Ice Monster

This place is a great shaved ice cafe! Ottis famous and super delicious!!!! You can eat shaved ice which has shaved one from fruits ice with syrup, ice cream, the fruits block itself and jelly. It’s so delicious!!! Especially I ordered mango shaved ice! Super delicious!!! The mango block was rich and sweet. You pure the sauce on the ice. Looks amazing!!! I’m sure you will be full with it!!! But don’t hurry to eat. The ice may give you headache. So enjoy your ice slowly! Most of tourist who want to enjoy Taiwan foods come here! Must come cafe in Taipei!!!

This is the 2nd location I tried and it is very convenient if you are in 信義 area. The dessert place is always back and relatively smaller than the other shop a few block west of here. The quality is just as good and the view is a little nicer overlooking the street performance outside. The coffee shave ice is perfect with some hot monster option now during the winter season. Highly recommended for travellers and locals.

Simply great delicious shaved ice. We ordered the mango and it tasted simply amazing. It was not too sweet, the shaved ice was soft and fluffy like cotton, and the mangos tasted fresh and sweet. There are many choices to choose from. I'm hoping to try other flavors before I leave.

I am not sure how the 5-star reviews are being posted or what criteria are being looked at. Yes, it's a nice location and something different with many options to choose from. However, you will be eating something that is very sweet. Keep in mind the 1hour time limit per table. The portions are large so time may not be on your side. It's a great place to sit with a friend or group but with a time limit.

Really tasty Asian style ice creams similar to shaved ice. It's more restaurant style...they seat you, bring you a menu, take your order, and bring you your ice cream. Really great friendly service and deliciously tasty as well! Would definitely come back.

Dessert shop famous for mango shredded ice/ ice cream. Try the very local Taiwanese mango here! Really sweet, fruity and I like the silky taste of mango a lot! If you’d like to eat in, minimum NT100 per person is required.

Great shaved ice! Very very smooth ice. Love the mango and the jasmine/tea/lime combination. Staff are friendly and welcoming. Price are a little bit high but portion is huge.

My all time favorite snow ice is here: black sesame and almond!! Super fragrant with sweet almond scent and the black sesame is rich and nutty ♡ the broad beans are a perfect pairing and the sesame ice cream is creamy and a little gritty from the ground sesame inside 😋 I want to try their kiwi lychee one and beer pop rocks one next time!! ♡♡

It is New Year's Eve and my kids had a craving for some shaved ice in Taipei. We looked no further than this wildly popular spot, Ice Monster. This is not the original location so maybe this store is less crowded. It is conveniently located near Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store and within walking distance of the W hotel where we were staying. My kids shared a shaved snow item called the Unicorn, which included a small cup of boba on the side. The ice is so interesting in that the texture is as fine as baby powder, yet it doesn't melt as quickly as you would expect. The kids went nuts and inhaled their bowl in no time. My wife ordered an item consisting of sesame mochi in hot ginger soup. This special item was befitting the occasion of a New Years Eve celebration. She and I really enjoyed this treat and found the mochi balls to be light and not overly sweetened. The ginger soup was delicious and had a nice spicy kick as you would expect. Service here is great and they quickly accommodated us with warm water and the waitress was nice enough to find a bin for my backpack so I can sit more comfortably. We'll be sure to make a pit stop here again when we return to Taiwan.

Taiwanese shaved ice sure has come far since my childhood. When I was a kid, it was just roughly shaved from large ice blocks in the market and sold in plastic bags to go with traditional Taiwanese toppings. Now, it's in fancy malls in the priciest parts of Taipei with flavors that I could've never imagined. Located in the Breeze Xinyi mall, this Ice Monster was incredibly popular with locals and tourists and there was a small line after dinner even in the winter to grab a table. The space is modern and clean but a bit tight. Large parties will find it hard to get seating together but tables do turn over pretty quickly. Good shaved ice is hard to find in NYC so we made the most of it by getting 3 orders of their most popular flavors: mango (sweet and tart), matcha (chock full of tea flavor) and bubble tea with boba (tasted exactly like the drink). Flavors here are really good and prices are ok (probably a bit high by local standards for shaved ice but decent by US standards). Other Yelpers are right, portions are pretty big and should be shared. Most definitely worth a try.

