東海豆子芋圓

東海豆子芋圓 is tucked in an alley of the Tunghai shopping area in Taichung's Longjing District, its signature the hand-made taro balls — cooked creamy with a springy, chewy bite — served with grass jelly, red bean, purple rice, and fresh milk, sweet without being cloying. The milk isn't the cloying condensed-milk kind, so it eats light and clean; in winter there are also warming sweet soups like ginger-douhua hotpot and hot grass jelly. One diner said “a texture unlike a traditional ice shop, creamy yet refreshing, and the three go together so well,” another simply “the best taro balls in Taichung.”

The shop has a wooden, nostalgic feel — a red-brick counter with wooden tables and benches, and hand-written cloth-strip menus on the wall; if you don't eat taro balls, the owner will suggest swapping in white glutinous rice balls. Open daily 12:00 noon to 8:30pm — a dessert shop Tunghai students and locals have eaten at for years.