Solitary Gourmet

Chicken Rice and Soupless Noodles of Yongle Market, Taipei, Taiwan (5x5)

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It is Goro's (Matsushige Yutaka) second day in Taiwan. On this day, he will research on Taiwanese products for the upcoming trade exhibition in Paris. He goes to the National Traditional Arts Center in Yilan County. There, he finds all sorts of good ideas for the exhibition: glassware, tea utensils, brushes. He also tries candy-coated tomatoes being sold there. At a tea house, Goro encounters a young entrepreneur Liu Shinichi (Mizuma Ron) who gives him a tip on where to go and find more Taiwanese goods. "Go to Dinghua Street". Goro takes his advice and visits the old warehouse district at Dihua Street in Taipei. The exotic items there made Goro hungry, so he goes on a food-hopping adventure around Yongle Market. He chooses an eatery called "Yǒnglè Xiǎochī" and asks for a meal of Taiwanese street food. Next he tries a stall called "YuanWei LuRou Fan". Not fully understanding the Chinese menu, he takes a plunge and orders unknown dishes with weird sounding names: "Dried Noodles" and "Sewage Soup". Lastly, craving for some sweets, he buys douhua (bean curd snack) at "Guzao Wei Douhua". There, he encounters another lone wolf like himself, Wulang (Winston Chao), eating quietly in a corner. The two men eye each other curiously...