Thirteen thousand, eight hundred and fourteen.
That is the combined review count of the five regular KTV venues on record in Zhongli. The lazy way to write a recommendation piece is to rank them one to five, but these five do not serve the same customers, and a forced ranking means nothing. So this piece reads them differently: for each house, who it suits, and who should not go.
Scope first. The hostess-style venue on the Zhongli KTV list is outside this discussion; the five below are ordinary singing rooms or karaoke bars.
The scores, laid out
- 4.8 stars, 3,474 reviews: Kaiyue KTV Zhongli (凱悅 中壢店), No. 136 Datong Rd
- 4.6 stars, 428 reviews: Huanchang Tiandi Karaoke (歡唱天地卡拉ok), B1, No. 645 Yanping Rd
- 4.2 stars, 2,375 reviews: Holiday KTV Zhongli Zhongmei (好樂迪中壢中美店), No. 137 Zhongmei Rd Sec. 2
- 4.1 stars, 4,407 reviews: Cashbox Zhongli Zhongyang (錢櫃 中壢中央店), No. 88 Zhongyang E. Rd
- 4.0 stars, 3,130 reviews: Star Avenue KTV (星光大道KTV), No. 8 Fuxing Rd
Do not cross out the 4.0 just yet.
Our list carries star ratings and counts only, no review text, and we will not invent a reputation for anyone. What can be said is how the trade works: for a chain house with three thousand reviews, the lost stars mostly come from one kind of night. Friday or Saturday, eight to midnight, an hour’s queue, slow food, a knock on the door when time is up. That is a time-slot problem. Walk into the same house at two on a weekday afternoon and it feels like somewhere else. The rating mostly answers one question, whether the house holds up at peak, and on that question Kaiyue’s number is the best of the five.
Kaiyue: highest score, hardest to book
Holding 4.8 across more than 3,400 reviews is rare for a chain KTV. With a sample that large, the score cannot be padded.
Suits: anyone bringing clients or elders, or hosting a birthday, where the evening must not go wrong.
Stay away if: it is Saturday afternoon and you have only just thought of singing. Weekend evenings here fill first; phone 03 427 8838 two or three days ahead. If there is nothing, do not wait it out. The other two station-front houses are within a ten-minute walk.
Cashbox: most reviews, most rooms
Over 4,400 reviews, the most of the five, which tells you the footfall. It is the closest to TRA Zhongli Station, a few minutes from the exit, so rail arrivals hardly need directions.
For ten or more, phone here first and ask for a large room. Room count is its most practical strength.
That is also its weakness: crowds. A 4.1 on a base of four thousand is not bad, but expect a queue at weekend peak. If you hate waiting, pick Sunday afternoon or a weekday evening.
Star Avenue: local prices, family rounds
No. 8 Fuxing Rd, a locally run room-based KTV with over 3,100 reviews. Family gatherings are more common here than at the chains, and prices usually sit a step below them; posted prices rule.
Its 4.0 is the lowest of the five and there is no point hiding it. If sound and décor matter to you, ask when booking whether the room has been refitted in recent years. If you cannot get an answer, book Kaiyue instead.
Holiday KTV Zhongmei: the one for drivers
It sits on the SOGO side, about a kilometre from the station. A drawback for rail arrivals, an advantage for drivers: paid car parks are plentiful around SOGO, and it is a five-to-ten-minute walk after parking. Spaces are tightest from seven to ten on weekend evenings, so arrive half an hour early.
Afterwards the SOGO night route leads neatly to supper. Provided the driver has not been drinking.
Huanchang Tiandi: the answer for one to three
B1, No. 645 Yanping Rd, a karaoke bar: open hall, songs taken in turn, charged by drinks, no private rooms. 428 reviews at 4.6 stars, the smallest count of the five and the second-best score.
Two people in a chain room carry the whole room fee between them. Here, the price of a drink buys an evening of singing. The condition is that you do not mind holding a microphone in front of strangers. If you do mind, do not come. It will be a long night.
When none of the five is recommended
Saturday, eight in the evening, no booking, six people walking in.
That slot is the dearest price band of the week, NT$500–800 a head, and you queue first. How the bill breaks down is worked through in what KTV costs in Zhongli; choosing by head count and finish time is in the Zhongli singing guide. Move it to Sunday, one to five in the afternoon, and the same room commonly costs half.
One last thing applies to every house. If drinks were opened in the room, go home by designated driver or taxi; cars are not hard to call by the station late at night. Rail travellers, the last train leaves around midnight. Look at your watch at half past eleven.