Polenta / Cornmeal in Taoyuan - help please!

Hi everyone

Apologies for repostiing this request if it’s bad ettique. I am getting desperate.

I’ve spent the last three days after work trawling Taoyuan on foot and by bus looking for polenta/cornmeal. I seem to have found every grain product that ever existed except cornmeal. I’ve tried two welcomme stores, including the one in the centre.

If I can’t find it tomorrow, I’ll come to Taipei; must cook it Sat. I’ve read many places in this forum about where it can be bought in Taipei, but I’d appreciate it if someone could give the address of one place, preferrably near / easy to get to from Taipei main station. I don’t know taipei (or Taoyuan) well.

So please - where can i find polenta in Taoyuan OR somewhere in Taipei easy to find?

Thanks

Jesse

Did you try the grocery store in the basement of the FE21 Department Store next to the Taoyuan train station?

I don’t know if they would have that or not. But the store is more upscale than Wellcome, so it’s worth a shot.

Thanks. Yes I tried them last night - my most recent failure :slight_smile:

Any other ideas? OR is there anywhere easy to find and get to in Taipei that sells it?

Jesse

If you’re heading for Taipei on the train, you might try getting off in Banqiao and going to the FE21 here, which has a Jason’s in the basement. Again, I don’t know if they have cornmeal; but they have just about everything else. And, anyway, Banqiao is closer to Taoyuan than Taipei, and the FE21 is close to the train station here.

Cross the big street behind the train station (County Boulevard, not Wenhua/Wunhua Road). And walk to the next stoplight. FE21 is cattycorner to the Taipei County Government Hall, which is the enormous gray building.

If Jason’s doesn’t have it, walk back toward the train station and get on the MRT to go to someplace that definitely does have it.

Good luck.

Thanks “cranky laowai” :slight_smile:

I will try that. Banqiao is certainly closer.

If it doesn’t have it, I’ll get back on and continue my mission into Taipei :slight_smile:

Thanks for the help and the clear directions.

Jesse

You can generally get cornmeal in those grain stores that have open sacks of rice, beans etc. out front. Surely there must be some in Taoyuan?

Annette Lu’s family ran a grain store in Taoyuan, I believe.

Ai Ga foods in Zhongli has it - I saw a few bags of cornmeal last time i was there.

Ai Ja (Ga) foods is on Huang Chung Dong (East) road, which is also called the ring road, between the road to chung yuan university and B&Q.

there is a nissan outlet across huang chung, and a supermarket across the other street (lin sen).

be aware that they are basically costco resellers, halving the contents and bumping up the prices to (in some cases) exhorbiant rates.

I don’t think they get all their stuff from Costco, as I have bought lots of stuff there I can’t get at costco.

Mentioned:

Mexican Chili powder.
Hunts tomato paste in small cans.
paprika - that’s usually in 1lb jars from costco, there I can get in in smaller quantities.
Refried beans.
Bay leaves.
Orange marmalade, something they don’t have in Costco.
Whole canned tomatoes.
Big baking oven fairly cheap.

So no, it’s good, and not a costco reseller. Costco usually pack in bulk, and lots of the costco stull can’t be repacked. Moreover, costco stuff is cheap, but still expensive as you need to take huge quantities.

They would therefore appear to get far the most from regular Taiwanese foreign food wholesalers.

[quote=“Mr He”]I don’t think they get all their stuff from Costco, as I have bought lots of stuff there I can’t get at costco.

Mentioned:

Mexican Chili powder.
Hunts tomato paste in small cans.
paprika - that’s usually in 1lb jars from costco, there I can get in in smaller quantities.
Refried beans.
Bay leaves.
Orange marmalade, something they don’t have in Costco.
Whole canned tomatoes.
Big baking oven fairly cheap.

So no, it’s good, and not a costco reseller. Costco usually pack in bulk, and lots of the costco stull can’t be repacked. Moreover, costco stuff is cheap, but still expensive as you need to take huge quantities.

They would therefore appear to get far the most from regular Taiwanese foreign food wholesalers.[/quote]

ok. costco and the hypermarkets around here.

most spices are available in RT mart or carrefour, and often cheaper. i just bought a large bottle of bay leaves at RT for marginally more than the small one at ai ga. same with refried beans - cheaper in RT. i’ve previously found marmelade in carrefour for cheaper. whole canned tomatoes are available in many places - RT certainly had them a week ago, as well as diced (and cheaper). be aware when buying hunts paste there that the small can goes for 28 NT, while the large can with double the contents sells for 63 :loco:

ovens are available everywhere.

a few more examples: costco clam chowder (big can) sells for $270 per can, the same price as two cans in costco. mustard the same.

i’ve gone there periodically over the past 9 years. they do have some stuff that’s harder to find, especially outside of taipei, and they do have some things that are cheaper than in other locations. however, for the most part, they are over-priced, and fairly surly in their attitude.

i’m not saying don’t go there, but do bring a fair wad of cash.

Which Rt mart are you referring to?

I go to the Pingzhen one, and their spice department stops at lemon salt/pepper.

the one nearest ai ga - 2 minutes from chung yuan.