By Arielle EstebanWhen it comes to spending the summer in Taiwan, from personal experience, it is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Temperatures during the summer months of late April to early September have been known to reach record-high temperatures ranging from 30 to 40°C. Fortunately, Taiwan is also home to many sweets and savory dishes and in the summer, the icy treat known as shaved ice, hits the streets. For students studying at the National Taiwan University, fortunately enough, there are a number of shops that serve delicious shaved ice around the university that are of walking distance, where you and your friends can cool off and chill.
Here are the top five places to beat the heat near NTU:
The shop is roomy and separated in sections based on the type of seating. Right next to the windows are seating areas on elevated platforms, made to look like a typical Japanese tatami room, along with tatami mats and house slippers for your feet. On the other side of the dessert shop is your ordinary seating area, with wooden tables and chairs that can seat a range from two people to six people. Part of why it’s a popular place for Taida students to hang out is because of the Instagram-friendly decor around the shop. The shop is also a self-service restaurant, where you pick up your own utensils, tissues, and dessert. It is also the more pricier shop to eat shaved ice, with their icy desserts ranging from NT130 to NT220. The recommended desserts, based on popularity, are their matcha shaved ice and rainbow shaved ice—named for its appearance after being sprinkled with different flavored syrup. The shop also offers other sweet options for those not looking for an icy treat, such as cakes, homemade ice cream and even Japanese style grilled rice balls (onigiri). If looking for a spot to have some shaved ice with friends (or by yourself) seated comfortably on cushions while overlooking the quiet streets staying cool as you treat yourself to some desserts and away from the heat, then 好想吃冰台大公館店 is a good place to drop by.
This two-story shop is located right next to the looming yellow building that is the Taipower Building, and it is hard to miss with its Instagram-friendly exterior and a hip ambience, with its speakers blaring out the current Billboard Top 40 Hits. Its most popular dishes are the mango shaved ice (pictured above), matcha and red bean shaved ice, and their specialty, is the bubble milk tea shaved ice—which is literally bubble milk tea in the form of shaved ice, topped with boba and condensed milk。 Their prices are much more student-friendly, prices ranging from NT80 to NT120 for their most popular dishes, and packed with filling portions, that if you do get caught having to wait in line, rest assured that it’s worth it. Fun fact: You can get a free refill of their condensed milk!
It’s located on Xinsheng S. Road nestled between a street corner and McDonalds, and is hard to miss with its big, yellow signboard. Taiyi Milk King is famous for its glutinous sticky rice ball desserts that are generously packed with all sorts of fillings, from sesame to peanut butter. But it also serves cold desserts like mango and strawberry shaved ice topped with glutinous rice balls and condensed milk. (Photo courtesy from VicariousGear.com) The place is self-service and there’s an option for you to take food to go, which is great if you want to keep the savory glutinous rice balls for later. Taiyi is also student budget-friendly, most of the dishes being under NT100, and it serves large portions, which is perfect for hungry students looking for something sweet and cool to eat. Do keep in mind that it’s a popular spot not just for students, but tourists and local Taiwanese, so it’s important to get there before the evening as that’s usually when the throngs of people come to try the desserts. And there you have it, the three best places to have shaved ice near the National Taiwan University. Do you have a favorite place to eat shaved ice? Let me know in the comments below. a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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