market/vegan: i recommend IVEGAN SUPERMARKET

IVEGAN 愛維根蔬食超市

No. 54 Wanlong Road

文山區萬隆街54號

(02) 2395-0900

MRT: Wanlong 

hours: 8AM -10PM

Website: https://m.facebook.com/iveganmart

Price: $-$$

Visit reviewed: 6/2/2016

WRITING AN ARTICLE ABOUT VEGAN RESTAURANTS in Taipei has opened up a new dimension to Taipei that I never knew existed. Who knew that there was such a thing as a vegan supermarket in Taipei?! And it's huge. A whole basement level floor of fresh vegetables, fruits, packaged goods and frozen foods, IVegan is a curated, one stop shop for anyone looking for vegetarian or vegan goods in Taipei. Some of the items you could spy in your local market, Carrefour or Costco, but the selection here is varied enough that you could end up with a cartful of things even if you were just looking to buy veggies, tofu or household goods.

Opened for three years, iVegan is near the Wanlong MRT stop and not too hard to find from Roosevelt Rd., thanks to huge white and green signage pointing you to the right alley. Once at the entrance, you have to go down the stairs and down the long hallway before you reach the front of the market. There was a off putting smell for me in the hallway, either from the bathroom or durian or chemicals, not sure, but thankfully it was not evident inside the market. 

A huge array of fresh produce and veggies like you would see at most supermarkets is in the front, cheaper than the gourmet markets at Jasons or City Super.

Vegan kimchi, rice cakes, tofu, tofu products 

Fresh coconuts, pineapple and watermelons

Soy milk, sesame soy milk,  brown sugar soy yogurt 

Frozen vegan dumplings, onions rings, French fries 

Edamame, fruit popsicles, vegan ice cream

Vegan Instant noodles and packaged noodles, both chinese and Italian pastas, sauces 

Korean kitchen noodles for vegetarian 

Fruit vinegars, organic apple juice 

Frozen roti paratha, frozen vegan bacon, lots of mock meat like vegan bacon aka fakon

This fridge has some of the vegan dairy substitutes that I saw for the first time.. Vegan mayo Vegenaise, Earth Balance's olive oil "butter", Tofutti sour cream, vegan cheese  and coconut oil.  Keep in mind vegan products don't use any eggs, milk or cream.

Egg replacer 

Fresh breads and jams, peanut butter 

Vegan snacks, crackers and cookies

There seemed to be a unique selection of Indian, Thai, Vietnamese too- snacks, curry mixes, biryani mix, rice paper wrappers, satay sauce, chili sauces.  

Even spied a durian snack (shudder!!) and fresh durian. I can stand the smell of stinky tofu, but I cannot stand the smell of durian. 

Oatmeal 

Rice bran oil, olive oil sprays, grapeseed oil..

Crispy onions 

Vegetarian oyster sauce 

Quinoa 

An array of spices in large and smaller sizes - curry, fajita slice, thyme, cinnamon, chili powder - with English and chinese labels and nicely illustrated sketches 

Wasabi pepper salt anyone?

XO sauce 

Even can get bathroom, cleaning and kitchen products here. I even spied a glue gun! 

Veggie "pork floss" made from mushrooms or pumpkin 

Vegan chocolate 

Dried fruits guava, pineapple, mango and even vegan shrimp chips?? Haha 

Whew! So a little look at IVegan, Taipei's vegan supermarket.Did you see anything you have been looking for?

japanese/sushi: i strongly recommend ADDICTION AQUATIC DEVELOPMENT

ADDICTION AQUATIC DEVELOPMENT 上引水產

No. 18, Alley 2, Ln 410, Minzu E Rd

台北市民族東路410巷2弄18號

(02) 2508-1268

MRT: Zhongshan Jr. High School Station or XingTian Temple Station

website: addiction.com.tw

hours:  11AM - 5PM

$$- $$$ (cash only)

Kid friendliness: no high chairs available. outdoor seating for seafood bbq area, room for strollers

Visits reviewed: 3/3/2012, 5/25/2012 and 10/9/2012

CHECK OUT MY UPDATED REVIEW FOR 2015 HERE :) 

After Mitsui revamped the old Taipei fish market near the Songshan Airport into a sleek, modern space that looked more like their upscale Japanese restaurants than what one would envision as a fish market, Addiction Aquatic Development was THE place to go, earlier last year, when it first opened. 

