TAICHUNG 台中
(Information on the driver I've engaged is in this post)
Img by my sister.
After leaving Cing Jing, our first spot was Su Mama Tangyuan in Puli, a place recommended by our driver, Mr Lee. It turned out to be one of my favourite meals that I had in Taiwan. The minced meat noodles and meatball soup were so good! The place was full when we reached and we had to wait for a table, but Taiwanese are very considerate people who leave once they're done eating rather than hogging the table to chat, so we didn't have to wait long at all.
Psst, not saying that it's not okay to chitchat after eating but at least please don't do that when everyone is waiting for seats!
Su Mama Tang Yuan
No. 118, Section 3, Zhongshan Road
Puli Township
Nantou County
Taiwan 545
After lunch Mr Lee drove us to Feeling 18 Degree to get ice creams. I did read about this place online prior to the trip but I thought it was some chocolate workshop so I didn't include it in my itinerary. Anyway we got some gelatos (about 100 NTD per cone or ~S$4,5 for two flavours) and they were yummy. There was also free coffee and samples of chocolates which didn't interest me. Not a must-go for me, but also, no harm visiting if you're in the area!
Feeling 18 Degree Chocolate Factory
No. 20, Ci'en Street
Puli Township
Nantou County
Taiwan 545
We then left for Sun Moon Lake, and honestly that place disappointed me a little. I suppose it will be very beautiful if you go during sunrise/sunset, but the mountains and lake didn't interest me that much. I was more excited on the ferry. Hahaha.
Only picture I have of Sun Moon Lake, because, yeah.🌚
The ferry ride costed 300NTD (S$14) per person and there are three stops in total. The first stop is where our car stopped and we purchase the tickets for the ferry. There are also many shops around the area but we didn't have the time to explore them. The second stop has a popular tea egg store, and a chubby dog who went around begging for tea eggs hahaha! Third stop is a mini market where I first smelt the infamous stinky tofu. Unsurprisingly, I didn't like the smell at all.
Anyway, I actually saw the moon at 4PM. 4PM!! I've seen the moon at as early at 6:30AM in Singapore, not counting the sightings in the AM when the moon hasn't set. Highlight of that place I guess? I've read it somewhere that Sun Moon Lake looks really pretty during the cherry blossom festival but I didn't see a single flower there so unfortunately, this place wasn't that special to me.
We finally reached Taichung at night, and also our first night market in Taiwan!
Fengjia Night Market
Fengjia Road
Xitun District
Taichung City
Taiwan 407
Also our first time getting lost in Taiwan. 😊... Mr Lee left us off at the McDonald's to walk from there on but somehow we thought it was strange that there were very little food stalls. Google Maps also failed me, because even though we walked to Fuxing Road there were still not many food stalls. After walking to and fro and ending back up at McDonald's thrice we decided to ask the locals there. It's actually the lane next to the one beside the university!
Fengjia was how I imagined it to be like: food stalls lining up the road on both sides. We just headed straight into the first shop we saw which sold vermicelli and fishballs. There were several stalls selling the same thing, such as grilled seafood, grilled squid, and fried chicken. I don't have any particular reccos because firstly, I didn't note down the stalls' names and secondly, all looks equally good with about the same amount of crowd.
Sucker for pastries wherever I go.
I do have a favourite stall from Fengjia and it's this croissant-taiyaki pastry which I didn't see anywhere else in Taiwan for the rest of my trip. I thought it was just the regular taiyaki which I enjoy as well until after I placed my order and saw the banner beside the store advertising that it's a croissant-taiyaki, so I was like, okay, score! Basically all the guy had to do was to put a rectangular sheet of puff pastry on the mold, put the filling in the centre, put another sheet of puff pastry on top and press down both sides of the mold together. Then, when it's almost done he added sugar on top to create this caramelly texture and taste. It looked so simple but it's sooooo buttery and crispy and all things wonderful. Now I wish I have a taiyaki pan to recreate this treat.
Most disappointing street snack will be the grilled beef cubes. I was really looking forward to it because I love beef and kept dreaming about how melt-in-the-mouth tender it would be. NOT! The cubes were overdone from all that impressive flaming. It tasted alright, but I think the texture was just... expectations vs reality. 😂
We started off the next day at Chun Shui Tang, the supposed inventor of the famous boba/bubble tea.
Chun Shui Tang 春水堂
No. 30 Siwei Street
West District
Taichung City
Taiwan 403
It was one of the more expensive places to dine at, but the price range was pretty similar to cafes in Singapore. A glass of the pearl milk tea was around S$4, and honestly it did not taste like anything that screamed "THIS IS THE ORIGINAL BOBA TEA YO" but, it's still a good glass of pearl milk tea! Price range of Chun Shui Tang was around NTD 70-150 for the food items.
