Goodbye Mega PX Mart. The best supermarket in central Taipei is closing

[DrewC]

Interesting analysis. Never thought about it that way.

[cdn1234]

@BiggusDickus

@DrewC

I gave my Taiwanese brother-in-law an American craft beer (well, the closest you could get to craft here… I think it was a Dogfish Head or something). I wanted to impress him with something I thought clearly superior to the usual Taiwan Gold or Heineken he was always drinking. Well, he reluctantly took a sip from it and then made a face and admonished me to just “get Heineken” next time.

Acquired taste?

To be fair, I’d be pretty disappointed with an IPA too!

[Myshkin]

RIP, but you guys have a ton of cool food stores in Taipei, like Kaldi Coffee Farm, Trinity Indian Store, Don Don Donki, City Super etc., not to mention all the good Western bakeries and restaurants. The situation in the rest of Taiwan is bleak.

[miamidice]

@miamidice

So sad to see this close. This was one of the best things about living around Zhongxiao Fuxing. A very large supermarket by Taiwan’s standards, it was the closest thing to the types of big supermarkets I’m used to in Europe.

So I’ve read a bit more about it.

This was the only hypermarket in the whole of central Taipei. The only other one left is in Neihu. It’s that or Costco now.

This one in Zhongxiao Fuxing was there for 22 years, but didn’t make a profit for the whole time with RT Mart, staying around break even. Then PX Mart took it over and lost 100 million NT in a single year.

[miamidice]

@Myshkin

RIP, but you guys have a ton of cool food stores in Taipei, like Kaldi Coffee Farm, Trinity Indian Store, Don Don Donki, City Super etc., not to mention all the good Western bakeries and restaurants. The situation in the rest of Taiwan is bleak.

I know, all nice to have, but to me it’s not the same. There’s something about the convenience and familiarity of a hypermarket that can’t be beat. But I agree the level of convenience and variety in Taipei overall is still on another level compared to most of the world.

[bojack]

@miamidice

I heard it’s dying cos so many craft beer drinkers have no brand loyalty as they are constantly in search of the next different taste, so most breweries stay tiny and struggle.

Yep.

In the US the demand for beer has splintered into demand for a ton of beer alternatives. Cider, alcoholic seltzers, fruit flavored malt beverages, kombucha, ranch water, spritzes, and lots of low- or no-alcohol versions of all. Aperol spritz may be the cocktail of 2026 (roughly 11% ABV).

[DKaoshuing]

@bojack

@miamidice

I heard it’s dying cos so many craft beer drinkers have no brand loyalty as they are constantly in search of the next different taste, so most breweries stay tiny and struggle.

Yep.

. Aperol spritz may be the cocktail of 2026 (roughly 11% ABV).

Did not think spritz would be like it is today beyond Northern Italy. Just starting to catch on in Taiwan though

Why Aperol’s Biggest Success Became Its Biggest Problem | WSJ The Economics Of

[BiggusDickus]

I’ve got an unopened bottle of Aperol in my drinks cupboard. Been sitting there for years. I’ll have to try it.

EDIT: Apparently it requires prosecco. This is sounding a tad girly.

[Quesito]

I prefer Campari with orange juice. And you can still use it for Negroni.