On Magong's Central Old Street, the line for brown sugar cake never lets up from morning to night. Freshly steamed cakes still release wisps of steam, and the caramel aroma of brown sugar mingles with the nutty scent of white sesame filling the entire alley. This soft, dark-brown, sesame-dusted steamed square is Penghu locals' first choice for gifting and personal indulgence — and the souvenir that tourists are sure to pack into their luggage on the way home.
What is Penghu Brown Sugar Cake
Penghu Brown Sugar Cake is a soft steamed cake made by combining brown sugar, flour, eggs, and a small amount of yeast, then steaming the batter. The finished product is deep brown in color, topped with white sesame seeds, and has a texture somewhere between a sponge cake and a fa gao (steamed rising cake). The brown sugar aroma is rich but not cloying; it is soft and moist eaten warm, and turns pleasantly chewy once cooled. Unlike red bean fa gao or egg cakes common on the main island of Taiwan, brown sugar cake has a higher moisture content and a fine, uniform crumb with even air pockets visible in cross-section.
The origins of brown sugar cake can be traced to the Japanese colonial era, when the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) steamed cake known as "agara-sa" was introduced to Penghu. After the war, in 1945, Chen Ke-chang opened "Yuejin Tang" in Magong, adapting the Ryukyuan recipe into a version better suited to Taiwanese tastes, becoming the founding figure of Penghu Brown Sugar Cake. Today, the three representative shops in downtown Magong are Chunren, Maluyi, and Yuanli Xuan, each with a slightly different recipe, but the core formula of brown sugar + sesame + soft steamed cake has not changed. It has become Penghu's most recognizable souvenir.
How to eat it like a local
Local knowledge
Objective notes (sponsor-free)
- Originated from the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) agara-sa steamed cake during the Japanese colonial era; adapted post-war by Chen Ke-chang, who opened "Yuejin Tang" in Magong in 1945.
- The representative shops in downtown Magong — Chunren, Maluyi, and Yuanli Xuan — stand as co-equals, not a single dominant old establishment; each shop's recipe differs slightly.
- Alongside salty biscuits and peanut brittle, it is one of Penghu's Three Major Souvenirs and a flagship confection promoted by the Penghu County Tourism Bureau.
Visitor tips
- Brown sugar cake has a short shelf life (3–5 days at room temperature). Buy it the day before leaving the island — don't purchase it on your first day.
- During the summer Fireworks Festival, crowds surge; old shops on Central Old Street often sell out by afternoon — shop in the morning.
- Some shops offer vacuum-sealed packaging that extends freshness to 1–2 weeks; you must specifically request it, as the standard packaging is a non-vacuum paper box.
Information compiled from the Penghu County Government Tourism Bureau, township farmers' and fishermen's associations, and large volumes of public reviews; sponsored content has been filtered out. Photos will be replaced with the channel's exclusive footage after Dio's on-site shoot.