Food first, take a photo later — four Japanese-style shaved ice treats with a Taiwanese twist

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family, compiled and reported
 
Good Cho’s leverages local Taiwanese ingredients to offer consumers diverse selections from across regions. In addition to its popular bagels, last year’s first-ever mountain-style shaved ice created a photography craze, and this year, the brand’s mountain ice offerings are making a highly anticipated return following strong fan interest.

Available starting June 7, the exclusive mountain shaved ice flavors at the Xinyi branch — “Yushan, Alishan, Yangmingshan, Hehuanshan” — are uniformly priced at NT$240 each, served with a bowl of handmade wild grass jelly and a cup of sweet potato balls. Daily serving hours are from 11:00 to 17:30. The Yuanshan branch introduces mountain-style slushes “Little Yushan” and “Little Hehuanshan,” uniformly priced at NT$80, available for takeout only.

Yushan
Taiwan’s highest peak and the tallest in East Asia, Yushan earned its name for being perpetually snow-capped and as pure as jade. Accordingly, the dessert is generously topped with Taiwan’s most renowned summer fruits: juicy fresh Ataulfo mangoes and pineapples. Hidden in the “mountain waist” are white wine-infused passion fruit and Ataulfo mangoes, while the summit is crowned with a tangy-sweet kumquat jelly. It’s all drizzled with a refreshing fruit syrup made from passion fruit and longan honey. Enjoy a taste of Taiwan’s most local summer cool-down flavors.

The summit design features homemade fresh jellies made from “kumquat and lemon” and “gardenia.” “Kumquat and lemon” helps combat heat and refreshes, while “gardenia,” a natural herbal medicine, offers cooling and liver-protecting benefits, often used in traditional handmade desserts. A variety of fresh, seasonal fruits — golden pineapple, Ataulfo mango, guava, and kumquat — are paired with crisp white wine-marinated passion fruit. Finally, it’s topped with a tangy-sweet passion fruit and “Honey Drop Home” natural longan honey syrup, carefully simmered using cloud grapefruits from Yunlin, pineapples, and Pengli longan honey. This naturally fruity sauce contains no artificial additives, delivering a simple, authentic fruit aroma.

Alishan
One of Taiwan’s five major mountain ranges, Alishan stands parallel to the Yushan range and is a long-distance neighbor. Watching the sunrise over Yushan through the sea of clouds from Alishan is an unforgettable memory for many Taiwanese. Accordingly, the ingredients feature grass jelly and fresh cream to depict the mountain-surrounding sea of clouds. The “mountain waist” offers sincere homemade taro cubes, while the summit presents a “sunny egg yolk” made from sweet grilled mashed sweet potato. Classic nostalgic sweetness is transformed into a delicious and satisfying shaved ice treat.

The summit design features a fresh take on “sweet grilled mashed sweet potato,” with a smooth, richly sweet texture. Ingredients for the mountain waist and outer layers come from long-term partner “Zhi Guo Tang” — specially selected taro — and century-old shop “Yuanlin Grass Jelly.” Enjoy Good Cho’s homemade taro cubes paired with grass jelly and fresh cream for an old-school flavor. It’s all drizzled with grass jelly syrup, offering a rich texture with just the right level of sweetness, poised to become a refreshing summer favorite you can’t stop eating.