The Chinese-language term for experiencing nostalgia, “huai jiu 懷舊,” means holding the past or the old (jiu 舊) close to one’s heart (huai 懷). For the days we miss Taiwan fiercely, we’ve curated this gift set that evokes the sights, flavors, smells, and textures of the Taiwanese day-to-day. Every item comforts us with their familiarity, while reminding us that the mundane can also be archivists of collective traditions, rituals, and tastes built over time.
Pantry items like mango jam and dried pineapple that preserve flavors of Taiwan’s most popular fruits; a limited-edition release of a puffed snack significant to folk superstition; a kit for making a beloved jelly from the seeds of a fig endemic to Taiwan; and boxed MSG that telegraphs “old school Taiwanese general store” aesthetics.
Household goods like salvaged hinoki wood chopsticks smell of Taiwan’s old growth cypress forests; a nylon tote straight from the traditional market; and a ceramic figurine made in the iconic image of the plastic red stools seen everywhere in Taiwan around food stalls, restaurants, and even temple entrances.
We’ve also included the photo book TAIPEI by artist Ibi Ibrahim for its stunning visual record of everyday Taiwanese objects in situ. Though human actors may not be captured, wear is evident in every bicycle, window grate, and piece of hanging laundry, allowing us to vividly imagine how life moves in and around these city streets.
Everything is packed in a technicolor box inspired by the ga ji dai. Designed by our friends O.OO, this silkscreened box is printed with 雲海嚴選, our name in Chinese, calligraphed for us by Taiwanese typographer Joe Chang.
Bundle Contents
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Irwin Mango Jam: gently processed jam, made with just Pingtung-grown Irwin mangoes, lemon juice, and sugar
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Dried Golden Diamond Pineapple: sweet and tart Golden Diamond Pineapples sliced into thick rings—core and all—and dried low and slow
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Mango Kuai Kuai: aromatic rice puffs made with Taitung-grown xiaxue mangoes
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Ai Yu Jelly Kit: the fig seeds and mesh rinsing bag you need to make amber-colored ai yu jelly
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MSG: crystalline shards of pure umami
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Hinoki Chopsticks: made from salvaged hinoki cypress wood
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Ga Ji Dai: a traditional market tote
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Mini Ceramic Red Stool: a miniature molded after the red plastic stools seen all over Taiwan’s urban landscapes
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TAIPEI by Ibi Ibrahim: a photobook bringing focus to the textures of everyday life in Taiwan
Tasting Notes and Usage
Irwin Mango Jam: sweet, juicy mango that will remind you of sinking your teeth into a fresh Irwin mango at a wet market in Taiwan
Layer it on top of a panna cotta, stir it into oatmeal, glaze a vanilla pound cake, or spread it over fluffy milk toast. Try it in savory applications, too—our jam maker recommends it paired with shrimp.
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Dried Golden Diamond Pineapple: tart, sweet, aromatic
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Mango Kuai Kuai: nutty and fragrant white rice that unravels into deeply sweet and pronounced mango the more you chew, with an airy-crisp texture
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Ai Yu Jelly Kit: slippery, soft, Q滑 jelly
Instructions to make the jelly can be found here.
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MSG: 100% umami shards
Use sparingly as a flavor enhancer to intensify the savoriness or meatiness of your soups and stews, stir-fries, braises, or anything else you’re looking to zhuzh up. We love it in stir-fried kong xin cai 空心菜, dry noodles, and steamed egg.
Ingredients and Instructions
Irwin Mango Jam: Irwin mango, lemon juice, sugar
No artificial preservatives.
Chill before using. Refrigerate after opening. Best consumed within one month of opening.
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Dried Golden Diamond Pineapple: dried Golden Diamond pineapples
No Added Sugar, Additive Free, No Preservatives
Processed in a facility that handles mangoes.
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Mango Kuai Kuai: Taitung rice, palm oil, glucose, sugar, mango juice, mango juice powder (mango puree, maltodextrin, sodium starch octenyl succinate, sugar, mango flavor, citric acid, beta-carotene), powdered milk, whey powder, salt, natural flavors, soy lecithin, citric acid, lactic acid powder (lactic acid, calcium lactate, silicon dioxide), antioxidant (mixed tocopherols), FD&C Yellow No. 5
Contains milk, soy, mango.
Manufactured in a facility that also processes wheat, peanuts, sesame, eggs, nuts, fish, and shellfish.
Store in a cool and dry place.
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Ai Yu Jelly Kit: 100% ai yu fig seeds
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MSG: pure monosodium L-glutamate
Store at room temperature. After opening, keep away from high heat and high humidity.
About Yun Hai Selection
Yun Hai Selection is the house brand of Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry.
Specifications and Dimensions
Estimated Gross Weight: 3.3 lbs / 1.5 kg
Ga Ji Dai Box Dimensions: 18.5” L x 12.2” W x 5.1” H / 47 cm L x 31 cm W x 13 cm H
