Hearing that there was a specialty shop for Taiwanese “grass jelly,” a famous Taiwanese sweet, I visited the store in Ueno-Okachimachi.
The main shop is in Tainan — this is a full-scale Japanese launch of the local Taiwanese business.
Takeout can be ordered right from the street. Indoor seating is also available, so you can choose whichever suits you.
Since it was my first visit, I asked the staff about the popular items among the “owner’s recommended combinations.”
I was told “No.1” and “No.3” are the most popular, so I decided to order the “No.1.”
I took the order to go and ate it indoors. From paying 650 yen to receiving the item took about 1–2 minutes. They plated it up efficiently and handed it over.
Now for the taste test! …It felt more filling than it looked.
The photo below is right after opening the lid.
The white shiny beads on the right are “tapioca,” the small mochi at the bottom are “yuyuan (taro balls),” and the black paste-like item at the upper left is “purple rice (chewy black rice blended with Taiwanese rice wine)” — three toppings in all.
Scooping deeper with the spoon reveals the “grass jelly,” which looks like coffee jelly.
There’s a hint of herbal aroma along with a refreshing coffee-jelly quality. It’s not particularly sweet — light and clean overall. The smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture makes it slide down easily.
The order came with two coffee creamers, so I added them mid-way as if it were coffee jelly! That works too, it turns out. It becomes creamier and adds a milky note to the otherwise plain flavor.
Personally, I thought toppings with a bit more sweetness might have been nice.
Business hours are conveniently long, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. It might be a good stop when visiting a museum in Ueno Park, though be warned — the Ueno-Okachimachi Ameyoko area has a very different atmosphere from the museums, so pace yourself accordingly.
Taiwanese Grass Jelly Specialty Shop Heigonghao （Sweets (Other) / Ueno-Okachimachi Station, Ueno-Hirokoji Station, Okachimachi Station）
Overall dinner rating★★★☆☆ 3.3
