佳德鳳梨酥 Chia Te Bakery

Review Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Highly Recommended)

Address: No. 88號, Section 5, Nanjing E Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/95RxsgTCS6BjNnb3A
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)

🍍 原味鳳梨酥 Pineapple Pastry = TWD36 Each
🥚 鳳梨酥 Pineapple & Egg Yolk Pastry = TWD40 Each

🍒 蔓越莓鳳梨酥 Cranberry Pineapple Pastry = TWD40 Each

🍑 梅鳳酥 Plum Pineapple Pastry = TWD40 Each

No Service Charges

When we talk about Taiwanese Pastries, the 1st thing that will pop into People's Minds are certainly the Classic Iconic Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes 鳳梨酥. 🍍 Its a Cube Shaped Pastry covering a Large Amount of Pineapple Jam within that Most Singaporeans would have seen or eaten before. 😋 There are Many Bakeries in Taiwan that sells this Iconic Pastry and Chia Te is perhaps one of the Most Famous Ones among them. 👍

Established 50 Years ago in 1975 in Taipei, 🇹🇼 while their Products are available for sale in Convenience Stores and other Locations. They are Very Unique in that they have No Other Official Branches other than their Only Main Bakery Shop in Songshan Taipei. 只此一家, 别无分店. 🤔

The Massive Queue Outside of the Bakery

Food Blogs weren't kidding when they say there is always a Constant Queue here at their Main Bakery. 😳 Even at 3.56pm on a Friday Weekday, there are Over 20 People in the Queue as you can see in the Photo and Video I've taken. 📷🎥



That said, the Queue does Move Regularly and isn't like those Stuck Long Long Doesn't Move Type. 👍 Because this is a Takeaway Only, 🛍️ there is No Dining In, and they let in 5-6 People at a Time from the Queue. The Queue is actually more to Prevent Extreme Overcrowding in the Main Store actually so thats the Reason why it moves fast. 👍

It took me roughly 14 Mins to reach 50% of the Way in the Queue. It was a Total of 20 Mins of Queue Time before I eventually entered the Bakery itself. 🤔 Now I'm someone who absolutely hates to Queue, and this is still a Long Queue, but it still felt Bearable mostly because of the Very Cooling 17C Weather actually. ❄️

Of course I did People Watching while in the Queue. Most are Tourists with some Fellow Singaporeans among them 🇸🇬 (Hahaha our Singapore Accent is Unmistakeable), 😅 and even some Locals too. I'm surprised to see People of all Ages, whether as Young as Gen-Z Types or Older Seniors. 👧🧓 Some People were like doing Christmas Shopping like that, 🎄😅 buying 大包小包 with some even 夸张 until Carrying over 10 Stacks of Boxes on Each Hand! 🛍️😳

While you're in the Queue, a Staff will pass you a Piece of Paper Price List Menu. 📃 You can take a look at how this looks like in the Below Photo. 📷 To see what the Pastries actually look like, the QR Code on the Paper directs you to their Website at: https://www.chiate88.com.tw/

This Paper Price List seems to suggests that you can only buy Pre-Packaged Boxes of Minimum of 6-8 Pieces Per Flavour but this is Incorrect. 🤔 I Love it that once you enter the Bakery, they do have options for you to only buy 散散 Ala-Carte 1 Piece of Each Flavour if you want,  especially if you are a Solo Traveller like what I did. 👍

Interior inside of the Bakery

Once you're issued inside of the Main Bakery, you are free to explore as much as you wish. ♥️ As you can see in the Photos and Video I've taken, it is really just a Regular Confectionary Bakery with Stacks of their Delicious Pastries piled up neatly on the Various Racks. 😋

You are Free to take Photos 📷 or Videos 🎥 if you want. All the Staffs within maintain a Professional Courteous, Friendly and Polite Poise and Behaviour 😄 even when they're obviously busy running about doing their Work. There are alot of Customers within as you can see. 👍

The 散散 Ala-Carte have their Own Section and you can ask any Friendly Staff where they are. 😄 Not All their Pastries have Ala-Carte Option like this, Only their Most Popular Pineapple Cake Flavours. 🍍😋 Very Simple System, just take whatever you want from the Racks and go up to any of the 5 Cashier Counter Sections to pay for them. 💵

Here's a Photo Collection of all the Available Pastries together with Prices Listed:

I bought 1 of each of their Available Most Popular Pineapple Cake Flavours. 🍍😋 

When I opened the Package, Immediately can smell a Delicious Baked Pineapple Pastry Aroma wafting out. 😋

All are the Standard Cube Sized. Other than the Cranberry Version 🍒 which had a Noticeable Different Outer Exterior that looked like Encrusted Sugar Specks, the Other 3 Flavours have the Exact Same Outer Look.

