suited for pigs and goats. Rice, duck, fish and leafy
vegetables are abundant.
Favorite ingredients include sweet potatoes,
asparagus, taro, cabbage, tofu, eggs and mustard
greens. Garlic-infused chili sauce, soy sauce and rice
wine add jolts of flavor. Fermented rice pudding,
sweet wraps made of red bean paste, and fresh
watermelon, pineapple or banana often complete
the traditional meal.
Not to be missed are roasted duck, steamed
sea perch, braised shark fins, broiled prawns with
chili sauce, steamed pork in lotus-leaf packets,
stewed pork balls, fried beef with oyster oil, spring
onions with mutton, cabbage with dried shrimp,
Szechuan-style sautéed tofu, sliced chicken and
abalone soup, and beef with hot pot sauce.
Costco’s Taiwanese warehouses (see www.
costco.com’s warehouse locator for information
and locations) place equal emphasis on regional
products and international favorites. Members are
cosmopolitan, with many having attended schools
in the United States and Europe, and as a result
preferences often lean toward Western, Japanese,
Korean and Thai as well as local foods.
“Good for your health” food items sell well
in the warehouses because most Taiwanese believe
that good food is essential to one’s well-being.
Healthy foods are considered a way of life here
and not just a new trend.
It is no wonder then that the “favorites”
list in the warehouses is such an eclectic affair:
Campbell’s clam chowder, olive oil, nacho cheese
Doritos, black wheat juice, sesame yam tea mix,
barista-style rich lattes, frozen sashimi fish fillets,
dumplings, Korean seaweed and kimchi, cranberry
juice, dried cranberries, tomato juice, grape seed
oil, Japanese yams and Chinese pork buns. AE
