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3 Awesome things to do in Taichung Taiwan Trip Day 6!

Ice cream toppings at Miyahara Ice Cream

On day 6 of our Taiwan trip, we checked out all the things to do in Taichung and its attractions! If you’re not sure what to do (and eat!!!) in Taichung, you’ll find some great information to get you on your way to discovering Taichung!

Things to do in Taichung Taiwan

1. Chun Shui Tang 春水堂 – Originator of the Bubble Milk Tea

On day 6 of our Taiwan Trip, we woke up to a sumptuous breakfast at Park City Hotel Central Taichung. After the hearty meal (which included braised pork rice!!), we checked out the Taichung 2nd market. As we were early, the breakfast crowds were still having their breakfast as well. We also noticed the scores of fruit stalls at Taichung 2nd market, probably a great place to find great tasting fruits at an excellent price.

Next, we headed to Chun Shui Tang!!!

Chun Shui Tang, as we found out, is the originator of the world-renowned Taiwanese Bubble Milk Tea. But there are actually many of its franchise around in the city (close to 20 of them), so just pop into any one of the joints to enjoy the original bubble milk tea!

Park City Central Hotel Taichung Braised Pork Rice	Taichung’s 2nd Market	Chun Shui Tang 春水堂 Taichung
Chun Shui Tang 春水堂 The Original Bubble Milk Tea for NT110	Chun Shui Tang 春水堂 Carrot Cake for NT65	Classy Deco inside Chun Shui Tang 春水堂

2. 草悟道 Cao Wu Dao – Quaint Cafes and Restaurants

Located at Xiang Shang North Road, at the area of Mei Cun road, lies a cluster of quaint cafes and restaurants. Here, we also saw this unique robot cafe where the server invited us in just to have a look (no purchase required). There, we saw the HUGE resident cats who startled us with its sudden movement. The truth was, it was so huge that we thought it was just a soft toy that was lying around. When it moved, Tom just jumped!

Enroute, we also had the egg beef porridge which we realised actually goes quite well with spinach.

One more tip, remember to get the Easy Card. It costs NT200 at any 7-11, of which, NT100 goes to the deposit. But the great thing about the Easy Card is that specifically in Taichung, the first 8km is free! Yes! FREE!!! In other cities, there are usually fare discounts for Easy Card holders as well. Do pick up one if you’re intending to travel Taiwan for an extended period of time!

草悟道 Cao Wu Dao Taichung	More cafes at 草悟道 Cao Wu Dao	Inside Robot Cafe with REAL HUGE CATS
Robot Cafe Taichung Entrance	Egg Beef Porridge with Spinach at NT70	Easy Card NT200 (NT100 deposit)

More Taichung Attractions and Things to do (eat!)

3. Shop and Eat in Taichung – Yi Chung Shang Quan 一中街商圈, Taichung Park, Feng Jia Night Market and Miyahara Ice Cream

For more shopping options, you can head to the Yi Chung Shang Quan (or just Yi Chung Street) where there are endless shopping options and street foods available. It’s a closer option for night market from Taichung City as compared to Feng Jia Night Market. From Taichung City, we took bus 88 (for free!) to the Yi Chung shopping street.

As we were still early that day, we decided to head back to Feng Jia Night Market again for a 2nd time! This time, we tried out all the foods that we wanted to eat, including 大腸包小腸 (Direct translation of Big Sausage Wrap Small Sausage), Deep Fried HUGE Squid / 酥炸大鱿鱼, 熊手包 Bear Paw Buns and 章鱼小丸子 / Takopachi Octopus Balls. Do check out our post of what to eat at Feng Jia Night Market to find out more!

Enroute back, we dropped by the Taichung City Park and enjoyed a leisurely stroll by its lake as well as a visit to the Lake Heart Pavilion.

To cap off a fun-filled day in Taichung, we headed back to Miyahara – 宮原眼科 for its famous ice cream! This time, we finally got to eat this famous ice cream! But there’s one catch, we had to go to 4th Credit on 72 Zhong Shan Road ( 第四信用合作社）and this is because the outlet at Miyahara 宮原眼科 is so popular that it has a minimum spending of NT380 ($16). Therefore, we decided to take a short walk (5 minutes really), along Zhong Shan Road and ate at the 4th Credit outlet.

