Text by MOOK Scenic Spots Family / Compiled Report
On Sunday, the third day of the 2019 Taipei International Bakery & Equipment Show, over 40,000 visitors flocked to the event on March 16. Today, the last holiday day of the exhibition period, is estimated to also attract over 40,000 visitors.
Consumers flocked to the "Famous Stores Street" and "Coffee Zone" for tastings and purchases. The Traditional Chinese Pastry Innovation Competition also announced its champion today from among 15 finalists. The 15 participating shops in the finals included Nanhu Royal Food Co., Ltd., Xifengxiang Food Co., Ltd., Franz Cake Co., Ltd. (Franz Bakery), Ouli Food Co., Ltd. (St. Mary’s), Santong Hao Food Co., Ltd. (Santong Han?zi), Jiale Cake Exclusive Store, Juncheng Food Co., Ltd. (Juncheng Honke), Fuli Bread & Food Co., Ltd., Guo Shifu Food Enterprise Co., Ltd., Huangxi Food Co., Ltd., TOP Bakery Workshop, Hexu Industrial Co., Ltd., Quanxi Western Pastry Cake & Bread Store, Erhe Zhen Pastry Co., Ltd., and Fuxinxiang Co., Ltd. (Namilah Bakery). The competition was more intense than ever.
Famous Stores Street Rides “Innovative Chinese Pastry” Theme for Continuous Traffic and Sales
This year’s event prominently featured “Innovative Chinese Pastry,” and shops at Famous Stores Street all showcased their signature pastries. For example, Franz Bakery highlighted its “Red Date & Longan Cantonese Mini Mooncakes,” also an entry in this year’s “Chinese Pastry Innovation Competition.” The filling combines smoked longan—smoked with Taiwanese-style walnut wood—and mashed red dates from Miaoli, allowing the two local flavors to complement each other beautifully. The mooncakes are finished with traditional Cantonese dough and formed using wooden molds over half a century old. Mijia Bakery offered “Longan Cakes” buy-one-get-one-free—two for 40 NTD, with a 12-piece gift box for 480 NTD, including dried longan and local pineapple. Kao Lao Er promoted its signature “Pineapple Cakes” and “Pineapple-Yellow Cakes,” sold in 12-piece boxes with six of each flavor, available at a special price of 420 NTD.
Announcing the Champion of the Chinese Pastry Innovation Competition
Innovative Designs & Unique Flavors – “Pastry-Style Chinese Pastries” Draw Attention
The 2019 Chinese Pastry Innovation Competition was the first edition, focusing on “pastry-ifying and daily-life-izing” traditional Chinese pastries. Many entries were eye-catching, such as Lafeile’s creative “Mixed Gourmet Plate” of Chinese pastries, which used fruit-shaped designs to appeal to younger audiences, with both appearance and packaging standing out. Juncheng Honke adhered to traditional craftsmanship, emphasizing that “overall flavor is most important,” with its classic mung bean pastry boasting a flaky crust resembling a thousand-layer cake.
Santong Han?zi presented its flowing-center Phoenix Pastry, along with chocolate and caramel chestnut mooncakes. Xifengxiang developed innovative Chinese pastries based on the concept of marital harmony, such as “Longan for Family Togetherness” and “Land & Sea Double V…”, all showcasing innovation. Other well-known shops like … also had standout products.
The organizers also specially invited jury member Xie Yicheng—who has won design awards such as the German Red Dot Design Award, iF Design Award, and Japan’s G-MARK Award—to judge the plating and overall appearance of the pastries. Xie believes that the most important aspect of design is breaking free from conventional thinking. He noted that this year’s innovative Chinese pastries were all excellent and truly refreshing.
