Hidden Gem Dessert Shop in Yonghe: Adorably Shaped Mochi Ai and Garden Eel Sweets

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan, Taipei

New Taipei City’s Yonghe District boasts a wide array of delicious food, such as popular beef noodle shops, and near Yonghe Elementary School, there’s a hidden dessert shop. This quaint spot, named “Honey Ocean – The Sea Is Sweet,” has a tiny storefront right by a busy road, making it easy to walk right past without noticing. Honey Ocean is an ocean-themed dessert shop that serves super cute confections, including mochi ai and garden eel-shaped sweets that melt the hearts of many with their adorable designs.

Why is the shop called “The Sea Is Sweet”? It turns out that the owner, Huang Sen, who has been in the dessert business for over a decade and is also an avid diver, wanted to open a dessert shop that combined ocean conservation themes when he decided to go independent. He aimed to use the shop as a platform to spread environmental awareness, so that every customer who enjoys a sweet treat would become a seed of environmental consciousness.

▲ All the desserts at Honey Ocean are incredibly cute!


▲ Garden Eel Lemon Tart.

To convey ocean conservation issues, Huang Sen focused on designing desserts shaped like marine creatures. When customers come in and notice the shapes, he can take the opportunity to share his eco-friendly message. Additionally, as an avid diver, he often has diving enthusiasts visit the shop.

The Garden Eel Lemon Tart was the first dessert he developed. The base is a classic lemon tart, while the adorable garden eels on top are handmade using chocolate fondant, with a texture somewhat similar to rock candy. As for the lemon tart itself, Huang Sen, not being a fan of overly sour desserts, designed it to have a fresh and not-too-tangy flavor. The inner filling consists of a layer of cream cheese with a hint of lemon, topped with white mascarpone mousse representing the sandy ocean floor, and then the cute garden eels are placed on top. Finally, a few shavings of lemon zest are added on top, resembling underwater seaweed.


▲ Black Tide Chocolate Sponge Cake.

The second dessert is Black Tide. The main component is a chocolate sponge cake, layered with 70% chocolate mousse and raspberry jelly. The outer crust is made of chocolate almond shortbread, and on top sits a whale made from chocolate fondant. When talking about his creative concept, Huang Sen explained that the Kuroshio Current is a vital marine ecosystem in Asia, home to numerous marine species, and brings abundant fish stocks to many countries. But if we don’t cherish and protect it, this precious marine resource will one day be depleted.

The Hermit Crab dessert was inspired by media reports about how hermit crabs, unable to find proper shells, have resorted to making homes out of trash like bottle caps, cups, and broken glass bottles. This motivated Huang Sen to raise awareness and help these creatures. He set up a shell recycling station in the shop and hopes people will stop littering. The bottom layer of the Hermit Crab dessert resembles grassy ground made of matcha cake, coated with a layer of matcha cream. The shell-like body is filled with orange crème brûlée and vanilla mousse, with chestnut filling sculpted to resemble the curves of a seashell.


▲ Hermit Crab.

The idea behind the Resurrected Giant came about quite interestingly. Huang Sen had previously bought a moai mold intending to use it for coffee or iced drinks—imagining a floating moai ice cube in coffee seemed fun—but the effect wasn’t ideal, so the mold was set aside. Later, while brainstorming new dessert ideas, he suddenly thought of repurposing it, leading to the birth of the Resurrected Giant. The entire dessert is made of chocolate: the moai is crafted from chocolate lime cake, and the pedestal tower is made from raw chocolate, sprinkled with crushed pistachios to resemble grass. For a touch of contrasting cuteness, a small flower is placed on the moai’s head.


▲ Resurrected Giant.


▲ Hazelnut Bomb.


▲ The walls of the shop are decorated with ocean-themed art.


▲ Bar counter seating area in the shop.

▲ Cute chalkboard drink menu.