Got Soy?

Hey everyone, I have a very strange question, but one that has been eating at me for a few days. I’ve been away from Taiwan for a while, and since my last time there my diet has changed a bit and I’m concerned about one thing…

Is soymilk available in Taipei? NO, I’m not talking about the “soy drink” that most of the Taiwanese youngsters drink, but REAL Soy Milk (ie. Silk, Sun Soy, Soy Delicious, etc.). In addition, is it available in coffee houses/shops as a milk replacement for coffee beverages, like it is here in the States?

Any input and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :slight_smile:

Hi,
I only used to drink soy milk as well, but living here has made is a little difficult. The stuff here is junk, and certainly doesn’t go well on cereal! :cry: It’s genetically modified, watered down and sweetened like hell; rather disappointing really. (Isn’t American soy genetically modified too?). Anyway, suffice to say I’ve stopped drinking milk all together. But oh how I would love some…

Sorry I can’t help, but please let me know if you find some. :smiley:

Dave

Hi, thanks for your reply. The stuff you’re talking about, as I mentioned in my original post, is in fact NOT soy milk but a soy drink. I’ve had this stuff, and agree, it just doesn’t cut it! I’m not sure about the use of GM for soymilks here but it wouldn’t suprise me. Over 60% of all foods in U.S. supermarkets have traces of GM in them.

As I cannot drink cow’s milk any longer I still need to find a suitable alternative. Can anyone else shed some light on this situation? Can I order a mocha with a milk substitute? Do the supermarkets carry soy milk? Health food stores perhaps?

I’d really appreciate any help on this. :slight_smile:

What’s wrong with genetically modified foods? I know it’s fashionable to pooh-pooh it, but is there any legitimate cause for alarm?

Well, you’ve presented a great question, one that could lead to very interesting discussions and debates, but at this time I’m hoping to get help with my Soy Milk problem. Maybe you can start a new thread on GM discussion, and I’d love to get involved when I have more time. :slight_smile:

–Brently

Hi,
I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong with GM foods as far as the human body goes (although they haven’t been around long enough for science to discern any kind of link between them and various diseases), but I think the reason that people “pooh pooh” them is the same reason that they scorn antibiotics. The planting of GM crops and the widespread use of antibiotics can, in the long term, create biological entities which were not predicted and hence, if harmful, cannot be destroyed.
It’s the whole idea of science being irresponsible by using poorly researched technology in the quest for short term economic benefits, or quick-fix solutions; this is what the whole protest is about I think… although I could be wrong :smiley:

Dave

Yeah, you’re right… sorry sunshine :blush:

I have seen non-GM Soy Milk and Soy based food items (Doufu and such) in Taipei. There is even this mixed milk, soy milk(also non-GM) and fresh milk.

Non-GM is a big thing in Europe and Australia, but not in the US where most crops are grown genetically modified. The negative effect on human being is still not fully known. Maybe this is only “quota in disguise” for american products to enter Europe and Australia.

Conspiracy theory…, hehehe… :laughing:

My wife buys organic, unsweetened soy milk that is NOT a “soya-based drink.” She gets it from various places – even 7-11 sometimes. It tastes exactly like the stuff she makes herself from scratch. I’ll ask her tonight about the name/brand, etc.

What’s the difference between a soy drink and soy milk? Is it that some soy beans have teats and others don’t?

Yes, Sandman is correct that some (but not all) 7-11 carry organic soy milk made from NGM beans. The one is Mucha near my house stopped carrying it a month ago due to lack of interest. :x But I believe that others are still carrying it. Maybe it’s time to move to a better neighborhood.

OH, and by the way, why the hell am I classified as a
peasant.

Yes! It does exist here. I’ve been on a fervent search, too, b/c I wanted to be able to give it to my kid. I know of 2 types of non-GMO organic soy MILK:

  • I Mei brand with the green lid (as opposed to the orange lid, which is loaded with sugar)

  • I found some Eden Blend this week at Ming Yau market on Chung Shao E. downtown. What I got is rice/soy blend, but I’m pretty sure they had pure soy milk there, too.

