Zheng Lao Pai Chaozhou Hot-and-Cold Ice

Review

Zheng Lao Pai Chaozhou Hot-and-Cold Ice sits on Xinsheng Road beside the roundabout in central Chaozhou and is the first name people mention for shao leng bing, the town's hot-and-cold ice. Supertaste lists it among the old-school flavours Chaozhou locals grew up with, and Yam Travel and blogger Bunny Ann have both written dedicated posts calling it a locally recommended queue-worthy ice shop. A rival, A-Lun, stands across the road, and the two are often compared.

To make it, hot toppings go into the bowl first, then shaved ice and brown sugar syrup on top. Toppings include taro, mung beans, peanuts, red beans, small tangyuan and filled peanut tangyuan; the heat slowly melts the ice so each spoonful is both cold and warm. The shop also recommends its frozen taro with just taro and syrup. Yam Travel's 2023 post lists NT$60 a bowl with NT$10 per extra such as tangyuan or condensed milk, while Bunny Ann's 2025 post says the price has risen to NT$65.

Fans praise the soft, creamy red beans and taro, a balanced sweetness that never cloys and the unusual hot-cold contrast, plus a spacious shop and quick service, with bowls arriving in under five minutes. Complaints mention thick skins on the peanut tangyuan, a plain, dated interior and staff who can seem unsmiling.

Sources differ on hours: most articles give 09:30 to 22:30, closed Wednesdays, with occasional ad-hoc closures, while recent Google data shows 10:00 to 21:30 and closed on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so check before you go. Cash and e-payments are accepted but not credit cards. Most customers take away by scooter; drivers can use a paid car park about five minutes' walk away.

It suits anyone visiting Pingtung in summer for a distinctive dessert, or those who find plain shaved ice too cold and want something gentler. On a first visit, order the mixed hot-and-cold ice with extra tangyuan; two people can share one bowl of it and one bowl of frozen taro to compare.