Travel Your Own: let’s go Taichung 台中

Taichung / Taiwan ?

If you are considering a trip to Taiwan, head down to Taichung ?? Booth No: 6H14 for attractive travel deals. Just mention that you are a reader of “TravelerFolio” or “Eunice” to get one of these free gifts. No purchase is required. No string attached. While stock lasts!
1) Cute “Bobi” luggage tag ????? x 50
2) Sun cake gift pack ??? x 50
3) I ? Taichung T-shirt x 7

Just a couple of weeks ago, we were afforded the opportunity to tour Taichung, the 3rd largest city that lies in west-central Taiwan.

Taichung – the city of bubble tea ????, sun cake ??? and the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality bicycle.

If you look forward to a respite from the hustle and bustle, embracing the crisp mountain breeze amidst picturesque landscape sprawling with orchards and farms, living like a local with friendly owners at quaint little cottages, tasting the sweetness of freshly plucked fruits, relaxing in the hot spring and experimenting creative and mouthwatering local food, Taichung has all it takes for an unparalleled holiday experience.

Sin-She Township (???)

Sin-She is remarkably notable for its agricultural products (????). Call me a city girl. I’ve never seen so many different types of fruit trees during a morning jaunt. Grapes, citrus, pears, longans, persimmons … these are some of the high quality fruit products for export to Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the region. I asked what else we can’t find at the orchards. Durian. Fair enough!

Sin-She is Taiwan’s major mushroom production area. 70% of mushrooms sold in Taiwan are grown in Sin-She.

Ah Liang Mushroom Garden ????? is one of the famous mushroom gardens in Sin-She. After an introductory on various kind of mushrooms including Lingzhi and the correct technique of picking mushrooms, we proceed to the garden for first-hand experience picking of mushrooms.

The signature salted fried mushroom ??????? is a must-try; it tastes like Taiwanese style fried chicken ???, but this is a much healthier version. I love the mushroom soup as well, with all the goodness of different kind of mushrooms that gives a natural earthy flavour.

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http://0425810893.emmm.tw/
????? Ah Liang Mushroom Garden
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??: 04-25810893

On our next trip to Sin-She, we shall go for a cycling tour around the scenic countryside. There are many point to point attractions with clearly indicated signs along the roadsides and helpful locals around to ask for directions.

Orchid House ????

The owner of ?? Orchid House, Mr. Luo, started his collection 20 years ago, initially as his research in orchid exploration, discovery and innovation. Today, ?? Orchid House is home to an extensive variety of orchid, including some very rare species, collected by Mr. Luo from around the world for more than 20 years. Spend sometime in the Orchid House and you will feel that lots of love and care are showered on these delicate, lovely orchid plants.

To our surprise, there is also a mini insect kingdom that houses insects like leaf insects or walking leaves, stick insects or walking sticks, geckos, elephant beetles, Hercules beetles, hairy eight-legged spider… sounds creepy? Hey, some are really cute! Like this one on the top left, look at its round, innocent looking eye… awww The other gecko on the top right has double eyelids! We can feel their skin and hold them too.

By the way, the hairy eight-legged spider feels like dog fur …

http://sw.emmm.tw/
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??:04-2581-2482

The Master of Mushroom ?? lives up to its name. Due to the many nutritious benefits of mushroom, eating mushroom hotpot has become a trend. This is especially true in Sin-She where 70% of mushroom sold in Taiwan are from Sin-She.

We had the “mushroom healthy pot” ????????? for dinner. Almost every delectable spread on the table contains different types of mushrooms. Mushroom sausages, mushroom kimchi, mushroom meat balls and other mushroom yummies – we have never chowed down so many mushrooms in a day. The flavourful mushroom soup base is slowly cooked to perfection. If you are craving for a sumptuous yet healthy meal, the “mushroom healthy pot” fits the bill.

