Beyond the Rhetoric

Gimmicks are huge with restaurants, because they give the owners an opportunity to charge high prices for fairly mediocre food. I remember when sushi was making its first big splash in Vancouver years ago, people loved the idea of a floating sushi bar: wooden boats would float along on a small moat surrounding the sushi bar and each of these boats would have plates of sushi on it. You just had to grab what you liked. The sushi at these places — like Tsunami Sushi on Robson — wasn’t the best, but people went for the novelty, for the experience. You might say the same thing about eating a $60 hamburger.

Over in Taiwan, they’ve got one of the strangest novelty restaurants I’ve ever seen. Modern Toilet is its name and you can probably guess the gimmick that they’re trying to push. When you waltz into Modern Toilet, you are seated at a table that is shaped like a toilet, except it has a glass cover on top. Instead of normal seats, you plunk your rear end on the can. Your food? Don’t expect to get a plate, because it’s served in a toilet bowl.

Please tell me that’s chocolate pudding and not something that the kitchen managed to stir up from the back.

Ed Lau has repeatedly told me that Japan is home to all things strange and awesome, but it’s over in Taiwan where you get to eat on the john. You can imagine how many bad puns can arise from this toilet-themed restaurant…

• The spice from the food might make you a little flush.
• Dine like a king. Sit on the throne at Modern Toilet.
• This business is bound to go down the shitter. (pardon my French)
• The doo-doo is a must-do.
• Take a load off at Modern Toilet.

I could go on, but I’ll leave humor writing to the professionals. Peep the vid for another look at Modern Toilet. And yes, this is absolutely for real. I can still see the WTF look on your face.

Source: TechEBlog

Filed under Food and drink.