I found a great place to buy all those little western foods and cooking ingredients that are often so hard to find. Previously I relied on Grandma Nittis and expensive Tianmu delis.
This place has heaps of stuff like mexican food, taco shells, guacomole mix etc, Japanese stuff, different pastas and sauces, heaps of baking ingredients, and best of all NZ anchor butter at 90NTa pound. Oh yeah, Mountain Dew for that guy that was asking ofr it a while ago.
It’s called Mami Store 媽咪商店 No.6 Lane 117 Shi-Da Rd.
They’ve also got Oscar Meyer wieners! How great is that! Combine that with hot dog buns from the Florida Bakery at the corner of Renai and Da’An Road, and you’re set…
By the by, anyone know where I can get Cheeze Whiz in Taipei? That’s another great hot dog condiment, but it seems I have to go all the way to Tianmu to get it. Same thing for mayonnaise - where can I get some real mayo - the Hellman stuff in the tubes tastes too sweet over here - I think they adjusted the recipe for local tastes… Even Miracle Whip is better than that stuff…
It is too bad. I never knew the wife, but did speak with the husband whenever I went in. He mentioned that his wife is not well and he wants to spend some time caring for her.
They were really nice. I don’t live at ShiDa anymore, but that place is pretty much the only thing I miss. They used to do BIG pots of home made yoghurt for 100 dollars.
Can’t confirm anything… but, I doubt if he is closed already. He said he would close at the end of the month, but couldn’t give me a confirmed date. Said he had stuff to do winding down the business…
I was at Mami’s yesterday and spoke with the owner. He is not closing. I wanted a 6 pack of mountain dew…he only had 2 cans left that day. Told me to come back next month and he would have more. Certainly doesnt sound or seem like he’s going anywhere…
Side note -
His prices are very high and about 80% of what he has you can find elsewhere in Taiwan for less money. Example: Hershey’s Hot Cocoa Mix = Carrefore (YongHe): 90 NT, Mami’s: 160 NT
Yeah, but it used to be the COOLEST, before Taiwan joined the WTO and more imports started coming in. I try to still support those who took the risk to import things I liked back when it wasn’t so easy. And their yoghurt is the best and cheapest.
I buy my mascarpone there for $280, and at City Super it’s $399, and his sour cream prices are lower or on par with other stores. I sure hope they don’t close down. I know some of his prices are a little high, but when I factor in the inconvenience and transportation expense of going to places like Wellman’s or Carrefour, I’m willing to pay a bit more to shop at a store close to my school.
Stopped by Mami yesterday, and it was indeed closed. The shelves were empty, and they were in there clearing things out. Still holding out hope that it’s just for a renovation - things were pretty packed in there, after all. I hate having to go to the big stores, so I would much rather have such a great family-run business to frequent. Did anyone ever get a definite answer about why it was closing?
The boss said it was indeed because his wife is ill. He also said he hoped to re-open in a different location, and a lot of people left their contact info so he could notify us when and if that happens. He did seem very sad, kinda felt as if the wife’s illness might be terminal and he wants to spend the last days with her, but I didn’t pry that deeply.
very sad news and probably terminal for him to close. He may reopen in a new location (to get away from the memories probably).
i frequented this small auto parts store before and the husband was always the one that people went to see (he was a fun jokester and people person) and later the wife always said he was “away” on a trip. Only much later did I learn he had died suddenly because of a heart attack. But his wife kept things running and eventually his loyal customers got used to dealing with her and she kept the business going and even expanded. Even after people knew her husband had passed away , i think nobody said the “obvious” and kinda just never mentioned it . Thats what i did , I simply never mentioned it and life went on and my business was my way of honoring the guy.
