A PLACE TO RETURN
中

No. 39 Daxing Rd., Xingang, Chiayi

On the way home,
keeping the taste of a place, slowly

A PLACE TO RETURN

The entrance of Shanjiu Café: a wood-framed glass door beside a teal rolling shutter
Weekdays
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 10:00–17:00
Weekends
Sat, Sun 10:00–18:00
Closed
Every Wednesday
Phone
05-374-2836

The place

An everyday street behind the temple,
the quiet back side of town

Shanjiu Café sits at No. 39 Daxing Road in Xingang, Chiayi. In Chinese, “39” sounds just like “Shanjiu.” We didn’t plan it that way, yet it feels as if the café was always meant to land here.

We are right behind Xingang’s Fengtian Temple. Step past the incense and the crowds onto the everyday street behind it, and the pace of life slows down. This isn’t the tourist front of town but its quiet back side — a place left for living, and for time to sit down.

We aren’t trying to be a destination. We hope to be a place where you’d like to stop and sit for a while.

Shanjiu Café seen from the street, with plants and the round sign at the door
No. 39 Daxing Rd., Xingang

The name

Shanjiu,
a bird that always flies home

For us, the name isn’t a romantic metaphor. It describes something that is happening right now.

Coming back to familiar land, and slowly bringing the roads we’ve travelled and the things we’ve learned back into everyday life.

The window lamp and Shanjiu Café’s round sign
The round sign and the window lamp

The space

A place where things
can happen slowly

The first and second floors are for coffee and desserts. The third floor is kept for exhibitions, talks and conversations in progress.

Shanjiu Café is more than a café. It is a place where people want to pause, and where things are allowed to happen slowly.

A long table and wooden chairs by the window in afternoon light
Coffee and desserts
Looking deep into the café, with an old clock on the wall
Old pieces we kept
The white third-floor gallery with photographs on the walls
Third-floor gallery

The taste

Deliberately kept
in the middle

When we design our menu, we want the flavours to feel like central and southern Taiwan: gentle, balanced, never showy.

Our flavours are deliberately kept in the middle. We don’t chase intensity; we hope everything we serve is eaten slowly, and remembered.

Coffee and dessert on a wooden table
Close-up of a sliced Basque cheesecake
EggsLiangyun Organic Farm, Xingang
Every item that uses eggs is made with eggs from Liangyun Organic Farm in Xingang. Their natural, chemical-free farming keeps the ingredients honest and steady, and lets the desserts taste simply of themselves. We don’t do this to be noticed; it makes the texture cleaner and the layers clearer, without relying on heavy sweetness to make an impression.
Peanut brittleJinzancheng, Xingang
Our peanut crêpe cake uses peanut brittle from Jinzancheng in Xingang, carrying a fragrance and memory locals know well.
Flake saltJhounan Salt Field, Chiayi
Our sea salt latte uses flake salt from Jhounan Salt Field in Chiayi. The saltiness is restrained, adding balance to the coffee rather than a sharp contrast.
JamMade in-house
The jam in our fruit desserts is cooked in-house. Simmered slowly to keep the season’s sweetness and tartness, lightly seasoned, so the fruit itself takes the lead.

About Shanjiu

No. 39, Shanjiu Café,
will be right here

We believe that walking into Shanjiu Café isn’t just walking into a shop. It’s stepping into time shared with Xingang, with life behind the temple, and with the land.

If you happen to pass behind Fengtian Temple, and you’d like somewhere to sit — for a coffee, something sweet, an exhibition in progress, or simply to do nothing —

A PLACE TO RETURN

Visit

Behind Fengtian Temple,
a three-minute walk

Address
No. 39, Daxing Rd., Xingang Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan
Phone
05-374-2836
Email
shanjiu@39cafe.tw
Hours
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 10:00–17:00
Sat, Sun 10:00–18:00
Closed Wednesdays
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