Fourth Credit Union (台中市第四信用合作社) - Sister Branch of Miyahara (宮原眼科) @ Taichung City in Taiwan

When the expression on my face spoke of impatience with the queue at Miyahara (宮原眼科), a savior in the form of a staff member advised me to check out Fourth Credit Union; a sister branch said to have a much more manageable queue! 

Distance to the refurbished building which used to function as a credit union - just about a 200-meter walk; absolutely comfortable in the cool January weather.

Calling it refurbished might be an overstatement given the almost raw look of exposed concrete beams and pillars, giving visitors a vibe that the renovation might have just been half completed due to a lack of funding!

Nevertheless, the interior impresses with double volume ceiling, hanging light bulbs and even a gigantic, blown up printout of a bank note! 

There was even a display of a heavily used doors of a bank vault.

Just the doors; don't expect treasures beyond .

Preserving the legacy of the credit union. What's the difference between a credit union and a bank? Basically, "credit unions are not-for-profit, member-owned cooperatives that focus on serving members with lower fees and better rates".

Going up the second level via the staircase that reminded me of buildings in the past, especially the wooden handrails at the side! 

Photograph of the ground floor from the upper floor. 

Compared to Miyahara (宮原眼科), where you can only order takeaway unless you make an advance reservation, Fourth Credit Union was filled with seats! Level one might be packed but there's always the second level, which looked way cooler with its red lanterns. 

One thing I couldn't understand; why the need for ants on the floor?! According to a posting in Chinese, it's supposed to infer that ants follows desserts, hence, you should follow the ants to get your desserts! 

Anyway, let's not forget our purpose of visit; to check out the ice cream, and I can guarantee you that it's a huge test on whether you are a fast decision maker. 

There were four freezers of ice cream; and each contained 18 flavours. With at least 72 flavours for you to choose from, it's extremely hard to select what you want from the colorful palette! With a minimum spend of NT$100 a person, you can secure the minimum with just one scoop. Two scoops cost NT$185 and three scoops shall set you back by NT$255. 

Each scoop also gave you a free topping. Now, my eyes popped out when I saw the freezers of 72 flavours. However, my eyes almost detached when they caught sight of the "topping" section.

24 to choose from, and they ranged from cheese cake, pineapple cake, earl grey cream cookies to even a whole banana! You get the basic ones like pumpkin seeds, almond chip but why waste the free topping!?

Our triple scoops of ice cream consisting of mascarpone raisin, vanilla milk and kyoho grapes,with native pineapple cake, cheesecake and earl grey cookie as toppings. 

Cheesecake was soft and cheesily good; native pineapple cake appealed to us with its signature sourness although pastry skin was more biscuit like and the earl grey cookie didn't have that iconic earl grey aroma and texture was digestive biscuit like.

Loving the ice cream! The vanilla milk was most normal even though still pleasing for the palate. Kyoho grapes was literally blended grapes with ice, with the skin still intact; naturally delicious! Mascarpone raisin was expectedly like rum and raisin; albeit richer with a higher alcohol content!

Please remember to clear your tray.

Singaporeans should be accustomed to this. 

Freshly made waffle bowls.

p.s. cost NT$20 more. 

Aside from ice cream, you can also get pastry, coffee, tea and even brunch at Fourth Credit Union! We neither had time; nor the stomach space to check out the rest! 

If you are ever in Taichung, forget about Miyahara.

Just proceed to Fourth Credit Union (台中市第四信用合作社)!

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Address

No. 72, Zhongshan Rd, 

Central District, Taichung City, 

Taiwan 

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Three Scoops - NT$255

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

More Than Just a Toilet Break at An Cu / Lap An Lagoon, Between Hue and Danang [Vietnam]

The large lagoon loomed massively on the left side of our mini-van, with the hills as the backdrop, and a man with a pole just ankle-deep in the water; as if he was ready to use it as a spear for a kill. 

Moment was fleeting yet we were wondering where was this place. In a few more moments, the van stopped, and we were asked to disembark for a toilet break. Great; there should be an answer to my question.

First - let's visit the toilet which was within this shop that sold pearl jewellery. We knew the drill well; do your number 1 (or 2), come out, take a few looks, give a few smiles and then discreetly step out of the shop.

For this kind of "shopping" stop, it's normal for the toilet break to last for 10 or 20 minutes. Good thing was that there's usually a place next to it where you can get some drinks or snacks. 

Coffee would be a must for all three of us!

Ranged from 25,000 to 50,000 Vietnamese dong.

Menu as above for reference. Food not required for us since Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel provided buffet breakfast and given how stingy we were; it's a given that we have had a filling meal just about 2-3 hours ago.

While Alex relaxed at the cafe, my mom and I walked across the road to the lagoon for some much needed photo-taking. This place was definitely not listed on the itinerary of the day trip to Hue, yet it commanded so much beauty that it will be a pity for us to just ignore.

Known as An Cu  / Lap An Lagoon, it's a 71-square kilometer pool of freshwater connected to the South China Sea and located just 29 kilometers from Da Nang City and about 64 kilometers from Hue. 

Aside from its picture-perfect scenery, the lagoon is also known for its offering of fresh seafood and the oyster farms that started from 2004 involving "245 households from 5 villages"! 

Oysters shells on the lagoon sand bank. Five types of oysters were reared; "the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), duck bill oyster (Crassostrea sp1 .), snail oyster (Crassostrea sp2), stone oyster (Saccostrea cucullata), and estuary oyster (Crassostrea rivularis)" and the most popular estuary oysters.

In addition to rearing the oysters for meat, another important commodity would be pearls, which we had earlier seen earlier in the shop that also doubled up as our toilet stop. Well, I am just wondering on the allure of natural pearls nowadays; are they popular with the young nowadays?

Beautiful spots for photo-taking. Honestly, we just covered a short section only and those interested to explore more of this place, and catch their supposedly famous lagoon sunset / sunrise, can consider staying at the nearby Lang Co Beach.

Do keep in mind that you do get "industrial pollution" sights like the above, but it's part and parcel of oyster farming, where a supposedly "1,000,000 old bike tyres, and 140,000 timber/bamboo stilts" were used. 

And don't expect powdery white sand! 

Now's the time for photo-taking, with my mom as the model. Even though it was just a short stopover, I must admit An Cu / Lap An Lagoon left a deep impression; to the extent I will consider a stay at Lang Co Beach in the near future! If only the airfare to Da Nang is cheaper.

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Address

111 Nguyễn Văn, TT. Lăng Cô, 

Chân Mây - Lăng Cô, Huế, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Click HERE for My Day Trip to Hue City: The Former Imperial Capital, with Chinese Speaking Guide