The long wait is over for the luomujie blog's newest travel series. It's the start of a new era as mouth-watering, sweet and sour shaved-ice desserts take the center stage of this one-man team website. Savor the taste of one of Taiwan's seasonal fruit, that can only be harvested every winter and spring. Hooray for those luscious and red strawberries!
I will not prolong anymore the agony of your tastebuds. So let's start the foodie adventure with Ice Monster. A visit to the king of Taiwanese desserts is on the bucket list of most visitors in Taiwan. And it feels like being a VIP. Haha! You get the highest level of service upon entering the store. Plus the fact, that you get to eat one of the country's best of the best. You also get your money's worth for a large bowl of a Taiwanese delicacy. Going to Ice Monster, is also a diplomatic way of expressing your food of choice for the day. Especially in Taipei, when during the peak hours, the queue gets super long. You will need patience and perseverance for this restaurant, just to fulfill that fantasy of your stomach.
A quick look at the menu and I found what I was looking for! The Sensation and Avalanche. There is a strong urge for me to try these two desserts even though I know that their mango shaved-ice dessert is their best seller, Why? Because the strawberry season in Taiwan is only until May. So these foods will only be available for a limited period of time. Until it gets sold out during the summer season...
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| Ice Monster Strawberry Avalanche |
And when the island of Taiwan gets literally hot during the month of August, the flavor of the strawberries are silently forgotten, as the delicious taste of mangoes takes the nation by storm. The cute red berries will appear again in December to reclaim its glory, like a mythical bird rising from the ashes.
It's this fruit cycle of Taiwan that keeps the business of shaved-ice desserts thriving in Taiwan. There is a variety of flavors throughout the year. Add a sprinkle of creativity and you get different versions of the bowl of goodness from the same fruit. Our two featured strawberry desserts are perfect examples. Both are filled in ice but with a magical difference.
Thank God, I was with my girlfriend. I cannot eat two large orders of strawberry-flavored dessert in just one sitting. Haha! Both have a pudding and a scoop of sorbet with tidbits of the dried berry. The Ice Monster Sensation is the equivalent of its best-seller mango favorite. A bowl that has been filled with syrup-flavored ice.
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| Ice Monster Strawberry Sensation |
A pink snow! It's as thin as a snowflake and tastes really sweet. If you're not happy about it, then look at the small cup containing slices of the fruit. They are bathed with their own juice. The tiny dots on the strawberries, which botanically speaking, are the real fruit, and drenched with goodness.
I think no one can resist the temptation of pouring the contents of the cup into the bowl of snowflake. And Andrea did! I cannot blame her. It was overflowing with natural sweetness.
On the other hand, the Ice Monster Avalanche is the typical dessert that you can find in night markets in Taipei. But it has a twist! Underneath the layer of strawberries covering the mountain of pure ice, is a layer of brown sugar. It's waiting there to be discovered. So as the sorbet on top starts to melt, and you try to eat the fruits first, your tastebuds will taste the sourness of the strawberries. Until you get the final verdict, wherein all of the ice had melted, and the dessert had suddenly turned sweet.
This is in stark contrast to what you will experience in the Sensation, which starts sweet at first but turns sour in the end. As the snowflake is consumed, what's left are the fruits turning the leftover melted ice a bit sour.
Brrrrp! So much has been said about Ice Monster. It's now your turn try the Sensation and Avalanche strawberry versions of Taiwan's most famous dessert house. Where will I go next time? I'm thinking of something different. Hmmm.... See you at the next episode of “My Strawberry”.
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Ice Monster Zhongxiao Shop
address: No. 297號, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106 [Google Map]
opening hours: 10:30 am to 10:30 pm (Sunday to Thursday)
10:30 am to 11:30 pm (Friday to Saturday)
How to go to Ice Monster Zhongxiao Branch: MRT Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station (Blue Line) -> Exit 1 -> walk less than 200 meters
My orders:
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| Ice Monster Strawberry Avalanche, NTD 240 (as of Mar. 5, 2019) |
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| Ice Monster Strawberry Sensation, NTD 260 (as of Mar. 5, 2019) |
THINGS TO DO IN TAIPEI
TAIWAN SHAVED ICE DESSERTS
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2025 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansei Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansei Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
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| Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
Always in my heart
MRT birdman
Valentine's Day
Tulips Festival
2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
City of Azaleas
Linji Huguo Temple
Nanjichang Night Market
Gudetama Chef restaurant
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
Shilin hollyhocks
Ningxia Night Market
Ximending graffiti
Discovery Center of Taipei
Chunghwa Postal Museum
Double-Decker Bus
Shilin Cold Balls
Jingimoo
GomanMango
mud volcanic ice
Fire and Ice Dumpling
Opium Fen-Yuan
Ichiran Ramen
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
hydrangea flowers
National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
Taipei on a budget
Japanese buildings
Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
Presidential Office Building
Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
CKS and SYS Hall
City tour
Beitou ramen
MRT Monopoly Game
Winter city tour
Zhicheng Park
Shilin Plum Blossom
Art museums
Shopping in Taipei
Summer desserts
Qingtiangang
Qixingshan hiking
2015 Calla lily
2016 Calla lily
Beitou tour
Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
NTU
Confucius Temple
2015 Dadaocheng Festival
Puppet Museum
Fantasy Ice World
2016 Bread Show
Strawberry picking
2015 Rose Garden
Modern Toilet
Shilin Night Market
NASA Exhibit
Raohe Night Market
Longshan Temple
2013 Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Lupin flowers
Taipei 101 day visit
Taipei 101 night visit
Tiger Mountain
Din Tai Fung
Taipei Story House
2014 Flower Show
Chrysanthemum Show
Miramar Ferris wheel
Miniatures Museum
Archery
1600 Pandas
Wulaoguo hot pot
Upside Down House
2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
Shifen Waterfall
2017 Sand Sculpture
Dragon Caves
New Taipei tour
2016 Kite Festival
Pingxi Crags
Bitou Cape
2016 Sand Sculpture
2015 Christmasland
Juming - Jinshan
Houtong - Pingxi
Sandiaoling Waterfall
Jiufen foodtrip
Guanyinshan hike
Yehliu Ocean World
2014 Kite Festival
Pingxi Rail tour
Jinguashi tour
Vigor Kobo Pineapple
British Consulate
Yehliu Geopark
2014 Sand Sculpture
Paragliding
2014 Christmasland
2014 Pingxi Lantern
firefly watching
Yingge Ceramics Street
Jiufen tour
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