Innovative Mung Bean Ice Cake & Oolong Tea Pineapple Cake — Taipei’s Battle of Souvenirs

Travel Center / Taipei Report

The three-day Taipei Pineapple Cake Culture Festival has come to a close, and the rising star set to succeed the pineapple cake has finally made its debut. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-pin personally made "Taipei’s Second Souvenir" mung bean cake, recommending it as the next big pastry after the pineapple cake, and presented awards to the winning shops of the "Pineapple Cake" and "Mung Bean Cake" competitions. The event gathered 102 of Taiwan’s most popular and queued-for pastry shops, creating a lively atmosphere.

The "2013 Taipei Pineapple Cake Culture Festival and Taiwan Pastry Famous Shops Exhibition" spanned three days. Mayor Hau Lung-pin, Taipei Pastry Merchants Association Chairman Chang Kuo-jung, and master bakers with over 30 years of experience — such as Chen Yong-liang from the historic Shi Zi Xuan, Wang Meng-chin from Shun Cheng Cake, and You Hong-xiang from Yu Hua Xing — joined together on-site to make mung bean cake.

% Mayor Hau Lung-pin (second from left) and Taipei Pastry Merchants Association Chairman Chang Kuo-jung make mung bean cake on-site. (Photo / Provided by Taipei Pastry Merchants Association)

Among the offerings, the "Mung Bean Ice Cake" combines Taipei’s famous Wenshan Baozhong tea with mung bean cake, creating a modern taste with a multi-layered filling that represents Taipei’s contemporary flavor. There were also innovative flavors of mung bean ice cake featuring local Taiwanese ingredients like wild pineapples and black beans, as well as the traditional "Classic Mung Bean Cake," which emitted the aroma of sesame oil, transporting attendees back to 1940s Taiwan. Together with the modern mung bean ice cake, they showcased the heritage and cultural spirit of Taipei over the past sixty years.

Mayor Hau Lung-pin stated that baking is an industry that brings happiness. Taipei is home to many century-old renowned pastry shops, and its diverse and delicious pastries are a paradise for those seeking souvenirs. Through the annual Taipei Pineapple Cake Culture Festival and domestic and international marketing efforts, the international brand image of Taipei’s pineapple cake has been firmly established. To inject new vitality into Taiwan’s baking industry and create new business opportunities, this year the Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism collaborated with the Taipei Pastry Merchants Association to create and promote the mung bean cake as "Taipei’s Second Souvenir." This gives the public more options when buying souvenirs and continues to market Taipei and Taiwan’s pastries.

% &? Plant Qi Mi Zhi Si Zhe Xian Ya Li Za Mi, Yun Hai You Lao Wei Ya Wen Hua Yi Re Xiang Mu De ? (Photo / Provided by Taipei Pastry Merchants Association)

▲ 2013 Taipei Pineapple Cake Culture Festival introduces Taipei’s Second Souvenir — Mung Bean Ice Cake. (Photo / Provided by Taipei Pastry Merchants Association)

To participate in the Taipei Pineapple Cake Competition, 64 renowned pastry shops from across Taiwan gathered at the Expo Park Flower Expo Competition Hall. To win glory, each shop went all out — whether by pushing the boundaries of the golden ratio of pineapple cake or creating creative tea-infused pineapple cakes using designated Taiwanese tea ingredients, all impressing the judges with their innovation. The most anticipated part of this year’s competition was undoubtedly the "Mung Bean Cake" contest for Taipei’s Second Souvenir. Traditional-flavored mung bean cakes were combined with Hakka tung blossom, Taiwanese plums, or Italian cheese, showcasing creative pastries and cross-boundary fusions that redefined taste expectations, bringing a whole new sensory experience like a time tunnel.

Mayor Hau Lung-pin also presented gold awards on-site for the "Pineapple Cake Group," "Tea-Infused Pineapple Cake Group," and the Taipei Second Souvenir Competition’s "Traditional Mung Bean Cake Group" and "Mung Bean Ice Cake Group," thanking the participating shops for bringing the taste of happiness to everyone. He also specially recommended pairing mung bean cake with Wenshan Baozhong tea or Muzha Tieguanyin to enhance its flavor.