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In addition, the restaurant overlooks a breathtaking view of Taichung city from the top of the hill. It’s an attraction in its own right.

http://0425822585.tai-chung.com.tw/
????????? Master of Mushroom
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??:04-2582-2585

The Mdss Vacation Villa ??? is a tropical themed homestay in Sin-She. Greeted by the gracious lady owner of ???, we entered into an enchanting garden with lush pine trees and exotic plants. The Balinese furniture and decorations adorning the common area and restaurant create the warm and cosy vibes that promote relaxation.

We stayed at the kind of dream honeymoon villa hut so romantically appointed with cute plush toys, a hanging chair, a lounge chair and a warm, snugly bed. The bathroom features a Victorian bathtub and an automated toilet bowl.
A much needed escape from the bustling city life, it was a night of deep slumber in a home away from home.

http://www.mdss.com.tw/
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TEL:(04)2581-0777

Shi-Gang Township ????

Shi-Gang Square ????

You can’t miss this. Literally known as the Lover Wood Bridge ????, 40m long and 3.5m wide, the wooden bridge spans across the crystal clear stream ???. Built without pier support, the bridge can withstand an earthquake of up to 7 magnitude.

On the side of the bridge, you will see the largest water mill in Taiwan. The water mill has a diameter of 9-metre. A relaxing place to spend a lazy afternoon in an idyllic location, we chilled out at the cafe where freshly brewed “S.long” coffee ???? is served.

If you are afraid of bees, this is the right place to overcome your fear! At the Honey Ecological area, we came up close and personal with honey bees. The bee with a red dot is the Queen bee. You can also taste honey freshly collected from the artificial honeycomb.

http://mmweb.tw/886/
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YOU AND ME (???) is a very unique and innovative orchard using multi-dimensional multi-layered cultivation method. Unlike most tomatoes which are grown near the ground, this multi-layer approach enables the tomatoes to be grown at low, medium or high level, hanging down from the supports so that it’s easy for visitors to pick the fruits.

The tomato varieties in this orchard include Japan Momotaro, cherry tomato, golden tomato and red beauty tomato.

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Besides tomatoes, they also have cabbage ???, Chinese cabbage ???, garland chrysanthemum??, lettuces ??, strawberries ??, bell peppers ??, fruity corn ???? and mini cucumber ???.

Apart from the the usual green, red and yellow bell peppers that are commonly available in the market, there are bell peppers in varying colours of black, creamy white, chocolate, apple green as well. We tried some and they were really tasty, sweet and juicy.

Guide 101: How to rip off a ear of corn

Use one hand to hold the top of the stalk and the other hand to push down the corn, twist it and rip it off from the stalk. Shuck the husk off it and you can straightaway taste the sweetest, juiciest, freshly plucked Japanese sweet corn.

All plants are pesticide free as the owner employs biological pest control method that won him an honourable award. ??????????????????

http://you-ame.myweb.hinet.net/
??????????? You-and-me
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??:04-2582-6058

Dongshi Township ???

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At this stop ????, it’s one of the earliest orchards in Taiwan for growing persimmons. The humble owners received us warmly and we had a tea session on top of the hill overlooking the breathtaking mountain range. The owner also showed us around and we had first-hand experience of plucking big apple-pears from trees. Needless to say, they were sweet and juicy.

The harvesting period of persimmons at the orchard is from September to November.

http://blog.roodo.com/shi2008
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??:04-25773417/04-25852695

Tai Po Hakka Cuisine ???????

The aroma of wine fills the air of Sweet Charm Farm Winery. What impressed us most at this place is the home cooked authentic Hakka cuisine, simple yet distinctive and delicious, and the warm and unpretentious owners. ?????

If you are a wine lover, remember to check out their wine cellar for the specially made wine that contains 70% alcohol! It’s definitely too strong for me but the aftertaste is smooth and elegant without the feeling of dryness.

http://sweetcharm.smartweb.tw/
Sweet Charm Farm Winery
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