Saturday, September 23, 2006

dessert/chinese: EASTERN ICE STORE

EASTERN ICE STORE
No. 38, Lane 216, ZhongXiao E. Rd., Sec. 4
(02) 2777-2057

Hours: 11 am-10 pm

www.efy.com.tw

$

visit reviewed: 9/23/2006



I was expecting shaved ice, but I got a soupy mix of toppings instead- it might have been because the tapioca balls were warm and melted the ice, or maybe it was a warm day, or maybe that's how you were supposed to eat it. For NT$45, you can choose up to four toppings, hot or cold, and add condensed milk for an extra NT$10. Today, I chose tapioca balls (their specialty), red bean, mini-mochi balls, and taro mochi balls. There is an array of other things you can choose from such as almond tofu, lemon jelly, peanuts, green beans, big red beans, taro, among other things. In a 2003 review, Taipei Fun says,"No preservatives, artificial flavorings or colorings are used in their products. Consistency has customers coming in continuous succession for a taste of the round tapioca pearls. "

Like a lot of local places, there are no signs in English and most likely no one that speaks English, so you just point and pay and move aside. Hopefully you know what the toppings are that you want!

Some people like to stir their shaved ice until it becomes a soupy mess. If you do, you should try it out.

I don't.

So, actually, I didn't really care for what I ended up getting. I prefer to have the condensed milk ontop of the shaved ice, but instead it just made the sweet toppings here too sweet.



A busy location with ample seating next door, it seems to be fairly popular, but not too crowded that you weren't able to find a seat on a Saturday afternoon. For a local dessert fix, next time I'll stick to the shaved ice, or get some soy tofu from Little South Gate.

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