One popular dessert here is Guilinggao (龟苓膏 guī líng gāo), a herbal jelly used both as a medicine and as a dessert. It is also known as turtle jelly.
The preparation originally included the powdered shell of a type of turtle, the “Golden Coin Turtle” (Cuora trifasciata; 金钱龟 jīn qián guī), hence the name which translates as “Turtle fungus paste”. This turtle is now prohibitively expensive and so, today, when turtle is still used, the shells of more common turtles are used instead. However, many modern examples contain no turtle shell. Instead they rely on the other ingredients which include extracts from various herbs, most importantly smilax glabra, a plant related to sarsaparilla.
Guilinggao is black or dark brown in color. Naturally, it is slightly bitter, although sweeteners such as sugar or honey are added to make it more palatable.
There are small café type places around town which only sell this.
Also, relatively inexpensive canned guilinggao with pop tops and little plastic spoons for immediate consumption can be found in all supermarkets and corner shops.
If you want to make it yourself, you can buy powdered shell, often labelled “Tortoise Powder”.
