12 Days in Taiwan – Day 03 – Grape Farm and Miyahara Ice Cream

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A visit to the grape farm wasn’t on the arranged itinerary with our driver’s company, so this was a really nice and much-appreciated bonus. I was initially worried if we’d actually have enough time for another round of fruit-picking, but the fears were quite unfounded – the grapes are a lot more accessible and also clearly obvious in your face, compared to the hide and seek strawberries! The grape orchard we visited isn’t big, and there were quite a few visitors. But the fruit-picking itself is pretty brisk. We were in and out in 30 minutes, and walked out with a large box of grapes that H and P picked, with assistance from Ling of course.

The grapes are also hanging at varying heights, with the inner areas of the orchard being slightly lower and reachable by twelve year olds and older I reckon. Both H and P needed crates to stand on, with the fruit just barely out of reach for H herself too. I’m not tall, but my head was constantly banging into the overhanging grapes!

Unlike the strawberry farm we visited yesterday, there is an admission fee involved for the grape farm: we paid for two adults – NTD100/SGD4.45 each. But these fees can be used to offset your picked fruit. Our big box upon weighing would cost NTD295/SGD13, but since we’d already paid NTD200/SGD8.90 for admission, we just had to top-up the additional NTD95/SGD4.28 difference.

Lighting was a little harsh from the mid-afternoon sun, but the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 + MC-11 did great again with some really memorable pictures.

The grapes have seeds. Ling says that these are Kyoho grapes, with jelly-like flesh.
Plenty of grapes for picking, and more than enough to go around visitors.
H can managed just fine – on a crate!
The green-fingered wife did the spotting, P did the Plucking.
I can do it myself, really.
I am very pleased with myself.
Loot boxes!
One of the about half-dozen house roosters in the compound. Are they vegan and eat the grapes on the ground? LOL.
Like the strawberry farm we visited yesterday, this grape farm is also unmarked on the map. This is my best guess of where it is.

Our last stop for Day 03 was Miyahara Ice-Cream, right back in Taichung City. The about 50 minute drive saw us arriving at 4:30PM-ish when the sun was just starting to set too. There was a queue of about 20 persons before us, but it moved along semi-briskly – so an about 15 minutes wait before it was our turn to place an order. The prices are about NTD80/SGD3.50 per scoop, so we opted for the three scoop version in a biscuit tray – and the option also includes three additional supplements that we can choose from a variety.

The establishment sits in a lovely building whose decorated interiors remind me of a set from a Harry Potter movie.
‘Miyahara’ is actually the name of a Japanese person who had nothing to do with ice-cream. Rather, Miyahara Takeo was a Japanese ophthalmology doctor in 1927 and who had this red-brick building built for his clinic during the Japanese colonial period.
As this our first visit and we were also struggling with the spoken language, the staff took time to explain the different flavors and ordering process – despite the long queue still behind us.
Young people working the shop selling stuff loved by young people!
“Are we there yet…?”
Our bucket is here. Each order has a ticket number, and takes about 5 minutes to get prepared after you send your order in and pay for it.
Three scoops of strawberry, chocolate, and a Chinese Oolong tea flavored. There was also a complimentary sorbet, in addition to three biscuit-type supplements. Damage was NTD305/SGD13.50.
The kids say this is the best ice-cream they’ve ever had. But they also say that for every ice-cream they eat.
The confectionery, chocolate and pastry shop is already decorated for Christmas.
Location of Miyahara Ice-Cream.

That’s a wrap for Day 03 in Taichung. We’ll be heading to Xitou and Sun Moon Lake the next day!