SHIN KONG MITSUKOSHI
111, Taichung Kang Road, section 2
Taichung City
Tel: 255-3333

The biggest of the big, this NT$10 billion, 48,500-ping monster store is ideally-located along Taichung's busiest road not far from the Freeway exit. The building has 14 above-ground floors, two basement shopping levels and multiple underground levels with 1,200 parking spaces for cars and NT$1,500 for motorcycles. There are also parking areas around the stores. Among 700 brand names represented in store's retail areas, 170 are in Taichung for the first time.

HIGHLIGHTS:

-Outdoor entrance plaza--Includes a "dancing" sidewalk fountain that children (and a few adults) find absolutely irresistible. There are palm trees to relax under and 86-meter electronic scrolling sign. At night, the entire building changes colors.

-UCI Cinema Complex--Located on the 13th and 14th floors, this Universal/Paramount movie theater complex sets the standard for Taichung, with eight screens, all equipped with stepped seating and surround sound systems. The first showing of each day is a cheap NT$210.

-12th-Floor Food Court--A perfect place to grab a bite before or after a movie, with Starbucks, Ranch 1 fast-food chicken, TCBY yogurt, Spinelli San Francisco coffee, Cafe Laurent delicatessen, Haagen Dazs ice cream, Frog Jr. Bagels, Frog Mexican and other outlets.

-10th-Floor Culture Hall--An interesting place, with a couple cafe/teahouse establishments and a big hall currently hosting a Chi Mei Museum exhibit (see 'What's On')

-Other Highlights--The Landis Hotel's 4th-floor La Mode restaurant (featuring lighter versions of the hotel's excellent western cuisine); the 3rd-Floor Starbucks (probably the cafe chain's nicest store in Taichung); 9th-Floor Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant (very tasty dumplings in a neat-looking atmosphere); the 11th-floor Eslite book store (always good for some book-browsing).

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