Ice Monster is a great dessert spot that has made it internationally. I've been looking forward to getting a mango shaved ice or milk tea shaved ice since I came back to Taiwan. This location is right inside Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, so it's not huge. However, the turnaround for people enjoying their desserts then leaving is pretty quick, so after we ordered our shaved ices, we only waited very briefly before we were seated. Since mango was not in season, they did not serve the mango dessert. They offered mango ice cream but only had alternate fruits to choose from on top of the dessert. We ordered the bubble milk tea sensation (milk tea shaved ice) and the mung bean, grass jelly and glutinous avalanche. Both desserts were a bit pricey, but they were large enough to be a meal - so I wasn't complaining. The bubble milk tea sensation was awesome! Pouring the warm boba over the shaved milk tea ice was fun, and it was definitely a novel but much slower way of ingesting bubble milk tea. I enjoyed the mung bean, grass jelly and glutinous avalanche, as well, although it wasn't as sweet as the bubble milk tea sensation. I loved the gelatinous feel in my mouth, although it was definitely weird. This dessert is more traditional versus the other shaved ice options, so definitely try it out if you're in Taiwan! Overall, I enjoyed my afternoon snack at Ice Monster. I felt a little stressed when I saw people outside waiting in line for a seat, but tried not to let it affect me from savoring my dessert. Try the bubble milk tea sensation!

I dream of a day when shaved snow is as ubiquitous in the USA as frozen yogurt. Ice Monster, founded in Taipei in 1997, made a believer out of me with one bite of their strawberry sensation. This dazzling dessert starts with a mountain of strawberry flavored snow which is surrounded by fresh strawberries and panna cotta. It is a gorgeous combination and one I wish I could access on the regular here at home. Ice Monster, come to California already!

Omg delicious taiwanese shaved ice that we were looking for for dayssss apparently this is the OG! Was totally worth waiting for during our trip to taipei, staff is nice and fairly quick, cute little place to hang out, we were able to sit there for at least an hour. We ordered the coffee shaved ice with oreo or cookies and cream ice cream, grass jelly and pudding or tofufa i believe? We asked for condensed milk nonextra charge. I don't really like coffee flavor anything but it was good, my boyfriend and friend enjoyed it since they like the taste of coffee. I wanted a fruity flavor so we hadddd to try the mango shaved ice! Sadly mango is not in season right now so we changed our fruit to pineapple and it also came with tofufa. Good combo we kept it tropical. I lovedddd this one it wasn't too cold and had a wonderful mango flavor too it didn't taste too artificial. It was pretty big considering and i didn't think the 3 of us would finish but we did. It is about $8 usd which is pricy i guess for taiwan but worth trying for sure! Adorable date spot or to go with friends :)

Lived up to my expectations. I ordered the Mango Sensation, it was gigantic for 1 person. It's $8 USD. Delicious fresh mangos also added more on the side. For visiting travelers from other countries, you can find this particular branch inside the mall, look for the NBA Storefront, enter through there and ice Monster is right next to it. If you're coming here I recommend going with a friend to share it with.

I'm not sure if it was a great idea, but my friend decided to take me here despite it being the middle of winter. The place got really crowded after we sat down and ordered, so there would probably be a pretty long wait during the summertime. We sat next to the door that led outside, which made the experience more exhilarating, not really. It was a windy cold and rainy day which made the experience so much better. I'm not sure if I'm trying to be sarcastic or if its the truth. The mango ice is supposedly really good and sweet; and I will not pass it up next time I come here, when its hopefully not as freezing cold. But, we had the boba milk tea snow ice, which is really fun eat. You get to the pour the boba in yourself and there is a blob of this white milky coffee creamer tasting pudding on the side. Its not overly sweet and the boba is nice and chewy. It think its just fun to consume boba milk tea in a different form. And, its good boba milk tea, so why not?

