Jiu Zhen Nan

In the 1920s, a chef known as Master A-Hsiang took up a job in a small Tainan pastry store. After mastering the craft, he parted ways with his employers and moved to Kaohsiung to open a shop of his own. He called it Zhen Nan Pastry Shop (the “Jiu” part of the name – meaning “old” – didn’t arrive for another couple of decades).

Jiu Zhen Nan has a range of year-round offerings encompassing staples of the Taiwanese pastry scene, such as pineapple cakes, nougat, nut brittles, and mung-bean cakes. But where this company excels is its selection of exquisitely presented treats for special occasions. You can order salted egg yolk mooncakes in the run-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival or iced “crystal” rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival. Jiu Zhen Nan even sells a baked version of the traditional sansheng offerings (pork belly, a whole fish, and a whole chicken) that adorn altars during the Chinese New Year period.

At the company’s Regent Galleria Store in Taipei, customers can have a go at making some of these pastries with their own hands. After all, taking home a box of pineapple cakes is great, but returning home with the ability to make your own pineapple cakes is infinitely better.

JIU ZHEN NAN (REGENT GALLERIA STORE) (

舊振南晶華店 )

(02) 2511-2295

No. 3, Lane 39, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N. Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City (1F of Regent Taipei) ( 台北市中山區中山北路二段 39 巷 3 號 )( 晶華酒店 1F) www.jzn.com.tw www.facebook.com/jiuzhennan