Tainan’s Anping Debuts "High-Visual" New Ice Pops — A Down-to-Earth Owner’s Whimsical Treats

▲ Colorful juice popsicles studded with fruit slices

Photos & Text / Mirror Media Weekly

“I came up with the name. I suggested ‘Dreamy,’ and an employee said ‘Mira’ happened to sound like Miracle, so we went with that.” If you didn’t interview him in person, it’d be hard to imagine that all the vibrant, dreamy fruit popsicles and gradient juices in the shop were created by this sun-tanned, rugged-looking man.

The owner, Huang Jung-yu, also has another identity as a fruit processing magnate. Many dessert shops and beverage stores are his clients, and he works with hundreds of contracted farmers across Taiwan. He previously operated on a B2B basis, running a full production line for fruit processing, juices, and ice blocks, creating an integrated supply chain. “Dreamy Mira” is his first venture into B2C.

In the first-floor display of colorful ice pops, various juice-flavored popsicles are studded with fruit slices, making indecisive customers pause for a long time. Huang Jung-yu says the popsicles are made with 100% pure juice, with not a drop of water added — their smooth texture comes entirely from the fruits themselves. He teasingly asked me in Taiwanese slang, “Why would store-bought juices need to add unnecessary stuff? It’s just like ‘you need nine bowls of soup for one snail’ — if there’s too little actual ingredient, they just add flavorings and coloring to adjust it.” But his fruit popsicles really do have the fresh tartness of natural fruit, without any cloying sweetness.

▲ Gradient juices with no added water maintain distinct layers even when shaken, offering intense flavor. (60–80 TWD per bottle)

▲ Huang Jung-yu, who studied agriculture, is a king of fruit processing. On the day of the interview, he was bagging his golden mangoes in the yard.

The gradient juices are rich in both texture and aroma. It turns out Huang Jung-yu cleverly applies his fruit processing expertise — instead of blending juice with ice, he freezes the juice processed at his own factory directly into a slushy consistency, eliminating the issue of dilution from melting ice. Moreover, using low-temperature ultra-high-pressure technology, the bacteria cell walls are broken down under ultra-high pressure at 5°C, sterilizing the juice while preserving its original aroma and flavor, since traditional sterilization methods that require high heat aren’t used.


▲ “First Love Mango Hotpot” is a summer-limited ice hotpot that dramatically smokes upon serving, enough for four people to share. It’s said that individual servings may be launched in the future. (380 TWD per serving)）

▲ The mango ice is divided into two layers: the bottom is brown sugar shaved ice, and the top is snowflake ice.

▲ After shaving the brown sugar ice, brown sugar syrup is drizzled on top.

▲ Then, honeyed dried pineapple is added for a tangy, sweet flavor and texture.

▲ Mango sauce and condensed milk are poured on only when served, creating an enticingly rich look.

Huang Jung-yu studied agriculture and initially produced burdock tea and wheatgrass juice. In the 1990s, he started focusing on fruit processing, working with hundreds of contracted farmers across Taiwan. “The snowflake ice bricks in all kinds of fruit flavors — I invented those,” Huang says proudly. Inspired by hotpot, he custom-ordered a double-layered ice pot: the outer layer holds fruit ice, and the inner layer holds dry ice. When hot water is poured on it at the table, a smoky spectacle emerges, instantly becoming a viral hit on social media platforms like Instagram.

The hotpot ice “First Love Mango” catches the eye, but it’s also solid inside. To prevent customers from getting bored, Huang designed a double-layered ice structure: the top layer is a creamy, milky snowflake ice, and the bottom layer is a sweet brown sugar shaved ice, with added honeyed mango and pineapple bits for chewiness and a tangy kick.

During the week of the interview, Ataulfo mangoes had just hit the market, retailing for over 100 TWD per jin. Yet this ice pot was piled high with generous chunks of Ataulfo mangoes — enough for 3 or 4 people to enjoy. Huang explained that these mangoes are actually flash-frozen, yet their texture remains Q (chewy), tender, and juicy, just like fresh fruit. That’s because he uses ultra-fast freezing technology that doesn’t damage the cell walls, preventing the mango from turning mushy.

▲ The Dreamy Mira storefront is in an old Anping building, where the vintage color scheme provides the perfect backdrop for the vivid ice treats.

▲ The highlight of the first-floor store is undoubtedly the massive ice display — indecisive customers might take a while here.

▲ There’s also an outdoor lawn dining area, perfect for enjoying ice pops on cooler days