The Best Pineapple Cake in Taiwan (Taipei)

(If you’re in a rush, just scroll down to the graph and find your answer).

Having come to Taiwan, you no doubt have read about the world-famous pineapple cakes and that it is one of the must have foods to try. But as you soon discover, these cakes are EVERYWHERE and trying to pick a pineapple cake is similar to walking down the cereal aisle for the first time… there are just too many choices. As it is with most country-representative foods, the answer to what is the best pineapple cake is vast and really depends on personal preference. The good news is that after five years of earnest cake tasting, I have discovered that there is at least a general consensus which belong at the top of the barrel.

So instead of going through every single pineapple cake that exists in Taipei, the goal was to narrow it down to the top five, then with these, conduct a blind taste test. Without further delay, I present to you the FIVE BEST PINEAPPLE CAKES of Taipei. (in alphabetical order)

Established in 1975, Chia Te has gone on to be one of the most recognized pineapple cakes in Taiwan. In 2006, they won the Taipei Pineapple Cake Festival and were bestowed the “Golden Award Champion”. Since then they have gone on to win additional awards in 2007, 2008, 2010 & 2012. Ask anyone in Taipei for their top three pineapple cake list, and Chia Te will almost always be on that list.

Their pineapple cake is probably the most conservative on this list. Meaning this is the go-to that almost everyone would accept in terms of flavor and texture. They also have the 2nd longest shelf-life on this list at 40days making it a great option take internationally as a gift. Don’t worry, the ingredients don’t list any preservatives, and based on my food science background, it seems they achieve this with an aluminum lined wrapper and using a nitrogen flush. So what you are getting should be all-natural.

During our taste test the overwhelming comment on this cake was that it was “balanced”. And so there you have it, a very balanced pineapple cake to appease the masses. For our group, it placed right smack-dab in the most balanced position, 3rd.

Where can you get it?
Many 7-11s around the city, at it’s main bakery here, or delivered straight to the airport for pick up through klook.

Founded in 1972, HTY probably has the most diverse product line amongst the line up here, spanning jerky, shredded meats, roast food, mullet roe, and of course, pineapple cakes. The packaging of their cakes are the prettiest of the bunch and when opening the wrapper they were also by far the most fragrant. However, after the tasting it became clear that this brand places initial wow-factor ahead of the wholesomeness of what makes a good cake.

The flavors of this cake places it as the sweetest of the group. As such, several testers initially graded this as their favorite. However, by the end of the tasting it became unanimous that HTY was in last place. A small bite of this cake produced a pleasant, sweet flavor with “hints of coconut”. However, anything larger than a half-cake bite, and everyone agreed there was something artificial to the flavor while leaving a plastiky, dry finish.

Claiming to be over a century old, this bakery has a single flagship store in central Taipei. Priding themselves on the traditional pineapple making methods, they have honed those skills to a perfection.

While our testers may not have agreed on 2nd-4th place, they were as unanimous on the best as they were on the worst. And there you have it, LeeChi was our groups’ favorite pineapple cake. Much like Chia Te, Leechi has the same square shape and size. Both have a slightly darker crust, and if it weren’t for the darker Leechi filling, the two may have been visually indistinguishable. However, flavor is flavor and everybody agreed that the crust was more buttery, had a “fresher” taste, and liked the slightly more tart flavor of the filling.

LeeChi can be bought from their main bakery here.

Here it is. That one place on everybody’s food list that just has too be waaayyy out of the way… inconvenient to get to, yet have enough of the locals raving about it that you can’t not try it. Well, try we did. Good it was. But worth it? Well, I’m just going to come out and say for 99% of you… “no”. They only have 2 small locations way out in Banqiao, which is in the SW district of Taipei and the locations of the stores are not close to any MRT exit. That means for the majority of Taipei vacationers, sacrificing an hour of time on the FOMO altar taking the subway out and then taxiing from the nearest station. While these were the most affordable pineapple cakes, when you factor in the additional transportation cost as well as the time wasted in extra travel, they no longer become worth it. That, and of the cakes on this list, Pan’s had by far the most winter melon filler (seen as a method to reduce price&quality).

