Thursday, June 02, 2016

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?

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

chinese/drink: i strongly recommend SOYPRESSO 濃豆乳



SOYPRESSO 二吉軒「濃い豆乳」
No. 6-2, Lane 236, Zhongxiao E. Road, Sec. 5

MRT: Taipei City Hall

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

Hours: 7AM- 7PM


Kid friendliness: kids might like chocolate milk or sweeter flavors

Visit reviewed: 6/1/2016


Good morning! This morning's new find-- Housemade soy milk, slightly creamier than the kind at breakfast shops. Comes in different flavors- original, sugarless, chocolate, matcha, almond, black sesame. The matcha one tasted like a cold matcha milk! I also liked the almond soy milk and the low sugar versions. Perfect for vegans or lactose intolerant drinkers.. Maybe could also use it as a substitute for recipes that called for milk.

Original shop in Yilan, new shop in Xinyi. You can see them making it in the front of the shop. #soypresso #濃豆乳 (NT$40 small/$90 large)

The shop is cute, with quite visible signage. The steel equipment is at the front of the shop, so you might catch them making the soy milk. Samples of the different flavors are available, but only after we asked. Different kinds of tofu and dessert soy pudding (Taiwanese style and Japanese style) are also available. 






Looks messy, but they hosed off the outside immediately after this photo.. Hi-tech soy milk production..

Friday, May 27, 2016

news: OATMEAL RECALL- MAY 2016


Oatmeal recall in Taiwan on front page today. Pesticide residue found in over 10 products, including Quaker Oats, McCann's, Coach's Oats, Bob's Red Mill Instant Rolled Oats and Fifty50. 

No wonder the line for returns at Costco was so long this morning... 


More news sources

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/05/27/2003647215

http://m.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2016/05/27/467433/Quaker-Oats.htm

:)