I went to IKEA in Kaohsiung! However, an unexpected incident occurred…?

Hello everyone! I’m @olivertomolife and I’ve studied abroad in Kaohsiung!




I heard that IKEA is the best place to buy household goods in Taiwan, so I went there to buy some things I needed for my house.




However, an unexpected incident occurred…




This time, I’d like to talk about some points to keep in mind when shopping at IKEA!

I experienced a working holiday in Kaohsiung for one year from February 2020. I am currently writing a blog based on that experience.




By reading this post, you’ll get an idea of what to look out for when shopping at IKEA!




If you are wondering which city to study in Taiwan, I also recommend the following article.

What is IKEA?

Originating in Sweden, IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer and has a presence in over 30 countries.




By packing furniture in smaller sizes and reducing production costs, IKEA is able to sell its products at lower prices.




They also have their own online store and membership program with no membership or annual fees.




So if you’re looking for affordable furniture, this is the place for you!

Differences between IKEA in Taiwan and IKEA in Japan

I have been to both IKEAs, and I thought the difference was the size of the premises.




IKEA in Japan has some large areas, but the urban stores stores are a bit smaller.




In Taiwan, they are often located in the suburbs, so the stores have a larger area.




Also, I felt that the staff in Taiwan spoke many languages.

An Unexpected Incident…

Many properties in Taiwan do not have kitchens, but since eating out alone is not balanced, I decided to cook for myself.




I’ve been to IKEA in Japan before, but this was my first time in Taiwan.




I enjoyed shopping at the store, but I couldn’t use the frying pan after I left…




My house is on induction, but I bought a frying pan that was specially designed for gas.




I had already opened the package, so I couldn’t return it.




I don’t want you all to end up like me, so I will explain the precautions below.

Three things to keep in mind when cooking for yourself in Taiwan

1 Check if the kitchen is gas or induction.

This is something you should always check.




Many IKEA products are exclusively for gas or induction, so you may not be able to use them if you don’t check.




It would be nice if there are products that are compatible with both, but I’ve never seen one at IKEA, so always check when you buy products for use in the kitchen.

2 Check the size of your kitchen

IKEA products come in various sizes, so if your kitchen is small, you may not have enough space to put them.




Therefore, it is recommended to check how big your kitchen is before you buy the products.




Incidentally, kitchens in Taiwan are often small, so be careful.

3 Choose fluorine coating or Teflon for frying pans and pots

Most IKEA pans have this kind of coating, so you can use them for a long time.




However, some products do not have any coating, so make sure you check carefully.




Teflon-coated products are recommended because they are very easy to wash since they do not get dirty easily.




I used IKEA pans for a year with no problems!

Buy furniture after checking the size of the room

It’s an obvious thing to do, but it’s something that we tend to forget.




I once bought a product that I thought would be fine, but it turned out to be surprisingly large, so I thought it was important to understand the size of the room.




It’s important to understand the size of your room so that you don’t waste your money.

Extras: Top 3 things that impressed me at IKEA

I’d like to announce about the things at IKEA that impressed me the first time I went there!

No.3 the furniture display.

On the second floor of IKEA, there is a furniture display that looks like a showroom, right?




When I visited for the first time, I was very impressed because the display was like a real house.




I thought it was the easiest way to understand the design and convenience of the products in IKEA.

No.2 having a restaurant

According to what I heard, the founder of IKEA said these wise words.




I heard that the founder of IKEA said this quote, “You can’t have a good shopping experience if you’re hungry, so I want you to be satisfied and enjoy your shopping experience.




Thanks to this idea, we can eat the same food at IKEA all over the world.




I especially like meatballs and always eat them when I go to the store lol.

No.1 cheap and delicious soft ice cream.

Out of all of them, the one that impressed me the most was the soft serve ice cream!




I figured it wouldn’t be very good because of the low prices, but I was surprised at how good it was!




It’s also nice to be able to enjoy different flavors depending on the season.




It’s always crowded on weekends and there’s always a line to buy soft serve ice cream lol.




At IKEA in Taiwan, they have mango flavor, strawberry flavor, etc., so please try one!

Conclusion

I’ve talked about the points you should pay attention to at IKEA!




If you have a new life or moving to Taiwan, IKEA can be recommended to you, so please make use of it.




I will keep sending you more information about Taiwan in the future, so please stay tuned.




Thank you for reading to the end!