Taiwan Food Atlas

Keelung Temple Street Wheel Cake (Che Lun Bing)

A round pastry baked in cast-iron molds — the moment the red bean paste hits your tongue is the simplest and most memorable part
📍 Keelung · Renai · Around Temple Street🗂️ Collector's pick · Sweets🔖 Freshly baked red bean cake in cast-iron molds

At a narrow lane near Temple Street, the vendor works at a row of neatly arranged cast-iron round molds — pouring in the batter, filling in the paste, pressing the lid shut, flipping — and a few minutes later, a golden, perfectly round wheel cake comes out. This sweet found at markets across Taiwan appears at Keelung Temple Street in a version built on consistent quality and traditional red bean paste filling. Nothing particularly new, but nothing that needs to be new — that steadiness is reason enough for its place in the Temple Street scene.

What is Wheel Cake

Wheel cake uses a thin batter made from low-gluten flour, poured into two symmetrical half-circle cast-iron molds. A pre-made filling is added, the molds are sealed, and the cake is baked. The classic filling is red bean paste — a smooth, dense purée of cooked adzuki beans with a natural sweetness. Other common fillings include cream custard, taro paste, and peanut. Because the exterior is in direct contact with the cast iron, the bottom develops a thin, crispy, toasted crust while the top stays soft. Eaten immediately after unmolding, the contrast between the crispy outer layer and the warm filling is at its most pronounced. In Taiwanese, it's called tshia-lián-piánn, meaning "wheel cake," a name that comes from its round shape.

Wheel cake originated from the Imagawayaki form introduced during the Japanese colonial period and is widely distributed at markets and night markets across Taiwan — it is not a Keelung-exclusive item. It can be found around Keelung Temple Street as well as in the traditional markets of Nuannuan and Qidu. Within the Temple Street scene, wheel cake serves as a closing sweet — the dessert option after savory snacks. The Council of Agriculture's rice food promotion materials and traditional pastry culture records include wheel cake as a representative traditional market sweet in Taiwan, but there is no Keelung-specific version; it is a nationwide item that has taken root locally in Keelung.

How to eat like a local

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Start with the traditional red bean pasteWheel cake comes in many creative flavors, but for the first one, choose traditional red bean paste: it's the best way to evaluate the stall's fundamentals — the sweetness and smoothness of the paste, and the skin-to-filling ratio.
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Eat within three minutes of leaving the moldWheel cake is best straight from the mold, when the skin is toasty and the filling is still flowing. Once it cools, the skin softens and the filling firms up — a noticeable difference.
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Think of it as a closing sweetAfter finishing savory Temple Street items like shrimp rolls and hei lun, one wheel cake as a sweet finish is the natural rhythm of a Temple Street snack walk.
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Try a few stalls to compare the fillingThe sweetness and smoothness of the red bean paste vary slightly between stalls around Temple Street. If you're particular about it, trying a couple of different vendors is worth it to find your preferred version.

Local knowledge

Objective credentials

  • Taiwan's traditional pastry culture records include wheel cake as a common sweet at Taiwan's markets, with support from food culture research literature.
  • Wheel cake stalls are available around Keelung Temple Street and in the traditional markets of Nuannuan and Qidu, making it accessible throughout Keelung.

Visitor tips

  • Wheel cake stalls near Temple Street are found in the lanes off Ren 3rd Road, not among the main Temple Street stalls themselves — you'll need to wander a bit into the surrounding area to find them.
  • Wheel cake stalls generally operate all day, unlike other Temple Street items that have defined opening hours — afternoon visits work fine too.
  • Wheel cake is an inexpensive sweet, usually sold in minimum units of 3 to 6 pieces. Buy according to how many you want.

Sources: Taiwan traditional pastry culture records; survey of traditional snacks around Keelung Temple Street. Photos pending Dio's on-site shoot for exclusive channel footage.

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