Ancient-style ice treats in Kaohsiung’s alleyways: “Luzicaogao Ice” made from hay and sugarcane

Text & Photos /Shadow

My younger brother had recommended this Luzicaogao ice shop in Sanchong District to us ages ago, but we were always too busy to check it out. I heard the shop has become wildly popular. That day, after lunch, we happened to pass nearby and found a parking spot, so we decided to give it a try. Just past noon, the place was already full. Viewed from the outside, it really did look different from traditional ice parlors—which explains those gorgeous photos some people posted earlier. But now that it's so crowded, getting a clean shot of the empty shop might be tough.

There aren’t many seats inside. The person handling the front of house seems to be Uncle Lin—he’s the one who, unable to forget the taste of traditional water ice from his rural hometown, came up with the idea to open a shop. Later on, his children put their architectural skills to work and personally helped realize their father’s dream. Uncle Lin is very polite, helping guests find seats and asking if they’ve been here before. First-timers get a quick rundown on how to order. Visually, the shop isn’t particularly old-school, but you can tell the tables and chairs were chosen with care—definitely more stylish than the metal stools you’d find at a typical snack stall. Too bad it was so crowded when we visited; it was hard to capture any details. Anyway, that’s pretty much the size of the place.

This seating arrangement is quite unusual—I imagine it’s due to limited space. Guests have to sit sideways to eat their ice. I’ve never seen this setup in any other ice shop in Kaohsiung; it’s quite creative.

The menu is fairly straightforward for first-timers. First, choose your flavor of water ice, then pick the toppings to add in. Each topping costs an extra 5 NT$, except for winter melon with lemon at 20 NT$ and mango at 30 NT$. We spent some time deciding on our toppings. After marking our choices, we headed to the counter to order and pay, then waited for our ice to arrive.

The rose salt and plum powder on the table are meant to be sprinkled into the ice. It’s a shame we didn’t try adding some to see how it tasted.

Luzicaogao Ice with toppings – 45 NT$

My husband modestly went with just taro and tapioca pearls—each extra topping is 5 NT$ more. This ice isn’t like shaved ice or snowflake ice—it’s called water ice. Unlike typical frozen desserts, it’s made using a traditional manual stirring method that gives the ice a fluffy texture. This is how ice was made back in our grandparents’ day, and today, water ice has become a nostalgic specialty.

Luzicaogao Ice is the shop’s signature flavor, made from juice extracted from hay and sugarcane. If you get it plain, it has a pretty strong grassy smell—most people probably wouldn’t enjoy that. Remember to sprinkle on some of the rose salt from the table to bring out the sweetness of the sugarcane and tone down the grassiness. We naively ate it plain and ended up with a mouthful of hay flavor. The shop should probably put up a little sign advising customers about this.

We didn’t load up on toppings, but the soft taro and chewy tapioca pearls were decent quality.

Mango Double Delight – 85 NT$

We couldn’t resist the mango temptation and went with our favorite mango ice. Even the water ice itself is mango-flavored, and there’s a generous amount of mango on top—enough for two people to enjoy.

This golden, fragrant, and delicious mango ice is a must-have in summer. The mango-flavored water ice has a naturally sweet taste—not overly sugary—with a touch of condensed milk on top that adds layers of tangy sweetness. There’s also plenty of mango flesh, which tastes great.

Opens at 11:00 AM on weekends.

Water ice isn’t common in Kaohsiung, so it’s impressive that this shop has managed to revive the traditional version. Using fresh fruit instead of artificial flavorings makes it taste more natural and healthy. With the current wave of nostalgia sweeping society, combining classic water ice with creative twists helped the shop stand out immediately. It’s been featured on food shows and has become a well-known ice shop in Kaohsiung—truly admirable. The traditional water ice is definitely worth trying, and I recommend it to all ice cream lovers.

Shop Name:Luzicaogao Ice Shop
Address: No. 188, Suiyuan 2nd St., Sanchong District, Kaohsiung City
Phone: 07-3229576
Business Hours: 11:30 AM–9:30 PM (opens at 11:00 AM on weekends)

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