Royal milk tea shaved ice with boba! That's all you need to know and get here! One of my friends had recommended this place to me cause she got the milk tea shaved ice and loved it! She knew that I have an absolute obsession with boba drinks and sent me here to try it out. The spot is in a mall, it's kind of a spacious area and you order before you sit down. There were so many delicious options and with it just being my bf and I we couldn't order our own cause we just ate lunch. The portion is definitely on the larger side and should definitely be shared! The shaved ice had an incredibly smooth and strong milk tea flavor drizzled with some condensed milk on top along with some warm honey boba. This dessert was so tasty! I loved every bite of it! This is not your typical shaved ice, it's comes from a block of milk tea ice and is shaved down so you get flavor throughout. Not like Hawaii shave ice where they drench the ice with flavor and some spots might get missed. There is flavor in every bite! I love ice monster and wished they were in SF so I can get it anytime! Total: $6

The softest shaved ice I've ever had! I asked the staff for recommendation and she recommended me sesame & almond. I'm not a fan of sesame flavored dessert and this totally blew my mind. You can definitely taste sesame in there but it blends with a hint of almond really well. It's sweet and light, and the jelly and red beans goes surprisngly well with the shaved ice. 10/10! The other one I got was matcha shaved ice, and it was little dissapointing. First, the size was really small compared to sesame shaved ice. Matcha was strong but it was TOO strong. I like matcha but I wouldn't get it next time. It came with tapioca bubbles and I was excited to try but it turned out that it doesn't really go well with shaved ice. A scoop of sesame ice cream came with both shaved ice. It was VERY strong and I didn't love it but I couldn't really finish it. Goes better with the sesame shaved ice.

We got the Mango sensation to share between 2 people. Unfortunately they were out of fresh mangoes and strawberries so we subbed pineapples instead. The shaved ice was super soft and the fruit was yummy. Kind of pricey at NT$250 but delicious and not something I can get back home. The cafe was only half full when we arrived around 5 pm. I was going to give 5 stars until I realized how many awesome (and cheaper) shaved ice stores there are in Taipei!

Hands down that this is one of the best snow ice I have had (both in the US and in Taipei so far). Ice Monster has several locations and for this particular one, it's in the mall. When you enter, make sure to go place your order and pay at the cash register. After doing so, just wait until you get seated and your order will be brought out to you. Do note that there is a time limit for the seating, so don't forget to take pictures and savor your delicious dessert. For those who aren't familiar with snow ice, it's similar to shaved ice in where you get a variety of toppings on your base ice item. However, instead of the standard ice cubes or minced ice, eating snow ice is like eating something fluffy and light on your tongue that melts instantly. Combined that with a flavor of your choice and it = absolute refreshing taste of eating......(flavored) snow + fresh fruit toppings and such. Prices here are fair and the portions are large enough to share with a couple of people. Having tried a variety of flavors, I can confidently say that you really can't go wrong with any of them. If it's mango season, I highly recommend trying the mango flavor snow since it's like mangos on mangos and so yummy. As for other non-snow items, there are a variety of different options in case you want to try something new. Those tend to be on the smaller size where the portions are geared towards one person. Tip: If time limit bothers you for the seating, I highly recommend trying out other places where Ice Monster is its own store (no seating limit) vs a store within a mall.

With the heat and humidity, Ice Monster was a welcome respite! Clean and blasting ice with some delicious shaved ice, yes please! We tried a couple of flavors and thought the shaved ice snow here was much more fluffy than Smoothie House but overall flavor combos are better at Smoothie House. Great spot and worth a visit!

Pretty good, but a little expensive in my opinion. Should have probably shared, instead of getting one all to myself but yolo because I'm totally not a fatty. Strawberry ice was pretty good, and they gave me condensed milk on the side to add, but I didn't need it or else everything would have just been too sweet. Friends got the mango, which was good, but they ran out of mangoes that day :( Would go again, but can do without as there are plenty of other options especially in Taipei

I love getting Snow or shaved Ice here in LA, but I have to say that getting it from one of the original creators of the desert is just outstanding. I got the boba flavor and it was divine. I know that they are more popular for their fruit flavors, specifically mango (the og flavor) but the boba flavor was too hard to give up since it came with little bobas. The fruit flavors come with the shaved ice topped with fruit, juice, and syrup. The other flavors were the ice infused flavors that are more shredded rather than shaved. Either way, both are highly recommended and if you are in Taipei you have to stop by at least one of the locations.

the flavour was great. i asked for green tea flavoured ice monster. not too sweet. flavour did not get diluted by the water / melted ice. it is definitely highly recommended place to go. i haven't tasted anything like this with such quality. menu also has seasonal items and limited offer item. they look absolutely intriguing. the only one complain is the portion was too big for 1 person. so better bring a friend to share.

