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One-day trail · Taichung
舊城甜點與茶館一日行
Overview
Start with breakfast in the Second Market, walk past two old buildings on Zhongshan Road, have a pearl milk tea on Siwei Street after midday, then shaved ice at Yizhong, and end with braised pork rice at Night School. Two legs need a bus or taxi, but every stop is in urban Taichung.
Opening days and hours change, so check before you set out.
Stop by stop
The market opened in 1917 and stalls start early. A 2020 guide called Shanhe the market's most queued-for name, so order a bowl of braised pork rice; the radish-cake and Fuzhou-style noodle stalls are other long-running ones. In summer, try the máyì soup (Ah-E's stall opens at 6:00, and a 2026 guide gives Monday and Tuesday as its days off). Many stalls close by the afternoon, so go early.
At this stop
A 1927 eye hospital that is now an ice cream and gift shop. Take in the arcade and the tall interior; pick up a pineapple cake or have a scoop of ice cream.
At this stop
A few minutes' walk to 72 Zhongshan Road, where the same group turned an old credit cooperative building into an ice cream shop and kept the vault-style door.
About a 10-minute walk from the Fourth Credit Cooperative. Have lunch at the original store and order a pearl milk tea, and ponder whether Taichung or Tainan got there first. The official site lists hours of 8:30 to 22:00.
Head to the Yizhong area in North District, about 1.6 km away on foot, by bus or by taxi. At the lane corner diagonally across from the school's main gate, have a bowl of sour-plum shaved ice with sweetened beans and ice cream. Several guides give Tuesday as a day off, so confirm first.
At this stop
Open from 17:00. Finish with kòngròu fàn for dinner: pork stewed until soft and springy, packed in a bento box with bamboo shoots and braised cabbage. Cash only.
At this stop
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Keep going
Begin at Yizhong Street with stinky tofu, fried chicken bites and Fengren ice in the late afternoon. Ride to Fengjia after dark for sausage in rice sausage and an egg crepe, and finish with a late bowl of braised pork rice on Jingcheng Road. Some stalls close one day a week (the Yizhong stinky tofu stall on Monday and Tuesday, the chicken bites and Fengren ice commonly on Tuesday), so Wednesday to Sunday is the safest; check the day before you go.
6 h6 stops
Start with steamed dumplings on Gongzheng Street, move through mochi, wonton and scallion pancake with egg, and finish at Dongdamen Night Market at dusk. We could not find reliable hours for several of the shops, so call ahead or check their pages, and keep a fallback in mind.
10 h 30 min6 stops
Head south down the Huatung Valley from Ruisui to Yuli for milk, Yuli noodles, yokan and stinky tofu in a day. The ranch is about 21 km from central Yuli, roughly 30 minutes by car (estimated from OpenStreetMap routing); the valley's shops are far apart, so you will need a rental car or a train-and-taxi plan, and hours are best confirmed locally, ideally with a phone call in the morning.
7 h4 stops
Work in progressLast updated Oct 12, 2026What’s new
20 dishes documented · more on the way
