This http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_cider has a definition and pictures of American apple cider and apple juice. In the US, apple cider is sold in the autumn and I presume that fewer preservatives in it than in apple juice. Apple cider has a short shelf-life. Apple cider is cloudy, like orange juice with pulp.
The labeling on your “apple cider” is clearly wrong, even by US standards. Those bottles of apple juice will probably last forever. Better to dump that crap down the drain.
I’m pretty sure he bought Martinelli’s they don’t add any preservatives and their apple juice is some of the best out there. They do four packs of sparkling apple cider as well, haven’t tried it, but it should be as good as their apple juice. If it’s anything else, then I guess it might not be so good.
If you’re thinking about going to Cost Co early this week to beat the pre-Chinese New Year rush…think again. I just got back from the Nei-Hu branch. It was nuts. Lineups just to get in the bloody building. And then of course everyone inside is extra nutcase with their oversized carts. :fume: If the Nei-Hu one is bad, I can’t imagine the Chung-He one. Yikes.
I figured it was only Monday, and early. It couldn’t be that busy yet. Wrong.
Just a warning if you’re going, you’ll need more time than usual.
Definetively, thanks for the warning, it seems the rush has started a bit earlier than usual…
Actually, Yonghe is a bit more relaxed, does not get that bad. Neihu suffers from being in a more convenient location -lunchtime rush office people eat there, and don’t ask me about why Mondays or Tuesdays two levels of basement parkings are full and you have to park in a bit corner three levels down…
Must be all those folks spending their “xiao fei juen”.
Yeah, I think this is at least part of it. People are also getting hongbaos as CNY approaches. I was at Guanghua computer market this afternoon and it was a madhouse. Usually Monday is pretty quiet there, but it was busier than a weekend today. Even saw Taffy there.
Thanks for the warning, too, Mer.
I, like you, was actually thinking that an early pre-CNY Costco run might be a good idea.
I now think that I will wait until the week of CNY–next week sometime. Maybe the crowds will be down by then, but who knows–maybe those stuck in Taipei might just want to shop, shop, shop at Costco on those days off.
We’ll see, but I can certainly imagine how crowded the Neihu Costco must be, pre-CNY. Not exactly my cup of tea.
Thanks again for the tip.
I’ve been there during the New Year and it is quiet. However, please take into consideration that, at least last year, they had a special schedule -say, open later or close earlier, as far as I recall.
Does anyone know which days and what times they’ll be open during the CNY break?
Obviously NOT in their website -and they are not happy when I suggest they should put it there : “But we have posted it in our stores”. Duh! 
From the 16th to the 24th, they will be open from 10 am to 10:30 pm
On the 25th: 9am to 6pm
On the 26th: 11am to 9:30
From the 27th on, normal schedule.
Thanks for that info, Icon!
Yes, thanks a lot, Icon, that’s very helpful.
martinelli is the best apple juice that exists on planet earth period.
The sparkling is nice too but i actually prefer the standard non fizz ones. But the sparkling comes in at occasions where champagne is being served and the non drinkers can get involved in the fun.
Poor workers dont even get a day off for CNY??? Thats not fair. Surely the shoppers can do without costco for a day or two?
Thanks Icon – very helpful! 
Costco’s Neihu branch no longer sells regular cheese pizza; it has been replaced with Beijing Duck pizza! WTF? Your choices now are: Hawaiian, Seafood and Beijing Duck, which is composed of chunks of duck meat lathered in some sort of oily bbq sauce. Beijing Duck pizza. Is this in anticipation of reunification, perhaps in connection with the pandas? I really liked their plain cheese pizza :fume:
…which also means no vegetarian choices -except salad, which is horrid- at the food stand. Thanks a lot. :fume:
Don’t they still have churros?
:roflmao:
Great, salad, churros and coffee, a balanced meal. :roflmao:
Gee, does it take a lot of brains to come up with a cheese roll, a tofu pizza, in a country with so many Buddists? :loco:
EDIT:
I am half making up my mind to write a US style complaint letter to these guys. Either that, or apply for their marketing department. 
Needing to stock up on a load of stuff from Costco, the wife and I planned to drive to the Zhonghe branch early enough to be there and waiting for the doors to open, in the hope of being at the front of the crazy pre-holiday rush. But the wife couldn’t find her Costco credit card, which delayed our departure for about a quarter of an hour, and when we arrived a little after ten o’clock, there was a very long queue of cars crawling at a snail’s pace into the car park, so we gave up and headed straight back home. What a waste of a journey! We’ll probably try again tomorrow morning, but this time plan to get there well ahead of opening time.