Jason’s > Carrefour
No comparison, imo.
5 oz.
I wish it were this bad boy:
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Never been to Jason’s. What’s better about them? Are they only in Taipei?
I’m not so sure anymore. Carrefour’s selection gets better all the time.
Bigger, greater selection of foreign goods, and they have a cold-cut deli and fine cheese counter like in western supermarkets. Better wine and beer selection as well. Now that I think about it, does Carrefour even have a booze section (Heineken beer and Yellowtail wine doesn’t count)? I don’t remember seeing it. Only downside is I always spend a fortune at Jason’s.
They’re at least in Kaohsiung as well, since that’s where I am.
It’s still not better than Jason’s though. See my response above.
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I used to like Jason’s a lot. I can’t speak for all of them but the one in 101 is pretty crap now. Mostly Taiwan brands and a tiny ass wine section. Some overpriced deli meat doesn’t really make up for it.
Carrefour’s stepped it up a lot. They have a whole lot of imports in addition to their Carrefour branded stuff. Even RT Mart’s gotten in on it (to a lesser extent).
If there’s still a good Jason’s in Taipei (like the 101 store, circa… 2006?) - I’d like to hear about it.
Not all Carrefours are the same, then. The big one in Taoyuan now has an air-conditioned walk in wine cellar. Leoville Barton, Lynch Bages, stuff like that if one is loaded.
Yeah the “good” Carrefours take the prize IMO. They run cheaper than Jason’s it seems. Jason’s are reliable for any store probably having what you need though.
If you want to go really posh, City Super is the place to go. Rip off prices, though.
Yeah we have nothing like that at ours.
For me it’s Jason’s > Costco > Carrefours > the local supermarkets
The one they opened on Anhe, that used to be that bigass Wellcome, is pretty good. they always have whatever I’m looking for, anyways.
I haven’t been to the 101 store in ages, but the last time I went, yeah, it was getting pretty crap.
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Colour me gobsmacked. I always assumed City Super was a poor man’s RT. Maybe that explains how we were able to get tagged on to a shipment of amazing Alberta beef a few years back. The bulk of the order, I later discovered, was for CS.
CS is very posh. Even has a superior cheese counter to Jason’s, IMO.
Actually, Carrefours usually have quite an impressive (for Taiwan) beer selection. Not very cheap, so I usually stick to the craft beers from Costco. But, between seasons when Costco doesn’t have any, Carrefour tides me over nicely. I remember I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of different beers there.
It’s good, sort of a smokey chili flavor, not spicy, and pretty salty/tangy.
Unfortunately I didn’t see the Valentina hot sauce as shown in the catalog.
Edit: So instead I picked up this Golden Mountain hot chili sauce from Thailand to try:
In Kaoshiung, Jason at Uni-Presidents department store Cheese shop has closed staff, there is still one at Hanshin Jasons (but slow sales, Manager moved to Taipei and said Taipei Cheese sales 3X more per shop). As far a beer and more so wine, I think Carrefour has more choices and bigger seclection, as well as Dollars store in Kaoahsiung. I go to Dollars now as it sells many American products at lower prices than Jasons (seems somehow related to Costco as they sell Kirkland brands too).
That’s the one I go to.
It’s better than my local Carrefour’s. After reading this thread, I realize the quality of both Jason’s and Carrefour’s varies from store to store.
Saw that in Singapore.
But it’s got the goods. But oh boy the main HK ones, oh what paradise they were.
That is one thing that seriously annoys me.
One should be able to walk into any Jasons , CitySuper, Carrefour, Wellcome, etc and not have to worry about selection being different based on location.
Ranking supermarkets based on quality goods…
I would say:
CitySuper>Jasons>Carrefour>Wellcome>That blue grocery chain (forgot the name)>RT Mart
Ranking based on Western import selection:
Carrefour>Jasons>CitySuper>RT Mart>Wellcome>Blue chain
Ranking based on most expensive;
CitySuper>Jasons>Carrefour>Blue Chain>Wellcome>RT Mart
CitySuper:
Imports fluctuate through the year. It is not very dependable when looking for imported goods. Mostly Japanese imports now. Produce is high quality but pricey. Meat is very good, but pricey. Great cheese slection, but pricey. Sliced deli meats used to be great (turkey breast, bologne, smoked meats, ham, salami, etc.) but now they only have ham and salami. Wine and beer selection is quite good, but pricey.
Jasons:
Very similar to CitySuper in quality. More western imports than CitySuper, but still fluctuates through the year. A deli is rare to find in A Jasons location nowadays.
Carrefour:
Prices are much lower than the two posh chains (Jasons and CitySuper). Selection of imports is not the same throughput their locations. It is always hit or miss. Their imports also fluctuate a lot and are not dependable.
RT Mart is like a Pack n Save or Poor man’s Walmart. They have a lot of stuff, but most of it is crap. I have found a few hidden gems at RT Mart, but not much.
The rest are just Taiwanese grocery chains with little to no imports. Wellcome has the same owner as Jasons and will sometimes stock unsold / almost expired goods from Jasons inventory.
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