A taste you can’t find once you leave Yilan: Toucheng’s Ah Chung Taro Ice Empire Carries On the Family Legacy

In the 1960s, as tricycles zipped through alleyways, horns blaring, Ah Chung Taro Ice founder Huang Hsi-chung taught himself to make traditional “pa-pu” (popsicles). Though he offered only three flavors—taro, red beans, and pineapple—the emphasis on quality ingredients and authentic taste made his shop the largest wholesaler north of the Lanyang River.

Wholesale profits were slim. To support his family, Huang Hsi-chung took on a side job slaughtering pigs in the early hours, eventually falling ill from overwork and passing away at 54. His third son, Huang Chih-an, couldn’t bear to see the family business die. Despite having a disabled right hand, he took on the responsibility. When the SARS outbreak in 2003 hit tourist area sales, he shifted focus to retail, renovated the old family house into a storefront, and sold three scoops for just NT$45. The move drew customers back to childhood memories—and helped grow his father’s old shop.

Text & photos / Mirror Media Weekly

At 5 a.m., Huang Chih-an, manager of Toucheng’s Ah Chung Taro Ice, hauls in two large buckets of taro. A row of well-worn peelers and kitchen knives lines the counter. With his left hand gripping a muddy taro like a hawk’s claw, and his right—weakened from a childhood slide injury—wielding a peeler, he shaves off the skin in 20 seconds. Then, using the tip of a kitchen knife, he trims any damaged spots, chops the taro into chunks, and feeds them into an automatic grater. By 6 a.m., 100 pounds of taro are prepped and ready for the pot.

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