何道明 Douglas Habecker
From our archives, Compass Magazine, Jun. 2001
Douglas Habecker
If there’s anything uniquely-appealing about Taichung, it is the fact that there are constantly new, fascinating and attractive corners of the city that are developing and waiting to be discovered. No where is that more true than Nantun district which has grown so fast that the majority of residents, not to mention visitors, have completely overlooked it.
A drive down Wenhsin South Road through the eighth redevelopment zone reveals lines of modern-looking new cafes, restaurants (see this month’s ‘What’s New’ for a few examples), apartment complexes, offices, parks and other establishments–almost all built and opened within the past year.
Among all of this, however, is a true must-see for anyone seeking to enjoy a wonderful retreat from the hustle-and-bustle of urban life, not to mention the diverse pleasures of outdoor cafes, a cup of tea, bite to eat, quaint shops and vast expanses of landscaped park grounds. This all describes Lakeside tea and shopping street and the adjacent Feng Le Sculpture Park.
Home to about 23 shops, tea houses, cafes and other establishments, Lakeside fully opened to the public over the past six months and has continued to grow in popularity as word spreads about its attractions. At first glance, many visitors will think of Taichung’s other popular, pedestrian-only shopping and tea street, Chingming 1st Street. Park benches, lamps and shops line the street, about 30 meters long and unique by virtue of addition of a fish pond in its center. At one end are umbrella-shaded outdoor tables where patrons can enjoy days and nights over a drink.
It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that Lakeside is unique and very appealing in its own way–a point that owners along the street are quick to make. Chang Chun-ming, head of the street committee, said that he hoped to promote an environment that was not overly commercial, but also cultural and educational, catering towards a higher level of customer with sophisticated tastes. The high number of art and handicraft shops on the street, together with the multitude of sculptures in the adjacent park, all made this possible, he said.
Towards that goal, regular musical performances are held on the street from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Plans are underway to introduce similar appearances by artists. Chang also stresses that efforts are made to ensure each establishment is not only unique in some way but helps maintain the overall atmosphere.
Lakeside street actually has two sides to it–an inside area and the outer side which faces Hsiang Hsin South Road and the park. Perhaps the easiest place to start is the OK (Circle K) convenience store on the corner of Hsiang Hsin South and Wenhsin South 5th roads (see map). Head down the former road and you’ll first come to Tachikawa Restaurant (tel. 2472-0472, open 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 5-10 pm), a modern-looking Japanese restaurant which allows diners to cook their own food on individual grills–using imported Japanese volcanic rocks. Prices range from the NT$490 week-day business lunch to NT$1,880 multi-course dinners. Next is Seven Colors Lake Coffee (open 10 am-11 pm), a little cafe with reasonably-priced Western and Chinese set meals, from Lamb Chop with Rosemary Rice (NT$220) to Kung Pao Chicken, plus a variety of coffees, teas and other drinks.
A couple doors down is the exceptionally-attractive Feng Chuan (Good Food) 1999 Restaurant (open 11:30 am-2 pm, 5:30-9 pm) which also opens onto the inner street area. Diners can enjoy a variety of mostly-Chinese dishes for reasonable prices in a very classy, modern-meets-classical atmosphere. A la carte dishes range from items like the NT$260 Three Cups Chicken to a NT$900 shark’s fin soup, and there are several set-meal ‘Royal Dynasty Feng Chuan (Good Food) 1999 Restaurant at Lakeside Tea and Shopping St. Taichung Taiwan – Taiwan Fun Feast’ starting from NT$350. On the corner, before turning into the inner street area is a small branch of the very popular Ba Fen Baau Restaurant (open 11 am-2 pm, 5-9 pm), a quaint place offering a mixture of Szechuan and Shanghai cuisine, with a few Western selections thrown in.
Turning left towards the inner street, one comes to an open area where the outdoor cafe tables are, primarily clustered around the branch of another well-known popular establishment, Chun Shui Tang (Spring Water Teahouse) which opens earlier than most Lakeside places, at 8:30 a.m., and offers plenty of seating on two floors in a Chinese-style setting and plenty of the famous tea drinks such as ‘pearl milk tea’–reputedly introduced to Taichung by this very same teahouse. On the near corner, is a small, open-sided hang-out, Ching Ping Cafe, decorated with large charcoal sketches. Its upstairs is used for regular art-related classes and seminars sponsored by the street.
A couple doors down, past Feng Chuan restaurant’s other entrance is a delightful shop, ‘Old Wood’ Natural Foreign Products Shop, owned by Mr. Peng. Visitors of all sorts come here to browse through the shop’s exotic decorative wares, including incense, chopsticks, candles, lamps, pillows, cloths, carvings, frames and potpourri, imported from Southeast Asia and the West. The next place, the classy Tzu Ping House, features Chinese antiques, jewelry, furniture and carvings. In a change of pace, the following shop is an outlet for German Divina beauty and health products, including oils and facial care items.
