Today, our third attempt was successful. The first two had been during the week in which I absconded, to go to a tiny Japanese restaurant with 10 seats, which we had heard was very good but didn’t take bookings. The first time, we arrived before it opened and found it shut. Instead, we found another place in the narrow alleys behind it, a rather odd and very nice discovery of a restaurant built over a ruined garden, with light filtered through leaves and a very good home-style farm-to-table Japanese meal. The second time it was open but was no tables were available (we arrived half an hour after it opened) so we went elsewhere for a more Tainanese meal of squid soup and noodles.
This time we arrived five minutes before it opened and were told we could have a table in 2 hours, so went to a nearby cafe, very stylish and pleasant, for a quiet breakfast of the Taiwanese favourite (we are told) of sanmingzhi. This sandwich was surprisingly delicate and delicious one: dense white sandwich bread spread with a very thin layer of lemon mayonnaise, a sheet of nori and crunchy, very thin and chilled slices of raw nagaimo.
After this stop we went on to a nearby temple, an old one with really lovely paintings on the beams and the usual mix of Taoist, Buddhist and folk religious elements. Tainan certainly has some remarkable temples; the only one in Taipei that compares is Baoan. One of the women who was a caretaker there was really lovely and welcoming; there are few overseas visitors these days, though plenty of locals of all ages there to pray, recite sutras or light incense for various gods. She came over, asked us where we were from, and then rummaged behind a counter for a few mintes, eventually emerging with a very helpful brochure about the temple and the imagery and notable works within it. She also brought over two tiny bottles of holy water as gifts.
Lunch was superb. There was a choice of 3-4 dons, each with sashimi, a choice of 3 fried foods (chicken, oyster, squid), and a bowl of miso soup made with salmon. Delicate, delicious, fantastic quality produce, delicious rice and miso, and lovely people. The best Japanese meal we’ve had in Taiwan, and a place we will try to return to, if we can get seats at the counter.
On the way back we stopped at one of the really good cafes, where I have returned to drinking filter again after a few months of indulging in lattes in Taipei. On the way we spotted a cinema with a poster for Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue and recalled seeing it was playing at the department store cinema less than five minutes from our front door. So we stopped there on the way and got tickets for after dinner.
Satoshi Kon’s death is one of the great losses to world cinema. Every one of his films is outstanding. I last watched Perfect Blue at university, and remembered being gripped with suspense but not really of what happened other than a few striking images. It is gripping indeed, and terrifying and also very humane to its main characters. Cinema has suffered with this pandemic, but in Taiwan where the cinemas are open, it has meant the rerelease of a number of classic films (in addition to a number of really terrible new releases, of course).