🔹Grass Jelly Taro Ball Ice (grass jelly + taro balls + sweet potato balls + red beans + pineapple + tapioca balls)

• The taro balls and sweet potato balls are not overly soft or too chewy like in some shops. They have just the right elasticity and texture, making them very enjoyable to eat.
  The red beans are also well-prepared, distinct and carries a natural bean aroma, but they are not overcooked. The sweetness is controlled perfectly, not overpowering the flavors of the ice.
• The pineapple is an unexpected highlight of this dessert, with a sweetness that has a slight tanginess, feeling more like homemade than canned.
• As for the grass jelly, it goes without saying that it's smooth and has no bitterness, nor any strange medicinal taste, just a pure, refreshing grass jelly fragrance—perfect for beating the heat.

🔸Grass Jelly Taro Ice (grass jelly + taro balls + sweet potato balls + red beans + pineapple + taro)

• The taro is handled very well, with a very creamy texture, but it doesn’t disintegrate in your mouth. It retains a bit of bite and a substantial feel. There’s no dryness, nor any fibrous bits that get stuck in your teeth.
• The red beans are a personal favorite topping of mine; they have a creamy texture when you bite into them, and the flavors build up beautifully when enjoyed with the taro.

🧸 The shop has no door, and on that day, I saw a few cockroaches flying around. It was a bit scary while eating, so those who are easily frightened might want to keep this in mind.

📍Xian Cao Ba | Yilan Minzu Road's Old-Fashioned Xian Cao Ice Shop
🕒 Tuesday to Saturday 13:00-21:00
📫 No. 257, Minzu Road, Yilan City, Yilan County 260

🌿 I have been eating at "Xian Cao Ba" for about five or six years, back when they hadn't moved to their current location. Every summer, it's a habit to come here; it has become a fixed ritual. This time, I ordered two bowls of ice, and as usual, they were generously topped with ingredients.

🍧 The first bowl is Xian Cao and Taro Ball Ice. The taro balls and sweet potato balls are chewy and not too hard, and the red bean is cooked just right, not mushy. The homemade pineapple adds a slightly sour aroma, making it the soul of the whole bowl, complemented by crushed ice and sugar syrup that is just right, not overly sweet.

🍧 The second bowl is Xian Cao and Taro Ice, which taro lovers will definitely adore. The chunks of taro are cooked to be creamy but not falling apart, paired with the same pineapple and flower beans, each bite has layers of flavors. The Xian Cao itself has a very tender texture, refreshing and cooling, and importantly, it’s not overly sweet, leaving you feeling great after finishing.

☀️ Overall, this old taste is really hard to replace, and every summer I still want to come back for a bowl of ice. Highly recommend.

Xuancao Dad – is a well-known specialty shop for grass jelly in Yilan City – it’s a choice with high cost-performance value.
We often order sugar-free grass jelly, grass jelly with toppings without ice, or burned grass jelly.
Someone recommended we try their tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) before – we found that adding tangyuan to the grass jelly without ice or burned grass jelly tastes really good! 😍
Barley and traditional red bean flower beans are also delicious! 😋😋
The burned grass jelly comes with hard peanuts. 👍
Oh right! The grass jelly dessert is also tasty – it comes with a pack of brown sugar syrup, and you can add cream for an extra 5 dollars.