Night Files
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The second round Travel Around Taiwan Prize foodie winner is: @klcyxha
Pingxi, Taipei.
Going alone on the Pingxi line on a train
has been a matter of many years ago.
♫ Oh! Let it be. Oh! Let it be ♫
♫ There's a lot of words that cannot be said clearly ♫
♫ It's up to here. It's up to here ♫
♫ Leave behind those secrets I don't have the courage to speak out ♫
♫ Our story lies in the food ♫
♫ Oh! Let it be. Let it be ♫
♫ Breathe, breathe ♫
♫ Attentively listen, Attentively listen ♫
♫ Cherish, cherish ♫
♫ The story lies in the food ♫
Dad's Fried Rice
Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?
Can you move over a bit?
Thanks.
My name is Wu Jian Guo. I'm from Fujian.
It's my first time coming to Taiwan. Nice to meet you.
How should I address you?
My name is Wu Lang.
That's a great name.
What is this thing here?
This is a bride's veil.
Are you getting married?
No. This is something a customer ordered.
Oh, I understand. You are bringing it to the bride to wear.
It just so happens
that my daughter is going to be a Taiwan bride, today.
This is a cause for celebration, isn't it?
Here, come, come.
Let's drink together and celebrate.
I'm sorry, but I can't drink.
That's okay. I'll drink myself.
Actually, normally I don't drink.
But the circumstances today are special.
Is it because your wife doesn't allow you to drink?
I'm not married.
You're not married.
Not a problem. A man in his forties is a flower in bloom.
Look at me. I'm already sixty years old.
Even till now there're still a lot of women who want to marry me.
But in my lifetime, it's enough to have two women.
My wife has already passed away.
I only have my daughter now.
Oh right. I'll let you have a look at a picture of my daughter.
Have a look.
This is my daughter. This was taken when she was in high school.
She wanted us to wear matching outfits.
Summer 2005, Xiamen
- Dad- Hey.- I'm back.
You're back? Okay.
I could smell your fried rice a mile away.
You are one brown-noser.
No need to flatter me till you rub me the wrong way.
I've only begun beating these eggs. I haven't even started the fire.
How can there be an aroma?
In a family, the mother is the best.
I am my dad's precious fried rice.
You're considered precious? You are a clown.
Hey, get out. Get out.
Don't come in and out of the kitchen.
Go on. Go, go, go. The fumes will get quite large.
Summer 2009, Xiamen
- Dad! Dad, I'm home.- Okay.
Dad, I really miss... your fried rice!
I'm making it right now.
Dad, that's so old and you're still wearing it.
It's comfortable wearing it.
Where's your luggage? Why do you only have this handbag?
The luggage has been sent to Taiwan.
I'm going to work in Taiwan for three years. I'll be going the day after tomorrow.
You're going to... Taiwan?
Yeah.
Winter 2014, Xiamen
Hello.
Dad, what are you doing now?
I'm having dinner. What is it?
On your cellphone, I've sent you a picture of my Taiwan boyfriend.
Did you have a look?
He's not bad. I've seen it.
He proposed to me.
Dad,
are you able to come to Taiwan?
To do what?
I want to let you to do the catering for the wedding.
Last time it was three years.
This time it's a very long time.
You're saying he looks a little like me.
My daughter. He's a chef.
She reckons he does a better fried rice than I do.
But my daughter, she grew up on my fried rice.
You haven't brought a child into this world. You have no way of understanding this feeling.
Pingxi Station
Are you not getting off?
Well, I'm going now.
Did he really leave?
Did everyone leave as well?
Not good. This is my stop.
That was close!
It can't be that he especially waited for me, right?
So we're going the same way.
Fu Chang Restaurant, my son-in-law, Charles...
- Charles.- Yes.
