Entree Kibbles: 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

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

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!