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COMPASS MAGAZINE, July 2006

Chilling out with ice cream: Swensen's 396-398, TaiZhongGang Rd., sec. 1

When it comes to all-American sundaes in Taichung, there's really only one option, Swensen's. Part of the family restaurant/ice cream chain that dates back to a 1948 start in San Francisco, Swensen's Taichung branch has a daily selection of 23 ice cream flavors, out of a total of over 30 available flavors. Ice cream is made completely with fresh milk (and no water) and other ingredients imported from the U.S. and includes flavors ranging from Blueberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and Sticky Chewy Chocolate to Japanese Green Tea, Red Bean and various fruit sherbets. Scoops are NT$85 for a single and NT$150 for a double, or there's the NT$220 pint and NT$420 quart (946cc). The incomparable sundaes are sinfully-rich creations that include everything from the classic Banana Boat (NT$260) and this writer's personal favorite, the Ultimate Chocolate Sundae (NT$195), to the eight-scoop Around the World (NT$550). There are also ice cream floats, sherbet freezes, smoothies, and seven flavors of seven-inch ice cream cakes (NT$950). Starting on July 1, Swensen's has introduced new, fresh looks for its sundaes. During July and August, the restaurant is also open later, to 2 a.m., with a full dining menu available to 1:30 a.m. Finally, from July 8 to 16, there is a buy-one-get-one-free deal on scoops and quarts of ice cream (limited to eight flavors).--By Niang Chen and Douglas Habecker Translated by Cara Steenstra, Tre Gordon and Picker Chen