I guess it’s getting about time to start thinking of the bird AGAIN! Last year Costco in Yunghe had some birds that looked about the right size for a very large toaster oven but they quickly went south. I also saw some cooked boxed birds back near the cooked whole chicken deli section. They ran out about a week before Tday and were about 990 NT for what looked like about 12-15 lbs. THis year, I am using the RT Mart butcher in Tuchen. Next to the YongNin MRT at the south end of the new blue line. He has cut specialty cuts for me in the past and seems to think he can supply anything I want. I will be asking soon and post here if he can get the birds. They also do chicken roasting there so it may be possible to pick up a ready to eat bird at a decent price. I like to concentrate on availability, price, and ready to eat.
Other than the advertised restaurants, any other ideas?
Enigma wrote:
I last some frozen turkeys at Costco Neihu last week. Not sure of the weight but they were selling for around NT$750 (maybe a bit more, I forget).
Some larger turkeys were in the freezer section of the new Jason’s at FE21 in Banchiou. A bit bigger and more expensive at NT$1500.
Does he speak English? If so this is good news. I have yet to find a butcher I can communicate my wishes to other than the one up in Tienmu but that is quite a hike.
How is the quality of the chickens? I like the ones from Costco, mainly for their great lost leader price of NT$125. The taste is just okay but you can’t beat the price. I have tried the ones at the Breeze supermarket and found they were not at all worth the NT$290 they were getting for them.
The butcher in Tuchen doesn’t speak English but my wife will assist. We hope to get over there tomorrow. I’ve just been a bit busy this week.
The chicken is good but I also like Costco’s better. I will do some checking on prices and availability of the turkeys while I am out and around. BTW, there is also a daily wet market in Tuchen that has a daily supply of BBQ racks of pork ribs that are cooked right there. Really good. I’ll add more infor ASAP.
I think Costco’s roast chickens and especially the legs are absolutely delicious. I haven’t seen turkeys at the Neihu store, though.
Enigma wrote:
Now this sounds good. How is the price? I have tried RT Marts and The Breeze supermarket’s prepared ribs. RT Mart’s are nearly inedible while the Breeze’s are okay but pricey. Is the market anywhere near the MRT?
Back to the topic; last year one of the local supermarkets was selling prepared turkeys for the holidays but I wondered about the quality. I imagine we will start seeing this offer again soon.
I got by RT Mart in Tuchen today to check on turkey availability and pricing. Apparantly turkeys are more available at about Christmas time but they will check with their supplier and get back to me. I’ll update when I get the call.
The wet market with the ribs is in Section 2 of Jongyuan Rd. on the right as you go south. Really good.
Enigma wrote:
Is that near the Tucheng MRT stop?
EDIT: for the information below. I drove this route today and I was really surprised at how close the market is to the Tuchen MRT. It’s about a 12-15 minute casual stroll. Get off and out of Exit 2 in Tuchen. The side street that runs in front of the Household Registration and Police Dept is Heping. Go past the Police Department on Heping to the T intersection. Turn left and you will immediately see Jongyuan Rd. Turn left on Jong yuan. Go under the overhead crosswalk and at the next corner is MegaBank. Cross the side street and you will be in front of a hotel. The wet market is next to the hotel. It’s all open in front but covered. It closes fairly early - probably about 6:00 and opens fairly early. Mid day is a good time to do your shopping. It’s not all that large so you should easily spot the stand that has the racks of ribs. The vegetables here are much fresher than at the grocery outlets and the meat cuts look fresh and well taken care of.
OLD INFO:
It’s walkable but I wouldn’t want to. If you do, you would get off the MRT and walk down the side street past the government buildings to Jongyuan Rd and turn left. I have never walked this before and I am not 100% certain if you go right or left. I will check when I can.
Just wondering if most Rt Marts have turkeys? I am having a big dinner, but during the week, I dont have much time to look around for birds. Please let me know of any places in Taipei City that are definately selling them, and not for ridiculous prices.
Cheers and Happy Gobble Gobble
RT Mart and other grocery chains usually stock turkey legs and wings during the Thanksgiving to New Years season. Not bad and you can do alot with these cuts. But, wow! a turkey breast sandwich on the day after along with some dill pickle and mayo, maybe a bit of stone ground mustard, lettuce and tomato, just cant be beat. We are trying to find decent cooked birds at a decent price but nothing moves fast. Bear with me another week and I will either have good news or suggest you go elsewhere.
RT Mart and other grocery chains usually stock turkey legs and wings during the Thanksgiving to New Years season. Not bad and you can do alot with these cuts. But, wow! a turkey breast sandwich on the day after along with some dill pickle and mayo, maybe a bit of stone ground mustard, lettuce and tomato, just cant be beat. We are trying to find decent cooked birds at a decent price but nothing moves fast. Bear with me another week and I will either have good news or suggest you go elsewhere.
http://www.thomasmeat.com.tw/news.htm has turkeys on sale now. See also http://www.thomasmeat.com.tw/eng.htm
Thanks Dragon;
My RT Mart source now has confirmed that they can’t get the turkeys until they are “in season”. I am left a bit unsure if she was talking about the breeding season or Christmas.
Enigma wrote:
Thanks for the great directions Enigma, I found it based on them. However, don’t try this on a Sunday afternoon. I did last week and almost all the stalls were closed at 2:00 p.m. I’ll try again during the week sometime.
The new WELLCOME that opened up on Section 7 of Chung Shan N. Rd. in the basement of the TienMu Library has turkeys. Saw about 8 of them on Saturday.
I got by Thomas Meats today and picked up a nice smoked turkey. it was pre-cut down the ceterline for ease of cooking. Still, a bit more than I would have liked to spend - but - hell, it only comes once a year. THey had another smoked bird and about 4 uncooked birds in the case.
As soon as I walked in, the clerk picked up the phone and a nice young lady with English language skills was at my side in moments. They were very helpful and I will go back again.
As an aside, the directions on their website is really accurate. Go out exit four and turn to the left. It’s about a 10 minute walk.
They also had a beef cut chart on the wall so it looks like you could probably order some specialty cuts beyond what is on their website. Now I’m geared up for some corned beef on Russian rye bread. Fat chance!
The Carrefour at San Min Rd. just south of Minsheng E. Rd. (former TESCO) in Taipei had one large turkey last night, and Wellman’s in Tienmu had half a dozen today, priced about $1200 to $2000.
Was as the new Jason’s last week in Banchou and they are offering cooked turkeys for the holidays. NT$1999 as I recall. It comes with several side dishes though I don’t recall the specifics.
any uncooked birds spotted at any of the costcos yet? would love to hear about it, so an unnecessary trip from taoyuan is avoided.
ta.
I got by Thomas Meats today and picked up a nice smoked turkey. it was pre-cut down the ceterline for ease of cooking. Still, a bit more than I would have liked to spend - but - hell, it only comes once a year. THey had another smoked bird and about 4 uncooked birds in the case.
As soon as I walked in, the clerk picked up the phone and a nice young lady with English language skills was at my side in moments. They were very helpful and I will go back again.
As an aside, the directions on their website is really accurate. Go out exit four and turn to the left. It’s about a 10 minute walk.
They also had a beef cut chart on the wall so it looks like you could probably order some specialty cuts beyond what is on their website. Now I’m geared up for some corned beef on Russian rye bread. Fat chance![/quote]
I had a great time devouring this bird. It had a nice smokey flavor and was downright tender. Since it was cut in half, and each 1/2 packaged in it’s own heavy duty wrapping, it’s possible to buy one bird, heat and use half while keeping the other half frozen for later. Hats off to Thomas Meats And Dragon for finding this place.