Ye olde grocery store in old Taiwan was called GAMA-DIAM in Taiwanese, written like this in Mandarin characters( 柑仔店 )
Some people think the word means "tangerine store", while others believe it means "candy store". Still others believe GAMA stand for those old circular baskets made of bamboo that were put on the store shelves long ago to hold fruit, dried fish, nuts, candies, cakes and cookies, all the things one would buy at ye old grocery store in olde Taiwan.
Which one is it: tangerine store, candy store or bamboo-basket store?
VOTE in the comments section below. My neighbor, an ojisan about age 55, says GAMA DIAM meant the old bamboo baskets that lined the shelves of the old stores. It is rare to see an old grocery store in Taiwan, today, but above is a photo of what it might have looked like. Enjoy.
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