Wu Ba — Restaurant in Hualien City

The boss man was really nice and gave us a small gift of a keychain that looked exactly like the five bar dessert right after we ordered. It's cute and I like it. I have a suspicion he gave it to us because we were foreigners.

The dessert was not to my taste unfortunately. The sugar did not "crack" when I put my spoon through it - it was quite soft. It was far too sweet and not in a good way. I think the sugar was burnt rather than caramelised. Well, I can only speak for this serving I received. The doufu hua was a bit average as well (not smooth and silky, it was rather runny) but I guess this is not a doufu hua restaurant.

I was looking forward to this and really wanted to like it, and the boss was lovely but I cannot recommend unfortunately. And yes, my expectations were not super high, it's not like I was expecting...

Yet another taro balls and shaved iced dessert place? If you are taro ball and asian shaved ice dessert fans, do yourself a favor by not skipping this place. Their menu that has less than 5 items might deceive your expectation but not for long.

Their home made taro balls has a very nice chewy texture and their brown caramelised sugar has smoky caramel flavour that is out of this world.

If that does not entice you yet, order their one specialty 'Five Bar Caramel Heart Tapioca' it guarantees to bombard your taste buds with combination of flavour one after the other. This dessert contains 5 elements that is freshly prepared and chosen by the owner himself. You will only get the taste once you start digging this delicious sweet goodness.

Without doubt this is one of...

I’m a big fan of shave ice, and this spot is truly exceptional. I’ve never come across such a unique combination of flavors before—traditional Taiwanese tapioca balls, mung beans, grass jelly, tofu pudding, and those amazing taro balls—all perfectly balanced with just the right amount of condensed milk and local natural brown sugar. The result? Pure heaven!

They even offer a warm and hot version for those chilly days when you’re craving something sweet and cozy. Definitely a must-try!

And let’s talk about Mr. Wang, the owner—what a character! Such a great guy. He created this dessert 24 years ago, and fun fact: the checkered design was inspired by his love of plaid shirts. Thanks for bringing this incredible treat into the world,...