As night falls, the neon lights of Yonghe's Lehua Night Market come on one by one. In the crowd, a long queue forms in front of a small stall bearing the sign "A-Ba's Taro Balls." On the metal tray, transparent shards of sugarcane ice are thin as cicada wings, beside a thick, rich purple taro paste. A ladle drops over the top — the ice dissolves on contact, the taro paste is smooth and mellow — this is the signature dessert singled out by the 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand for Lehua Night Market.
What is sugarcane ice?
Sugarcane ice is a frozen dessert made by pressing fresh sugarcane juice into sheets and shaving them into thin slices. Unlike conventional shaved ice, sugarcane ice shards are extremely thin — close to a snowflake texture — dissolving in the mouth almost without chewing, leaving a delicate, natural sweetness. A-Ba's Taro Balls uses this ice as a base, layered with hand-cooked taro paste, chewy taro balls, and toppings, creating a double-layer contrast of "smooth taro aroma × melt-in-the-mouth sugarcane ice." A full bowl doesn't leave the cloying sweetness of conventional shaved ice; instead it finishes with a gentle, lingering sweetness.
A-Ba's Taro Balls is located inside Yonghe's Lehua Night Market and is one of the desserts officially named among the "8 dishes most loved by inspectors" in the 2025 Michelin Guide New Taipei Bib Gourmand list. The Michelin commentary specifically highlights the richness of the taro paste and the melt-in-the-mouth quality of the sugarcane ice shards. This makes the stall one of the first vendors at Lehua Night Market — a long-established neighborhood market — to receive Michelin recognition, and adds another dimension to the idea that Yonghe offers more than just soy milk and scallion pancakes. Starting from a small stall and queuing to the night market corner, word of mouth is the only publicity it has ever needed.
How to eat it like a local
Local knowledge
Verified credentials (sponsored content filtered out)
- Awarded the 2025 Michelin Guide New Taipei Bib Gourmand, an official recognition for accessible everyday food.
- Selected as one of the "8 dishes most loved by inspectors" in the Michelin Guide, with the commentary specifically noting the taro paste and sugarcane ice texture.
- Lehua Night Market is a long-established tourist night market in Yonghe District, located next to Dingxi MRT Station.
Visitor tips
- Most night market stalls are cash-only — bring enough change.
- Lehua Night Market draws very large crowds in the evening and the walkways are narrow, making it difficult to navigate with strollers or luggage.
- Wait times have increased since the Michelin listing; coming on a weekday means shorter queues.
Information compiled from the Michelin Guide, New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Bureau, and large volumes of public reviews, with sponsored content filtered out. Photos will be replaced with exclusive channel footage after Dio's on-site shoot.