Tainan answers the afternoon heat with a bowl of shaved ice. The city's sweet side is old and unfussy: ice shops that let you pile on as many toppings as you like, fruit shops that have been cutting fruit for generations, tofu pudding in Anping, and sweet rice balls that switch to hot soups when the weather cools. Go after lunch, when the heat peaks and the old town slows down.
Eight-treasure shaved ice (八寶冰)
The classic: a mound of shaved ice with your pick of toppings, mostly beans, nuts and handmade rice balls, finished with syrup. Here are three long-running shops, each with its own rhythm.
- Babao Bin Yuan Zai Hui (八寶彬圓仔惠) is a MICHELIN Guide pick on Guohua Street that has served shaved ice and traditional sweet soups for over 50 years. Choose from five toppings, all made in-house. The sweet rice balls (湯圓) are the most popular. No. 99, Sec. 2, Guohua St., West Central District. 09:00 to 22:00, closed Monday and Thursday.
- Jiang Shui Hao (江水號) is an old name for 八寶冰 that has moved several times since the old Big Vegetable Market, the West Market, was relocated. It now sits in the Qiancao shopping lanes beside the market, at No. 26, Sec. 3, Guohua St. There is no fixed combination: the Commercial Times counts ten-plus toppings, including handmade rice balls, taro paste and beans. Check Google Maps for hours.
- Xie Family Eight-Treasure Ice (謝家八寶冰) has sold ice since 1963, starting from a small cart under a big tree at a night market and now in a shop at No. 238, Sec. 2, Minzu Rd. All the toppings come at no extra charge: red beans, mung beans, peanuts, lotus seeds and handmade rice balls. Mirror Media lists it as an evening shop, so it makes an after-dinner stop. Check Google Maps for hours.
The old fruit shops
Tainan is fruit country, and its fruit shops (水果店) are an institution: cut fruit, fresh juice and fruit ice in old-fashioned rooms.
- Lily Fruit Shop (莉莉水果店), No. 199, Sec. 1, Fuqian Rd., near the Confucius Temple. Global Views dates it to 1947. Its founder, Li Ze (李澤), ran a fruit and vegetable stall in the Nanmen Market on Fuqian Road in the Japanese era. TVBS describes it as the place for seasonal fruit, fresh juice, shaved ice and tofu pudding. → Confucius Temple
- Taicheng Fruit Shop (泰成水果店), No. 80, Zhengxing St. Open since 1935, according to TVBS, and known for its melon ice (瓜瓜冰): a melon base topped with mango slush. → Zhengxing and the food streets
Check Google Maps for both shops' current hours before you go.
Mango shaved ice
Tainan grows more mangoes than anywhere else in Taiwan, so mango ice is the summer treat here. The famous Irwin mangoes peak early: aim for June or early July. Our fruit page has the full calendar. → Tainan's fruit seasons
Tofu pudding (豆花) and almond tofu (杏仁豆腐)
Tofu pudding is soft, silky soybean curd served in syrup with toppings. In Anping, Tongji Anping Douhua (同記安平豆花) has been making it for more than 50 years. SuperTaste lists four kinds, traditional white, bamboo-charcoal black, soy milk and fresh milk, with two free toppings from red beans, mung beans, tapioca pearls and lemon. The main shop is at No. 433, Anbei Rd., Anping District, close to Anping Old Street. Check Google Maps for hours. → Anping guide
Almond tofu is a different thing: a firm, sweet almond-milk jelly, cut into cubes and often served over shaved ice. Look for it on ice-shop menus around the old town.
Sweet rice balls and winter hot desserts
Sweet rice balls (湯圓, 圓仔) are chewy handmade balls of glutinous rice, served on ice in summer and in hot sweet soup when it cools. Babao Bin Yuan Zai Hui serves its sweet soups hot, with five kinds on the menu, including the classic herbal soup with grass jelly (燒仙草). On a cool winter evening, that is the bowl to order.
Good to know
- When: afternoon is shaved-ice time. Xie Family is an evening shop.
- Closed days: Babao Bin Yuan Zai Hui closes Monday and Thursday. For the others, check Google Maps.
- Pay: bring cash, as for most old Tainan shops.
- Pair it: Babao Bin and Jiang Shui Hao are both on Guohua Street, an easy dessert stop after a morning of grazing. → Breakfast in Tainan · Tainan Michelin guide
Sources
Babao Bin Yuan Zai Hui from its MICHELIN Guide listing. Jiang Shui Hao from the Commercial Times (July 2025). Xie Family Eight-Treasure Ice from Mirror Media (2025). Lily Fruit Shop's history from Global Views (2013), and Lily and Taicheng from TVBS (2017). Tongji Anping Douhua from SuperTaste. Mango seasons as on our fruit page, from the Tainan City Government Agriculture Bureau. Checked October 2026.