Butter Pastry and Pineapple Cake have proven to be the most popular among tourists.

Taiwan’s traditional cake art culture has always attracted the attention of tourists from all over the world, and 2019 had been no exception. The year has proven to be a banner one for Taiwanese-made specialty gifts. Yu Jan Shin, a bakery in Dajia, Taichung, Taiwan, a town with a history going back more than half a century and a commitment to creating legendary butter pastries using fresh and natural ingredients, has become a popular specialty gift brand among tourists who visit Taiwan from all over the world. The pastry maker has released the list of the most popular specialty gifts in 2019, with five flagship products – Butter Pastry, Golden Award Pineapple Cake, Pineapple Cake with Egg Yolk, Taro Cake with Mochi and Non-Fried Sachima — having built up a legendary reputation among tourists and becoming the must-eat and must-buy items among the island’s many traditional pastries.

Butter Pastry, Golden Award Pineapple Cake, Pineapple Cake with Egg Yolk, Taro Cake with Mochi and Non-Fried Sachima are the most popular specialty gifts for tourists visiting Taiwan.

Taiwan’s traditional cake art has caught the attention of the island’s tourists. Yu Jan Shin was founded in 1966 and has a deep connection with Mazu culture, a system of beliefs and reverence for the Chinese sea goddess of the same name and one of the most important figures in Taiwanese folklore. The brand originated from a fortune that had been given by Mazu, “One Fortune Poem, Six Sacred Combinations”, the origins of which date back more than half a century.

Yu Jan Shin has created a Butter Pastry legend in Taiwan. The exclusively-created crust is loose, layered and evenly distributed like a honeycomb. Natural cream and languorously simmered maltose soft filling enhance the taste and aroma of the cream, rendering the pastry sweet but not at all greasy. The more you chew, the better it tastes. With the ultimate in craftmanship that has gone into making the cake by hand, Butter Pastry took first place on the list of Yu Jan Shin’s most popular specialty gifts among tour-ists in 2019. For Taiwanese locals, a bite of a Yu Jan Shin Butter Pastry is sure to stir up nostalgic memories, while, in recent years, the delicacy has become a must-eat, must-buy specialty gift among international tourists visiting Taiwan. In addition to plain Butter Pastry, Yu Jan Shin has created some new, novel flavors, including milk, black sesame, green tea and earl grey tea, all of which have been well received. In order to meet the particular requirements of tourists, the pastry maker also launched Butter Pastry (Small) and Butter Pastry (Mini), two convenient, easy-to-transport portion sizes.

In addition to the best-selling Butter Pastry, four sumptuous creations – Golden Award Pineapple Cake, Pineapple Cake with Egg Yolk, Taro Cake with Mochi and Non-Fried Sachima – are also among the top five on the list. Pineapple Cake, a traditional Taiwanese dessert, Yu Jan Shin incorporates Taiwanese-grown fresh premium pineapples which have been boiled for a long time to temper the pulp and pectin which then become the filling. A finely-tuned balance between a sweet and sour taste, in concert with the aroma of the natural cream and the melt-in-the crunchy-tasting crust, come together to create the impressive Golden Award Pineapple Cake. Pineapple Cake with Egg Yolk is also one of the most popular snacks. Salty and plump egg yolk and slightly sour pineapple filling give this delicacy its fragrance and crispiness, without any of the greasiness. For visitors to Taiwan, which is famous for its taro, Yu Jan Shin’s Taro Cake with two fillings should not be missed. The crust is comprised of a dozen layers that wrap fragrant and smooth taro puree and bountiful mochi made of fine rice, highlighting the rich aroma and refined texture of the puree. Different from the Fried Sachima commonly found in the market, Yu Jan Shin’s Sachima is baked with 70% less oil and has a soft, non-greasy taste. The thick egg aroma paired with a variety of healthy dried fruit and nuts makes this classic Taiwanese snack one of the must-buy treats for tourists visiting the region.

Yu Jan Shin has been dedicated to making desserts with selected ingredients for half a century, delivering a diversified lineup of specialty gifts combining tradition and innovation.

“In the past 50 years since its establishment, Yu Jan Shin has always adhered to the spirit of ‘integrity, responsibility and joy’, insisting on making desserts by hand with natural, high-quality, fresh materials locally sourced in Taiwan, no matter the higher cost, to reassure consumers,” said Chen Yu Hsien, Chairman of Yu Jan Shin. “Over recent years, Yu Jan Shin has been creating desserts that give full play to a wide array of tastes through continuous innovation, sparing no effort to ensure the quality of the materials.” The bakers at Yu Jan Shin have now ac-cumulated three generations of experience, not only letting them maintain a traditional recipe that has stood the test of time, but also maintaining the superb skills needed to create Taiwan’s cream pastry cake that has become a legend, as well as a memory that is often shared among the island’s locals. After three generations of inheritance, Yu Jan Shin has not only made its traditional pastries keep pace with the times, but also created a legend in Butter Pastry production with their exquisite craftsmanship, assuring the Butter Pastry’s place among Taiwan’s iconic traditions.

In addition to the classic and best-selling Butter Pastry, Golden Award Pineapple Cake, Pineapple Cake with Egg Yolk, Taro Cake with Mochi and Non-Fried Sachima, Yu Jan Shin also produces many other traditional Chinese desserts such as Yolk Cake, Mung Bean and Black Sesame Pastry, Mung Bean and Meat Pastry, Momoyama Custard Mooncake, Nougat and Chinese Date & Walnut Candy. This diverse set of specialties are popular among tourists visiting Taiwan.

Yu Jan Shin owns and operates 14 shops across Taiwan, with the flagship store in Dajia, Taichung, near Jenn Lann Temple. A must for tourists visiting Taichung is a tour of the more than 200-year-old Mazu temple, where they can experience Taiwan’s traditional religious culture and tasty Butter Pastry. The shop in the Raohe night market, one of the busiest night markets in Taipei, and the one at Taipei 101, are the retail establishments in Taiwan most visited by foreign tourists. The next time you travel to Taiwan, don’t forget to buy a box of specialty gifts filled with memorable Tai-wanese flavor for your family and friends at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport when you leave Taiwan! AFJ