Welcome to TV Tuesday, a column devoted to following the newest and most notable Chinese mainland television shows.
Following the mainland China success of Hollywood flops like The Mummy and the latest Resident Evil installment, there seems to be no bottom line that Chinese audiences won't cross. And yet, Chinese viewers have unanimous in the negative reaction towards the food drama Night Food Market (深夜食堂 shēnyè shítáng).
Originally created in Japan, the well-received TV show has been remade for the Chinese market. However, the Chinese version has been met with widespread condemnation, earning a 2.3 rating on the Douban peer review site by some 45,000 users and making it one of China's worst TV shows (2.1 is the worst Douban rating for TV shows, so far).
This is not an auspicious beginning for a TV show that just debuted, certainly not a good sign for a story that is already familiar and accepted by Chinese audiences. So although we don't recommend anyone watch this show, it's worth analyzing the reasons that made Night Food Market such a flop.
The most common complaint made against Night Food Market is that it is an inauthentic representation of Chinese late night food culture. Media such as the China Daily have pointed out that when mainland Chinese want to satiate a midnight craving, they will head to the local shaokao barbecue and order up a tasty chuan'r along with a beer.
And yet, it's not supposed to. As it was in the original, the premise of Night Food Market is based on Japanese food culture; everything from the wooden service counter to the attire of the single chef comes from Japan.
But much more than than, the concept of Night Food Market has more to do with fantasy than reality. The best way to summarize this show is to think of it as the Chinese version of a magical late night greasy spoon where colorful characters congregate and adventures happen. In this fantasy world, wishes come true courtesy of an accommodating chef (as portrayed by the dependable Huang Lei) who can fulfill any food order, no matter how ridiculous.
And that's where all the problems come in. Even though Huang is presented as an omniscient narrator who somehow knows intimate details about his customers, the most outlandish thing about Night Food Market are its weird food choices.
Chinese audiences were outraged when the show had its characters order instant noodles, balking at the suggestion that you'd order such a low-rent foods at a fancy restaurant from a master chef. Furthermore, audiences were infuriated when a jianbing order was prepared using a youtiao for its "crunchy center," something that doesn't make sense when you consider the literal translation of youtiao is "oil stick."
But that's not all. Audiences have to put up with blatant product placement when watching Night Food Market. Viewers are given a closeup of Laotan pickled vegetables (shown above) as the show's dialog has one character say it "sounds delicious" while another extols its health benefits.
These problems exist on top of the usual maladies that plague Chinese television: awkward pacing, prevalence of voiceover narration, and overabundance of tropes and character stereotypes.
Censorship regulations seem to have prevented the show from making any mention of the criminal underworld, meaning that the show's characters are scared of a black-clad sunglasses-wearing lackey-accompanied shadowy figure for no explicit reason. Meanwhile, no drunk or smoking characters are ever seen in a after-hours restaurant located on a dingy neon-lit bar street (shown above).
Huang Lei gives a restrained performance to round out the hammy acting of the secondary characters, but it serves no purpose when the most interesting thing about him is the magnificent facial scar that says more than he ever could.
Night Food Market is a failure on all counts, but the most disappointing thing about a television show about food is that it does not make you hungry. Clearly, no foodies were involved in the making of this show when scenes of food preparation appear pedestrian and banal.
Anyone interested in the splendors of Chinese cuisine are better off watching season one of A Taste of China or the beginning to Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman (1994).
Watch Midnight Food Store online here.
More stories from this author here.
Twitter: @Sinopath