Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a sweet tooth of epic proportions. Which makes living in Taiwan very treacherous. Changhua is riddled with cute cafes and bakeries touting new breads, desserts and sweets that are just different enough from those in America to make it worth sampling. The amount of self control required not solely eat sweets for breakfast, lunch and dinner is staggering. And there is one place I can never resist.
The Old Time Delights (蓁古早味）is a small bakery that packs a big punch. There is always a line, from opening to closing, and they sell one thing: cake. There are fifteen different flavors, so you have some options. Flavors include honey, taro, pumpkin, chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake and milk pudding. Depending on the type, there is often a filling running through the middle, adding a punch of flavor. These cakes differ from traditional American cake because of their sponginess. It's almost like angel food cake and pound cake had a beautiful baby. The texture is light and fluffy. Which is dangerous because it can feel like you've barely eaten any at all, so why not have one more bite? And one more. And one more, until you've eaten the whole thing in one sitting. Basically, they are irresistible.
sThey cakes are also sold in sizes small, medium and large, small being about the size of my forearm. I haven't dared to order anything larger. And everything is sold by weight. A small cake, depending on the flavor, usually comes out to around $95-120NT. Not a bad deal considering if you have the self control, you could ration it out for three to four days. (My friend Miranda has this level of self control. I don't. Mine is usually gone within 24 hours.
Now this type of cake is sold all over Taiwan. In fact, there's another store right across the street selling the same thing. I have never been to it, and don't plan on going any time soon. The Old Time Delights has got me. I've even got a rewards card. If you are in Changhua (or Xinju or Chiayi where they also have locations) I recommend that you stop by. But just be careful, because you might not be able to stop going back.