Hi. I’ve been off island for 8 years, but I’m now back and living in Taoyuan. Does anyone have suggestions as to where I can buy fresh and/or canned goods in Taoyuan or Zhongli that are enjoyed by westerners, but that Taiwanese tend to lack interest in?
Thanks.
Only place I found stuff in was in the large Carrefour opposite to the hospital, but it’s a couple of years since I lived out there.
They actually tended to have a better selection of just about everything than the Carrefour in Xindian…
No idea, but if you search the Food forum with Taoyuan and Zhongli in the title you might get some leads based on answers to other specific items, e.g. viewtopic.php?f=98&t=61386 
Just an idea.
Thank you, both for you speedy responses. This (Forumosa) is so much more convenient than what it was like when I arrived here in 1987. Networking took weeks or months back then.
Unless I’m mistaken, there are two Carrefours in Taoyuan, and I have been to one. There were some western goods, but not enough selection to satisfy me. I know it’s just a matter of time till I stumble upon the right combination of big box stores and this store and that shop to satisfy my various wants and needs. Lucky for me I can quite happily eat locally for long periods before cravings kick in.
Additionally, Taipei is not far away especially considering I can drive my father-in-law’s car. :bravo:
Peace
Aranor
Aranor, mail order is also an option for some items. P&P and Yiwei foods deliver by courier, as do some of the folks providing meat and sausage products like Baba Kevin (BBQ), El Toro (sliced deli meats), Mayfull (meats like lamb chops, steak etc.), Gowest (beer & ale) and so on. You can run a search for ‘delivery’ and ‘delivery’ in the Food forum and see what comes up. PCHome also delivers. Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?
Here’s the info on P&P; you can call them and ask them to send you a pdf catalog, then call or email your order in:
P&P Food & Spices 東遠
Taibei, Zhong1zheng4 District, Jin1men2 Jie1, 9-14, 1F
金門街9-14, 1F
This street runs southwest off of Roosevelt, just southwest of Shi-Da. Take Heping westward to Roosevelt; turn left, go about 200+ yards, and turn right; after a ways it’s on your left (small entrance, not well marked)
2365-0633
Oh, also try Ikea, they have a food shop and the one in Taoyuan tends to be fairly well stocked. It might not be what you’re used to, but it’s at least something different that the local stuff.
Awesome info!
Swede,
Thanks. I have tried Ikea. It was my first stop since we were shopping for furniture anyway. (I actually live about 3 blocks behind Ikea in a new apartment (condo? flat?) complex. It’s not like living in Taipei, but it’s a lot cheaper to buy.)
Dragon bones,
It’s funny in a way. I had not considered online ordering despite the fact that I’m perfectly comfortable doing that regularly in the States. My mindset must be stuck in the last century Taiwan. I’m going to have to surf the internet here a lot more. Until yesterday, I was roughing it (“borrowing” bandwidth from a neighbor whose signal was weak at the best of times). I now have 3G speed, though with all honesty, it’s only fractionally faster than the borrowed bandwidth. Is this all 3G has to offer (I ask incredulously)?
I don’t have an actual shopping list of ‘must have’ items, but each time I’ve wandered the aisles, I’ve felt disappointed at the lack of selection. Some of the items I seek are grains and legumes that can be ground in a coffee mill to add to my breakfast cereals. I know to look to the usual offerings in the sections for Taiwanese shoppers for those items. Can such items be purchased as though one were in a ‘bulk section’ in a co op, Fred Meyer, or Whole Foods?
There are a couple natural foods shops/restaurants I’ve noticed in my wanderings, but it’s too early in the morning for them to be open, and I’ve been too busy in the afternoons and evenings to check back. Soon…
I so miss having a veggie garden in my backyard. I’ll check around to see if I can rent space in nearby gardening spaces before too long, but some of those spaces’ soil or nearby water looks suspect or down right disgusting. I see no evidence of anything remotely similar to organic gardening. (I know this area isn’t exactly on the cutting edge of society.)
Enough rambling…
You’ve both been very helpful in getting me to consider options I either hadn’t known existed or hadn’t thought of.
Cheers!
Aranor
I’ll purchase a small convection oven this week to expand my cooking/baking options. Yay!
Grains and legumes are available in bulk in local dry goods stores (common in traditional neighborhoods and wet markets) and often in one section of hypermarts like Carrefour or RTMart, as well as packaged in sections of other supermarkets like Wellcome and Matsusei. Natural foods shops and organic shops carry them too, often in organic versions.
Have fun with the oven!
You might want to check out Matsusei, it’s a Japanese supermarket and they carry a few import items as well. I have no idea if there’s one nearby where you live though. They have a good selection of grains and legumes, but they’re not super cheap. In fact, they do a lot of cereal type stuff, like rye flakes and mixed grain flakes for around NT$100 a bag.
