He Mei Ice Cream is one of those truly old-school places that has slowly adapted to life without changing a whole lot throughout the years. They have managed to retain their simple (yet effective) process, core selection of flavours, and seemingly all of the signs throughout the store itself. Ice cream is more-often-than-not loved by all ages, and He Mei Ice Cream in Yonghe is a staple place in the community.
7 mins walk away (using Google Maps) from Yongan Market MRT station in Yonghe, this simple Ice Cream parlour is only going to set you back $25 for a single scoop of their hand crafted ice cream. $45 is going to get you 2 scoops, and a 3rd scoop is only going to cost you $60. A box with 6 scoops for $150 is another option for you to takeout.
This is obscenely good value for delicious ice cream, and for that reason alone should be on your radar for when you’re in the Yonghe area in need of cooling down. With LeHua Night Market a 5 min walk away, you could end a great Night Market trip with a cool down right here.
11 of the best essential night market eats in Taiwan
But, what are the best flavours? I have been here countless times, and I live about a 30min walk away. I would confidently say that I have tried 90% of their extensive flavours, so I am in a great place to share what I believe are the best flavours with you.
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What strikes me the most about this place is that they have retained the same signs throughout, the brick work (although it looks quite new) manages to retain the old-school vibe that they are clearly going with here, and I feel like the lady who often serves is probably the original owner.
While flavours may have been updated throughout the years, the atmosphere seems to have remained the same. You won't find much of a seating area here, but I doubt that the scoops will last long in your ice cream cone, anyway. So don't worry too much about that, but definitely don't come if you want to spend an hour eating an ice cream and chatting with your friends. Instead, come here for a refreshing ice cream on a hot day. He Mei Ice Cream will undoubtedly have a flavour that you're going to want to try out.
The Flavours at He Mei Ice Cream
Here are some of the most regular flavours that they have on offer for you to try at He Mei Ice Cream:
- Taro
- 芋頭 yù tou
- Red bean
- 紅豆 hóng dòu
- Peanut
- 花生 huā shēng
- Chocolate
- 巧克力 qiǎo kè lì
- Plum
- 李鹹 lǐ xián
- Osmanthus
- 桂圓 guì yuán
- Matcha
- 抹茶 mǒ chá
- Sesame
- 芝麻 zhī ma
- Banana
- 香蕉 xiāng jiāo
- Passion fruit
- 百香果 bǎi xiāng guǒ
- Guava
- 芭樂 bā lè
- Strawberry
- 草莓 cǎo méi
How to Order
Ice cream isn't a difficult thing to order, as you can relatively clearly see the colour and the texture even when it is still in the freezer tub, and you can probably have a pretty accurate guess as to what it is. Some places even have pictures next to it to make it easier for you. But, if they don't, here are a few things that might help you to order:
- 我要一球___ - Wǒ yào yī qiú
- This translates to I would like one scoop of ____. Use the 2 scoop and 3 scoops to sub in from below.
- 兩球 liǎng qiú
- 2 scoops
- 三球 sān qiú
- 3 scoopes
- They will often ask you if you would prefer to have it in a cup or in a cone. They will likely say something like:
- 你要杯子還是餅乾? Nǐ yào bēi zǐ hái shì bǐng gán?
- If you want a cup, then you would reply - 杯子 bēi zǐ
- If you want a cone, then you would reply - 餅乾 bǐng gán
For more about how to order like a pro in Taipei restaurants, you should definitely check out my other post linked below. Walk in with confidence!
3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
What We Ordered
One of my all time favourite ice cream flavours is strawberry. So when you walk up to the counter here at He Mei Ice Cream and you see that their strawberry has those flecks of dark red and seeds throughout it, I cannot help but get it. I like my ice cream to have a bit of texture, and this strawberry definitely has some texture to it.
The second flavour that you can see on the left there is guava. There's something about seeing guava on a menu here that intrigues me. So many times I have ordered strawberry, chocolate, peanut, or taro, and missed out on guava because I thought it was an odd flavour option. But, this time I went for it. Was it worth it?
Strawberry
A classic flavour if there ever was one. It probably only gets pipped to the post by either vanilla or chocolate when it comes to the absolute classics. But, don't discount this strawberry.
This style of ice cream is rich in fruit juices, but tastes completely natural, unlike many other places around Taipei. Fake strawberry is something that I can never get on board with. In fact, fake flavours in ice cream is something that will almost immediately blacklist you from me. This spot doesn't disappoint.
Smooth strawberry flavours work throughout each generous scoop that you are given, and they are flecked with real pieces of strawberry throughout. This added strawberry texture is exactly what I want from my ice cream, especially when it costs a meager $25!
Guava
A wild card. Have you ever had a cone of guava? Me neither. But, do I regret it? No. Will I get it again? Maybe, but probably not. Guava has one of those infinitely fresh green flavours that almost has a milkiness to it. I really like fresh guava, and eat it regularly. But mashed up in this ice cream I found the flavour a little overpowering to the point where I found that it was all I could taste for a significant period afterwards.
It was refreshing, but I don't think that was actually down to the guava flavour, but more so the ice cream itself.
What About Other Flavours?
- The chocolate here is worth a shot. It's not milk or white chocolate, but more so a darker chocolate that doesn't bring as much of a sweetness. It's really good, but don't expect Valrhona or Teuscher - remember that you're only paying $25 per scoop!
- The peanut here is solid. In the picture above, it is a rare sight to see me without peanut in my ice cream. It's a really rich peanut flavour in each scoop, and absolutely worth going for.
- Sesame is a great flavour, often found throughout many desserts in Taiwan. The sesame ice cream here is really good, with a rich and dense sesame flavour throughout.
The bottom line
Is it worth it? If you are in the area, then yes. But if you are travelling the length of Taipei city just to come here, then you may be left a little deflated. You should come here after Le Hua Night Market!
Which is the best flavour? The strawberry is great, the sesame is great, and the peanut is great. I can't decide which is best, so why bother choosing just one? Remember, 3 scoops is only $60!
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