A Trip to the Grocery Store

I have to admit, I don't actually make it to the grocery store very often here in Taipei. This is for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is actually cheaper to go out than to go to the store and buy your own ingredients to make dinner. Living in an apartment neither equipped with an oven nor a dishwasher, I tend to lean toward this more economical option. Secondly, I often find myself wondering not only how to prepare the food I've purchased, but also what, exactly, the food is. However, I needed a few things today so I thought I would document my journey so that you can see what the aisles of an Asian grocery store are like through the eyes of an American.

A great big stack of rice

The soy sauce selection

Seaweed wrapped crackers, there are lots of variants of this one.

Good cereal can be hard to find, but I always think that Loopy Crunch goes best with kiwi.

Almonds and guppies, just like peas and carrots.

Yes, that is asparagus juice.

Bamboo shoots... these are found in lots of dishes and are actually quite tasty.

Dragon Fruit

Sorry, I have no idea on this one.


This is what I see when I try to read directions on how to make a pre-prepared food...

Squid anyone?

Fish head

Dried fish of some kind, I think. Really, your guess is as good as mine.

Which laundry detergent would you choose?

Have the seaweed sushi flavored Lay's caught on in the States yet?

Bet you didn't expect to see sarsaparilla over here.

One thing you can always count on...