While overall, our group ended voting Pan’s as 2nd place, remember you’re on vacation! There are better things to be spending a 2hour roundtrip on, for example, awesome day-hikes from Taipei (hiking posts coming soon!).

Pan’s can be bought from their main store here.

Last, but definitely not least, Sunnyhills. Sunnyhills is the new age pineapple cake, different in shape, flavor, and preparation. The pineapples are sourced directly from the family farmers of central Taiwan, the fruit is all cut by hand at the factory, and the chickens (from which the eggs are sourced) listen to classical music! In a world emphasizing out-of-the-box thinking, sustainability, and animal welfare, Sunnyhills has quickly become the go-to pineapple cake of the environment conscious.

In our taste tests, Sunnyhills was described as being “natural, tart, fresh”. Even though it was 4th overall, remember that it is simply a matter of preference. Unlike many of the other cakes, Sunnyhills does not “dilute” their cake with winter melon. If you are someone who enjoys the natural tangy sweetness found in pineapple, this may very well be your favorite.

Sunnyhills can be purchased from their main bakery, some tea houses, as well as some shops set up in convenient malls across Taipei.

Since we wanted to be as unbiased as possible, we wanted to conduct our initial reactions blindly. The cakes were set into a random order and blindly unwrapped while keeping the set order. They were then cut and presented to the group in quarter sections (along with cold-brewed green tea for palette cleansing) so each person could then make honest, gut opinions on what they thought of each cake. A second round of half-sized cakes were provided to give a allow for more flavor accuracy and depth. The results proved to be quite eye-opening:

From the beginning, we thought that one of the more well-known cakes (Chia Te or Sunnyhills) were going to take the crown. In the end, the winning result was unanimous, LeeChi is the best publicly available pineapple cake in Taipei! I have had one better, but unfortunately it is not currently available for sale (personally made by Vanessa’s aunt). With perfectly balanced flavor, and high quality ingredients LeeChi is an easy recommendation to purchase for friends and family back home. That being said however, I would highly recommend some of the others. Chia Te is popular for good reason. The flavors are almost as good as those of LeeChi, it is less expensive, and with a 40day shelf-life, it gives more leeway for timing your gifts. Chia Te is also more widely available, being sold in many of the 7-11s in Taipei, as well as having airport availability. Sunnyhills is also highly recommended. Just because it came 4th should not be a knock against this cake. Remember, which flavor is best is a highly personal matter. For some of our testers, Sunnyhills came in 2nd. I imagine for many visitors to Taiwan, it may even come in 1st. The tartness, fibrous texture may be exactly what some are looking for. Lastly, I would recommend Pan’s & Hsin Tung Yang be skipped. While Pan’s has good flavor and is cheaper than the rest, it’s location away from any other landmarks makes this journey a time-sink. There are simply too many amazing places to see and good things to eat that I cannot in good conscious say Pan’s would be worth your while. And as far as Hsin Tung Yang is concerned, the only advantage it has is beautiful packaging and a long shelf-life. However, unless you are a fan of artificial/chemical aftertaste, this is a big no thanks.

Insider’s tip* even though Taipei has some of the pineapple cakes in Taiwan, it by no means has a monopoly on them. If you get a chance to make your way to Taichung. I highly recommend you try out Miyahara. Miyahara has 2 locations in Taichung and both are worth visiting just for their architecture. Using the remains of an old hospital and bank, the two locations have setup beautiful locations to serve their equally beautiful food. More details to come in a later post, but they do make another fan favorite pineapple cake that holds its own against the best Taipei has to offer. Depending on the time of year, the pineapple cakes can be more tart or sweet, giving evidence to the naturalness of the ingredients used.

Want info on a self-guided food tour that includes getting a free Sunnyhills pineapple cake and cup of tea? Check this out!