I, too, am very curious about whether you can get a soy latte here. I haven’t had the guts to try to ask yet in the coffee shops. Maybe I’ll try tomorrow and let you know!

what exactly is the difference between soy milk and soy drink? is soy milk just the americanized version of the chinese drink with less sugar? my aunt in the states makes her own soy drink or milk or whatever from soybeans from scratch. would that be considered “junk” soy drink as well? :stuck_out_tongue:

Flipper, your aunt makes the real thing, (of course).
Real soy milk is derived from just boiling up soybeans and straining the resultant liquid.

The soy drinks can be all kind of things, but it usually includes rice, lots of sugar, added water, preservatives, etc.

Actually, unsweetened soy milk is pretty unpalatable IMO – it needs a little bit of sugar added, although far less than they add to the commercial brands.

Thanks a million, Attagirl. I assumed it would be there somewhere, although my local friends had no clue. I imagine with time it will also become more available as it has here the past few years, especially considering that most Asians are lactose intolerant and could use a good milk substitute that tastes good. I use it for everything from cereal to drinking straight, even for cooking, and it’s a large part of my daily protein intake. Hopefully I’ll have luck in getting it wherever I’ll be staying at. :slight_smile:

I did a market survey on this case and found the following:

Confirming what Attagirl mentioned, there is Non-GM Soymilk available in Taiwan. I-Mei brand has several kind of soymilk:

  • Non-GM Soymilk without sugar (ingredients: soy bean, water) 300 cc, 1000 cc, 2000 cc

  • Non-GM Soymilk with sugar added (ingredients: soybean, water, sugar) 300 cc, 1000 cc, 2000 cc

  • Ideal Mix-Milk ==> 50% Milk + 50% Non-GM Soymilk (ingredients: fresh milk, soybean, water, sugar) 300cc, 1000cc

Shelf-life for those are all 15 days.

I believe this brand is “safe” considering there is no whatsoever chemical additives in the ingredients. The most popular soymilk from HK, for example, has lots of additives and preservative with terms nobody could tell unless you are/ask a chemist/pharmacist.

Sorry to regurgitate the issue after it’s settled for almost a year, but perhaps things have changed over that time.

I’m really really getting desperate to find somewhere that makes Soy Flat-Whites. The only place I’ve found them is at CKS Airport, which was a surprise… and even though it wasn’t all that great, I feel that beggars can’t be choosers.

The general reaction I get is - “Dou-jiang in coffee?? Ooh…Are you crazy?”… but anyway, I’ve resorted to instant coffee and unsweetened soy drink from 7-11 so I must be borderline insane.

So, does anyone know of a cafe in Taipei, that does soy coffees? Anyone able to persuade their cafe-owner friends?

The best soy coffees I’ve found in all my travels, are back home in New Zealand and they’re available at 90% of all cafes!! Wahhh! ~sigh~

ps. plz don’t tell me to toughen-up and drink it black, ok? :smiley:

Steve,

I have not heard of any places that use it, but I am not so sure that the “COFEE WHITE” that they use as creamer is not soy based. But, it is not what you want I know. Anyway, I saw CASES of vanilla soymilk at Costco this weekend, so an alternative might be to carry a thermos of the stuff and add it yourself, not the best of all worlds, but a start…

Thanks for the tip Sharky! I’m not actually familiar with Costco… is that a supermarket?

Do you know what brand of Vanilla Soy it was? In particular I’m keen to find Vanilla or Creamy Original Vitasoy.

Someone needs to open up a cafe here that does good coffee for a decent price. After a few weeks without coffee I was even contemplating it just so I could get a good brew. You’d think that Asians would be more keen to drink Soy-milk considering that around 90% are lactose intolerant.

On the subject of soy products, are there any other soy yoghurts available? I’m not too keen on Tomato Yoghurt and the Plain one would probably be too plain for my liking.

Costco-

costco.com/

A membership warehouse shopping place. Locations are in Neihu and XiZhi. bulk shopping is the rule here.

You can also check out Breeze center and Sogo for Vanilla Soymilk, I think I have seen it there a few times.

Don’t know about yogurts tho’

there is a coffee shop that sells soy latte’s on nanjing east road between chung shan and hsinsheng.

btw. i suppose it’s an aquired taste but i like unsweetened soy milk/drink/juice. only warm tho.

[color=olive]editing note: when i initially posted this i mistakenly wrote that the location was between chung shan and Yanping. :blush: i believe it is between Linsen and hsinsheng on the southside of Nanjing E road. [/color]