We’re traveling back to Taiwan in a few weeks and I’m thinking of bringing back some food. Boxed mac n cheese is popular with the kids and expensive to find in Taiwan. Maybe some candy in the Reese’s family. I was thinking of a couple of boxes of microwave popcorn or the like. What are the comfort foods you bring back with you from abroad?
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It’s not food, but we always bring back loads of coffee (grounded). Usually in 12oz sealed bags straight from the supermarket shelf.
Even Taiwanese relatives ask for it, as just cannot find the widespread flavors (and roast level) of it like you can in the U.S. and much cheaper (vs. in Taiwan). We make our own coffee in the morning, like in the old times.
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I run down the aisles of Trader Joe’s throwing whatever non-perishable food items I see straight into my cart.
Ok, realistically, I do grab a lot of snacks from Trader Joe’s because they’re either unavailable in TW or cost 10x more. Chocolate covered almond butter stuffed pretzels. Peanut better cups that more closely resemble real chocolate and pb, a few baking mixes, various seasonings. Some snacks are individually wrapped, which is very good for giving out to friends and coworkers who will just want a sample. A lot of them are not individually wrapped, so more for me?
Cereal (like cheerios) is nice to grab a few boxes of to have on hand for a week or so, though shrinkflation means you only get ~4 servings out of a box these days.
You can get microwave popcorn (JollyTime) from Carrefour. It was ~120/box of 4 back in May, not sure about prices these days. That’s a lot more than in the US, but it doesn’t feel as crazy of a markup as something like sugar bomb cereal.
Coffee choices are better and cheaper at your average American grocery store than TW. For some reason I had multiple tw people ask me to bring back TJ’s coffee for them??? Is it that much better than a locally roasted, infused with chocolate/hazelnut/etc. coffee??
I’ll also be bringing back Laird’s coffee creamer. Not because I actually like the flavor, but because I’ve found that it keeps me feeling full a lot longer than any other options I’ve tried. (I eat A LOT cuz I’m hungry all the time). It also ends up being much cheaper than milk or cream considering how much that costs in TW (even though the stuff I’m talking about is “expensive” according to everyone in the US).
If you’re thinking of candy: jolly ranchers, sour patch kids, Swedish fish, etc. are better than chocolate if you’re worried about things melting.
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Not good gifts for locals. I brought this and every taiwanese person I gave it to spit it out and hated it 
This time I brought chocolates, homemade fudge, unpopped popcorn variety, salt water taffy, clothes from American brands, cheaper lab made jewelry (on clearance from Macy’s I got a lab made sapphire necklace pretty cheap as a gift) stuffed animals made in the USA.
If you have more money, you can also get leather goods
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A relative sent some Sour Patch Kids to us. They aren’t sour at all. So disappointing.
Costco has cheap but excellent microwave popcorn and good cheap coffee is easy to buy online, so I never bring those back.
My guilty pleasures are Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies and Swiss Cake Rolls, Archway soft molasses cookies, Bit-O-Honey, Mary Jane’s, Necco Wafers and strong black licorice.
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Corn tortillas
Dried chilis
Hot sauce
Coffee from my bro in Costa Rica
That’s usually what I bring back.
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It depends on where you are from, but if I could bring stuff from back home I would get:
-Truckloads of Yerba Mate (with Guaraná!)
-No sugar Gatorade powder
-Peanut butter protein bars that don’t taste like chalk
-Some cereals I miss
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Starbursts
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Sour candies and breakfast cereals are usually a big hit, as @nz mentioned. Depending on your local specialties, I’ve also pleased many people with organic honey, herbal tea, and assorted chocolates (eg. After Eight).
Shouldn’t this thread be renamed “What food do you bring back from the USA to Taiwan?”
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Yeah, there’s a lot of crappy junk food in the U.S. But Trader Joe’s is great. Lots of private label items imported directly from Europe. I add the different varieties of oatmeal and fruit/nut bars. And what about their super-cool USD$1 reusable shopping bags? We take them back to Taiwan and give them as gifts. Everyone prefers them to chocolate and candy.
Pop Tarts, Kraft Mac N Cheese, some Reese’s, Colman’s Hot Mustard… probably less junk than I would have a few years ago as I’m getting older. Or maybe just smaller quantities of it.
EDIT: Grape Nuts… I really miss that cereal. And some real Quaker Oats Oatmeal as well (not the weird version they sell here)
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Besides food items, I’ve brought back tools like a tortilla press, pressure cooker, vitamix, cuisinart, etc. More food items are available now so I won’t want to carry as much over next time. At Mia C’bon (formerly Jasons), I bought some Bob’s red mill cornmeal, masa harina. At Carrefour, I found chipotles in adobo and tajin spice for fruit. It’s the stuff I can’t bring back that I really miss like the deli counter, olive bar, cheese selection, breads at Central Market.
Usually, I’ll buy some dried hominy, black beans, black-eyed peas, arepa flour, guava paste, chipotle powder, walkerswood jamaican rub, and a shaker of sazon. I’ll usually buy some herbs that aren’t very popular here like dill, etc.
Living in Taiwan for 10+ years is the reason why I know how to bake bread and generally cook without any mixes or pre-made stuff.
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I think you can get dill in Taiwan, right? I’m sure I’ve seen dried dill at baking supply stores, and I’ve definitely seen fresh dill in a couple of local markets.
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Instant noodles
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Sour cream.
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Cultural appropriation.
Sorry, no dairy allowed. Chuck some lemon juice in milk and leave it outside for a day or two
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- Clothes
- Deodorant
- Jell-O Cook and Serve Pudding
- Jell-O
- Quaker Instant Oatmeal
- Good finely ground cornmeal
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Holiday spices like pumpkin pie spice
- Kool-aid
- Different varieties of gum
- Seasoned bread crumbs
- cans of baked beans
- Various cereals not in Taiwan
- Sees Candy (its in Taiwan, but 3 times the cost)
- Other candy like mars bars milkyway, payday, licorice, sour patch kids, taffy, caramals, etc
- Various cookies and crackers not in Taiwan
- Sweet Gerkin Pickles (they are all spicy in Taiwan)
- Hard to find cheese
- Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips (for baking)
- Apple Sauce
- Apple Butter
- A few loaves of Greenleaves freshly baked cinnamon bread (its a California Bay Area thing)
- Books
- Activity books and coloring books for my kids
- Board Games in English (always expensive in Taiwan)
- English classroom supplies, posters, manipulatives, etc from school supply stores like Lakeshore Learning.
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bring back space to try to adapt to the country you are in and try new or different things
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I do not recommend this. I came to Taiwan figuring I’d only be here 9 months. I decided not to bring any food and left my Switch in America. I regretted this as I ended up staying exactly 2 years before being able to make a trip back home.
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