Someone was posting on here a few months back about a new kitchenware shop that was supposed to be opening up around Neihu somewhere. Had a website – I think it was a Honkers outfit maybe – looked a bit like Habitat. That would be the place. Bloke was even asking what we’d like to see stocked there if I remember correctly.
Also, I drove past a fancy-looking kitchenware shop up in Tianmu the other week. It’s right close to the Carrefour up there. On the same street.
That’s where I’d try.
July 2008 EDIT: This place closed at least a year ago.
I just noticed an ad for their Shilin branch on 'mosa, so you’ll have to head up to Shilin if interested. pantry-magic.com/taiwan/index.php
[quote=“sandman”]Someone was posting on here a few months back about a new kitchenware shop that was supposed to be opening up around Neihu somewhere. Had a website – I think it was a Honkers outfit maybe – looked a bit like Habitat. That would be the place. Bloke was even asking what we’d like to see stocked there if I remember correctly.
Also, I drove past a fancy-looking kitchenware shop up in Tianmu the other week. It’s right close to the Carrefour up there. On the same street.
That’s where I’d try.[/quote]
I think it was a thread on the perfect frying pan, and this chap Robert Esser said he’d be having a grand opening and would let us all know, but I don’t remember seeing anything after that. I’m sure I gave him my email to get an invitation to the grand opening, but never got one. He hasn’t posted since that first time, either.
Ah,here it is.
Acc. to their website, it is “located on Cheng Gong Rd, in between Cheng Gong Park and Da Hu (Lake) Park, on the South side of the street – see map below.”
Pantry Magic (Taiwan) Ltd.
#357 Cheng Gong Rd
Sec 4
Neihu
Taiwan
Tel: (02)27960011
E-mail: chiawei@pantry-magic.com
That’s near me; I’ll swing in and have a look.
EDIT
Good news! A phone call confirms they have paella pans. Steel (not stainless) only, in 26, 30 and 36cm sizes, for NT$520 to $850. They also are 10% off from now through Dec 31st. Their hours are 10am-9:30 pm, 7 days a week.
EDIT #2: The shop is not on the outside of the circular road shown above where the yellow dot is; rather it’s on the opposite side, and is only a couple doors away from the Thai restaurant, Phi Phi.
Too late, I’ve just bought them all.
Sorry about that folks.
Edit: Just joking
Seriously, you can get 'perfect" paella without a paella pan. All you need is a low even-bottomed pan that can hold the right amount of liquid and is easy to grab so you can do the shake once you get the liquid in. If you don’t have cover you can just use tinfoil.
I get a perfect crust on the bottom every time (almost - as long as I haven’t been to the bar too much while cooking) over coals or over a Taiwanese stove (puts out enough BTU’s, it is just uneven - ergo the cast iron - to even things out). As others have mentioned, it’s the depth of the rice, the amount of liquid vs. the starchiness of the rice.
Taiwanese stoves are great because they generally put out a lot more BTUs than western stoves. But, the heat is uneven, especially at low settings - so you need heavier pots. If you got a heavy deep frying pan, it would work just fine without spending all that money on a one-use pan.
Thanks, Elegua, that’s what I thought.
I still might be interested in a pan, just because I only have one frying pan, and having another means easier cooking, e.g., of accompanying veggies or whatever. But I’d really prefer the paella pan to be stainless or enamelled. Donghu is so damned humid that mild steel rusts just sitting there ‘dry’ in my apartment. Yeah, I know you can oil it, but…
I’d still like to hear if any shops have a stainless one.
[quote=“Dragonbones”]Thanks, Elegua, that’s what I thought.
I still might be interested in a pan, just because I only have one frying pan, and having another means easier cooking, e.g., of accompanying veggies or whatever. But I’d really prefer the paella pan to be stainless or enamelled. Donghu is so damned humid that mild steel rusts just sitting there ‘dry’ in my apartment. Yeah, I know you can oil it, but…
I’d still like to hear if any shops have a stainless one.[/quote]
Another thing Taiwanese stove-tops are good for. Buy a cheap bbq brush and coat the pan in a light coating of cheap olive oil - set the hood vent to ‘de-pressurize’ - setting - Taiwanese stove to the ‘re-entry’ or ‘afterburner’ setting and put the pot or pan on it. Turn off once the pot starts smoking and turning black. Voila - a seasoned pan in 30 sec. Just don’t leave it too long or you will burn off the seasoning on the bottom - but it’s the bottom - who cares if there is a little rust?
Hello Gang, and Sandman in Particular. Sorry I havent been back on here since August. We are growing regionally and the Taiwan operation was (at least supposed to be) looking after itself. I have been wanting to advertise on Forumosa, actually, but it took Maoman a while to get back to me with the details. Also, I have passed everything regarding the operation in Taipei to our local franchisee, and assumed it was being handled professionally from that end. My assumption met with predictable results, which of course I should have known since I lived in Taiwan for 3 years, from '96-'99. The Grand Opening as such was a rather minor affair which happened in early October, planned and executed by our local partner and probably wasn’t something that warranted an invitation. My apologies if you did not get one. The shop is indeed now open and is filled with literally everything you could need for your kitchen - over 1500 items and growing. I don’t get back here much, but anyone who wants to send me an email to: robert@pantry-magic.com will get a pretty speedy reply. Thanks.
