Chen Qiugang Snow Ice (Guishan Flagship)

Review

Chen Qiugang Snow Ice's Guishan flagship is at No. 24 Zhonghe South Road, in what locals call the Guishan back street area, within walking distance of the market. Several Guishan food roundups pair it with Golden Era Bakery as a back-street must, and the brand later opened a branch in Xinzhuang, showing its popularity reaches beyond Guishan. The menu is written on a blackboard, with item names spelled in a playful Taiwanese-accented style that many people photograph.

The snow ice is made entirely by hand, with a texture between sorbet and ice cream: fine, soft and quick to melt, unlike coarse shaved ice. The signature is seasonal fruit. In summer, mango and dragon fruit are the most ordered, while peanut, sesame and matcha appear in cooler months, and there is also red bean soup and handmade rice balls. Write-ups note the shop uses fresh fruit with no artificial colouring or chemical flavouring, so the sweet-tart fruit flavours taste natural.

Praise centres on intense fruit flavour, sweetness that is not cloying, the chance to combine several flavours in one cup, and prices that are friendly for a dessert shop. Complaints are few: on summer weekend afternoons there are queues, popular flavours sometimes sell out early, and some find the fruit flavours tart, so fans of creamy flavours may prefer peanut or sesame.

It opens every day from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. with no fixed day off, and peak times are weekend afternoons and after dinner. The back-street lanes are narrow and parking is difficult, so come by scooter or park on the outskirts and walk in. Seating is limited; when it is busy you can take it away, but snow ice melts fast, so eat it promptly.

It suits anyone exploring the Guishan back street who wants dessert after a meal, or a light fruit ice on a hot day. First-timers can pick one seasonal fruit plus peanut or sesame to compare textures; add handmade rice balls for more bite, switch to red bean soup in winter, and then join the bread queue at Golden Era nearby.