I used to really like eating this.

In Taiwan, this is called "three-topping shaved ice" (San Zhong Bing).

 

(20240908 Three-topping shaved ice in Taiwan)

 

It's basically shaved ice topped with things like tapioca pearls and sweet potato balls,

and then drizzled with sugar syrup.

 

Even though it feels like you're mostly eating ice,

the sugar content is actually very high.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(20250504 Ice cream commonly handed out at Taiwanese traditional outdoor banquets)

 

Speaking of Taiwanese frozen treats,

it definitely brings to mind Taiwan's "Bando" (traditional outdoor banquet) culture.

Sometimes when attending a wedding banquet,

you'll get these small cups of ice cream.

This can also be considered a unique Taiwanese characteristic.

 

 

 

 

(20250713 Taiwan Fangyuan Ice Pops)

 

This is also a very famous frozen treat,

which is a well-known specialty of Changhua, Taiwan.

The famous flavor is "Qing Bing" (pure ice),

which is an ice pop made simply from sugar syrup,

and usually features a "banana oil/champagne" flavor.

 

 

(20251031 Tainan Achuan Tapioca Pearls)

 

When traveling,

if I see an ice shop, I'll want to eat some too.

But sometimes it's best for two people to share one portion,

because a single serving is usually quite huge.

It's too much for one person to finish alone,

and it leaves you too full to eat other things later on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eating this kind of shaved ice is a unique feature of Taiwan.

In Taiwan, it's commonly called "Snowflake Ice" (Xue Hua Bing).

Some of them are truly delicious~

 

But I don't know why,

a lot of ice shops go out of business very quickly.

 

Maybe it's because the electricity bills are too expensive...

So the ice shops that manage to stay in business for a long time

are truly impressive.