Taipei Ximending Food Notes: Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Shop’s Pig Trotter Ice Cream & Shredded Chicken Noodles

Text and photos by /San Gao Sir

One holiday, J Girl wanted to take her mother to Ximending for a stroll. They had planned to book a restaurant, but she said she wanted to eat He Family’s Spare Ribs with Crispy Chicken Noodles. Thinking that if the elder agreed, there was no harm in it — at least He Family had air conditioning. After lunch, they could stroll around and then head to Snow King, a place they’d never been to before.

He Family doesn’t have a very long history, but several of their snacks generally taste pretty good. I hadn’t tried their chicken soup with chicken noodles, but the combination of spare ribs with crispy chicken noodles was unusually satisfying. What I liked even more was just drinking the spare ribs soup on its own — the broth was clear yet flavorful, with a uniquely appetite-whetting pepper aroma, and without the overly rich shallot oil flavor that can get cloying after a few sips. The spare ribs were meaty with little batter, not murky or messy, and had a firm chew — perhaps they were also deep-fried thoroughly beforehand.

The diced braised pork rice was of a certain standard, and the tube rice cake was easy to misjudge at first glance. In reality, the glutinous rice texture wasn’t bad and the aroma was sufficient. The sauce was poured on generously, yet the flavors weren’t unbalanced. Compared to the tube rice cake that suited my taste better, this one was still quite edible.

Snow King ice cream is an old shop and also a well-known one. With over 70 flavors on offer, it’s bound to pique your curiosity. Feeling thirsty, I first went for a glass of starfruit juice. Holding the thick cup, I couldn’t help but blurt out, “Is it cold?” The owner’s wife just smiled without saying a word — turns out the chill level was fine, it was just that the cold didn’t conduct quickly.

The watermelon ice cream had fruit pulp and seeds, while the honey flavor was completely white. Both sweet flavors were okay, but not particularly refreshing or novel. I still had to try a savory flavor, so I ordered the pig’s trotter ice cream. Salty with a hint of sweetness, mixed with flavors like skin-and-meat jelly and soy sauce aroma, it was quite interesting. After all, regular braised pig’s trotters tend to get greasy when cold, but this one was actually edible. That said, eating too much would still let you taste the gelatinous lard, so it’s better shared between two or more people.

He Family Spare Ribs
Address: No. 180, Kunming Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City
Business hours: 11:30 AM–2:00 PM; 5:30 PM–8:30 PM (Closed Wednesdays)

Snow King Ice Cream
Address: No. 65, Section 1, Wuchang Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
Business hours: 12:00 PM–8:00 PM (Closed Tuesdays)

Savoring Taiwan with heart, recording delicious footsteps with care
San Gao Sir’s Food Journey 　San Gao’s Fan Page