Longdu Ice Dessert Parlor

Review

Longdu Ice Dessert Parlor was founded in 1920 during the Japanese colonial era and is one of the most historic ice shops in the old Bangka area. It started on Guangzhou Street before moving to its current spot on Heping West Road, and has now passed the century mark. Taipei's official tourism site lists it as a shop that keeps Bangka's food memories alive, and the walls are covered with old photos and press clippings.

The signature is eight-treasure shaved ice, topped with red beans, mung beans, kidney beans, peanuts, taro, rice balls and starch jelly, all cooked in-house. Each bean keeps its own texture, the taro is creamy and the rice balls are chewy. The standout is the syrup, which carries a banana aroma and tastes lighter than brown-sugar syrup. The ice is traditionally coarse and a bowl is right for one person. Summer brings mango and mixed-fruit ice; winter features peanut soup with rice balls and longan rice porridge, with whole yet tender peanuts.

Praise centres on well-judged sweetness, distinct bean flavours and friendly prices, often compared to the cost of a drink; some also recommend the papaya milk. Complaints note the plain presentation, cash-only payment, and how quickly it fills after noon in summer, leaving people waiting outside. Some feel the mango ice is simply ice, condensed milk and mango with no special surprise.

A Japanese travel site listed prices in 2018 as NT$80 for eight-treasure ice, NT$75 for red bean ice and NT$90 for peanut ice, with a budget of about NT$65–190; current prices may have changed. Hours and closing days vary between sources (Wednesday only, Tuesday and Wednesday, or open daily), so check before you go. It is near Longshan Temple MRT station, so you can combine it with a temple visit, and menus are available in English, Japanese and Korean.

It suits anyone craving traditional Taiwanese shaved ice that is not too sweet, and travellers cooling down after Longshan Temple and Bopiliao. First-timers should order the eight-treasure ice, perhaps adding rice balls; switch to mango ice in summer or peanut rice-ball soup in winter, and two people can share a papaya milk.