O is for organic

when i first came to taiwan, there were hardly any organic stores, especially in kaohsiung, where i lived. but a lot has changed in nine years! it seems that they can be found almost everywhere now. even in our neighborhood alone, there are at least half a dozen. one of my favorites is the uni-president (統一) organic store. (uni-president is, of course, the same corporation that operates the taiwanese branches of 7-11, starbucks, cosmed, cold stone creamery, mister donut, muji, presidents department store, and many, many other stores. we're talking BIG business. i'm always surprised at how many foreigners in taiwan don't know that all of these companies are related. that's why when you collect points at 7-11, you can "win" things at places like starbucks and cold stone. because they're all connected. 

usually i have a little bit of guilt about shopping at such big corporations, but i do think the uni-president organic store has a very good selection and very good prices. it's a good place to buy coconut oil (not an easy find in taiwan--it's mainly at organic stores at this point), dried fruit and other healthy, hard-to-find goodies. wanted to share a find that my friend introduced to me recently: organic dried cherries. these are soooo good. they are like a sweet-and-sour flavor explosion in your mouth. seriously so flavorful. they are not cheap though. they have a deal right now where you can get 2 bags for $380NT, so normally they're more than that. but if you're looking for a new kind of dried fruit to try, i definitely recommend these. they make other dried fruit seem so plain. and, since fresh cherries are not easy to find in taiwan, nor are they very cheap, these dried ones are good if you need a cherry fix. 

you can also get bian-dangs (lunch boxes) at the presidents organic store. they are delicious. i LOVE the vegetarian one. i'm actually not even sure if they offer meat options. this particular one had wu-gu fan (5-grain rice), curried veggies, steamed veggies, qing cai (green veggies), beets, and black beans -- all organic and all delicious. if you haven't tried their lunch boxes yet, i highly recommend them if you're looking for a filling, healthy meal!