Tiachung, Taiwan: Miyahara ice cream

Miyahara Opthalmology ice cream restaurant

Here's what we can see after stepping to a red brick building dating back to the Japanese era in Taichung.

Entering the Miyahara main hall gives you the feeling as if you are entering a Harry Potter themed space.

You can buy truffle chocolates, assorted flavored % cacao, chocolate covered fruits (pineapple, mango, orange, strawberry, guava, lychee, greenmango), etc.

Boxes of assorted pineapple cakes, salted yolk pineapple cake, green mango nougat, kyoho grape nougat, moon festival floral cake, and  flavored cookies.

They also have assorted tea bags, packed on tin cans like perfect for your returning gifts, but may be bulky for your luggage.

This brand is very famous in Taichung. It may look to be a tourist trap of an ice cream parlor at a glance.  Buses will arrive in the main branch, visitors lining up in an ending queue.

As the building used to be an eye center, Miyahara Ophthalmology ice cream, where the crowds have been queuing up since the opening until now, often discourages some tourists.  They have a separate section for the ice cream parlour without you needing to be inside the restaurant.

You can also watch while they are preparing the ice cream to the visitors. 

Since the ice cream shop is for take-out, people would go to the park across the shop.  You can watch a lot of koi while enjoying and finishing your mountainous ice cream and sundae pot.

There is another option if you prefer to skip visiting the main shop. 

Other tourists visit the other branch. Two blocks away from the main shop, Fourth Credit Union 台中市第四信用合作社 Dessert restaurant also offers Miyahara ice cream.

Address: No. 72號, Zhongshan Rd, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400

No reservation needed for this branch.  The menu is more of ice cream and dessert and with seating areas inside the hall.

Moon Saloon

Back  to the main branch, not sure if you can go to the upper floors for photo-op without reservations to the dining hall. 

But for me to appreciate the old place, architecture of the ceiling, and the food - take a chance to book a reservation.

Luckily, I got a seat for an afternoon tea time even a day before my planned visit.  The basic consumption is $1,000 (+10%)/person, but due to gluttony #mukbang session my bill went beyond this requirement.

While sitting waiting for my food, people watching from the window side, appreciating the fusion of old wooden beams and modern steels, what struck me was to hear the familiar, famous, and loved song of all time, they were playing The Moon Represents my Heart in the background. Thank you JY for introducing this song to us. 

Here comes my choice of 3 appetizers: hemp stick (cheese with vegetable rolls), salted chicken and grilled asparagus for 480 ntd.

To keep my throat healthy for the rest of the trip, I can't try their famous drunken moon sundae.  Instead, I had caramel apple ice cream with mille-feuille apple pie and blueberry yogurt, 380 ntd.

For the drinks, I can't decide what to choose, so the dice-game selected for me to have those shining days tea (assam black tea, rosemary, lavender) , 250 ntd for hot/pot.

Overall, they have tasty food, good service, awesome decor, nice place and maybe expensive for a solo diner. 

As I looked up at the ceiling of the dining hall, it felt very old.  Just like hiking the stairs to reach the top-floor of the old houses in Shirakawa village in Japan, or like seeing the vault/roof area of Trinitatis Church in Round Tower in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Climbing up the stairs, rows of wooden trusses and modern steel structures are interlaced, and the copper chandeliers hanging from the sky are reflected, and the new and the old complement each other." - https://www.moonsalon.com.tw/about

How to get to Miyahara ice cream restaurant

Miyahara Opthalmology ice cream restaurant 宮原眼科 

No. 20號, Zhongshan Rd, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400

http://www.miyahara.com.tw/ 

https://www.moonsalon.com.tw/

Want to know more about this trip?

Read on Taiwan: Itinerary for 5 days in Taichung

Day	Places to see	Food and restaurants	Other options
1	Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Cultural Heritage Park market flee at Taichung station	Ramen Zhongshan Branch	Taroko Mall
2	Chimei Museum, Tainan	Miyahara
3	Tsutaya Bookstore Shenji New Village Taichung Park	Keng Tu Yuan Tea House	mezamashikohi trio shopping at GU The Fatory Mojo Coffee
4	National Taichung Theatre National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts	Caffaina Coffee Gallery Dadun Shop café crotchet	Calligraphy Greenway
5	Gloria Outlets Terminal 2 Terminal 1	City burger café Starbucks Qingpu Shop Whittard of Chelsea	National Library of Public Information Daxi Old Street Taoyuan 77 art zone Taiwan High Speed Railway Museum