The first few visits had customers entering directly into the supermarket section, but now the entrance is to the left into the fish market section where you might spy an array of flowers and plants for sale. It's not scary and smelly as I'd envisioned- it's very open, clean and organized with large tanks for different fish, shellfish and crabs. Reminds me when I'd look into the crab tanks at Redondo Beach Pier as a kid.

Once you head into the main part of Addiction Acquatic Development, you should head straight to the sushi bar area and grab a number since there might be a wait. When it first opened, wait times were up to an hour or more, but when I went it was only about a half hour wait, which is perfect for exploring the rows and rows of sashimi, alcohol, fruits and vegetables and Japanese ceramics. There's even desserts and macarons for sale.

Fruit smoothies available outside. 

There's also a seafood and raw bar in the back, charcoal grilled bbq outside (which I'll write up in more detail in the next post) and hotpot (which is the only restaurant that takes reservations) upstairs if you want to try something else, and those usually don't have a wait.

Of course, you could just grab and go- imagine your local Japanese market's sushi section times 100, filled with trays of fresh sweet shrimp, tuna, salmon, uni and even mixed nigiris and rolls. The selection varies by day and I personally feel like it's fresher in the morning than later in the afternoon so that the rice isn't as hard and cold.

And the prices are super reasonable and a lot better than the NT$20 sushi available at the local Taipei supermarkets. 

I was SO tempted to get this and go home and make some uni pasta and stuff my face with uni until I felt sick, but it was just TOO much. Maybe if you have a big family or could split it with friends.

Pretty and expensive...

There are a few areas and tables to sit down if you decide to pick up a to-go tray, but seating is limited. Note also you can't bring it into the grill restaurant if you decide to eat there and you have to pay an extra NT$2 for the disposable chopsticks.. 

The hot food area seemed the least tempting to me, but quite a few people were grabbing bentos to go.

We check every so often to see if our number has come and we finally get to go inside.

It doesn't bother me that it's a standing only sushi bar, but it is slightly cramped and not a place you're going to linger for a long time. Also they won't seat you unless everyone in your party is there.

The menu is Chinese only with no photos so it's hard for non-readers to order. If you want to order one thing, get the NT$600 mixed nigiris set. You get about 12 pieces plus uni and tamago egg. It's a pretty amazing deal, so this was the photo I was seeing on all my foodie friends' facebook for the weeks after Acquatic opened. With this kind of simplicity, you can taste everything, so everything is ultra fresh, if not just from the tanks or ocean.

The waitress takes the order with an iPad and you have to pay right after you order, before you get your food, cash only. So if you want to order a drink or some additional food to your order, you'll see the ipad and have to bring your wallet again.

They also have lunch sets that include nigiris, salad, soup and grilled seafood item that range from NT$580-980, but overall I liked the NT$600 assortment the best.

Scallop/clam nigiris

Seared fish set- 4 pieces- I felt this was a bit bland and dry, both times I ordered it. 

Between the NT$780 and NT$990 sets, I actually liked the NT$780 lunch set better because you got more pieces of sashimi and grilled shrimp, which I prefer to grilled fish that has a lot of bones in it. If you're not sure about what the set includes that day, you can quiz the waitress.

Tuna roll starter is same for both sets. Yum.

NT$990 set

NT$780 set

If you're looking to eat more grilled items, you're better off sticking to the bbq area outside.

My hungry girl friends and I ordered a NT$600 to share along with the lunch sets. While this is a good value and quite fresh, it really is just fish slapped onto the rice with dabs of wasabi. It's not as delicately presented as I've seen it at other restaurants, but then again, deal seekers won't care as long as it tastes good in the tummy.

I've taken quite a few friends there and all of them have been wowed by the size and selection of what's available there. Addiction Aquatic Development is a very cool addition to the Taipei and I'd definitely recommend sushi loving visitors and locals alike to check it out at least once. Japan has Tsukiji Fish Market (which is relocating to a bigger space this year) and now Taipei has our own version in  Addiction Aquatic Development.

CHECK OUT MY UPDATED REVIEW Addiction Acquatic for 2015 HERE :)