For NT245, we had a waffle bowl with 3 scoops of ice cream and choice of 4 toppings. Do not think that the toppings are simple and common items such as strawberry sauce or chocolate sprinkles. THEY ARE REAL DESSERT TOPPINGS! You’d be surprised but we chose cheesecake, pineapple tart, floral cake and rum raisins! (WHAT?! THOSE ARE TOPPINGS!!??)

Yi Chung Shang Quan 一中街商圈	Buses Schedule	大腸包小腸 Feng Jia Night Market
Taichung Park Lake Heart Pavilion	Miyahara Ice Cream Toppings	Our Ice Cream from Miyahara 4th Credit

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We hope you’ve enjoyed our coverage of the things to do and attractions in Taichung Taiwan! Do let us know if you have any other recommendations in our comments section below!

Stay tuned for day 7 of our trip in Miaoli Taiwan!

You have just finished a post on our Taiwan Trip in 2014 which started here. Here is the full list of posts written about Taiwan Trip 2014…

Singapore to Tainan : Taiwan Trip Day 1
Things to do in Tainan Taiwan Trip Day 2
鹿早茶屋 Opposite 1967 Hotel Tainan
Things to do in Chiayi Taiwan Trip Day 3
Chiayi Attractions Taiwan Trip Day 4
Changhua Meatballs (彰化肉圓) : Which is the Best?
What to eat at Feng Jia Night Market (逢甲夜市)?
Changhua Taichung Taiwan Trip Day 5
Things to do in Taichung Taiwan Trip Day 6
Things to do in Miaoli Taiwan Trip Day 7
Kuo Tai Glass Park Zhunan Day Trip
Things to do in Taoyuan Taiwan Trip Day 8
Taoyuan Attractions Taiwan Trip Day 9
Things to do in Taipei Taiwan Trip Day 10

Updated on May 3, 2020August 29, 2014Asia Changhua Changhua Meatballs 彰化肉圓 Feng Jia Night Market 逢甲夜市 Miyahara 宮原眼科 Ice Cream Park City Hotel Central Taichung Taichung Taichung Taiwan Things to do Things to do in Asia Things to do in Taiwan Travel

Changhua Taichung Taiwan Trip Day 5!

031 2bearbear favourite activity. Watching TV while soaking in the bath tub.

Changhua and Taichung were our next stops during day 5 of our Taiwan Trip! Our plan was to stop by Changhua to taste the famous Changhua meatballs before heading to check in at Park City Hotel Central Taichung. In the evening, we visited the most famous night market in Taiwan – Feng Jia Night Market.

Chiayi to Changhua and Taichung

Something happened that morning…Kate realised that she lost the McDonald’s coupons for our breakfast! So we decided that we would visit the local pan fried bun (生煎包) joint since it was closed at 5pm (starts selling for afternoon sessions at 3pm) the day before. But when we reached there at 8am in the morning, although there were many people having their breakfast, THERE WAS NO FRIED BUNS!! To us, this was the elusive pan fried buns joint, if you have visited it, do let us know how it tasted!

The train ride from Chiayi to Changhua took approximately 1hr and 30 minutes. From Changhua, it takes about 30 minutes to reach Taichung. Hence, the entire trip from Chiayi to Taichung takes slightly under two hours. Our original plan was to buy 2 separate tickets from Chiayi to Changhua and from Changhua to Taichung. However, we made a “mistake” and bought the Chiayi to Taichung ticket for NT144 (approximately $6 each). The good thing was you’re able to stop anywhere along the way just as long as you remember to validate the tickets upon exit. And you’ll have to exit via the station personnel at the exit (do not insert into the automated gates!)