There is no missing the following two-in-one establishment–the Cloth Doll Creation Workshop and Doll Coffee Shop–which marks a unique cooperation between Chung Chi-fang and her friend, Lao Yao. Miss Chung is one of Taichung’s only teachers of Western country-style dolls and her creations, from children to flying witches, can be seen for sale in the windows. Upstairs, she offers daily classes in doll-making from 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. daily and in mornings by special appointment. Downstairs, her partner sells high-end siphon-made coffees and imported herbal teas, plus desserts. Next to that is the Chichou King Korean-Style Tofu Hot Pot Restaurant (open 11 am-9:30 pm), providing a choice from three different hot pots, including kim chee and seafood, plus a pork-and-egg rice dish.
Lakeside features several excellent jewelry shops, such as Treasury of Joseph Fine Jewelry Company whose owner, Tang Yu-lung, is a graduate of American and British gemmological associations and offers English-speaking service. Keng Fang, or ‘farm shop’, store next door is another neat exotic-looking establishment selling green Southeast Asian pottery, Japanese pillows, tea leaves and other products.
Just before heading out the far side of Lakeside is the Teresa Jewelry Store, a classy place that designs and makes its own high-end products, including diamond rings and jade jewelry. Once back on Wenhsin South 5th Road, turn left and, just before the OK store is an attractive store that is Taiwan’s only seller of Hawaii-made Island Sandals, comfortable, classy tropical footwear, in addition to leather Coco brand sandals.
Heading down the opposite side of Lakeside from Chun Shiu Tang, one first comes to the nicely-decorated Yao Sheng Kao Ceramic Art Workshop, where recognized potter Hung Chi-hsuan, his wife Huang Hsiu-mei and family produce and sell excellent green-glaze pottery of all sorts, from tea pots to gourds. There is also fashionable-looking, hand-made cotton Chinese-style blouses, dresses and other items for sale.
Easily one of the most dominant hang-outs on the street is the Canadian Second Cup cafe outlet (open 11 am-10 pm) , a funky-looking, colorful and comfortable place run by Richard Chen. The outstanding hot and iced coffees range from the White Mocca to the Creme Brulee and Caramel Coretto and are complemented by Haagen Daz ice cream, bagels and various reasonably-priced pasta and rice meals.
Along the same side of the street is a classy little Japanese restaurant, Chi Shih Yeh Mei (11 am-2 pm, 5:30-8 pm) and another place, Hong Kong Noodle Restaurant, selling Hong Kong-style rice and noodle dishes. Another one of Lakeside’s unique combinations is the Jewelry & Coffee shop, which features a cozy, modern-looking cafe–serving coffees, cocktails, desserts, and meals–plus a workshop where Canadian-trained jewelry designer Lauren Yuan makes interesting gold, white gold and silver necklaces, rings and earrings to order.
One of the most fun places on the entire street is a shop run by street chairman Chang that young and old will get a kick out of. Treasure Island Old-Style Grocery Store is built to resemble an old Taiwanese neighborhood shop from decades ago, right down to the wooden facade and telephone poles, old ice cream freezer, jars of candies and wares recognizable to anyone who grew up here. These include ‘tung tung le’ game, where one pays to punch open a paper-covered compartment containing a toy, or peel back a small paper square to reveal what kind of candy one gets.
Nearby, near the end of the street is Mr. Chang’s more upscale Yen Tsai Stone Art Store, selling upscale Chinese-style decorative and artistic items. At the very end is the Li Pa Chia hair salon (open 11 am-8 pm).
This run-down on Lakeside is by no means comprehensive but illustrates the sheer diversity of interesting, enjoyable places to visit on the street. As many visitors have already discovered, the best approach is to come down and explore for oneself, which almost inevitably leads to further visits.
Weekend days and nights are easily the most popular times here, as people flock to the area not just for Lakeside but also for a stroll around the very pleasant Feng Le Park, which takes up a full city block and is full of nice trails, vast expanses of grass and–as its name indicates–tens of millions of NT dollars in artistic sculpture creations. This winning combination is helping to ensure that Lakeside shopping street and its neighbor park become yet another indispensable Taichung experience.
(DETAILS: The best way to reach Lakeside and Feng Le Park is to take Wenhsin Road south. After crossing Wuchuan West Road, continue south on Wenhsin South Road–crossing Nantun, Wenhsin South 2nd, Yungchun and Wenhsin South 3rd roads–before turning right at the fifth traffic light at Wenhsin South 5th Road. Go to the next traffic light and you’ll see the OK convenience store and park on the left. Turn left there onto Hsiang Hsin South Road and go about 100 meters and you’ll see the free public parking lot. Most Lakside establishments open around 11 am to noon and continue to about 10 pm daily except Mondays, when most are closed.)
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