I saw this place during my first week in Taiwan and wanted to desperately try it, but the weather was so cold! Fast forward 5 weeks, when it was hot and sunny, I got the chance and it definitely didn't disappoint! We ordered the Black Sesame & Almond Shaved Snow, and damn, it was probably one of the best shaved snows I've ever eaten. It came with red beans, almond jelly, and a scoop of black sesame ice cream. The shaved snow was almond and black sesame flavored - super authentic tasting and not too sweet! It also came with a complimentary chocolate shaved snow with strawberries, which I wasn't really quite a fan of, but it was free! Come here for a great shaved snow experience, but it is on the pricier side for shaved snow.

Big fan of ice monster but this branch is terrible. Don't believe them when they say they'll find a seat for you after you order. Walked in and saw three open tables. Lady told us they'd arrange tables for our larger party. Ordered and they had no tables left because others took them while we waited in line. Then the manager comes over and says the other people got there first. His name tag said "Vodka." Maybe that was what he was drunk on when he gave me that answer and attitude. They were also out of strawberry flavor by early afternoon. Enjoy the shaved ice, but go to a different branch.

If you tried the Hawaiian version, or the crappy ones back home, you will be absolutely floored by Taiwan's---ice isn't even the right word, more like fluff haha. Velvety texture, and even if you're not a fan, it's something to at least experience. Server was nice enough to point out that it wasn't mango season, so with my big itch, tried the strawberry, which was a bit sour to say the least. That's why a cup of condensed milk was provided, but with my sheer will power, just used a slight jab of it ;) Meant to return next day to try the coffee, having the coffee addiction as it is but as usual, just not enough time to shop and eat. Worth every buck.

The best shaved Ice I've ever had! The line can look long, but it goes by pretty fast. I got the Mango sensation and it was amazing! There are two different mango selections on the menu, make sure you get the one with the mango flavored ice or else you'll get unflavored ice with just mango syrup drizzled on top. Most shaved ice places use unflavored ice, but this place uses flavored ice! Portion size is massive. You would be okay sharing one with your date and a third wheeler. You have to eat kind of fast because they are trying to clear tables for the next set of people waiting in line. I wish I had enough time to go back to try their other flavors!

Good ... arrived 10 minutes until close. Kinda of pricey for shaved ice but clean and upscale. My son and I liked the almond tofu with sesame the best.

Asian shaved ice is definitely better than the ones we have in the states. The consistency of the shaved ice is on par with Korean shaved ice. We tried the mango sensation and the nut & black sesame shaved ice. The mango sensation was essentially mango shaved ice with mango cream, and mango ice cream. It was really good and definitely worth trying. We originally wanted a different shaved ice for the second one (the red bean one) but apparently it was only available during certain months. We ordered the black sesame one instead and it definitely wasn't for me but it wasn't terrible. The nut flavor was definitely strong but the black sesame flavor was too much for me.

Third time visiting Ice Monster on this trip but visited the location at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi. This was a much better location and allows you to wait inside (outside of the heat) if there is a line up. It felt more comfortable sitting in the location as well. We had the Fresh Mango Sensation x2 and the Winter Melon Lime Tea Sensation. It did not disappoint. The mango was truly sweet and the ice was refreshing on a hot day. The Winter Melon Lime Tea was very refreshing as well and was less sweet. Definitely a must try.

I was excited to try this place when I heard about their portions and flavors. The place does a pay before you dine method and a hour time restriction which seems to be efficient accommodation since they have limited seating and tons of customers. The portion of my order was huge! OMG I could not finish it all. The shaved ice melted in my mouth while the tofu provided a soft and delicious texture. If you're a mango lover then the mango shaved ice is the perfect dose of sweetness for a days worth.

Great portions to share with a friend. They had lots of choices and staff was friendly but not too invasive. There's a limited amount of seating but the day I went was pretty empty. It was a little hard to find at first but that's because I can't read Chinese. It's in a mall, but the location had a bunch of different malls in one vicinity so it can get overwhelming. They do have more than one location though.

