Do not leave Taiwan without trying its famed Aiyu Jelly 愛玉冰, which can also mean ‘Loving Jade’. It is sold at most bubble tea shops, night markets, sometimes together with sago which are usually now as “Frogs laying eggs” 青蛙下蛋 in Taiwan.

If you go to Alishan, there are no less than 3 shops selling this drink-dessert, indicating it’s popularity at this original site. Also it is supposedly to taste better here due to Alishan’s high altitude.

I had a cooling cup on this hot summer, with soft yellowish jelly in a cup, drizzled with lemon juice and ice shavings flavoured with black sugar. The combination of ingredients made every spoonful sour, sweet and smooth at the same time. This was my antidote for a 35 degree weather, very mouthful being very refreshing and uplifting. Do you know where Aiyu comes from?

The jelly is made from a gel from the seeds of a variety of fig, which is greenish and looks somewhat like a smaller version of passionfruit. Word has that a businessman discovered the fruit at Alishan while drinking yellowish yet sweet water in the river, and eventually named the jelly after his favourite daughter Aiyu.

The process of extraction is sometimes known as “washing aiyu” where the seeds are squeezed and massaged – producing this soft gelatin-like texture.

Taiwanese seems to have the habit of having ‘food’ in their drinks. If you need something thirst-quenching yet delicious at the same time, get on lovin’ some jade.

This may sound really strange – but have you eaten a coffin? If you are thinking about the other version that is used to bury people, let me clarify. I am talking about Taiwan’s Coffin Bread 棺材板, a popular street snack similar to bread bowl soups.

Knowing how superstitious the Chinese are, naming a food after a death item may not be the most auspicious thing. The reason why it is called “Guan Cai” is because it also means “Sheng Guan Fa Cai” 升官发财 – Getting a promotion and being rich.

The Coffin Bread is one of the signature dishes from Tainan, created by 許六一. It is modified after the Western bread which the American sailors brought over during their marine travels in olden days Taiwan.

The snack is usually shaped like a square block, with the centre portion of the deep-fried thick toast removed. The impression will be filled with plentiful of ingredients such as chicken meat, vegetables and pigs’ intestines, cooked with corn, mushroom or curry sauce.

I had a rectangular version at Lao Jie 老街 AnPing Tainan. Now this version looks more like an actual coffin with its new shape. Costing only 20NT, the creator said this modification it makes a more convenient snack to eat at a night market. She also replaced with intestines with vegetables to cater to a health-conscious youth population.

With a crisp golden brown older layer, fluffy bread and sweet creamy sauce, the Coffin Bread a rather satisfying snack. Hopefully I will get a promotion and become prosperous after this.

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