​Leputing is not your typical Taiwanese lunch place. The restaurant, situated in the Da’an district, is housed inside a historically restored mansion that was built with heavy Japanese influences which consists of sliding wooden door frames and the all important zen back garden. As soon as you step into the building, we were greeted with a strong sense of serenity, which settles you in to embark on a unique culinary journey. 

There is no better way to combat the summer heat by digging into a big bowl of fluffy shaved ice, and Ice Monster, a blooming shaved ice chain in Taiwan has just the thing. Shaved ice is never a novelty in Taiwan, as you will bound to see a handful when you stroll down to any of the night markets. While most ones are dappled with more traditional toppings, like taro, red beans, matcha powder, mochi, etc, ones from Ice Monster are like the Lady Gaga equivalent in the shaved ice universe, where one keeps reinventing itself by having the most outrages, yet sensory triggering combinations of toppings such as coffee marshmallow, almond black beans, pineapple melon and many more.