Yujing Ice House
Yujing is located at the end of Expressway No.84. with a good public transport. When traveling in the neighborhood, many tourists would come to the old street of Yujing and order a bowl of mango shaved ice to cool down the heat in Summer. Each store on the old street has its own fame and feature. Our recommendation is the Ice House where parking is easy, the interior is spacious, air conditioning is great and the choices are plenty.
Ice House is run by the Farmer’s Association in Yujing District. The mango ingredients are local fresh fruits that can hardly be misrepresented. Lots of mango topping for the signature mango shaved ice and mango snow ice so that consumers will feel full after finishing the big meal.
The dishes that utilize mangoes are worth mentioning. “Japanese style Pork Chop with Mango Tata Sauce” has original tata sauce seasoned with mango so that the sauce has a tint of aroma and slight sweetness from mangoes. If you happen to eat the mango grains, the slightly sour and juicy mangoes mingling with the tata sauce is like a surprising symphony. The slightly sour taste stimulates the appetite, together with the properly fried pork chop that has a thin and crunchy crust will definitely bring a smile to your lips!
Another dish with mangoes caught me by surprise is “Thai style pepper chicken seasoned with mangoes”. A bit of spicy flavor stimulating appetite is best for the sunny days in southern Taiwan. Mango grains are added to the pepper chicken sauce so that the peppery taste has the aroma of mango and its slightly sourness. Those who find the spicier, the better will love this dish. The juicy chicken meat also deserves the accolade; after the bite, the mouthful juice with the spicy and sour sauce is sure to make you eat everything off.
It is said that mangoes in Yujing are tasty because of the soil and weather. Other areas even at the same latitude can hardly reproduce the smell and flavor of mangoes in Yujing, Tainan.
Xiu-yu Xu, the director of sales and marketing department of farmer’s association, Yujing District said salty soil in Yujin and the fast draining sloping fields are great to grow mango trees. As a local of Yujin, her face glows the pride of and passion for her hometown.
Two mango ice products are newly launched by the farmer’s association, Yujin District this year—the “mango ice cream” with fruit grains and “Yujin love mango smoothie”. Products of all farmer’s associations across Taiwan have one thing in common: only the finest ingredients are used. Such a feature is also found in these two products and the flavor and taste are just great.
Mango ice cream expresses the unique sweet smell of Irvin mango and this is more important than the appeal of “Fragrance” because the mango ice cream has the authentic sweet smell of fresh fruits; it is not over thick and it doesn’t have any chemical additives so it melts really fast. The biggest feature is the fresh fruit grains in the ice cream. There will be a mouth feel of fresh mango grains when the ice cream melts in the mouth. Having the grains stay in the mouth for a short while and they will turn soft and gives different relish. Feeling like bringing mango ice treats home to share? This ice cream is a recommended choice.
“The taste of this Yujing love mango smoothie is very authentic; the taste is truly authentic!” Director Xu, sales and marketing department passed us the smoothie with affirmation in her eyes while she kept repeating it. Anyone seeing such an affirmation might wonder “Is she exaggerating?”
Well, it is indeed with fine ingredients. The sweet and sour smoothie literally opens our eyes. Its crunchy texture can be found in every sip-- smoothie along with the sourness of love mango is really yummy!
Imagine the fresh mangoes arrive at the farmer’s association—just 20 steps away from the Ice House is the mango grading factory. It is now the harvest season when we can see grading, weighing, packaging and boxing-up activities in the grading factory. Baskets of graded Irvin Mango are ready for sale. Bringing them home as the souvenir is the shortest distance “from farm to table”. Don’t miss the chance to bring yourselves the gift box that best represents Taiwan flavor!
Encounter the Mango Ice at Zuozheng Mango Ice House
Yujing and Zuozheng are separated by the political boundary, but both of them have the same environment to grow mango. Mangoes from Zuozheng are fresh and tasty, too. This year, the farmer’s association, Zuozheng district launched a creative ice product “Mango and Brown Sugar Bun Cake”, the fusion of traditional Tainan pastry and mango.
