For our stay in Taichung, I selected Le Meridian. The rooms were the most comfortable of all the places we stayed at in Taiwan.
And there was a vast and good breakfast buffet.
The variety was quite impressive. A nice variety of Western and Asian dishes.
You were provided with a card for your table. You left it on the "green" side for when you went exploring for food…..
And then flipped it to "red" when you were done to let the folks know they could clear your table.
We enjoyed our breakfasts here.
We enjoyed our time here.
Unlike the other places we'd be visiting, I hadn't made any plans for our full day here. We had one destination in mind for the day, we needed to get some pineapple cake from Dawncake for my MIL. And while Miyahara was owned by Dawncake, we decided to walk on over to the main store on Taiwan Boulevard.
During our walk it seemed like Taichung is a bit spread out and there was only 1 MRT line in the city at the time of our visit. So, we didn't do much except explore. Like in other cities in Taiwan we found an interesting contrast of the modern and stylish….
With the old…..
As the architecture seemed to change on every block on this portion of Taiwan Boulevard.
There were many alleyways winding their way around, with some of them specializing in electronic shops or hot pot and the like…..
There also seemed to be a large number of 24 hour arcades in the area.
One of the places the folks at the hotel and the Missus's Instagram searches recommended we visit was Taichung Second Market. While we weren't very hungry due to just finishing breakfast, we headed on over to have a look.
During the Japanese Colonial Period, this was known as Shintomichō, a high-end shopping area.
Now it's known as a place to get "good grindz"………
And as we soon learned, lines are usually a good thing in Taiwan and they can move pretty fast, like at this Lu Rou Fan stand.
There's quite a variety of food available.
Along with the expected produce, seafood, and meat purveyors.
Taichung Second Market
No. 87, Section 2, Sanmin Rd.
Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan
We stopped for a short tea break.
Where the Missus noticed a super long line going down around the block. She went to investigate and I crossed the street to take a photo.
Apparently, this is a very popular place selling Castella Cake, named Banshin Castella Cake.
Yep, those lines……
All of this and it was just after 9 am!
We headed further up Taiwan Boulevard, to the rather modern Xitun District, full of office towers and high rises.
We came across what looked like a hotel….it turned out to be the Splendor Hotel, with a bunch of vendors selling all sorts of plants and crafts. The Missus read one of the signs and noticed that the building is called "Park Lane" and on the third floor was something called "Taichung Sixth Market". Since it was still early and Dawncake didn't open until 10 we decided to check the place out.
We caught the elevator up to the third flood and arrived at what I'll call a very modern food hall/market of sorts. There were some food stands but they weren't open yet.
Like I mentioned earlier; we were struck by the contrasts of the old (Second Market) and the new.
While all the food stands were closed, we found this tea booth.
The young man working the stand was so kind and friendly. The Missus loves Her tea and he took the time out to explain the source and flavors of all the tea; which was from his family's farm in Alishan and told us to have a seat.
He proceeded to make us multiple samples of each! Telling us to take our time and enjoy.
It was such a nice experience and we bought a couple of bags of tea.
We'll make sure to return if we're back in Taichung!
Taichung Sixth Market (in Park Lane by Splendor)
403 Jianxing Rd.
West District, Taichung City, Taiwan
By now it was after 10am and Dawncake was open.
The Missus's Mom enjoys pineapple cake, so we decided to pick some up on every stop during our trip. Dawncake is probably the best known brand from Taichung.
The shop is large and bright. We were given some samples and the Missus got Her Mom a box.
Meanwhile, I came across something I had seen the previous night at Miyahara.
And this time I just had to get it.
It's actually tea that is sold in what could pass as an album cover. So, the Missus got more tea and I got that wonderful album cover…because "I'm forever missing them….."
Dawncake
No. 512, Section 2, Taiwan Blvd.
West District, Taichung City, Taiwan
Happy Mother's Day!
In reality, The Mister and I shop here quite often and try to have a bite to eat before walking down the aisles. 
There is almost always some sort of sale/display in the center entrance area. The two main restaurants are to your left.
Hokkaido Ramen Santuoka is a favorite stop, especially on these chilly, rainy days. 
The display of the menu -in plastic form-is mesmerizing. All bowls are available in small, regular and large sizes. 
Shio, soy sauce as well as the miso broths (non-spicy; I like to taste ingredients) are each milky, rich and strong flavored. The thin, fresh noodles are slightly firm. Each ingredient is fresh and perfect together. (This is a small size basic miso ramen ($11) you can order char siu, tonkatsu as well as a variety of sides or sets).
The other restaurant, Musashiya, has an even larger display of Shokuhin Sampuru; an overwhelming menu and choice of items. Musashiya is owned by Mitsuwa. 
