What to know | Looking Back at Moonrock's A-Liao and His 2025 Tainan Route: Sichuan Diner and Rail Coffee

In July 2025, Moonrock co-founder Liao Yi-Che (A-Liao) publicly shared a Tainan route of his own—not a tourist-style list of famous spots, but two places he had long frequented: a Sichuan diner tucked in an alley off Yancheng Road, and a coffee shop run by a longtime friend. The two places differ in nature, yet together form the rhythm of his daily life in Tainan.

What to Eat at Hao San Sichuan Diner's Original Flagship Store

The "Hao San Sichuan Diner Original Flagship Store" (參號川味小館創始總店) that A-Liao mentioned is located at No. 3, Alley 27, Lane 291, Yancheng Road, Tainan City, run warmly by a proprietress, with a variety of side dishes available to pair with meals. In his post, he specifically mentioned three dishes he regularly orders: Sichuan flat noodles, red pepper tofu skin, and red oil wontons. These dishes all fall within the realm of everyday Sichuan home cooking, and eating them together with side dishes is his own fixed ordering combination—not the full scope of the restaurant's menu.

What makes this selection distinctive is that what he listed is his own personal ordering combination: noodles, tofu skin, and wontons offer different ways to get to know a Sichuan diner, but they don't amount to the complete menu. Readers hoping to visit should first confirm the restaurant name and alley address, then check the day's offerings and portions, rather than treating the few dishes the interviewee habitually orders as a fixed set menu.

The Spatial Connection Between Rail Coffee and Floating Objects

In the afternoons, A-Liao habitually heads to "Rail Coffee" (軌咖啡), located at 2F, No. 22-68, Lane 79, Zhongshan Road, West Central District, Tainan City. The shop owner, A-Gui, and A-Liao are longtime friends—the two were once senior and junior members of TCRC together—and this relationship gives Rail Coffee a personal, friendship-tinged quality within A-Liao's route, rather than making it merely a place of consumption.

Rail Coffee's spatial design comes from the hands of "Floating Objects" (伏流物件), a team that is also the collaborating artist for Moonrock's lighting fixtures, giving the two spaces a recognizable creative connection. For those following this route, beyond the drinks, it's also worth noting how the same creative team works across different venues.

At the time, A-Liao often shared that he ordered medium-dark roast Mandheling, and would also buy coffee beans to take home and brew himself. Drinking a cup in the shop and buying beans to brew at home are two extensions of the same preference; if following this clue to select beans, one must check the current batch and roast level again—2025's choice shouldn't be taken as a fixed item still offered today.

It's worth noting that before entering Rail Coffee, one must first check the notice posted at the door to confirm whether the shop is full. This detail indicates that the coffee shop's seating arrangement has its limits, and checking the posted notice on site is a necessary step before entering to dine or have coffee.

Two Kinds of Life Sense Within One Route

From the Sichuan diner to Rail Coffee, A-Liao's Tainan route links two starkly different yet equally real scenes of life: on one side, a home-style Sichuan restaurant run by a proprietress in an alley; on the other, a coffee space built by a designer friend. This route, publicly shared in July 2025, presents A-Liao's personal visiting habits and preference combinations at that time, rather than the latest official information provided by the shops. Readers planning to visit should still confirm the current status of these establishments themselves.