The elusive pan fried bun joint	Ticketing Counters at Chiayi Train Station	Train Ticket cost of NT144 from Chiayi to Taichung
Changhua Train Station	Changhua meatballs at 彰化肉圓	Pig’s trotter rice
Old Time Delights Bakery Changhua	SHIOK Pumpkin Cake from Old Time Delights	Taichung Train Station

At Changhua, we tried all 3 famous Changhua Meatballs from 彰化肉圓, 老担阿璋肉圓 and 正彰化肉圓. Do check out our post on the best Changhua Meatballs to find out which one we thought was the best!

In between our meatball adventures, we did snuck in a couple of other snacks such as the braised pig trotters and the traditional cake. But to our surprise, this “Old Time Delights” Bakery in Changhua turned out to be one of the best cakes we’ve ever tasted! This time, we tried the pumpkin cake. The cake was firm but not so sweet. The top of the cake were lined with healthy nuts and seeds but the best part was what was within…the pumpkin fillings! It was the eastern version of the swiss roll but 10 times nicer! No wonder the queue was quite long even in the mid afternoon. The choice that you’ll have at this stall is dependent on what was being baked at that point in time. There’s a schedule that locals know about.

These cakes were baked on huge trays and cut to size. We ordered the smallest cut (which was still quite big for the both of us) at NT65. If you’ve tried the other flavours or are a local who frequents here often, do share in the comments section below on which you think is the best flavour!

Park City Central Hotel Taichung Receptionists	Sexy bathtub at Park City Central Hotel Taichung	Feng Jia Night Market
Long queues at Feng Jia Night Market	Miyahara – 宮原眼科 Taichung	Famous Miyahara Ice Cream Taichung

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After checking into the Park City Central Hotel Taichung, we took a bath in the hotel’s sexy bathtub (with views of the TV) and had the amazing pumpkin cake before heading to the famous Feng Jia Night Market!

Feng Jia Night Market is the 2nd largest Night Market in the whole of Taiwan (the biggest night market in Taiwan is the combination of Jin Zuan and Kai Xuan Night Markets) and there are many great foods here. If you’re wondering what to eat at Feng Jia Night Market, do find out more in our separate post.

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped by one of the tourist attractions in Taichung, the Miyahara – 宮原眼科. Although we did not have the famous ice cream this evening, we did try it on day 6 of our visit and there’s a little secret that you should know about it as well…

Stay tuned to Day 6 of our Taiwan Trip to find out more!

You have just finished a post on our Taiwan Trip in 2014 which started here. Here is the full list of posts written about Taiwan Trip 2014…

Updated on July 3, 2021July 11, 2014Asia Hotels Park City Hotel Central Taichung Taichung Taichung Hotels Taiwan Taiwan

Park City Hotel Central Taichung Review

Our receptionists at Park City Hotel Central Taichung

Park City Hotel Central Taichung 成旅晶贊飯店 (as the name suggests) is located conveniently just 8 minutes walk away from the Taichung Train Station. If you walk at our pace (and stride), you’ll probably be there is 6 minutes :p Thanks to the good folks at Park City Hotel Central Taichung, we were hosted for our stay at Taichung here…

The usual check in time at Park City Taichung is 3pm but we were about 2 hours early this time. But since it was hot in the summer afternoons of Taiwan (34 degrees! can you believe it?!), we decided to just chill at the lobby and surf the net. By the way, wifi is complimentary for guests and we were also served water as we enjoyed the A/C and comfort at the lobby. But soon (less than 30 minutes later), we were informed that our room was ready, guess that’s great service right there at the start of our stay at Park City Hotel Taichung!

Park City Hotel Central Taichung Double Room

As we entered into our room at level 10, there was a really inviting vibe and here’s the video for you to check out our room at Park City Taichung…

Video Tour of King Sized Bedroom at Park City Taichung

As we continued to explore our room, we found several things that we really liked…

1. Taichung City View. There was a view of the city of Taichung which gives you an additional feel of “space” in addition to the spacious double room. There are also comfortable chairs by the window for you to enjoy the views while chilling in the room!

Taichung city view by the window with comfortable chairs

2. Sun cakes. As a small welcome gesture, there were sun cakes (aka 太阳饼) placed in our room which was timely for our afternoon snacks! We enjoyed it over the in-room coffee plus the pumpkin chiffon cake which we bought enroute. A heavy afternoon snack huh?

