People have opinions about these snacks — which filling, which texture, how sweet is too sweet — and once you start tasting, you will too.
The through-line is restraint. Most of these are meant to sit beside a cup of oolong or black tea, so the sweetness leaves room for the drink. That's the balance I aim for in ours, too.
The ones worth trying
Snowflake crisp (雪花酥) is the one I make: soft milk nougat folded with crackers, dried fruit, and nuts, dusted in milk powder so it's crisp and chewy in the same bite. Our snowflake crisp explainer goes deeper if you're curious.
Pineapple cakes (鳳梨酥) are the classic bring-home gift. Buttery pastry around a pineapple filling — some are bright and fibrous, some use wintermelon for a softer texture. Try a few and pick a side.
Sun cakes (太陽餅) come from Taichung: flaky pastry with a maltose filling that's barely sweet. They fall apart the second you bite in — half the charm, half the mess.
Mochi (麻糬) is the bounce — 很Q, as the shorthand goes.
Nougat crackers (牛軋餅) are snowflake crisp's tidier cousin: two crackers sandwiching milk nougat, sometimes with a savory scallion note.
Dried fruit rounds it out: guava, mango, pineapple, and dried plum.
Where to find Taiwanese snacks in the US
Start with a Chinatown or a good Asian grocery — browse, read labels, check the dates. A Taiwanese bakery is your best bet for pineapple cakes. Ours is the snowflake crisp in the collection: made to order in our Queens kitchen, individually wrapped, not too sweet.
And if a gift is the point, borrow the 伴手禮 idea: something sturdy, individually wrapped, and good at room temperature. That's most of this list.
Last updated August 2026.
