Unwrap a Yilan Bing and you may be surprised at first — it is so thin it is nearly translucent, and it snaps in two at the lightest pinch. The moment it enters your mouth, a fresh milk aroma blooms; it is less sweet than you might expect, and it leaves no stickiness. It is a completely different world from the thick, chewy Lukang ox-tongue cookies most people picture. That distance is exactly the path Yilan Bing has carved out for itself.
What is Yilan Bing?
Yilan Bing is an oval, ox-tongue-shaped thin cookie made from flour, butter, fresh milk, sugar, and other simple ingredients, repeatedly rolled thin and baked until set. Its defining characteristic is its thinness — the standard version measures about 0.1 cm thick. The cookie is crispy and not overly sweet, the kind you can eat one after another without feeling heavy. Beyond the original flavor, it has expanded into many flavors and packaging formats, making it one of the most accessible signature souvenirs from Yilan.
A feature article in the Lanbo e-newsletter documents that Liu Deng-hui, founder of the 'Yilan Bing' brand in Su'ao, developed the 0.1 cm ultra-thin fresh milk ox-tongue cookie and officially launched it under the name 'Yilan Bing' in 2001 — creating a distinct school from the thick Lukang ox-tongue cookie. Several local Yilan bakeries — including Yi Shun Xuan and Lao Yuan Xiang — subsequently introduced their own versions. Rather than a single brand monopoly, Yilan Bing is now a product category with multiple representative brands operating in parallel across the county.
How to eat it like a local
Local knowledge
Verified sources (sponsored content filtered out)
- A Lanbo e-newsletter feature documents that Liu Deng-hui developed the 0.1 cm ultra-thin ox-tongue cookie and launched it under the Yilan Bing name in 2001.
- Yilan Bing and the Lukang thick ox-tongue cookie represent two distinct schools — together they illustrate Taiwan's ox-tongue cookie tradition developing along two separate lines.
- Multiple representative brands (Yilan Bing, Yi Shun Xuan, Lao Yuan Xiang, and others) operate in parallel within the county, making this a product category rather than a single-brand story.
Visitor tips
- Yilan Bing is vulnerable to moisture. Once opened, eat it promptly; it goes soft and loses its crispiness if left out.
- Flavor differences between brands are significant. Tasting in person at local shops beats relying on advertising.
- These thin cookies do not travel well under compression. When on public transport, keep them on top of your bag contents to avoid crushing.
Information compiled from the Yilan County Government's Bureau of Commerce and Tourism, local township farmers' associations, and large-scale public reviews. Sponsored listings have been filtered out. Photos will be replaced with channel-exclusive footage after Dio's on-site shoot.