This is an up market ice place with a minimum spend of NT200. Good thing the mango ice is NT220 so meeting the minimum spend is not a problem. While the price is a bit dearier compared to other ice places, the quality is noticeably better. I would highly recommend the mango ice, especially during mango season. The ice is snow ice which is my favourite kind of ice as it's so fine and just melts in your mouth. The bowl is pretty big so you'd probably want to share it with someone although there was a girl next to us that was sitting by herself and finished a whole one while we struggled to get down the last bites of ours. The Xinyi branch is inside the department store which is already air conditioned so be prepared to feel a little cold after finishing. But one step out into Taipei's humid summer and you'll be wanting another bowl to cool you down.

One of the best Shave Ice restaurants in Taiwan. Located in the trendy fashion district in Taipei, this is a great afternoon spot to have shave ice and dessert after a long day of shopping. The mango and coffee flavor shave ice are my favorites. The portions are quite big so I recommend that you share. Love this place!!!

Was alerted to this kind of place by a friend in the UK. Although I'd seen similar places before, I'd never actually tried anything like this until this visit. Basically it's a sort of cafe that serves a variety of desserts, with the speciality being Shaved Ice. Shaved ice is like a giant sorbet, placed on a rotating gyro (much like in a kebab shop). While this is rotating, a blade at the bottom shaves a continuous wafer thin stream of the sorbet, that is layered onto a plate. Then, depending on the favour, other things are added, like in my case, fresh strawberries along with the strawberry flavoured ice and a strawberry sauce in addition to some soft sweet tofu and a small shot of caramel flavoured custard sauce. It's not the cheapest place to eat a dessert, but it's certainly a bit different and the shaved ice itself does have a unique texture and taste sensation. Additionally, the helpings are quite generous, so don't try to eat one on your own, just bring a friend and you'll be able to finish it. There are two branches in Taipei and both seemed very clean and modern, with helpful staff. The choice of flavours was fine too, so all in all a pleasant experience.

One of the best shaved ice I've ever had! I split the Mango Sensation with a friend and it was delicious.. so fluffy and the mango tasted very fresh. The mango ice cream and mango cream that came with it was also on point. The only problem is that it was WAY too big for even 2 people. We ate only about 1/3 and it made me really sad to have to throw the rest away.

My go to mango shave ice spot in Taiwan is now conveniently located in Xinyi! The downside is the long wait to squeeze into the little space available. In addition, the service is not great and they used to give a lot more fruits years ago. The quality has somewhat declined, but still is is a worthwhile establishment to satiate that mango shave ice craving. The strawberry shave ice is great too. Word of caution- make sure they're not out of stock of the item you want on the menu when you are standing in line. The fruits are seasonal.

I've been to the Ice Monster on 忠孝東路 (ZhongXiao E. Road) before and decided to try out this location after lunch at a nearby restaurant! The staff is always polite (as is the norm in Taiwan), and the interior is clean and simple - light wooden tables arranged throughout the store, a stack of cute little face napkins on each one, and glass lights hanging from the ceiling. There's a communal table in the center of the store and some booth seats to the side too! On previous visits with my family, I've tried the lime, mango, and pmt snows. Fruity flavours have never been my favourite, so I didn't care much for the first two... This time my sister and I were really hoping to try the peanut snow, but we were told they'd run out of peanuts. :( We ended up with the coffee snow and milk tea snow instead! + Coffee Snow: heavier than the other snow flavours (seemed like there was a good amount of cream), but soooo good! this balanced really nicely with the pmt, and I'd love to order this again. if you're a fan of coffee, DEF try this one!! + Pearl Milk Tea Snow: not very sweet at all, which is just how I like my pmt! the boba comes in a small glass bowl on the side so that the snow doesn't melt too quickly. if you're used to regular sweetness pmt, you might not like this one too much. There is a spending requirement - each person has to spend at least $110 ntd, which is why we ended up picking two snows instead of just one (...also maybe just because we really like shave ice). The snow is noticeably softer/fluffier than those in Cali (i.e. @ Snowflake Tea House or Sno-Crave), so I always have to stop here when I'm in Taiwan! :)

Great atmosphere here! Long line is a good sign but also a turn off in case if you are in hurry! The ice flake here is very chilling for the hot summer and yes very delicious!

