The Letter from Taipei in the Trib yesterday discussed Taiwan's 7-11 life:From the intersection of Zhongshan and Zhongxiao Roads in Taiwan's bustling capital, you can spot at least four 7-Eleven stores as you turn north, south, east and west. No joke.
And while this corner may fall on the high end of the island's 7-Eleven density spectrum, the cluster of identical stores fazes no one. With about 23 million people and more than 4,400 7-Elevens, Taiwan boasts the highest per capita number of these all-night convenience stores in the world.
The saturation is not lost on locals, who are quick to quote a not-so-ancient Taiwanese expression meaning something like: "There's always a 7-Eleven around the next corner."
In Taipei, this is no exaggeration. Scan the horizon in just about any of the capital's neighborhoods and you'll spot the familiar orange, green and red stripes that have become the near-universal symbol for all-night shopping, icy drinks and rolling hot dogs. In Taiwan, however, they herald a lot more.
Lot more there.
[Taiwan]
I bet not too many Chicago Tribune readers would know that the Mandarin name of parent company Uni-President is "統一" which, simply translated, actually means "unification."
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how many readers -- even those here in Taiwan -- realize just how many other companies in Taiwan "Uni-Prez-ification" has in their grip.
You might be amazed.
Tim Maddog
I just read this article yesterday in the Trib. I can't believe you have blogged on it already. :) As a Taiwanese Chicagoan, I got a big kick out of this. Monica Eng is the secondary food critic at the Trib, and I found it interesting that she wrote this article. I wonder what connection she has to Taiwan.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing I found in most of the Taiwan 7-11s were frozen microwavable vegetarian meals. Not haute cuisine but cheap, quick, filling and fairly nutritious.
ReplyDeleteHowever, use the OK store ATMs. Good exchange rate and they didn't charge any fee for withdrawals (only my bank back home charged me).
By the way, Taiwan is a great place to visit -- very friendly people who are always willing to help.