A Flavor of Love That Transforms Lives: Organic Red Bean Snow Skin Ice in Tainan

Text & Photos /Paperclip 'Food Photography Joy'

Just a short walk from Little House B&B in Tainan, there’s a very special little shop called “Mu Hongdou” (Love Red Beans). What makes it special? Firstly, dessert shops that focus solely on red bean treats are extremely rare. Secondly, it has very limited operating hours—open only from 2 PM to 6 PM daily and closed on Wednesdays. Lastly, Mu Hongdou emphasizes environmental friendliness by using reclaimed firewood from discarded logs to cook the red beans and does not offer plastic bags.

The founder of Mu Hongdou, Tang Dake, was originally an office worker in the electronics industry. After working for over a decade, he often questioned the meaning of his repetitive daily routine. It wasn’t until he attended a meditation retreat and had a bowl of warm red bean soup that memories came flooding back—his father used to cook red bean soup and give it away for free to family and friends. Inspired, Dake thought he could do the same, using this warm dessert to touch people’s hearts. So he quit his job, loaded cooking equipment onto a tricycle, and spent five months traveling around Taiwan, serving free red bean soup to the elderly and people with disabilities.

This is also one of the reasons behind the name “Mu Hongdou.” The character “慕” (mu), which means “to admire” or “to long for,” also sounds similar to the English word “move.” It reflects Dake’s original intention to “move” around and share love—for people and the land—through his red bean offerings.

The red beans used at Mu Hongdou are organically grown. Before harvest, no defoliant is used; instead, saltwater is sprayed to naturally yellow the leaves, after which the beans are hand-picked. The first step in cooking the beans is boiling them over high heat, then transferring them to a rocket stove fueled by firewood for slow simmering. As mentioned earlier, Dake uses reclaimed logs as firewood and is especially careful not to use any chemically treated wood for cooking the red bean soup.

Tainan has a relatively warm climate—even in winter, I ordered a bowl of red bean snow skin ice. Three scoops of snow-white shaved ice had a subtle hint of old-fashioned banana oil flavor, along with a few pieces of firewood-roasted sweet potato that were slightly firm in texture. Of course, the star of the show—the red beans—was plump, distinct, and creamy. It was all topped off with a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce.

Before leaving, I also picked up a combo of sugarcane juice and red bean bread to take home; the bread was saved for breakfast the next day.

As I enjoyed the snow skin ice from Mu Hongdou and read online about owner Tang Dake’s life-transforming journey, I couldn’t help but admire his courage and deep love for the land and its people. “Choose a less-traveled path,” was the title of an experience-sharing lecture he once gave. I think it echoes the words of American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Frost in his poem “The Road Not Taken,” which ends with:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. The entrepreneurial journey of Mu Hongdou is a perfect example of this.

[info]
Mu Hongdou (Love Red Beans) https://www.facebook.com/moveredbean
No. 35, Lane 148, Section 3, Minzu Road, West Central District, Tainan City
0927276819
14:00–18:00, Closed on Wednesdays

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