Also XL in Taiwan is more like M in the US… I have no idea if Costco is US size.
I’ve been taken to buying clothing from Taobao for this reason, their size is even smaller but can find 5XL over there (which fits me just fine).
The Costco price signs often say “US size” or “Asian size”, which helps to know what you are picking up.
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we are a family of four, and our grocery bill (costco and others) is 35k a month (420,000 a year). 1.5 million a year in costco is very far off the charts.
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Yes, the head was another thing I noticed. Reminds me of the movie a Christmas Story. lol
Are any of the Chinese New Year food packages worth getting? They all seem crazy expensive to me.
not reallt IMHO, but up to you. they are on par with the price to buy them from a restaurant.
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Can’t believe you can only use either cash or Costco’s own credit card to buy things at Costco. That’s crazy, especially since they already charge for a membership.
i believe its the same all over the world. if they open to all credit cards they will increase costs, which will then be rolled over to us consumers.
we as foreigners can face difficulty getting a Costco credit card, bit for most of the people in TW its not a major barrier.
In the us they take any cards which is why I felt blindsided by it especially because they don’t mention this when you sign up
In the US they accept all Visa cards.
In the US, it used to be American Express cards or cash only.
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Is Costco open today? Google says yes. My wife is convinced it isn’t. People said apparently. Which people? Just people.
They open until 6pm today, and will close tomorrow, then be back to normal store hours Monday.
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I am considering going on a Costco run tomorrow or Wednesday (Neihu or Zhonghe store). I figure arriving just before it opens or towards the end of the day would be the most sensible course of action. On a scale of 1-10, how stupid am I in even considering going there during Chinese New Year, bearing in mind normal Costco visits result in my internal monologue consisting largely of swear words aimed at the slack-jawed, slow-moving or stationery troglodytes blocking the aisles and lining up for shitty samples? I’ve never braved it during CNY before.
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it wont be that bad, before CNY is worse.
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I would think earlier would be your best shot. This time of year people like to sleep in. Somewhere in the 2022 thread some people mentioned you can even enter before the official opening hours but I’ve never tried it. Also, just a guess that you might have better luck at Zhonghe, Neihu always seems crowded.
5 as I can’t tell what your scale is. 10 is stupidest? It really depends on how much you need stuff. There are certain staples for me I can only get at Costco and if I need them I must brave the crowds. I usually go on weekday afternoons and even then it is often crazy crowded.
You forgot to mention the neanderthals that leave their cart in the middle of an aisle while they trot off to get something an aisle over.
Sometimes my internal monologue spills out and the swear words become audible.
Maneuvering Costco with your cart is a lot like F1 driving, weaving in out out when you find an opening. I often wish I could treat it like bumper cars and slam into the offending carts. 
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I don’t think it’s that stupid. I went to the Zhonghe store on Friday evening and it was basically fine, though noticeably busier than usual and had me reaching for my cattle prod at times. I’m planning to go back later this week too.
Would be worthwhile checking the expiry dates on any meat you intend to buy. When I went on Friday, the chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, and pork shoulder had all been packed two or three days prior such that the sell by date was the 25th rather than the 27th or 28th like I’d usually expect. I guess they’d stocked up ahead of the holiday period, but hopefully they’ll have worked through that by the end of the week and got fresher stuff in. I have quite a lot of meat to get through before Wednesday now…
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Don’t sweat it. Put it in the coldest part of your fridge. Check it regularly and let you nose be the judge. I am, as I write, baking chicken wings that “expired” a couple of days ago.
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Oh I’m pretty lax with expiry dates, at least when preparing food for myself. The yogurt and orange juice I’ll make a smoothie with later are already a couple of weeks out of date, for example. I’m just a bit more careful with meat so would prefer to buy it as soon as possible after packing (chicken in particular - that rank smell that chicken develops close to the expiry date I always find a bit offputting).
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Understandable, I share your antipathy. One tip: I buy all my chicken breasts at RT Mart, I find they have the best selection. I don’t know if Costco does this but RT Mart puts a little plastic “pillow” at the bottom of all prepared chicken parts. Remove those right away, or after a day or two, and it delays that smell by at least a couple of days past expiry date. Those things absorb the raw chicken juices that are mainly causing the smell, not the meat itself. Even if the chicken has begun to smell a little just remove those little plastic thingies and the smell stops.
Also removing it from the original plastic packaging helps. It’s the juices that are causing the offending smell. I did that with these wings this morning that had just begun to have an odor, rinsed them and put them in a bowl, covered them with plastic wrap and voilà no more smell. I cooked them tonight. I just sampled one, turned out well.
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