted and ruined if you had to go back to Taichung.
These days you can buy just about anything Costco offers in the regular supermarkets.
How is their cheese selection?
quote[quote]These days you can buy just about anything Costco offers in the regular supermarkets. [/quote]I’ve never seen humongous jars of dill pickles, sun dried tomatoes, or giant bags of catfood at any other places. Not to mention massive blocks of edible cheese, a good cheap selection of wine, and roasted chickens for $100! Costco is quite different from other supermarkets, Panda. Not just the frozen stuff.
Rent a van or get a lift if you’re coming from Taichung. You won’t want to carry it all back on a bus! I never go out there unless my bf to picks me up afterwards. It’s an every-other-month excursion, for me.
Cost me 1200 to join a month or two ago and it seems they’re stricter about entry and stuff. Photo-ID so you can’t borrow, and you’re supposed to only be able to get 3 people in on one card, but I’m sure you get around this. There is good stuff there though and the real savings are if you buy some things in bulk. They only accept two credit cards too - American Express and Costco Visa! Finally, I may be very wrong, but isn’t there a Costco in Taizhong?
Bri
Bu Lai En,
I also thought there was a Cost-Co in Taichung and posted a message earlier only to delete it later when I looked at the Cost-Co website, there are three listed.
Taipei - Nei-Hu and Shi-Jr
And Kaohsiung
I’ll have to find my original registration papers because I also though there was one in Taichung at least at one time…
Jeff
jeff@oriented.org
Alien,
First of all the chickens are 119.
Their crappy Kirkland brand cat food is very cheap and there’s a reason for it. I get large bag catfood in Tienmu or Peitou. Humungous jars of pickles??? Well you got me on that one. I’ll just stick with the regular size jar and good quality brand from Wellmans. Yes their cheese is cheap but you need a family of 6 to eat the stuff before it goes bad!!
I still get a membership for Costco every year, but I find that apart from good cheap coffee (enough of a reason for membership on its own), most of the stuff is either too luxurious – who can resist a 5lb jar of chocolate almond clllusters? – or just in too-large quantities to be practical.
I’ve never gone in there for more than two or three items, but I’ve never left without a carload of goodies that never get finished – and a raped wallet.
I like Tesco much better these days.
Could somebody tell me where Wellman’s is and what kind of place is it?
Wellman’s is the super across the road from Jakes in Tien mu. Tienmu SuperMarket is just as good, i think. Got some nice green chilis there just yesterday, but I don’t get to that part of town too often. More like every 8 months.
I’m more inclined to go to Costco with its cheap catfood. What’s the reason it’s cheap, panda? My cats love the stuff and the ash content is reasonably low compared to the otc stuff at the local supermarkets. If it’s crap, i’ll change, but I really hate paying $500 for a bag of basically the same stuff with Japanese names.
The kitties don’t get to eat the wet too often (saturdays only) and they’re still fatties. Especially Pumkin. And they absolutely never puke!
Alien, your cats get fat because of too much grocery store brand food like Kirkland, friskies…etc. They have to eat too much of it to be full versus the premium brands in which they only need to eat a little to feel full. I saw a report online ranking the different foods and Kirkland came out very low. You should feed canned food/mixed with some dry and 200ml water for a meal and do it more often than once a week. I think Costco is just not that practical here in Taiwan now that we can get most of the stuff elsewhere.
what does tessco have that I cant get in Tienmu or Costco and where is it located?
Tesco!!!?
Gawd, how things change… Used to be a day’s outing to pay a tenner for a bottle of undrinkable plonk… (and if you could get half a pound of rubber cheese you threw a party)
Next thing you’ll all be buying Argyle socks and Y-fronts from M&S…
panda,
Costco url=http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Grove/8878/food.html[/url] food is not bad for them since the ash (5%)and magnesium (.08%)content is low. I just did an extensive online catfood comparison and it appears to be similar to Hills which costs much, much more.
Like I said, they never ever puke, unlike some cats, and I’ve never fed them cheap supermarket foods like Friskies. It’s been either Hills, Iams, Japanese food, or now, Kirkland at @$300NT per 20lb bag.
But, panda, please find the information online which says Kirkland’s crappy and I’ll stop feeding them the stuff. I’ve always paid careful attention to their diets.
Pumkin is fat because she’s greedy. She always eats hers and then nudges Wishbone out of the way and eats hers too. She’s just got one of those addictive personalities (like some people!)and acts exactly the same way about toys. Wishbone is much more polite and hangs back.
Neither of them are thrilled when I put out the dry–no matter which brand. Also, an old friend used to mix up the dry with canned everyday for her fat cat and that cat ended up being nicknamed ‘Bulemia’ and had all sorts of urinary tract infections, so they only get canned once a week.
Cheese doesn’t go off quickly at all and can last in the fridge for months! And the pickles lasted me about six months.
My fave aspect of Costco is going in every couple months and finding different items on the shelves.
panda, you are anti-Costco, aren’t you?
Tesco is ok with cheese, but the selection is limited. Prices are a bit lower than Breeze.
Their jam is great (private label).
Are costco cheeses the usual cheddars just in larger blocks, or do they have some with a bit more taste?
My parents feed their cat with freshly caught and boiled cod and peeled shrimps. It is not fat. Apart from that no opinion on catfood.
quote[quote] My parents feed their cat with freshly caught and boiled cod and peeled shrimps. [/quote] ROTFL! What a lucky cat! [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]Costco cheese: Brie, Camembert, Tillamook (or something like that) cheddar, jack, swiss and pepper cheese.
It’s not the best cheese in the world, I admit, but I don’t eat cheese very often.Typically, it’s only Feta that will see the inside of my fridge–which I buy from Grandma Nitti’s for $300 a thwackin’ great big tin.
Panda,
Tesco’s “foreign” stuff is more Brit-oriented than septic-Costco, but the main thing is that the packages are normal-sized. Also, they have Cumberland and Lincolnshire butcher’s links (Brit sausages) and other everyday stuff that you just don’t see here much.
Also a load of veggies I’ve rarely, if ever, seen here – fresh lemon grass, artichokes (both kinds) endive, rocket, chicory, and that’s just the ones I can remember offhand. British(!!) vodka for a little over $200 a bottle.
However, its way down there in Nangang (outside Taoyuan) so convenient it 'aint.
do you need a membership to shop there? It would be nice to shop for some new and exciting things for once.