Bars for bored people

TAI LOAN "The Misanthrope Society" (meaning "The boring world" or "The society away from the whole world") is a place of relaxation completely separate from the outside world.

The bar is located in a dead-end alley in the bustling Taipei night market, less than a minute's walk from the subway station. Guests can identify the bar with a skeleton model sitting at the door. Photo: CNN.

The bar space is also characterized by dark décor: black walls, black menus, black plates, even fried chicken. It serves creative, confusing cocktails with gloomy names like "Ghost Island Tea" (Haunted Island) or "No Longer Human" (Lost in the realms of people).

Visitors here will experience the feeling of escaping from normal life, expressing their mood through the food and drinks they choose. If customers order a "Last Words", they will be asked to write down what they want to say at the end of life. Or "crazy stew duck" can suit the taste of those who are angry.

The chicken, after being marinated in Taiwan's traditional fermented soy milk, is soaked in alcohol and lit to burn the outside skin black. Black fried chicken dish symbolizes the image of hell. Photo: CNN.

The owner, Mr. Chen Xiaoguai, 28 years old was an engineer and was seriously depressed. He was inspired to open a bar after spending a month in the hospital. He received special care from psychologists and medical experts, but after he was discharged from the hospital, the young man no longer felt supported.

The owner said: "I think the most important thing to be able to get out of the darkness is the help from everyone I met in the hospital. So I want to replicate this community, create a space to help people get psychological support ".

Here, customers can freely hate the world, people the way they want. "People who have feelings in their hearts will come here, share, help each other and feel the warmth from others," he added.

The bar is also a cafe and bookstore, with psychological books, autobiographies and novels about dark details in human life.

Since opening in February 2019, Chen says people often come here to cry, talk, or just read. In Taiwan, mental health issues are neglected and even discriminated against.

"In the past, they probably could only talk to family and friends. These people don't really understand them, especially parents, the older generation, who don't understand mental health issues. ", Chen talked about special customers. Older generations often proposed a solution by talking to the monk at the temple, or by superstition.

Heading towards the dark side of society in a humorous way, "The Misanthrope Society" attracts people who want to find a strange drink, as well as a place for people to mate, seeking empathy. When leaving the restaurant, guests can see the words on the exit: "Are you sure you want to return to life?".