The Sweeter Side of Taiwan

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but in general, Asian desserts are rather disappointing compared with Western desserts. I am a fan of mooncakes, egg tarts and bubble tea to be sure. However, red bean filling and lotus paste will never take the place of chocolate in my heart.

In our Taiwan guide book, they suggested trying the popular local dessert of shaved ice topped with a variety of sweets such as tapioca pearls, different kinds of gelatin, red bean, etc. But, you can also buy this in Hong Kong (though I've never had it), so I didn't really think I needed to worry about it.

Instead, I used my time in Taiwan to eat some tasty treats that you don't often find here in Hong Kong, such as donuts. There are a couple of local bakeries here that sell donuts, but they are nothing to write home about. Needless to say, I was excited to see a Mister Donut store in the train station with a wide variety of fried goodness.

I was just as excited to see Cold Stone Creamery in Taiwan, too! In Hong Kong, the only ice cream chains are Ben and Jerry's and Haagen Dazs. Of course, there is Cold Stone in Korea and Japan as well, but not here.

On Mardi Gras, aka Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, we ate breakfast at a coffee shop near our hostel. The menu offered coffee and hot chocolate and 'pancakes.' As you can see, my chocolate pancake was actually a waffle with chocolate spread; nevertheless, it was delicious.

We also went to an adorably cute candy store called Sophisca. My boss had actually brought me a little box of chocolates from there after a business trip to Taiwan in January. So, when we walked past, I was very curious to go in. 

They had quite a variety of chocolates and other sweets, and it was all much more reasonably priced than if the store were in Hong Kong, I'd say. We bought some sour fruity gummy candy and some dark chocolate pieces, individually wrapped, all for about $25 HK, or less than $4 US.