Saturday afternoon has become my scheduled weekly binge slot – from Video Streaming service (aka Netflix, PrimeVideo, YouTube) offerings to reading a book or just trying something new.
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories was such a delightful surprise one such afternoon. It might have been the haunting melody it was using that got me started but it would actually be the stories that got me hook, line and sinker.
Midnight Diner ( Shinya Shokudou) is a Japanese TV series that tells of touching stories of its patrons by way of food that matter to them. While there really are only 4 menu staples, the chef is open to preparing requested dishes for as long as he has the ingredients.
The episode plots are as varied as the different characters that frequent the shop from 12am to 7am but the stories did tug at my soul. Taxi drivers, Yakuza, drag queens, office and regular workers – they all had stories to tell coming off their comfort food and/or food that evoked sweet and bittersweet memories and experiences.
I liked all the episodes really but a few do standout for me like the episode on sweet rolled omelette that told of a film director who went looking for his “step-mom” whom he remembers preparing the dish and that episode on the lucky bowls of kitsune udon that involved two friends who were aspiring voice actresses or that story of a mentee surpassing his mentor via the Corn Dog episode. Each and every episode though is worth watching. I hope Netflix also airs the remaining seasons as it now only has Seasons 1 and 2.
But other than the stories, the featured dishes made me want to go back to the land of the rising sun and do some food tripping all over again.
my take 