Sun Cake is a type of dessert that originated in Taichung City, Taiwan. Also known as crisp cake, it is a thin pastry with sweet filling and is one of Taichung’s famous local specialties. It is usually sold in boxes as a gift item. Customers often need to pre-order from well-known shops and wait in long lines to pick them up. However, aside from these popular stores...
A Famous Local Delicacy from the Treasure Island / Specializing in Taiwan’s Specialty: Pineapple Cake Pineapple cake has been around since the Three Kingdoms period, but it wasn’t until 60 years ago in Taichung City that it was innovated into what it is today. This time, the efforts of local pastry makers aim to position pineapple cake as the “signature souvenir of Taiwan,” but it’s essential to remember that its birthplace is Taichung City and should not be…
Sun Tang is the original and only store of its kind selling sun cakes, with no branches. A sunflower mural in the shop serves as its iconic symbol. The ancestors of Sun Tang started their business by selling malted barley cakes during the Qing Dynasty’s Tongzhi era, but after the retrocession, they gained widespread popularity across Taiwan for their skill in making flaky and fragrant sun cakes. Sun cakes are made by mixing high-gluten and low-gluten flour in proportion to form dough, then kneading in lard...
Grace Cookies, officially known as Grace Square Cookies, were originally a side product developed in 1971 by retired soldier Dang Changfa and sold at his own sesame pancake shop. After becoming an instant hit, they quickly turned into a famous specialty of Chiayi. The name "Grace Cookies" was inspired by Dang Changfa, who was from mainland China and loved watching classic court dramas. A line — “Thanks for Your Majesty’s grace” — unintentionally became synonymous with this Chiayi delicacy. The crispy and delicious texture of Grace Cookies comes down to their kneading technique. Dang Changfa, a former national senior marathon champion, took pride in making them authentically and never cut corners. However, due to his advanced age and lack of successors, production has been on a decline. (Chiayi)
Fenchihu Train Bento has been famous for decades, but the railway bento you could buy on the Alishan train two or three decades ago is quite different from what’s available today. Due to the passage of time, most bento operations have now been taken over by the second generation. Driven by competition, the variety of bento offerings has become increasingly rich and reflective of each business's unique philosophy. For instance...
Located on Zhennan Street in Shalu Town, “Shalu Nei Yuan Fu” has been operated and passed down through three generations, boasting a history of nearly seventy years. It now has three branches. The making process of their rice balls is meticulous, using unique ingredients, resulting in each ball having a fragrant, chewy outer skin and tender, aromatic filling. Their distinctive taste sets them apart, and they have won numerous...
Formerly known as "Lao Zhengxing," Xishi Bowl Rice Cakes and Pan-Fried Rice Cakes was established in the early post-war period and has now been passed down to the third generation. Many Chiayi residents grew up enjoying this delicious treat, so even today, many people make a special trip here to savor that unforgettable taste of childhood. In addition to bowl rice cakes, they also offer radish cake, meat rice cakes, scallion oil rice cakes, meat zongzi, …
Chiayi Mushroom Meatball Soup is made by simmering premium lean meat, napa cabbage, Korean mushrooms, as well as fresh and sweet bamboo shoots and enoki mushrooms. It was first created by the owner in 1946. For over 50 years, he has adhered to the principles of never serving leftover food and offering great value, attracting a wide range of diners. To maintain the family recipe’s authentic flavor, he insists on using naturally brewed soy sauce and…
A 50-year-old northern-style noodle shop, its beef noodles are so authentic and delicious that business has thrived for decades. The owner has mastered the impressive skill of carrying three large bowls while serving noodles. In addition to various northern Chinese pasta dishes, its scallion pancakes are crispy and tasty, and the steamed beef and ribs are tender and juicy—these are all highly favored...
Registered under the brand name Jiayi Alishan, this small shop offers a full range of cakes and pastries. Whatever famous dessert you can think of, it's likely available here — such as longan crisp, pineapple cake, lemon cookies, sweet potato pie, square crackers, yokan, millet mochi, and the island’s first uniquely flavored Snowflake Pastry. The Snowflake Pastry may look like a layered cake, but unlike...