He's the great apprentice of the restaurant 'Zong Pu-shi'.[ Zong Pu Shi - Chef in Taiwanese is 'zong pu.' ]
[ After the professional name, add on the honorific, 'shi' (sai). The meaning of 'zong pu shi' is 'chef.' ]
This lane may be more commercialized than it had been in the past.
However, it still is filled with the flavor of olden day Taiwan.
The weddings and funeral banquets are most likely very traditional
and handled by the Zong Pu Shi and their apprentices. [ Taiwanese Banquet - 'banquet' is 'entertaining guests with a table of dishes.' ]
I'm sort of missing those times I ate at a Tainan banquet.[ This way of entertaining guests is popular among the Taiwanese folk people, often used after weddings and funeral processions. ]
I'm a little hungry now.
Without delay, I'll hand this over and go eat.
This is my first time seeing my son-in-law. I'm a little nervous.
A moment ago, I already drank two cans of beer as well. It didn't help at all.
Hey, Dad. You're here.
Y-you're Charles, are you?
What did you... just call me?
If you don't like it then I'll just call you father-in-law, shall I?
It'll be fine to just calling me Uncle Wu.
Uncle Wu, you've traveled all this way. I'll show you in so you can rest.
Sure, sure.
Come this way, please.
Little Wu, let's head in together.
Little Wu? Are we this acquainted with each other?
Please guide me along.
Oh, you are the Boss of Wu Lang's store? Mr. Wu Lang? Hi.
Hi. This is the lace wedding veil that you have required.
Take a look first and see if it is in line with your requirements.
Great.
It looks exactly like what I thought.
If my friend didn't introduce such an amazing online store to me,
I wouldn't know that I can order anything. Moreover, the Boss personally made the delivery.
That... Charles...
Why don't I see Xiao Jing?
She's doing her make-up. We will be having our wedding shoot later.
Xiao-cai.
Oh, coming!
Uncle Wu, this is Xiao-cai.
- He will attend to you on trying out the wedding banquet dishes, okay? - Okay.
Sorry to trouble you.
No problem. I will go prepare first.
I will give the wedding veil to Li Jing.
If there is nothing else, the payment...
Why did he abandon me? Make the payment.
That wedding veil is for my daughter?
How about this?
As her father, it's okay for me to pay for her.
Come...
No... it's not the same.
He bought that for my daughter.
Hey.
Uncle Wu, we can taste the food now.
Anyway, it's about time to eat. Why don't you taste the food with me?
Don't be polite.
Although there are many different types of chicken dishes and each has their own unique taste,
we will never get tired of eating steamed chicken alone.
The first dish - Lucky Happiness Platter.
Wishing the groom and bride binding happiness.
Hey!
Where is mine?
In future, this is my daughter's second home.
No, no. This is her first home.
My place over there is her second home.
Next up, we have Stewed Shark Fin Soup.
I hope customers will slowly taste the premium ingredients.
Actually, couples...
don't care how well they eat.
It's good enough as long as they are living harmoniously together.
Harmoniously, right?
And Kungpao Pig Hearts to
to symbolise the groom's and bride's affections.
My daughter's heart is no longer by my side.
But honestly,
Charles's culinary skills is really not that bad.
Oh.
Eat, too. Come...
Aiya, you finally thought of me.
What is this? Steamed Chicken.
Oh, okay... it's so fatty.
Steamed chicken?
Isn't this dessert soup?
This is the traditional taste of Tangyuan dessert soup.(Tangyuan are glutinous rice balls filled with sweet fillings served in broth.)
Wishing the bride and groom unity, bliss and a happy marriage.
My favorite dessert soup. This is not bad, too.
Come and have a bowl.
Uncle Wu.
Hey, you're back.
I didn't get to eat the steamed chicken and dessert soup.
It's hard to keep our daughters by our side when they are older.
She knows that Dad is here, but she didn't come and greet me first.
I didn't tell her that you are here yet.
Why?
Because I want you to teach me how to cook a dish.