Without Further Ado, lets Review how each one of them Tastes like! 😋

🍍 原味鳳梨酥 Pineapple Pastry = TWD36 Each

If you've eaten Taiwanese Pineapple Pastries before, you will already know how this Tastes. 😋 Beautifully Made, Bite Texture of the Crust is Slightly Firmish but also Crumbly and yields to your Bite Easily. 😋 The Baked Aftertaste is Sweet. The Soft Pineapple Jam is Light Coloured and Sticky in Texture. 🍍

Interestingly, you don't taste the Pineapple initially, 🤔 and the Pineapple Taste only hits as an Aftertaste. 🍍 Sweet but Not Overly Sweet. I actually found the Pastry Skin to taste Sweeter than the Filling. Delicious. 😋

🥚 鳳梨酥 Pineapple & Egg Yolk Pastry = TWD40 Each

Uses the Exact Same Pastry Skin as their Original Pineapple Pastry and even the Same Sweet Pineapple Jam Filling, 🍍 but this time there is a Small Piece of Salted Egg Yolk in the Middle. 🥚 Not a Whole Yolk, just a Smaller Piece. This Adorably made it look just like a Baby Mooncake. 😅

Although only a Smaller Piece of Yolk, its Presence is Significant. 🤔 Both Pineapple Jam 🍍 and Egg Yolk 🥚 never Clashed and you can Distinctly Taste them Both Separately, and yet they also Taste Nice Together giving both a Sweet and Savoury taste. 😋 Really like Eating a Mooncake with a Sweet Jam Filling. If you like Salted Egg Yolk, you will most likely enjoy this one too. 👍

🍒 蔓越莓鳳梨酥 Cranberry Pineapple Pastry = TWD40 Each

This is the Only One with a Unique Sugar Speck Outer Skin Look, 🤔 but the Pastry Skin and Pineapple Jam within are the Same. 👍 Despite the Sugar Specks on the Outer Skin, I don't really taste them. 🤔 Pastry Skin tastes the Same as their Original. This Time though, the Middle is filled with Actual Chunks of Real Cranberry Fruit. 🍒

In addition to the Sweet Pineapple Jam, this Cranberry Fruit Pieces injects a Sudden Quick Cranberry Sweetish Sourness 😋 but it quickly disappears. As you continue to Munch on this, you get a Bite of Fruitiness due to the Cranberry Fruit Flesh. 🍒 Together with the Pineapple Jam and Sweet Pastry Skin, this was another Delicious Choice. 👍

🍑 梅鳳酥 Plum Pineapple Pastry = TWD40 Each

Again, Same Pastry Skin and Pineapple Jam Filling. 👍 Compared to the Cranberry and Egg Yolk versions which had slightly lesser Pineapple Jam filling, this one had alot more. 😋 In the Middle is what looks like a Piece of Small Preserved Plum 酸梅. 🍑

As Unique as this one was, I don't really taste the Preserved Plum actually. 🤔 I felt it was lost within the Taste of the Pineapple Jam 🍍 which dominated too much of the Taste Profile. This one just tasted like a Similar Version of their Original Version with Extra Steps. 😅 Still Good Tasting, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel there is much of a Taste Difference to ask for an Extra TWD4 for it. 😅 Skip this one.

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Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

At an Average Price of TWD40 (S$1.70) for each Pastry, they aren't Particularly Cheap 🤔 especially when compared to a Similar 旺来酥 Pineapple Cake sold in JB City Square 明安 Ming Ang Confectionery at RM2.20 (S$0.70).

If you really have a Craving for Pineapple Cakes, you don't really have to specifically fly to Taiwan just to eat this. 🇹🇼 And even if you're in Taiwan, there are Many other Pastry Shops in Taiwan that sells Pineapple Cakes so you don't really have to specifically come here. 😅

Having said that, buying Authentic Actual Made in Taiwan, 🇹🇼 Fresh Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes 🍍 from the Famous Chia Te Bakery right here in the Heart of Taipei sure is an Amazing Feeling too! ♥️  Hahaha if you already like Pineapple Cakes, you will already have set your mind to buy these here whether I recommend it or not. 😅

Among the 4 I've tried, I feel the Salted Egg one 🥚 was the Most Unique and Worth the Price because it was the One that actually added a Distinct Savouriness 😋 while the Rest of the Flavours just Focused Mostly on Sweetness. 🤔 Eating this Salted Egg One really had a Mooncake Feel. I'm not surprised if this is a Hot Seller during their Autumn Mooncake Festival tbh. 😅

What I really liked was the Very Efficient and Fast Moving Queue. 👍 Even when queuing for 20 Mins, I never once felt Frustrated at all. 😄 A Combination of the Fact that the Line was constantly Moving, the Cooling 17C Weather ❄️ and all keeping the Queue below 30 Mins were probably the Main Positive Factors.

The Staffs were Professional, Friendly, Polite and Welcoming. 👍 No One Stopped me from Taking Videos or Camera and Everyone of them were so Helpful 😄 and the fact I am not forced to buy an Entire Box but can choose to buy only 1 Piece Ala-Carte as a Solo Traveller was just Amazing, 👍 and especially so for such a Famous Store like this. Not many Confectionary Bakery will even bother to have an option to allow Customers to just buy only 1. 👍

Despite the Noticeable Higher Prices for their Pineapple Cakes compared to others, Everything here just gave me a Nice Feeling. ♥️ From the Decent Tasting Cakes, 😋 the Customer Service, 😄 the Smooth Queue that never made me Frustrated and being allowed to just buy 1 Pastry Ala-Carte which other Bakeries will usually never allow. 👍

Its not just the Taste of the Pineapple Cakes. 🍍😋 Everything that could go wrong NEVER went wrong. 😅 It all just worked together to give me a Very Good First Customer Experience that I won't mind coming back if I'm ever back in Taipei to queue for this even though I'm someone who actually hates to Queue. 😅 For this, I'm going to have to give this my Highest Top Score for their Achievement. Excellent! ⭐

If you are here in Taipei and like Pineapple Cakes, 🍍😋 don't miss out this World Famous Bakery!