Zhenweizhen is to Chiayi City what Heiqiaopai is to Tainan’s old city — a rich taste of hometown that carries countless childhood memories. The sausages come mainly in Taiwanese and Cantonese styles. The Taiwanese types are divided into original and five-spice flavors, while the Cantonese ones include original as well as garlic and black pepper options. Since no artificial coloring is added, the black five-spice sausage and the red cured sausage are easily distinguishable. In terms of taste, the former is savory and aromatic, while the latter is mellow and sweet, allowing diners to choose according to their preference. (Chiayi)
A 50-year-old pastry shop that has been passed down through two generations. Originally run by the Japanese, it specialized in Japanese-style pastries and was formerly known as “Hyūga-ya.” After the recovery of Taiwan, it was taken over by the shop’s staff, who retained the Japanese-style influence while renaming it “New Taiwan.” The shop still offers pastries that date back to the Japanese colonial period, such as the smooth and rich Crystal Almond Cookies…
With a history of nearly 50 years, Grandma's Cake Shop is renowned for its traditionally made husband-and-wife cakes, large flatbreads, and vegetable rice cakes. It's a must-visit spot when traveling to Fenchihu. The husband-and-wife cake is a smaller version of a Chinese-style meat pastry, roasted over charcoal and delightfully crispy and savory. In addition, the shop’s chewy-skinned, generously filled vegetable rice cakes are also very famous, featuring fillings such as pickled radish, ground pork, mushrooms, and shrimp...
Unlike the common soy-sauced, oily rice usually eaten, Luoshan Rice Cake is made by steaming glutinous rice directly with lard, resulting in white steamed rice. It is then drizzled with a specially prepared shredded pork sauce, making it quite similar to shredded pork rice. The taste offers the naturally sweet, chewy, and fluffy flavor of glutinous rice paired with the rich aroma of the meat sauce, creating a very unique texture — a must-try delicacy in Chiayi City...
Located at the intersection of Zhongzheng Road and Zhongjie, the Winter Vegetable, Shrimp and Egg dish has a history of over 40 years. This uniquely crafted snack is a family recipe from the owner, Mr. Lin. It features a clear broth simmered with chicken and shrimp, combined with semi-boiled duck eggs, winter vegetables, and shrimp paste, all prepared in a distinctive way. Another signature dish — Clay Pot Fish Head — is slow-cooked for eight hours with daylily buds, Chinese cabbage, and more, resulting in a rich and delicious broth. (Chiayi)
The congee offered at Guo Jingcheng is not the same as the common Taiwanese rice noodle soup or Hakka rice strip dishes found elsewhere. It represents a traditional way of eating from the early agricultural society. The vendor cooks pickled vegetables, pork intestines, chives, scallions, and other ingredients in a large pot along with oil-leek rice cakes cut into strips, creating a rich and flavorful broth. Then, large intestines, sticky rice sausages, or…
When fresh and tender, gourds are called bottle gourds, a type of edible squash that can be stir-fried or boiled. When they mature and dry, they become what we call gourds, which can be used as wine flasks. Because the word “hu” (葫) sounds like the word “fu” (福), meaning fortune, gourds are often seen as symbols of good luck in folk culture. Many literati enjoy inscribing or painting on gourds as decoration, but there is probably only one place—Minxiong Township’s “Natural Gourd”—that professionally produces gourds in large quantities as art pieces.
The Rueili, Ruifeng, and Alishan areas in Meishan Township are the main cultivation regions for Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang (love fruit) in Taiwan, also leading in production. Love fruit is a plant of the Moraceae family, genus Ficus, growing in pristine forests at altitudes of 1,000 to 1,800 meters, where it climbs large mature trees in the form of a robust vine. Generally, love fruit is categorized as either natural or…
The lush forests of Alishan not only feature rugged broadleaf woodlands but also abound with vast bamboo groves. Nearly all varieties of bamboo found in Taiwan can be seen here, making bamboo shoots one of the area’s most iconic local specialties. These include moso bamboo, Ma bamboo, hemp bamboo, stone bamboo, arrow bamboo, and a small amount of ornamental square bamboo...
The Bangzi Kanglang broom is made from dried Kanglang tree leaves. The Kanglang is a plant of the Arecaceae family in the Phoenix genus. It has a beautiful tree form, resembling a cycad, with brown scaly bark and deep green feathery leaves. The tips of the leaves are hard and sharp. It takes four years for the plant to grow from seed to a mature tree that reaches 200 cm in height. Two or three decades ago, the Kanglang tree was one of the main materials used in Taiwan for making...