Please. This fried rice is not as good as mine.
You shouldn't just judge food on its appearance. No wonder you can't become any kind of notable chef.
Aiya.
Isn't it just egg getting fried together with rice? What's so great about learning it?
That is what people say.
Cooking fried rice is rather edgy.
What will it taste like?
It's delicious.
No wonder Li Jing often despises my cooking.
It has a father's taste.
I will allow you to call me father-in-law at the moment.
Really? Let me try it.
This is my wife's fried rice.
If you want to eat,
go look for your own father-in-law.
Do I look like I have a father-in-law at my age?
- Father-in-law.- Yes?
Li Jing hasn't eat for the entire day just because she wanted to look good in the wedding photos.
She didn't eat for the entire day? That's terrible.
So, I thought of delivering this surprise to her with you.
Oh, okay. Go and deliver it to her quickly. Don't make her faint from hunger.
Are you going to abandon me again?
Hey, I'm sorry...
About the bride's wedding veil payment...
I'm sorry. I forgot to make the payment.
But can you make a trip with me?
Because my wife is in-charge of my money.
Li Jing said that this is the Wu Family's tradition.
Yes... that's our family's tradition.
Xiao Wu, you are in for a treat today.
You can see my beautiful daughter.
How much money does Xiao Jing give you each month?
One thousand dollars?
One hundred dollars.
She's like her mother.
Looks like I'm going to take a loss today.
Uncle Wu, Ling Jing's just inside the rail station.
- Okay.- She's inside the rail station, is she?
The bride is very beautiful.
Seeing the beautiful bride makes you want to get married, doesn't it?
This path of getting married, I also once came close to it.
This is the taste.
It's good that you like it.
Do I look good today?
- Yes.- You look good in whatever you wear.- Very beautiful.
My daughter has good taste.
She's found a husband who's so much like me. Isn't that right, Xiao Wu?
Quickly get the money for the wedding veil and give it to Mr. Wu Lang.
Oh, wait a minute.
- Thank you.- Sorry about that. It's my wife's habit.
This is our family tradition.
Thank you.
Then, I'll be heading off.
Goodbye.
Thank you, Xiao Wu.
Dad, let's take a photo together.
Aiyo, take photos of yourselves. I'll don't want to take photos.
Let's take photos together, Father-in-Law.
Charles, from now on address me the way Xiao Jing does. Call me Dad.
Dad.
This kind of happiness I probably will never be able to achieve.
I'm suddenly hungry.
What should I eat.
Every dish on that table I was in front of not long ago looked pretty good,
especially that plate of poached chicken I couldn't eat.
Fu Chang Restaurant
Fu Chang Restaurant has been around for 46 yrs. The signage itself exudes history. The owner's warm, is the place to hold banquets, features old-style dishes (Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Yu Tun San Xian)—a rarity nowadays, a tradition it continues.
[Menu: Yang's Chicken Roll, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Yu Tun San Xian, Stir Fry Pork with Yam, Ping Xi Bamboo Shoots, White Chopped Free-Range Chicken, Xi Ge (a species of river fish) River Shrimp, Yam and Spare-rib Soup.]
The dishes are here. Be careful.
Hello. You've returned to our eatery.
- Yes.- You must have something you'd like to eat.
Could you get me a poached chicken?
Shallots, don't tell me this is a Pingxi specialty.
- One stir-fry stallots.- Shallots.
- One bowl of rice.Rice.
Okay. Please take a seat here.
Thank you.
Wait a moment, please.
You even bring along your own chopsticks. You're really environmentally friendly.
I'm not particularly environmentally friendly.
I just think that using my own chopsticks the food is especially delicious.
Really? Alright. Please wait a moment. I'll go serve your food.
Thank you.
Please enjoy your meal.
Thank you.
Boss, could I have the bill please?
- The bill, is it?- Yes.
Looking at this, I've selected a perfect set of dishes.
