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COMPASS MAGAZINE, June 2001. VOL. 8 ISSUE 6

Photo: Henry Westheim © 2001

OF TREES, GRASS, SCULPTURES AND SHOPPING: Savoring the Exceptional Pleasures of Lakeside Tea and Shopping Street by 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

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.

Continued...