Snacks and Stories of ‘Midnight Diner’

Another interruption in my book talk, because I discovered a new TV show.

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories is a TV show all about a tiny Tokyo restaurant that only opens at midnight and closes in the early morning. The chef/owner serves a very small menu, just a couple of basic dishes, but if he has the ingredients, he’s willing to make anything a customer requests. Each episode, new characters come in and order special dishes, and their special food unlocks their histories, connects them to other characters, or both. Late-night hours can be a liminal space and food can be so powerfully tied to memory, and the show captures this feeling perfectly. Since it’s subtitled, I couldn’t pick up my knitting or my phone, so I was even more drawn into the diner’s nightlife.

Every episode is a self-contained story, but there are diner regulars, who appear night after night. They’re an eclectic bunch of city night owls, with yakuza and police detectives both eating at the diner. A stripper and an adult film star both appear regularly, but their stories aren’t salacious. Like everyone else, they have regrets and opportunities. Three office ladies come in together to eat the same dishes every night and chat. Even though they talk about men in almost every episode, sometimes lamenting and sometimes daydreaming, their friendship with each other is their defining relationship. The overall feeling of the Midnight Diner is very warm, even though the diners often bicker, creating a slice-of-life story with almost magical elements as the Master’s cooking unlocks new stories.

A couple of the episodes change genre from these introspective stories of memory and identity. One episode is almost a detective story that hinges on a criminal’s love for cool noodles. (I really enjoyed the Japanese detective story, The Devotion of Suspect X, where you see both the criminal and the investigator sides, and this one episode has the same feel.) But most stories involve a character remembering a pivotal moment or an important relationship through food. As the diners talk about their lives and their choices, the chef sometimes asks leading questions, but more often he smokes, nods, and observes without judging.

This show will make you hungry, especially if you’ve been cooking at home during pandemic isolation. All the dishes are presented beautifully, and even the completely unfamiliar dishes look appealing. I found the list of recipes from the Midnight Diner episodes on Just One Cookbook, with gorgeous food photos, too, but I’ve only made soba myself. On the show, the chef often tells the diners that they could make their own butter rice or similar simple recipes at home, but of course they prefer to have him cook for them, as they relax and connect in the late-night restaurant. And really, who wouldn’t want to eat a delicious meal in the introspective world of Midnight Diner?

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Restaurants Geelong says:

November 13, 2023 at 8:17 am

"Snacks and Stories of Midnight Diner" is a heartwarming blog post that reminds us of the simple joys and connections that food can bring. The author's personal anecdotes and memories of visiting this unique diner create a sense of nostalgia and warmth. It's inspiring to see how this small eatery becomes a safe haven where people from different walks of life come together to share their stories and find comfort in a late-night meal.