Lily Fruit Shop

Review

Lily Fruit Shop sits on Section 1 of Fuqian Road, just across the street from the Tainan Confucius Temple, and opened in 1947. Founder Li Ze ran a produce stall in Nanmen Market as far back as the Japanese colonial era, and his son Li Wen-hsiung later took over. Since 1999 Li Wen-hsiung has self-published the Lily Fruit Monthly, and he has since opened a small fruit culture museum and released a book of old photos documenting the city, giving this fruit parlor a role in local history as well.

Seasonal fruit is the star here, served as platters, juices, shaved ice and tofu pudding. In summer the mango milk shaved ice is often singled out by Japanese travel sites as the signature, and a medium mixed fruit platter runs about NT$120. Old-school bowls such as banana ice, sweet bean ice and red bean, peanut and milk ice have loyal fans; one blogger described the banana ice as generous and lightly sweetened so the fruit still comes through. For roughly two weeks between the autumn equinox and the Mid-Autumn Festival there is a limited red pomelo juice, pink in color and sweet-sour with a faint saltiness.

When Jensen Huang made a whirlwind stop in Tainan he took away fruit ice, green mango ice, sweet bean ice, red bean and peanut milk ice, a tomato platter and lemon juice, putting the shop back in the headlines. Diners mostly praise the fresh fruit, the wide choice and the friendly staff, and there is an English menu at the counter. The most common complaints are tourist crowds and tight seating at peak times, and some feel the flavors are traditional rather than surprising.

Most current listings give hours of 11:00 to 22:00 with Wednesdays off, plus a break over Lunar New Year; older articles say it stayed open until 23:00, so sources differ and it is worth checking before you go. Seating is indoors and under the arcade, and it is busiest after dinner and on summer weekends. The area around the Confucius Temple is hard for car parking, so walking or a scooter is easier. Sources do not say clearly which payment methods are accepted, so cash is the safe bet.

It suits anyone who wants to sit down with a bowl of ice after visiting the Confucius Temple or experience an old Tainan fruit parlor. First-timers can share a seasonal mango ice or a mixed fruit platter; fans of retro flavors should try the red bean, peanut and milk ice. If you visit in autumn when the red pomelo juice is out, grab a cup.