The #24, Chicken Katsu Set (the small food model photo is only 'off' by the color of the chicken breading) ($15) is large enough to share for a light lunch. Miso soup, potato salad, cabbage, pickles and omelet (tamago) along with a good portion of rice are each a compliment to the large piece of crispy chicken cutlet.
The tempura zaru soba ($12.80) has been a choice ever since I realized that soba noodles do not seem to affect my blood sugar level the way udon does. The two fritters (kakiage) of tempura vegetables with shrimp were very light and crisp.
The Sanzai soba ($12) is a bowl ordered when I don't want meat for a meal. The vegetables are Japanese parsley, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Really tasty, filling and a bit different.
When you walk in the front door of Mitsuwa, to the right is J Crepes & Cafe.
Which, of course, has its own display of plastic food models. 
Strawberry crepe ($7.50) add vanilla ice cream ($1)
It's light and fluffy, but not "jiggly" like the Missus prefers. I pick up stronger cream cheese tones and strangely, I thought it could be a bit sweeter! It's also missing the slight almost citrus tanginess that we like. It is quite delicate. The Missus prefers this version slightly refrigerated.
We were instructed to start with the "naan", basically a buttery cube of flatbread with wonderfully flavored fowl in it. The skewered liver was wonderfully gamy and delicious. 
We started at the top right corner of this map (Green Line), changed to the Orange Line and after getting downtown, changed again to the Blue Line going North, ending up at the top left of this map. (Going home, we changed from the Blue to the Green Line)
It was sunny leaving Santee.
Then it got a bit cloudy when we hit downtown.
Many people left the Trolley at this stop, since it was closest to the Ballpark and the Padres had a playoff game.
By the time we were headed on the 'new' line, alongside Interstate 5, there was full fog.
We stayed on until the last stop, followed signage (and the other people who exited) to the Mall (through the parking lot) and eventually got to the Food Court, which overlooks the Ice Rink.
After checking all of the Food Court offerings, we decide on a meal and went off to order. The Mister stopped here, at Craft Pizza.
He ordered a Calzone with ham, sausage and mushrooms; an item going back to our dating days. This was excellent.
I went over to Kebab Grill and ordered a 'Lunch Special' advertised behind the cash register to the left in this photo.
Salad and
Lentil soup. Each was really good and made for a filling and complete meal. Then we started walking around the mall. 
The Mall has remained about the same, with new stores taking the place of old ones. There were some interesting vending machines.
Then we saw this. Had to stop.
A great selection of cookies, cupcakes, pastries and ice cream as well as hot and cold beverages. 
We shared a cup of coffee and a 
It was still overcast changing from the Blue Line to Green Line in Old Town.
Passing the new Snapdragon Stadium and back to sunshine by the time we got home.
There are a few choices of shaved ices along with three sizes (the prices are $9.75, $10.75 and $11.75). Topping combinations are varied and all sound good. I pointed at one on the laminated menu at the register. The cylinder shaped Q-mochi, potato balls (sweet potato/taro), jelly and mini mochi balls surrounding the ice cream topped fluffy milk soaked shaved ice made each bite unique. We ended up taking a lot home.
At the curve in the alleyway stood a little gelato shop. The Missus and I decided to take a short break here.
Good lord, this was so delici-yoso, perfectly roasted, the bones were bursting with buttery-beefy marrow, which just melted in your mouth. A perfect amount of salt and the herbs added layers of flavor. This was so darn good, that we immediately made reservations to return on our last night in Guanajuato.
Located at the 'corner' of the 
Walk up, order, pay and wait about five minutes. All items are made fresh.
One day, I had ordered my meal at another Food Court business and decided that my 'side dish' should be a cheddar-mozzarella ($4.45). This is probably now my favorite item here; quite large and wrapped in the delicious, slightly sweet fried dough. The condiments of 'cheddar cheese' and 'cheese mustard' are tasty additions to add a variety to each bite (I add condiments on the second half of most menu items, enjoying the intended flavors on the first bites).
One day I decided to try the Sausage Kkwabaegi ($3.25). Not very large, a good sausage surrounded by the same light, sweet dough. This was a nice snack. 
Of course, the traditional Kkwabagi (two for $4.49) are what most people order. The Mister chose matcha and ube flavors, saying he thought they were 'photographable'. Very true and very nice flavors. The matcha mixed with sugar had a nice 'background' flavor of green tea/tannin and the ube was lightly flavored but still the starch of ube was discernible. The light crunchy exterior and chewy interior of these yeasty, twisted doughnuts is enhanced because they are still warm when served. 