Had a mango sensation, which was yummy and huge. However it did come with a few mango cubes only. They should provide some more since it's not that cheap.

Started off with it's main branch near SYS memorial hall station, it finally expanded into Xinyi! This is a very pleasant news because they have hands down the best shaved ice in the entire planet! It's most well known for the mango shaved ice, comes with layers mango -- from actual diced mango, to mango shaved ice, mango dressing, and mango pana cotta, it's just spells mmmmango tango in your mouth. Albeit the mango flavor one being extremely awesome, my favorite has got to be the bubble tea shaved ice. The shaved ice is milk tea flavored, and they give you a bowl of bubbles/tapioca on the side. so you scoop some of each and shove it in your mouth....the tapioca turns extra chewy as it meets the ice, and this is the perfect taste and texture that one can ever ask for.....

The snow just melts in your mouth. The peanut butter tasting one was also very unique. You get to add on beans (they're on the side) to finish packing a punch. Easy location as it's in the highly popular shopping area next to the Taipei 101. Just place an order, grab a seat, and enjoy! Worth a stop.

Snow monster has hands down one of the best shaved ice I've had in Taipei. The consistency, texture, and flavor of their ice is always on point. Unlike other locations where it tastes like you're eating diluted shaved ice, Ice Monster's shaved ice packs a flavorful and hearty punch with every bite. I've had every flavor and haven't been disappointed yet! Must Order: If it's your first time definitely the Mango Shaved Ice, it's their signature dish. If you're up for something different try the Boba flavor! Price: Definitely a little bit more expensive, but you are paying for quality and the portions is also really big! Service: Great service, you pay at the counter and then they'll deliver your shaved ice to you once it's ready. Ambience: It can get really loud at times, since this location is in Xinyi where a lot of teenagers and college students hangout.

We stopped by this location of Ice Monster our final night in town - we had some really good shaved ice near Shilin a few nights prior, but we figured it would be a good idea to go out with a (cold) bang after finishing up dinner nearby. Although the Mitsukoshi mall that the store was located in was virtually empty but the time we got here, the store was still pretty packed, with a line that moved quickly but with all the seating virtually filled up. The menu is straightforward to understand, with passable English translations and (more helpfully) pictures that give you a sense of what you are getting. What you may not be prepared for, though, is just how gigantic approximately $8-9 U.S. dollars will get you in terms of the size of the shaved ice. Simply put - it's very large, with a giant heaping of soft shavings infused with mango served underneath a healthy amount of mango chunks to boot. It's a citrus bonanza that will be challenging for even two people to finish off (especially after dinner). For me, it was a little on the sweet side, but it was still a very refreshing finish to the evening (considering how muggy it was outside). There are numerous locations in Taipei, so I imagine that finding one of these isn't that hard to do, and the experience will be similar everywhere. It's a nice local chain that does good shaved ice, with some core favorites as well as some seasonal offerings that look really good but you have to be there during the right time of year (see: strawberries in wintertime). Definitely superior to most spots I have been at in the homeland.

Mango flavor hands down!! So gooooood! They do have a rule where each person has to spent a certain amount and have an hr limit, it's kind of odd to me... BUT HEY! the dessert was good.

This is my favorite mango shaved ice! The price is a bit high for shaved ice compared to other places in Taipei, but to me it's worth it! I always make it a point to come here every time I'm in Taiwan.

Hip location with friendly young servers. I brought my family with 2 young boys and a 80 year old father here. We all had a great time with my father saying it was the best shaved ice he has had. The place is clean with a good vibe. Shaved ice is beautifully mi'sen placed with fresh ingredients. We all shared a good time here.

Highly overrated!!! Ordered the "Mango Sensation" but they ran out of mangoes offered to substitute for other fresh fruits, so we chose strawberries but assured us the ice shavings would be mango flavored... Came out to be lemon... :( They also kept reminding us of their minimum per person of Y110, and would not seat us until we ordered and paid... While another group was seated immediately!!! It was 5:30 and place was empty...

Terrible experience!!! My order was to go. After I received my order I decided to eat inside their store and was not allowed even though seats were available. And then, I found my order to be pre packed hard. It was not fresh!!! Bad, so bad I threw it away!