Welcome back Robert. I’ll be up soon to check out the shop. Weather’s getting cooler, the wife’s been hinting at upcoming pie-making shenannigans and I buggered her only springform pan to make a guitar-building clamp, so I’m in the doghouse until I can replace it.
ooh! [quote] I buggered her only springform pan[/quote]
springform pan buggery is a serious offence. I can’t believe you can still type. Just a question…what kind of pie are you making with a springform pan?
springform pan buggery is a serious offence. I can’t believe you can still type. Just a question…what kind of pie are you making with a springform pan?[/quote]
A high-sided cheesy shortcrust pie, usually filled with potato, chicken, water chestnuts, leeks, mushrooms. Comes out looking kind of like a giant pork pie. Deliciousoso. There one is, but you can’t really gauge the depth from the pic. They’re usually about 3 inches high and stand up by themselves, hence the need for a springform.
When I was in Peru (where the Spanish is apparently pronounced very closely to Castilian), I heard “ll” pronounced like “ly”, so “llama” was “lyama”. On the other extreme, I heard Argentinians pronounce “tortilla” as “tortisha”.
When I was in Peru (where the Spanish is apparently pronounced very closely to Castilian), I heard “ll” pronounced like “ly”, so “llama” was “lyama”. On the other extreme, I heard Argentinians pronounce “tortilla” as “tortisha”.[/quote]
If you mean an aspirated ‘sh’, I beg to differ. My Argentine friends pronounced this sound more like the soft ‘g’ in beige. But I imagine that’s what you really meant. 
springform pan buggery is a serious offence. I can’t believe you can still type. Just a question…what kind of pie are you making with a springform pan?[/quote]
A high-sided cheesy shortcrust pie, usually filled with potato, chicken, water chestnuts, leeks, mushrooms. Comes out looking kind of like a giant pork pie. Deliciousoso. There one is, but you can’t really gauge the depth from the pic. They’re usually about 3 inches high and stand up by themselves, hence the need for a springform.
[/quote]
YUM!. So you make tall food. That answers my question. I take it you made the pie crust yourself.
When I was in Peru (where the Spanish is apparently pronounced very closely to Castilian), I heard “ll” pronounced like “ly”, so “llama” was “lyama”. On the other extreme, I heard Argentinians pronounce “tortilla” as “tortisha”.[/quote]
If you mean an aspirated ‘sh’, I beg to differ. My Argentine friends pronounced this sound more like the soft ‘g’ in beige. But I imagine that’s what you really meant. [/quote]Well, actually, there was a bit of aspiration to the way my Argentine friend pronounced “ll”. And this is also how books and other sources describe pronunciation from that area. I found that it was other Latin Americans, as well as most of the Spanish people I knew, that pronounced it like the soft “g” in beige.
[Edit: I found the relevant bit in Wikipedia. It’s mostly about the fusing of ll and y, but it mentions the possibility of of the resultant phoneme being pronounced voicelessly.]
As for Peru I’m not sure. I only met one person from there. But as I said, I rarely heard the supposedly correct Castilian Spanish pronounciation, even from Spanish people. Mostly it was the voiced “soft g” sound; the same for both ll and y as described above.
springform pan buggery is a serious offence. I can’t believe you can still type. Just a question…what kind of pie are you making with a springform pan?[/quote]
A high-sided cheesy shortcrust pie, usually filled with potato, chicken, water chestnuts, leeks, mushrooms. Comes out looking kind of like a giant pork pie. Deliciousoso. There one is, but you can’t really gauge the depth from the pic. They’re usually about 3 inches high and stand up by themselves, hence the need for a springform.
[/quote]
YUM!. So you make tall food. That answers my question. I take it you made the pie crust yourself.[/quote]
You take wrong. I’m a shit pasty cook. The wife has the magic hands.
And to all you paella pedants – take your bloody pronounciation to the pedant’s page. This forum is about food, not how to say it. Sheesh!
[quote=“sandman”]And to all you paella pedants – take your bloody pronounciation to the pedant’s page. This forum is about food, not how to say it. Sheesh![/quote]Sorry. Any chance you could split off the pronunciation stuff into the Open forum? I know this is the wrong place for it, but I wouldn’t mind carrying on the discussion with other like-minded pedants.
No chance. Its taking five minutes for even the normal pages to load. God alone knows how long the moderator panel would take. It’s had 20 minutes and still hasn’t loaded.
I stopped by that store today in Neihu. Very nice selection, and very high quality stuff. If you’re looking for a top quality frying pan, from cast iron to enamelled iron, heavy aluminum, copper clad, etc., they’ve got it all. The paella pans were quite inexpensive, but if you want to go with something heavier, they had an enamelled cast-iron alternative too. Professional quality stuff.
Cheers. I am a sucker for good kitchen shit, I am going to check this place out.
Is it dead pricey? I want a new skillet and a new big heavy bottomed pan. I’ll pay top prices for the right stuff.