We also ordered some toasts/noodles for breakfast. There was this particular toast I really liked that was called the butter toast (my sister placed the order), but afterwards when I reordered the same thing, a totally different toast(with just melted butter on it) came instead... So I'm not sure if it's really called the butter toast. That toast had a thick, slightly powdery, milky butter filling spread on it, similar to a condensed milk toast. Wish I took a picture!
Img by my sister.
Strawberry World 草莓世界
No. 361, Section 1, Fengxing Road
Tanzi District
Taichung City
Taiwan 427
One of the highlights of the trip for me, picking my own strawberries! It was something I've been wanting to try since long ago, but unfortunately I didn't get to do it in Cameron Highlands/Korea. I didn't have any particular farm in mind when planning the itinerary because strawberries are quite seasonal and I can't be sure if there will be anymore left for us to pluck by the time we're in Taichung.
Fortunately there were! Rows upon rows of the biggest, juiciest, and sweetest 'milk' strawberries ever. They didn't taste like milk at all, but I've never tasted such sweet and juicy strawberries, even the ones from Korea can't be compared to this. I think the farm was sectioned out into different areas according to the batches (ripeness) of the strawberries because in certain parts of the farm the strawberries were smaller and white/green. There's no entrance fee to the farm and you'll be provided with baskets + scissors. Mr Lee actually taught us how to select the strawberries that we should pick. There were actually some berries that have been half-bitten by birds (or maybe humans...) so you should really inspect your berries carefully before cutting them off!
Oddest looking one that Mr Lee found!
🍓🍓🍓
Our box of strawberries!
For our two baskets of strawberries we paid about 560 NTD (~S$25), and there were at least 20 strawberries in each basket. The sizes of the berries were similar to the ones from Australia/US you'd see in local supermarkets (Korea's ones are about half that size) but these are really the sweetest and juiciest strawberries you'll ever have.
Our next location after the strawberry farm was also highly anticipated, but alas... I think the amount of people there spoilt the experience a little for me.
Flower Market 中社花市
No. 469-13, Sanfeng Road
Houli District
Taichung City
Taiwan 421
Somehow reminded me of Beauty & the Beast
Ditsy daisy
It may not seem like it from the photos but there were actually a lot of people at the flower farm, especially at the section nearer to the entrance. Entrance fee was 100 NTD (~S$4.5) per person. There were fake pianos around the farm as photo props but there were so many people taking photos with it/loitering in the background so I've decided not to edit mine, ha! Also, wish the flowers were taller... to hide the people in the background (if any). But still worth the trip, because the entrance fee was cheap!
Lai Xing Noodle Shop 賴新魁麵館
No. 170-1 Zhongzheng Road
Sanyi Township
Miaoli County
Taiwan 367
Lunch was at this noodle shop on the itinerary, and this place was really popular. There was quite a queue when we reached, and we waited for about 10-15 minutes for a table. They sell many different types of the noodles but their signature is this chewy, flat rice noodles in soup. Food for the soul! The portions were HUGE, even my dad couldn't finish it! I recommend two people sharing a bowl because there were many other side dishes available there, and the side dishes were super yummy. Now I'm salivating as I think of the pork leg (or some kind of part with similar texture). Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the noodles/side dishes, but my bowl of noodle was around 60 NTD (~S$3). Not sure about the prices of the side dishes though.
We unexpectedly finished visiting all the places on the itinerary early so after lunch there was nothing on. Mr Lee thought that it wasn't nice (of him) to end the day early so he drove us to a market near the harbour to get some dried goods, but I didn't buy anything there (my mum bought some almond brittle but that's all) so I didn't bother nothing down the name of the place or the address.
Nice ships though.
Then he bought us to this place called the Gao Mei Wetlands. This place is supposedly very beautiful at sunset, but sadly we were too early for sunset, and anyway it was a pretty gloomy (luckily not rainy) day. The sun would have been covered up by the thick layers of clouds.
Img by my sister.
Gao Mei Wetlands 高美湿地
Qingshui District
Taichung City
Taiwan 436
It was low tide when we reached and there were sooooo many tiny little crabs burrowed in the mud! Many huge windmills were spread out along the coast, and the wind was no joke. In fact when my sister took a selfie video in the wind it looked like a Boomerang on infinite loop. 💨
There was a long bridge, okay wait, long is an understatement. It felt like there was no end to it as we walked and in the end everybody gave up (because the wind got stronger as you walk further in) except my dad, aunt, and me. The bridge extends out into the sea towards the horizon. Anyway, once you've reached the end, you will feel accomplished, that is all. Hahaha! There were actually a few people playing in the water at the end of the bridge. Crazy, I tell you. It's mad cold! Nonetheless, a good walk. If it's in Singapore I would have died from the heat.
