A Basket of Taiwan

Petch Wattanasawang
4 hours ago
4 min read

In a city filled with Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, it is too easy for New Yorkers to get whatever they want whenever they want. This makes it harder to appreciate what we buy, making me curious to find places that have products with a bit of personality. I’m on a hunt to find hyper-niche supermarkets, tailored specifically to one culture or nationality. After researching various stores all around New York, I decided to explore a cozy grocery store located on Montrose Ave. in Brooklyn: Yun Hai Shop.

Yun Hai opened its doors in 2022 as a window into Taiwanese culture. It’s a place where Kuai Kuai corn crisps, a snack known for its cheesy corn puffs, give customers a sense of nostalgia. The shop also carries artisanal seasonings, condiments, and ceramics sourced directly from Taiwanese brewers, farmers, and craftspeople. However, one of the founders, Lisa Cheng Smith, started the store as an online boutique in 2019 with a mission to bring hard to find Taiwanese ingredients to American kitchens. The store also had a kickstarter campaign to import Taiwanese dried fruit after China banned pineapple imports from the island. In this way, Yun Hai isn’t just a grocery store; it has grown into a platform for cultural storytelling through Taiwanese products.

It was nearing sunset when I stepped into the store. Jeremy Hersh greeted me with a warm wave and smile, immediately offering samples of Yun Hai's dried fruit: guava, wax apple, and green mango. It tasted like the fruit itself, but in a gummy-like form. This could serve as an alternative to the generic candies and gummies filled with too many chemicals. Walking around the store, I found myself impressed by the thoughtfully arranged products lining the shelves and tabletops. But as Hersh guided me through, he pointed out several standouts that have become both customer favorites and symbols of what Yun Hai represents.

The pride behind these products made me wonder how external pressures like tariffs impact the store and the community it serves. When I asked Hersh about how the recent tariff situation has affected Yun Hai, his response was refreshingly real. Hersh said, “There's nothing you can do about it, so why not just do the best you can do?” The store sources its products in bulk directly from Taiwan, and when the tariffs were announced, the weakening U.S. dollar made imports immediately more expensive. What stood out even more was the community response. Hersh noted a surge of support from the Taiwanese American community, who saw the tariff situation as all the more reason to shop at Yun Hai. For many customers, purchasing these products became an act of solidarity, a way to show appreciation not just for what the store sells, but for what it represents: a connection to Taiwanese culture and the small family businesses back home. Feeling that connection, I asked Hersh to walk me through a few of the items he considers as his favorites

Product 1: Dried Fruit

Yun Hai's dried fruits are harvested once a year and carefully preserved by hand to maintain their natural texture and delicate flavor. The entire process is done manually rather than through industrial dehydration lines where farmers sort, peel, slice, and lay out the fruits themselves. Unlike conventional dried fruits loaded with added sugars, these taste purely of the fruit itself, offering a healthier alternative to chemical-laden gummies. I personally chew on these automatically during exam seasons. They are so addicting!

Product 2: Te Company Maqaw

Maqaw is a native Taiwanese mountain pepper that delivers a unique citrus aroma and some numbing warmth. Te Company's version transforms this as a herbal tea, allowing its natural lemon and pepper notes to shine without the boldness of the chili heat, resulting in a brewing that pairs well with light meals or on its own.

Product 3: Yun Hai Ai Yu Jelly Fig

Ai yu jelly is a traditional Taiwanese dessert made from the seeds of a fig variety native to Taiwan, creating a refreshing, translucent jelly with a subtle lemon-lime flavor. This ready-to-eat version offers an authentic taste of a beloved Taiwanese summer treat that's both cooling and naturally low in calories.

Product 4: Rich Dunaliella Salt & Frost Salt

These artisanal salts from Taiwan elevate simple seasoning into something special. Rich dunaliella salt is infused with nutrient-rich micro algae for a subtle umami depth, while frost salt offers pure mineral richness. Both represent the kind of small-batch, high-quality pantry staples that Yun Hai champions from Taiwanese producers. It may seem like a small difference compared to a supermarket sea salt, but I feel like there’s a subtle difference that makes me appreciate the salt and the food I pair it with,

Product 5: Dong He

Courtesy of Petch Wattanasawang

Dong He is a century-old oil mill in Chiayi, Taiwan, that still operates with much of its original machinery from 1921, producing cold-pressed oils and stone-ground pastes using traditional wood-fire methods. Their shallot oil features crispy fried shallots packed in aromatic oil, a Taiwanese pantry essential that transforms simple noodles or stir-fries into something special with just a spoonful. As someone who doesn’t like chopping garlic or buying aromatics, I find these such useful tools to elevate my cooking experience.

Though Yun Hai may be a small grocery store, I feel like I entered into a small archive of Taiwanese flavors and traditions. It wasn’t the rarity of the products, but the stories that each product carried, reflecting the care and skills of the people who made it. I left the shop with a deeper appreciation of Taiwan and that Yun Hai offered a connection to culture and community with a city that sometimes moves too fast to notice the details. Thank you to Lisa Cheng Smith and Jeremy Hersh for welcoming me into the shop and sharing the stories behind Yun Hai.