Yu Pin Yuan Iced and Hot Tangyuan

Review

Yu Pin Yuan was founded by two brothers who learned the trade working part-time at a tangyuan shop as students. Tangyuan used to be a winter business with quiet summers, so they came up with an iced-and-hot version that sets hot tangyuan on shaved ice; it became a hit, and the shop has been a Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2019. The owners chose to focus solely on tangyuan rather than adding other sweet soups, and the idea has drawn many imitators around Tonghua Night Market.

Strictly speaking they make yuanxiao, rolled in a bamboo sieve. The skin uses glutinous rice aged two years, soaked and ground in-house, and the filling mixes lard, with its membrane removed, and roasted sesame or peanut; the sesame is ground fine while the peanut keeps some texture. Piping-hot balls sit on fine ice shaved from blocks frozen for over a day, topped with house-made osmanthus honey and lemon juice, so each bite alternates hot and cold. For something warm, try the fermented rice and egg tangyuan, with house-made fermented rice.

Fans praise the soft, chewy skins, fragrant fillings, osmanthus honey that is not too sweet and the unusual hot-cold contrast, with sesame the more popular filling. Complaints focus on the small shop, long queues and crowding at peak times; some find the ice itself bland or the lemon juice too sour.

It opens from evening to late night: roughly 18:00 to 23:30 on weekdays, opening half an hour earlier at weekends and staying open until around midnight. A bowl costs about NT$80 to 120 across several flavours, with sesame, peanut or a mix. Osmanthus honey and lemon juice are self-serve at the counter; the tangyuan harden on contact with ice, so eat them first while hot. Frozen tangyuan, osmanthus honey and sweet fermented rice are sold to take home. It is about a six-minute walk from Exit 3 of Xinyi Anhe MRT Station.

It suits anyone at Tonghua Night Market looking for an unusual dessert, and a hot bowl of fermented rice tangyuan is ideal at the winter solstice or on cold nights. First-timers should order the mixed osmanthus iced-and-hot tangyuan, finish the balls first, then add more honey and lemon to the remaining ice for a refreshing lemon-osmanthus shaved ice.