Sun cakes and coffee/tea selection provided in the room

3. Bath tub with TV view! What we really enjoyed most was this…

2bearbear enjoying TV while soaking in the bath tub!

There was cable TV (we actually caught Sherlock Holmes season 2 on BBC channel) and we were able to enjoy the shows while relaxing in the bath tub, all in the privacy of our own room! Certainly a luxury that you don’t usually enjoy for Taiwan hotels. A great resting sanctuary as well, especially after a long day of walking and sight seeing 😉

Huge bath tub Park City Hotel Central Taichung

HUGE King-sized bed with view of the bath room

Facilities of Park City Hotel Central Taichung

Most of the facilities are located at level 3 of the hotel which includes a gym, business centre as well as a complimentary laundry area…

Lift directory showing restaurant at level 2 and facilities at level 3

Fitness Centre, Business Centre and Ocean Laundry at Level 3 of Park City Hotel Taichung

Gym that allows you to watch cable while you work out!

You can wash, dry and iron your clothes at the Ocean Laundry

View that shows the business centre next to the fitness centre and Ocean Laundry

Breakfast at Park City Hotel Central Taichung

Breakfast at Wonderful Cantonese Restaurant on level 2

Breakfast is served daily from 630 to 930am at the Wonderful Cantonese Restaurant at level 2 of the hotel. The restaurant is actually ultra spacious and there are also window seats overlooking the streets at the side which sort of reminds us of the restaurant at Intercontinental Hotel Warsaw – which reminds us of the “live” harp playing for breakfast!

Spacious interior of Wonderful Cantonese Restaurant

We thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast on both days at the restaurant. The variety was good with a slant towards western styled breakfast which is great for business meetings and conferences held at the hotel. Do try out the braised pork rice with egg and dim sum which includes the brown sugar buns! And here are the offerings for breakfast at Park City Hotel Central Taichung…Btw, the variety is really good, so enjoy this extensive pictorial review of the breakfast!

Daily soup at the entrance of Wonderful Cantonese Restaurant

Salads and the various dressings and condiments

Not forgetting the kids with the inclusion of breakfast cereals

Selection of breads buns porridge and hot soy milk

Or you can have the braised pork with porridge which tastes just as good as well!

Don't forget your daily intake of vegetables... — Don’t forget your daily intake of vegetables…

2bearbear with the pretty arrangement of condiments for porridge

In and around Park City Hotel Central Taichung

Park City Hotel Central Taichung also offers a great base for you to visit the following attractions…

Miyahara 宮原眼科 (Offering Taiwanese gifts, ice cream and tea)

Ice cream at Miyahara's branch (第四信用合作社) at 72 Zhong Shan Road — Ice cream at Miyahara’s branch (第四信用合作社) at 72 Zhong Shan Road

Original bubble tea at Chun Shui Tang 春水堂

Relaxing at Taichung Park - Lake Heart Pavilion — Relaxing at Taichung Park – Lake Heart Pavilion

Feng Jia Night Market. Not so crowded on a Wednesday night.

How to get to Park City Hotel Central Taichung

Map from Taichung Train Station to Park City Hotel Central Taichung

As you can see from the map, it is relatively easy to get to Park City Hotel Taichung from the Taichung Train station. It is just a 9 minutes (or less) walk by going along Zhong Shan Road (walking past Miyahara enroute) and then making a left turn along Jiguang Street.

As simple as that!

To sum up, we take a look at our BASIC FACTOR and the score for Park City Hotel Central Taichung, is a 3.5!

B – 1. A bath tub with view of the TV? Just about as good as it gets!
A – 0.5. Ambience was welcoming.
S – 1. Service was prompt and we were arranged for early check-in while the receptionists were able to answer queries about the vicinity that we had.
I – 0. No swimming pools here.
C – 1. Bed was firm and comfortable!

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**Special thanks to Jamie for making our stay at Park City Hotel Central Taichung possible!