Mang guo bing is the canonical Taipei summer dessert: layers of mango-syrup-infused shaved snow ice, topped with fresh mango chunks, mango ice cream and condensed milk.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Mango shaved ice (xue hua bing, snowflake ice) was popularised in Taipei in the 1990s, when Yongkang Street's Ice Monster (now Smoothie House) refined the snowflake-ice machine that produces sorbet-thin shaved ice rather than chunky shards. Taiwanese Irwin mangoes from Pingtung in the south are in peak season May to October. Smoothie House on Yongkang Street is the canonical Taipei version, with a mountain-sized portion topped with mango ice cream.
Common allergens: Milk
Tip from the editors. Snowflake-ice machines are sold cheaply online; the result is closer to sorbet than crushed ice. Taiwanese Irwin mangoes have a perfumed honey note other types can't match.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Smoothie House on Yongkang Street in Taipei runs the canonical mango snowflake ice, xue hua bing with chunks of mango, mango ice cream and condensed milk.
Signature drink: Mango snowflake ice
Order: Mango snowflake ice with mango ice cream and condensed milk.
Tip: Open 10:30 to 22:00 daily. Walk-in counter; mango is best May to October.
More cities are in research. Want mango shaved ice covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.