Taichung is a city full of surprises. Its laid back atmosphere and .... will give you a fantastic and relaxing short vacation. We took the High Speed Rail from Taipei to Taichung and with less than one hour we were there!
台中是一個消費文化豐富多元的城市，相對於台北，她的空間較寬裕舒適，商業行為多采多姿，尤其在餐飲方面十分的豐富。有空到台中來一趟輕旅行，可以帶給你一個放鬆而充滿驚喜的假期。我們搭乘台灣高鐵，不到一個小時就可以從台北抵達此處。
But even en route we can start enjoying this trip already! Taiwan Railway is actually the old State Own Enterprise that runs traditional railway trains. The HSR we took is run by a new company. But HSR cannot compete with the old Taiwan Railway in one particular aspect - the legendary Railway Rice Box!! (esp. the Pork Ribs rice box) We of course bought the rice box from Taiwan Railway and brought it onto the HSR carriage to enjoy our lunch. It is delicious no doubt and also with very reasonable price - TWD $60, or $2 USD!! Look at it and it speaks for itself. Yummmm....
不過，在旅程剛開始，我們就可以開始有點小小享受。台鐵公司是台灣的老國營企業，經營傳統鐵路服務，長年虧損。而我們搭乘的台灣高鐵則是另一個新公司，速度快很多，車廂又新穎。但是台灣高鐵有一項業務無法與台鐵競爭，那就是.... 傳奇的台鐵排骨便當（盒飯）！！ 所以，我們當然是先去買了台鐵便當，再帶到高鐵車廂上享用啦！你看看你看看，是不是非常好吃的樣子？不僅是好吃，而且價格親民，只要台幣60塊錢！人民幣15塊錢不到吧。許多台灣人從小吃這長大的，高鐵無法競爭的，甚至台鐵便當的大廚之類的還被挖角到大陸去了，聽說....
When we finished our lunch, it was about time we arrived. After checking in the hotel, we went straightly to look for the other more internationally known treat of Taiwan. Allegedly this magical drink was brought to the world in Taichung, by this very bubble tea chain store ... (the other also Taiwanese tea store also claims so) We heard that this shopping center has one store on its basement floor. This is it. Park Lane shopping center. A delicate and cosy shopping center. Our hotel is within 5 mins walk.
吃完便當，大概也到了。下車，搭車到飯店，安頓好後，我們就直奔附近的勤美誠品百貨公司，一間非常精緻小巧又舒服的百貨。聽說它的地下樓有那間知名的連鎖泡沫紅茶店，號稱是世界知名台灣飲料的發明創始店。當然啦，還有另一家茶店不同意，他們說是他們先發明的，哈哈。
We found it. Chun Shui Tang is probably the leading bubble tea chain store brand in Taiwan. They are a little bit pricey but are still crowded most of the time. There are countless bubble tea stores in Taichung. Maybe there are disputes on which one is the very first, but Taichung is definitely the city of bubble tea, not just in Taiwan but in this globe! Decoration of the CST tea store is very oriental or should say very Chinese in a modern way. So you can see a lot of tourists from other cities or even countries. We are very familiar with the store so we did not order like crazy. They have branches in Taipei too but the one in Taichung might be a little bit better... Today it isn't so packed so we waited for 5 minutes and got a table. You must order by ticking options on a menu and go to the cashier to pay. You will get a number plate that must be put on your table so your food and drink will be served soon. #42 is our number. Good sign! 42 is such a mysterious number!
找到了！地下一層。吹水堂，喔不，春水堂。這應該是台灣泡沫紅茶第一品牌了！其實價格有點貴但總是常常客滿。台中有數不清的泡沫紅茶店，也許誰是第一間有爭議，但台中毫無疑問是台灣，喔不，是地球上最能代表泡沫紅茶的城市了！看看這間春水堂吧，裝潢都是非常東方或是中國風，但仍具有現代風格，許多客人來自其他城市，甚至其他國家。我們也算常去這類店，且春水堂也有台北分店，不需要太瘋狂，反正有點貴。今天很幸運，等五分鐘就入座了。點餐要自己在菜單上勾選後自行去結帳，然後會給你個號碼牌放桌上。我們今天拿了個42號。42號很好，是個神奇數字。
This is the king of the bubble tea ... The Pearl Milk Tea!! Wow! A silky milky tea that you can chew. Haha, this is how I will describe it.
這就是知名的珍珠奶茶了！泡沫紅茶之王者！要我說的話，就是一柸冰涼的手搖紅茶加牛奶，還有嚼勁！不錯的形容吧？：）
This one is wheat germ hot milk tea. One of my favorite bubble tea.
這杯是熱的胚芽奶茶，我喜歡的泡沫紅茶之一。
Next are some tea snacks to go with the drink. We had black rice pudding (oh, you don't want to know what it is...) and a french fries for my kid. Tea snacks is a very important ingredient of bubble tea stores.
我們點了兩個茶點來配茶，米血糕跟薯條，薯條是給小孩吃的。茶點文化是泡沫紅茶店重要的組成，好的茶店一定有好的茶點。
So we had a nice afternoon tea with CST. My son also enjoyed it because he can draw and he can have fries. :)
好了！這就是我們一個悠閒的下午，夫妻聊天，小孩畫畫而且有薯條可以吃。
See you next time!
咱們下次見囉！