Therese in Taiwan: Taro and sweet potato balls at Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan 阿柑姨芋圓

In keeping up with the "Jiufen" theme, this post is about another famous dessert that can be found there. The first time I ate it, I was with my sister Tiffy and our cousins.

The place is a bit hard to find because it's sort of hidden, but once you find it (and taste it), you won't be disappointed! It really is yummy - if  you're into chewy taro and sweet potato balls. Think of the Philippines' bilo-bilo and that's sort of the consistency that these ones have.

You could choose between the cold order, and the hot order. We decided to go with both. I don't know how much it costs because our cousins footed the bill, but I'm guessing that's it's probably more than 60NT (Php 90)? It's good for sharing though. There are also red beans, mung beans, etc.

As you can see from the picture, the cold order (bowl on the left) doesn't come with "soup", but instead it is on top of a bed of ice. Brr! The hot order (bowl on the right) comes with a lot of "soup".

Name: 阿柑姨芋圓 (Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan)
Address: 台北縣瑞芳鎮褔住里豎崎路5號 (It's located somewhere in Jiufen Old Street. Ask around!)
Phone number: (02) 24976505, (02) 24966964

Therese in Taiwan: Peanut and ice cream wrap 花生捲加冰淇淋

Obviously, I'm not good with "technical terms." I don't actually know how this is called in English, but I'm calling it the peanut and ice cream wrap, because it literally is that.

I was able to try this at Jiufen Old Street, located in Keelung city (north of Taiwan) but I think they're also available in some night markets here in Taipei.

There's a bed of crushed peanut topped with 2 scoops of ice cream, and wrapped with what I believe is rice paper. They're yummy! It sounds crazy but even if it's cold outside, ice cream is still ice cream, and I believe that ice cream is a must-eat!

I think this costs around 30 NT (~PhP 45) but I'm not sure. It's worth a try though!

How to get to Jiufen from Taipei:

Take the train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang Station, and then look for the Keelung bus (across the street) bound for Jiufen

Get off at MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing station and take the bus bound to Keelung. I think you can take buses 1815 and 1810.