The last place we went for that day was Ifutang, also known as 一福堂, a shop that sells sun cakes (太阳饼), lemon cakes, and other pastries. It was recommended by our driver because this brand wasn't affected by the tainted oil scandal (according to him), although I was skeptical at first because I totally didn't think of buying any sun cakes from this brand. I had other brands in mind that I thought would be the best place to get my favourite sun cakes. Also, I noticed that tour groups were brought to this brand, (and afterwards the other drivers also recommended to us this brand) so I thought maybe the tour guides/drivers get commission for bringing people here.
How wrong was I. I mean, for being skeptical about the taste of the goodies here. I still think that tour guides and drivers get commission from this brand but then I don't have any issue with that because THEY HAVE THE BEST SUN CAKES EVER!
Yi Fu Tang 一福堂
No. 988, Section 2, Huanzhong Road
Xitun District
Taichung City
Taiwan 407
Note: there were several branches in Taichung but it's this branch I went to. If I'm not wrong it's the main branch or perhaps one of the biggest branch, because I came across other outlets but they were not as huge and crowded at this one.
Ifutang has the BEST sun cakes. I've tried at least four big brands of sun cakes (Li Yi, Chia Te, Ah Ming Shi and Tai Yang Tang aka Sunbooth are the ones I remember) and none of them beats the ones Ifutang produce. The filling of the sun cakes from Ifutang is chewy, milky, and not too sweet. The pastry was flaky and light, and the ratio of the pastry to filling is just right to me. I saw three different types of sun cakes there: the original, yam skin, and premium. There was actually a noticeable difference between the original and premium one so we obviously got the premium ones. The yam skin one didn't taste like yam at all, though the skin was purple. We bought so much stuff here that it filled one cardboard box full and got the free delivery (minimum 3000 NTD or S$140) to our hotel/accommodation in Taipei. Other goodies that we bought include their kinda famous lemon cakes (my best friend Amanda recommended me to get this!), almond & pork paper, mushroom chips, and some other pastries. The lady serving us was really helpful and kept bringing samples for us to try. My sister and I couldn't stop eating the premium sun cake samples cause it was that good hahaha!
Sadly, because I thought the other brands of sun cakes would be really good, we didn't buy much sun cakes from Ifutang. But now I know if I go to Taiwan, this will be the only sun cakes I'll buy back home. I don't think they are available in other parts of Taiwan except Taichung, because according to the lady who served us, the rental for the store space in Taipei is very expensive.
The premium sun cakes were around 320 NTD (~S$15) for a box of 12 pieces. Other brands that I bought had similar prices for a box of 10. But don't bother with other brands, seriously. The entire family agreed that Ifutang's is the best. I don't doubt the drivers' recommendation anymore!
Shall not post about the other brands since Ifutang's the best and the rest can't compare. Hahahaha.
Almost Hogwarts.
Last morning in Taichung, spent at Miyahara!
Miyahara 宫原眼科
No 20 Zhongshan Road
Zhong District
Taichung City
Taiwan 400
I think the grandeur of this place is enough to attract you here. The high ceiling, chandeliers, glass windows, and prop book shelves make this place so magical. There were different counters on the ground level selling pastries and cookies from different brands. A good place to get some souvenirs back home, though we got nothing from here.
The restaurant on the second level was the reason we went to Miyahara. We gotta eat lunch before taking the train to Taipei. I think the restaurant opens only at 11:30AM (or was it 12PM?) even though the ground level opens at 10AM. Anyway we waited for the restaurant to start operating and were the first in line. Singaporean spirit wherever we go.
Toast with crab roe, ooh-la-la.
Our meal in Miyahara was one of the two most expensive meals we had in Taiwan, but I'm glad the food was good! There were many interesting selections on the menu, such as the crab roe toast which caught my eye immediately. I expected it to be a single toast with crab roe spreaded out on top, but it came separately, with toast sticks and crab roe dip. So good nonetheless. I mixed the remaining crab roe with the crab meat glutinous rice (came with a whole crab on top too) we've ordered and it was the bomb. It reminded me of the Korean ganjang-gejang dish that I so sorely miss. Sigh!
I can't remember the prices of the dishes but our bill came out to around S$200 for eight people, I think. I suppose if I'm the person paying the bill, I would remember better... 😂
That's about it for my trip to Taichung! Taking three days to put this post together ain't very efficient... I underestimated how tiring penning down travel posts can be. But I hope all these little information will be useful to people travelling to Taichung, to save time and money! I think I'll include my experience with the HSR in the Taipei post, which is gonna be loooooong. Till then!
x
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