In Tainan there is a marvelous space. It is a cafe, cum art gallery, cum event hall, and much more. I had the pleasure to visit it upon a friend’s invitation. It was supposed to be a simple coffee meeting, but it turned out to be marvelously more.
The visit
As I noticed for other nice cafes in Tainan, The Marvelous Space is hidden in a non-descript building. The entrance is on a side alley. You can see the sign above in Chinese (飛石樓). It is perched on the 8th floor.
Entering the shop, you are welcomed in a very spacious room.
A massive wooden table extends for most of the room. What is really impressive is that every corner of the space is dotted by artworks: prints, paintings, statues, furniture. Every single piece has a story.
The baristas have been training for years with a famous coffee master from Taipei and my friend immensely enjoyed his coffee. I had an equally satisfying Oolong tea with cookies.
Some of the teas, tea-ware, and even some of the artworks in the shop are for sale.
The owner kindly walked me and my friend around his studio showing his collection of rare prints and paintings from Zao Wou-Ki, a renown contemporary Chinese-French painter (he passed away in 2013). He had specimens both from his early “Paul Klee” phase and his subsequent more abstract period.
But they also had some more affordable design objects.
In the adjacent room, there is a space sometimes used for events and equipped with a state of the art audio system.
The check
I was kindly treated to this coffee, so I cannot comment on prices. But quality come at a price.
The Marvelous Space is a testament of the well-developed aesthetic sense you can find in Taiwan where tasting an outstanding coffee or tea surrounded by the beauty of hand-picked artwork is not out of the realm of possibilities.
Where in Tainan:
8F, No. 83, Section 2, Yongfu Road.
In Chinese: 台南市中西區永福路二段83號8樓.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themarvelousspace/.