Costco's Iconic Rotisserie Chickens Come With A Little Something Extra In Taiwan

The rotisserie chicken sold at Costco is famously a very good deal: $4.99 for a deliciously seasoned bird that you can turn into all sorts of easy weeknight meals (and with a shelf life of just two hours, it's guaranteed to be pretty fresh). In terms of bang for your buck, though, the Costco chicken might be an even better deal at outlets in Taiwan, where the rotisserie chicken comes with a little extra something not available elsewhere in the world: the head of the chicken.

In many parts of the world, chicken heads are just like chicken feet and chicken hearts: a tasty snack. And in places that celebrate the Lunar New Year, the chicken head can play an important role. Folks often serve a whole, cooked chicken — head and feet included — to symbolize wholeness, as well as a good beginning and end to the year ahead.

Global affinities for what Americans often consider off-parts can sometimes overlap in fascinating ways. For example, in a 2012 story published in The New York Times, a Puebla-born man in Los Angeles purchased halal chicken heads from a Muslim butcher. He then sprinkled them with poultry seasoning and oven-roasted them, just the way he remembered from home. But the head-on rotisserie chickens available at Costco Taiwan are just one regional nuance among many — here are a couple other things to know about the global mega-chain's many fascinating worldwide offerings.

Headless rotisserie chicken aside, Costco's other marquee offering in its U.S. food courts is the hot dog combo, famously costing $1.50 ever since it first went on sale in the 1980s. Shoppers may be interested, too, in uncovering the secrets of the Costco food court, including special, request-only hot dog toppings. But if chicken and hot dogs are a little vanilla for your tastes, you might find yourself envying the fare Costco serves elsewhere. The chain has warehouses around the globe, with different menu items available depending on what country you find yourself in. Australian outlets serve the beloved Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. Spanish outlets offer ham-filled croquetas. Canada, obviously, serves poutine. Need dessert? Try super creamy soft-serve, made with special milk from Hokkaido, at Costco Japan.

That's the good news about the Costco food court, anyway. If you've got a passport and an unlimited budget, you could travel the world to try all of its worldwide offerings. The bad news? You need more than a passport and a budget: You need a Costco card, too. The food court has technically always been members-only, but there was a time when nonmembers could nab a nosh, too, if they walked up to an exterior window. Earlier this year, though, the company announced it was cracking down. So maybe that hot dog isn't just $1.50, after all.