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For the manager of Infusion Cake & Black-Tea Specialty Shop, Zhang Jiahong, the toughest request is: “Point out the single dish I should recommend.” After seven years of drifting through other counties, Jiahong returned to Chiayi in 2016 and, together with pastry-chef Lai Yihan—whom he’d met earlier—opened Infusion on the lane locals call “Pretty Street.” A sweeping glass storefront, its white mullions slicing the view into neat frames, turns the interior into a series of quiet, cozy paintings. Step inside: soft music wanders through the air, and every guest becomes an indispensable brushstroke in the living canvas. Inside the display case each French-style dessert carries Yihan’s memories of her studies in France and the sparks of daily life; one to two months of testing and refining translate those stories into edible form. The same perseverance she once poured into music now shapes pastries rich with layered flavors and aesthetics. For every cake, Jiahong—behind the bar—pairs a specific single-origin tea. From leaf selection and brewing to the moment the cup reaches the guest, every step passes his strict inspection; serving anything short of “the best” is unthinkable. Perhaps this is why he can never choose one “most-recommended” item: every plate and cup that leaves the pass already meets the highest standard in his mind. Photographs, oil paintings, sketches—rotating artworks on the walls speak quietly when a guest glances up. Like Infusion itself, they wait on Chengren Street for passers-by to step inside and hear their stories. Recommended: Lemon tart, Smoked Earl Grey