Brown sugar bun cake is a traditional flavor in Tainan. It was meant for women in the confinement month to gain enough nutrients. It is hollow with a layer of brown sugar inside. Traditionally, an egg would be placed into the hollow brown sugar bun cake before frying. The farmer’s association, Zuozheng district reinvented the filling to replace with mango ice cream, turning it into a trendy and satiate ice product.
The staff swiftly cut the bun cake and stuffed 2 cones of mango ice cream and the adzuki bean fillings, and finished with some love mango topping. Watching the hollow bun cake got filled, my heart seemed full, too. As I felt the portion was just right, the staff garnished the bun cake with several spoons of fresh mango cubes as if the ingredients cost nothing. I believed the consumers would succumb to such a manner and happily receive the plate of “Mango and Brown Sugar Bun Cake”.
Cong’s Orchard
The poll from Ezgo.com showed the most wanted fruit to pick right now is mango. There are around 5 orchards offering mango picking in Yujing neighborhood. Our recommendation this time is “Cong’s Orchard”, the owner Mr. Congyu Lee is humorous and professional and he will bring the visitors to have the fun of picking mangoes and teach us one or two things about mango.
The most frequently asked questions about mango—
Which kind is ripe and ready to pick?
Which kind is tasty?
How long does it take for the mango to taste its best?
Why does it emit sweet fragrance but doesn’t taste sweet?
Mango picking is more than just picking. Mr. Cong always gives an introduction about the mango orchard and the growing method in the beginning, and answers all the questions mentioned above. The visitors won’t just “come, pick the mangoes then leave.”
The harvest season is adjusted through the growing method. Mr. Cong said the annual harvest starts from early May to late July, about 3 month time open for fruit picking, and 2 periods each day, 8:30am to 10am and 3pm to 5pm. The noon time is too hot and it’s better to stay inside and have mango ice in the air conditioned room. The orchard is free from pesticides, and we recommend to wear long sleeves and pants as well as a hat for sun protection, to avoid making yourself as red as the mango. And make sure to call for reservation before departure in case the orchard is too busy to receive visitors.
Cong’s Orchard is 2 minutes away from downtown Yujing by car; it saves the traffic hassles and parking is easy that offer a lot of convenience. The orchard covers less than 1 hectare but has almost 300 mango trees. Rows of trees hanging with bagged mangoes look amazing.
All the mangoes are in the bags that we cannot tell which are ready to pick and which are tasty. In fact, there are tips. You’ll know the answers when you come to the orchard and pick the mangoes.
“What is the fun of picking mangoes?” Mr. Cong thinks the greatest fun is opening the bag to find out what’s in it. The excitement is like drawing lottery. What do the mangoes I pick look like? And how red are they? It is rather exciting when the results are revealed. Meanwhile, the faces will glow with satisfaction.
Mango picking is good for kids at their school age. In recent years, also many visitors from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore know there is mango picking in Yujing, and the number of participants continues to grow. Don’t miss the 3 month fruit picking season, my dear Taiwanese friends.
Tsou Ma Lai Farm
The lawn in Tsou Ma Lai Farm is very attractive. Kids run and play on it and the adults have picnics under the trees. There is also a regular “Ukrainian Stunt and Variety Show” ongoing for visitors. Many stunts seen on TV are now live here—stuntman spinning on the banner which is 5 meters high and their graceful physical movements are really impressive. The simple and interesting magic show and the performer’s facial expressions are meant to attract kids’ attention so to bring them to experience the charm of illusive magic.
Yujing Ice House
Add: No. 139, Zhongzheng Rd., Yujing District, Tainan City
TEL: 06-5748552
Zuozheng Mango Ice House
Add: No. 62-29, Rong-he Village, Zuozheng District, Tainan City
TEL: 06-5731251
Cong’s Orchard
Add: No. 55-2, Zhongshan Rd., Yujing District, Tainan City
TEL: 0980-036320
Tsou Ma Lai Farm
Add: No. 60, Qi-zi-wa, Er-xi Village, Da-nei District, Tainan City
TEL: 06-5760121