Shinya shokudô

Based on a comic by Yarou Abe, Shinya Shokudo is a story about a small hole in the wall late night restaurant (literally Shinya Shokudo in Japanese) that operates between midnight and 7:00 a.m. in the morning. The restaurant is run by only one person, the master (Kaoru Kobayashi) of the joint. There are only four items on the menu Tonjiru (pork based stew), beer, sake, and shochu (potato liquor), but customers can order anything the master can make in his kitchen. The restaurant is located in the Hanazono area of Shinjuku, and has only the generic description of "Meshiya" (food place in Japanese) on its lantern.

So far 20 episodes has been on air between 2009 (the first series) and 2011 (the second series). They were all broadcast in the late night slot between midnight and 2:00 in the morning. For a late night program that are considered a "hit" if they average 1% viewers, this program consistently got over 2% ratings that attests to its popularity.

The episodes consists of life stories of customers who frequent the restaurant, but starting in the second series, each episodes consists of new customer who have their own life stories going. Because of the hours the restaurant operates, and the nature of its size, customers who frequents the place have their life in specialized areas of society that includes gangs, construction workers, lady godiva, and also part timer, fast food joint owner, salaried workers, but most of them has special background that makes the story unique and interesting.

Each episodes has particular dish that master makes that relates to the story. The list of foods on each of the episodes are as follows:

Season 1:

1. Baked Sausage and tamago yaki.

2. Bonito shavings and rice

3. Rice with tea

4. Potato salad.

5. Butter rice

6. Katsu Donburi

7. Egg sandwich

8. Yaki soba

9. Broiled Aji

10. Ramen

Season 2:

1. Baked Sausage

2. Chicken Karaage

3. Steamed clam

4. Nikogori (gelatin left from cooking fish)

5. Canned foods

6. Cream Stew

7. Pickeled Bock Choi

8. Cold ramen

9. Potato cooked with beef

10. Gyoza (Pot Stickers)

The series is superb in that it tells the story of the underbellies of the society with emotion, sentiment and love unlike any other stories told. Food designer Nami Iijima designed the foods that appear in this series, and all of these items are common items consumed by Japanese families, but not usually served in ordinary Japanese restaurants.

If you can find a copy of this drama, it will be an interesting watch guaranteed.

While not every episode hit the spot, most were small delights. A series of vignettes to savour.

Ultimately, this is about important moments in our lives and the foods we often associate with them.

The stories are set at the Midnight Diner, a small and comfortable hole-in- the-wall sitdown you wish you could call your own.

Open from midnight until seven in the morning, it attracts an array of regular and casual denizens. The proprietor will make whatever is ordered, so long as he's got the ingredients.

Often what's ordered are comfort foods that remind the patron of the home of their youth, of a parent or someone close, or of a memorable or important life event. Sometimes it's all of the above.

Many of the tales are peculiar, and even if you suspect a direction the story will take, it likely won't.

Everything about the show is simple and unassuming, which of course is akin to most of our comfort foods.

This won't resemble anything you've ever seen. We laughed out loud throughout and shed several tears. Every last second of it is beautiful, thoughtful, and unexpected.

50 years. Best gentle teaching of things Japanese EVER!

I can certainly recommend this Japanese series. It brings to life a group of characters and their multi-dimensional life stories. They all are customers of a late night diner, and each story is told to completion, and matched to a favorite dish. It is a very slow but interesting way to tell a story.