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Old-Friend Taro Balls was founded in 1990 (Republic of China Year 79). The first-generation owners, Lin Rong-ji and Hsia A-mei, hoped the shop would become everyone’s good friend, so they named it “Old-Friend.” Proprietress Hsia A-mei excels at making snacks—cookies, steamed buns, cakes, taro balls, radish cakes, herb-rice cakes—winning unanimous praise from Jiufen neighbors. Encouraged by them and the rise of the Jiufen shopping district, the couple closed their original rice store in 1990 and opened a taro-ball shop. At first they sold not only taro and sweet-potato balls but also xiaolongbao, twisted twin doughnuts, and other snacks. Later, as taro-ball sales boomed, they could no longer prepare other items, and the shop became a specialty store devoted to taro and sweet-potato balls.