Hualien – Jia Shing 佳興冰果店

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Jia Shing 佳興冰果店

I’m a big fan of Hualien. It’s relatively small in comparison to Taipei, has a slower feel to it, has fresh air, and is coastal. It ticks the boxes all around, for me.

So, from the sign, it seems like Jia Shing specialises in Iced dishes, and lemon juice.

 It is a shack. Don’t expect it to be too clean.

We went in summer, and Jia Shing was brimming with people – got to be a good sign.

So from reading the outside specials, you’d think it’s a dessert place. You’d be wrong. We ordered a huge meal between 5 of us, washed down with a couple of big bottles of Lemon juice.

OK, it’s not expertly presented, but it definitely did the job for us.

We ordered some of the stewed food selection 滷味拼盤 ($150) and a plate of vegetables 快炒時蔬 ($100) at Jia Shing. The stewed food selection consisted of tofu, pork, seaweed and egg. It was fine, but I won’t say it is a must eat.

We had to order a plate of the fried rice 肉絲蛋炒飯 ($60), and glad we did so. Flecks of onion, pork, egg, carrot. The rice wasn’t amazing, but the flavour of the fried rice was good, and accompanied the lamb very nicely. (Aug 2023 update: The fried rice is removed from the menu.)

The potato leaves were littered with garlic, giving it the feeling of it being fresh. It tasted pretty good, albeit a little oily.

I always eat more of this than I should. This is a chilli preserved radish side dish. Eat it with basically anything, but beware – it is salty (and spicy).

This bowl of noodles 什錦炒麵 ($90) had pretty much everything including liver, squid, clams, meatballs, fish balls, and the kitchen sink. Unpretentious, insipidly coloured, but it had fresh and honest flavours, with decent enough noodles to boot.

Probably the most well executed dish of the day – lamb. Stir fried lamb with a Chinese barbecue sauce 快炒羊肉 ($200). A little greasy, yes, but all lamb is. Tasty? Yes. Highly recommend? Yes.

Jia Shing are known for their still lemonade, but this is one of their new flavours: Kumquat lemonade 黃金檸檬汁 ($60). Less sour than the original lemonade, and deep citrusy flavours coming out all over the place – deliciously refreshing.

This is the classic still lemonade ($110) that people flock from all over Hualien, and further afield, to get. It’s sour, it’s lip-smacking, it’s refreshing, it’s actually pretty damn good.

 Jia Shing is a drive out of Hualien city center itself, however, more than worth the drive. 25 mins drive south is the ChiShingTan scenic area that’s very popular, too. I’d suggest a lunch here, then a drive to the scenic area to walk it off, before heading back into the city.

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Opening Times: Every day 08:00 – 17:00 (Wednesday closed)

Tel: 03 861 1888

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花蓮縣新城鄉博愛路22號

No. 22, Bo Ai Road, XinCheng Township, Hualien County, Taiwan

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