Stir-fried shallots, poached chicken, white rice.
When eating chicken, eat the leg first.
To find out if it is a free-range chicken, you will know by eating the leg.
Sure enough, this is a chicken that has freely run all over the place.
There is no greasy feel in the mouth.
This poached chicken is full of muscles.
Perhaps it has abs.
This mouthful is perhaps the piece within the six-packs.
Eating these shallots is just not the same as eating common scallions.
They've got a pungency to them as well as a little sweetness.
Combining these two tastes together gives it subtlety.
The subtlety goes well with rice.
This rice, they must have used a big wooden steamer to cook it,
blending together the rice and wood aromas. Delicious.
Today, I've selected perfectly.
I'm giving myself a 'like.'
I should make a recommendation to the boss to include this as a set menu and give me a percentage on the orders.
If I don't continue eating, these will become left-overs.
Bye, bye.
Young man, could you please get me another bowl of rice?
- Rice, right?- Yes.- Sure. Wait a moment.
Your rice.
Thank you.
Enjoy.
Poached chicken is delicious.
This shallot with rice is fantastic, as well.
This sort of combination has the illusion of being light,
making you believe you won't get fat no matter how much you eat.
And so, it's easy to eat more and more.
It's truly refreshing.
Seeing clean plates every time
will make you feel that sense of satisfaction that makes you not able to eat anything more.
I invite you to eat this sweet-tasting soup.
Enjoy our festive atmosphere.
Thank you. Thanks.
Glutinous Rice Balls in Soup? Is it a reunion?
I'm used to the loneliness.
I probably can only seek the feeling of reunion within the glutinous rice balls, right?
So the taste of reunion is particularly sweet.
What are you drawing? Peace.
Hope! With the three of us, one is wellness,
one is hope
and one is love.
Wow! It's flying upwards!
Wellness!
Dreams come true!
[ Pingxi is Taiwan's renown location for making wishes. People will write down their happy desires on a sky lantern and look forward to it being realized. ]
It's flying quite high up.
The heart has immediately warmed up after filling up the stomach.[ Fu Chang Restaurant - Address: New Taipei City, Pingxi District, 6 Pingxi Street. Hours: 11:30 – 17:00. Phone: 2-24951047 ]
Sky lanterns. It's quite nice-looking.
But it seems unrelated to me.
♫ Perhaps you feel my life is a little lonely ♫
♫ But I have someone I call my good friend ♫
♫ I flip through each of life's ordinary emotions ♫
♫ In my heart, I gather my most splendid sky that belongs to myself ♫
♫ Watching the crowd go to and fro, I'm a little curious of their story, ♫
♫ As I'm alone in the corner of the store, slowly tasting delicious food ♫
♫ Sometimes, a lonely person isn't necessarily unhappy ♫
♫ Happy and sad, near and far, possessing is gaining ♫
♫ You and me, a song, unable to chew it without regret ♫
♫ Regarding an individual's love, it's worthy when effort and heart has been put into it ♫
♫ Travelling through streets and alleys, sampling all the great flavors ♫
♫ Eating and drinking till we're satisfied. Everyday is a beautiful day. Hey! Hey! ♫
♫ No little sister to keep company is no big deal ♫
♫ Looking for the next stand. Bandits... ♫
♫ Are you full?♫
♫ Are you full? ♫
♫ Two cups of brown sugar syrup and a big drumstick ♫
♫ Are you full? ♫
♫ I'm not, yet ♫
♫ We'll talk again after we've eaten. Don't worry about your waist ♫
The worst in history - hilarious animation.
- Where is it?- It's gone.
I'll look. I'll look. I'll look.
It will give you the most invigorating feeling!Don't be disturbed!
I'm sorry, my Chinese isn't very outstanding.[ Surpass the shortest animation. New face value. ]
[ Gentle Man - How to go on a trip. New, every Tuesday ]Kill you! Kill you!
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