It is hard to find a decent smoothie in Taipei. Whenever I have a craving, I go to Taste Buds Fruithies (天使果沙, tastebuds.pixnet.net/blog) in the East District (東區). Taste Buds has a selection made with juices, sugarless yogurt, low-fat milk or sparkling water. The versions I’ve had (including Jamaican Passion, Strawberry Surfer and Mango Bubbles) taste like the real deal and not the sugary, syrupy renditions found at most tea and juice stands.
Taste Buds Fruithies’ beverages come in three sizes (400ml, 500ml and 700ml), with prices ranging between NT$70 and NT$125. The shop only has a small seating area for customers so it is better to make orders to go.
Address: 135-1 Yanji St, Taipei City (台北市延吉街135-1號). Tel: (02) 8772-7941. Open daily from 11am (midday on Saturdays and Sundays) to 10:30pm.
A mobile cart that parks outside Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall MRT Station (國父紀念館捷運站) exit No. 2 vends homemade yogurt from Granny Sara (莎拉奶奶, www.grannysara.com.tw). Originating in Taichung, Granny offers yogurt (NT$45 for 180ml and NT$168 for 999ml) and small bottles of yogurt drinks (plain, brown sugar, carrot and mulberry flavors) for NT$40 each. Homemade jam, which comes in several flavors including mango, carrot, pineapple, grape, strawberry, mulberry and kiwifruit, can be added to the yogurt.
Judging from experience, the cart doesn’t keep fixed business hours, but is usually open from midday to 7pm Tuesdays to Sundays. Granny Sara has another location inside Banqiao Train Station (板橋火車站), B1, 7, Xianmin Blvd Sec 2, Banciao City, Taipei County (台北縣板橋市縣民大道二段7號B1).
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