A-Zhi Sour Plum Drink

Review

A-Zhi Sour Plum Drink, at No. 179 Sanmin Street in Sanmin District, opened in 1977 and has been pouring drinks in Sanmin Market for nearly fifty years; its sign calls it the original sour plum drink shop. Supertaste included it in its round-up of Sanmin Street market snacks, and locals say their families brought them here as children; the owner still keeps to his mother's recipe.

The signature sour plum drink is brewed from smoked plums and other ingredients and sweetened with cane sugar rather than fructose syrup, giving distinct sour, sweet and slightly salty layers with a deep plum aroma that really quenches thirst. You can add the shop's homemade plum jelly for a silky texture. The milk tea with plum jelly is another speciality, and the summer chrysanthemum tea, osmanthus wine made with real flowers and taro sago pudding are also frequently mentioned.

Fans praise generous ingredients and flavours you can't find at other drink shops, say the sour plum drink goes surprisingly well with aiyu jelly, and enjoy the humorous, chatty owner and the regulars' atmosphere. Complaints are few: the flavour is strong, so those unused to sour plum may find it intense, peak times bring queues, and if you order no ice it won't be cold by the time you reach your hotel.

In 2019 Supertaste recorded hours of 8:20 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed on the 17th of each lunar month; the current map listing shows 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Mondays, so sources disagree; check before you go. A large sour plum drink is NT$35 and a small NT$25, while plum jelly milk tea is NT$45 large or NT$35 small, and prices may have risen. It is mainly takeaway, and Sanmin Street is busy with traffic, so pick one up as you walk through the market.

It suits anyone exploring Sanmin Street who needs a thirst-quencher, and those who prefer old-fashioned drinks to chain tea shops. First-timers should get a large sour plum drink with plum jelly, or switch to the plum jelly milk tea if they dislike strong sourness; on hot days pair it with fish cake skewers or barbecued pork rice from nearby stalls for a full Sanmin Street lunch.