The Carrefour by me was running real low on canned anything (veggies, beans, soups) on Sunday, yet everyone I talk to tells me I shouldn’t “stock up” because “that’s what leads to shortages”…?
I’m conflicted. In the US, I’d do a week’s worth of grocery shopping and get a decent stock-up of staples, maybe even perishables like meat that can be thrown in the freezer and used a week or more later, but here (at the moment, not usually) I almost feel like I should be ashamed of doing the same thing because everyone keeps telling me I’ll contribute to the panic. Yeah but we’re an island surrounded by plague on all sides!
Also, canned food here is hecka expensive. Like 1.5-3x more than in the States. And dried lentils, etc easy to store proteins are only at Jasons (and that’s tiny bags for like NT$180 or something crazy) What gives?
Carrefour stocking is typically like that anyway - the cans run low over a couple of months, and then one day they’re restocked.
Not sure where you are in Taiwan, but Trinity Indian has plenty of lentils and other legumes, usually cheaper than Jason’s I believe. You can often find different beans at local markets as well. I think the high prices are because that sort of stuff is pretty much only bought by the narrow organic / health market here, but I’ve wondered about the prices as well. Most of that, I actually order from iHerb.
@SuiGeneris What the heck Carrefour is this?? The one by Neihu Costco has been an absolute mess of empty shelves and boxes on the floor for weeks… unless I happen to always go at a bad time?
Thanks for the tip. I don’t know how I forgot about Indian markets.
It’s still shocking to me that anywhere else on earth the “rice and beans diet” is a poor man’s diet, but in Taiwan, you’re spending the same as you would for pricier proteins…
Too much of a hike for me, but thanks for the heads up!
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