You also have an Ai-Mai/Geant around the corner, they too have a few things, but it’s usually quite a limited supply and only a small isle in the store.
[quote=“aranor”]Some of the items I seek are grains and legumes that can be ground in a coffee mill to add to my breakfast cereals. I know to look to the usual offerings in the sections for Taiwanese shoppers for those items. Can such items be purchased as though one were in a ‘bulk section’ in a co op, Fred Meyer, or Whole Foods?
[/quote]
For typical “bulk section” items try this place (blue sign) - maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=24 … 2,0,-0.75
[quote=“aranor”]
There are a couple natural foods shops/restaurants I’ve noticed in my wanderings, but it’s too early in the morning for them to be open, and I’ve been too busy in the afternoons and evenings to check back. Soon…
I so miss having a veggie garden in my backyard. I’ll check around to see if I can rent space in nearby gardening spaces before too long, but some of those spaces’ soil or nearby water looks suspect or down right disgusting. I see no evidence of anything remotely similar to organic gardening.[/quote]
There’s a small shop specializing in organic and natural food products on Yenping Rd. across from the Shanghai Commercial Bank.
maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=24 … ,0,-11.47
You should also check out the baking and foreign canned goods specialty store Ai Gai
maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=24 … 62,0,5.12
and the former furniture shop/garage that is now home to Zhongli’s largest 24H fruit market. Bought some lovely mangoes there yesterday - maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=24 … 6,0,-5.92
Years ago I learned the best way to mimic the rest of the drivers was to pay attention to all the signs along the roads and pay scant attention to what is happening in front of me. (j/k) It was while I was driving this evening that I noticed a little shop called “Santa Cruz” Organic Foods (sheng de ke si tian ran you ji shi pin). It’s located at 33071 Taoyuan city, Zhong Zheng Lu number 1373.
After making sure I hadn’t run anyone over in my excitement, I parked the car more or less legally and went in for a visit. Both women in there were very friendly and delighted to be visited by a westerner with kids in tow (my son, his girlfriend, and one of my Taiwanese nephews). The three ordered jing li tang drinks while I checked the goods. There was a decent selection of organic or ‘natural’ foods for a smallish store. I bought a bag of pumpkin seeds, but struck out on quinoa seeds. Neither gal had ever heard of them nor did they guess what they were when when I described them.
This particular shop has been open for just a few months. I can’t tell if the prices are high because I haven’t been here long enough to have a clear picture of high vs low. (80 NTD for 150 grams in a vacuum packed bag)
Chung,
Thanks for the links. I’ll check them tomorrow as my wife has that look in her eyes that reminds me that it is late. I do try to be a good hubby, ya know? 
Oh. I saw two foreigners in town today. I’ve been here for nearly two weeks and had begun to wonder if I were the only one around. Taoyuan doesn’t have the draw that Taipei has, so I don’t expect many foreigners to live here unless they have family here or they’ve opened a school or business here. I have a lot of family here and in Neili, so it’s easy for me.
Peace.
Acc. to [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/quinoa-buckwheat-millet-that-kind-of-stuff/21721/13 post,[/url] Santa Cruz organic stores stock quinoa. Do you know the Chinese for it? Also see the rest of that thread for more info on WTF quinoa.
I suspect two circumstances are at work to prevent my finding it at the Santa Cruz store here. That post dates back about 19 months (allows for potentially not being sold now) and the woman I chatted with last night told me their store is a jia meng dian (franchise). They don’t carry all the same items as the corporate stores unfortunately.
I did check the Cottonfield website; it lists three locations in Taoyuan City and one in Luzhu Xiang 藘竹鄉。 I will check the store on Zhong Zheng Rd to see if they carry quinoa. If they do, I will post its romanized Chinese name here. Oh, I guess I could manage the Mandarin characters as well, but I’m lazy on this iPad.(Okay. I can type the Chinese cuz I just did it above. Cool!) Anyway, give me a couple days and I’ll post the Chinese assuming I find it for sale.
Do you read/type Chinese? Most laowai do not, but I believe you’ve been here a while, so I thought I’d ask. I haven’t written it in many years, but I can type and read just fine.
Aranor
Yes, I can read and type some Chinese. Not on this computer though, as it doesn’t have an input method I can use. Nicku gives 藜谷，南美藜；昆诺阿藜 li2gu3, nan2mei3li2 and kun1nuo4a1li2 as possibilities for quinoa; I don’t know this term in Mandarin.
In the last few days I have been to 2 Wellcomes, 1 Cottonfield, 2 small co-ops, Jason’s in 101, and a couple nondescript little shops. I found no quinoa and I found no one with knowledge of its existence.
I don’t see this as a problem for me. I will simply bring a couple pounds over with me the next time I come here from the US. Let me know if you want some.
Peace.