Chapter 807: The Golden Horse Night Market
Translator: Lan_ Editor: Efydatia
The local film industry had gone through many ups and downs. It had experienced both wars and politics, and during the late 1980s, it had observed from the sidelines the rise and fall of the mainland’s film industry.
As the Chinese film industry bloomed, more and more films participated in the exclusive film festival. Ke Ke Xi Li, which was a mainland film, had reached the final round thanks to its unique humanistic nature and realistic shooting technique.
Among the familiar Hong Kong actors, people saw a popular Asian star called Qin Guan. As the protagonist of “Ke Ke Xi Li”, he was one of the nominees for the Best Actor Award.
All the other nominees were more famous than him in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The nominees were Liang Chaowei from “2046”, Liu Dehua from “Infernal Affairs III”, and Zhang Xueyou from “Golden Chicken”.
They were all representatives of the best actors in Hong Kong, compared to whom Qin Guan seemed weak.
When Qin Guan reached Taipei, he didn’t feel uncomfortable. It looked like a regular city in South China. He just felt annoyed with the standard Mandarin of the Taiwanese.
Qin Guan had good friends in Taiwan, so two beautiful women welcomed him at the airport. Xu Ruoxuan and Lin Zhiling attracted a lot of attention.
The keen Taiwanese paparazzi had been waiting at the airport for them. Fortunately, Wang was a very capable girl. The two ladies showed up at the exit at the same time, so that the newspapers the next day wouldn’t accuse Qin Guan of having a secret girlfriend in Taiwan.
This would be the opposite of Qin Guan’s aim, which was to just attend the festival as quietly as possible.
Unfortunately, the reporters stuck around Qin Guan like flies around honey. Flashing lights twinkled everywhere as some brave guys shouted at him.
“Are you confident about winning the award?”
“Liu Dehua almost won the award last year. He seems really confident this time. What do you think of him?”
“Will the Golden Horse Festival be the end of your success?”
Everyone glowered at the idiot.
No judge would dare cause Qin Guan’s failure in Taiwan. That would not be a smart idea. After more than 40 years, the film industry on the island was fading. The Golden Horse Festival only kept going so it could save its dignity.
If it weren’t for the superstars, no one would be paying attention to a festival on such a tiny island. In an effort to flatter the mainlanders, the organizers had even replaced Zheng Yuling, the exclusive female distinguished guest, with Lin Zhiling, because of her recent success on the Chinese mainland.
They were certainly not brave enough to cause the award-winning actor’s failure.
Taking advantage of this, Qin Guan escaped with the two ladies. The reporters regretted their words when they came back to their senses. They had missed the chance to get any useful information from him.
As soon as he reached his hotel, Qin Guan got lost in the delicious food of Taipei. The city was famous for its night markets. Only in its noisy, bustling markets did the stars get the chance to relax and focus on the food.
Foodies loved traditional night markets, as authentic tastes could only be found there. There was a variety of food available, including sticky tofu, fried squid tentacles and frog eggs. The most famous specialty there though was oyster omelette.
Just as its name implied, the omelette was made of fried oysters and eggs. Most people from the Chinese mainland couldn’t tolerate its strange taste, as it was hard for the cook to clean all the oysters properly. Plus, oysters were not suitable for old people.
This was actually Qin Guan’s favorite.
He followed the two ladies’ suggestion and led his team to the busiest night market in Taipei. The oysters there came from Lok-kang and they were caught the same day at the harbor and transported to Taipei.
The fresh oysters looked large, tasty and juicy, so one portion per person would be enough. The owner of the stand was busy frying the oysters. A large pan of ingredients could satisfy 10 people, but he had to work consistently in order to feed his customers.
Qin Guan was waiting in line in leisure. Even waiting for such a snack was fun.
When the fresh oysters were half-cooked, the man poured egg whites, sweet potato powder, seafood juice and other spices to create a pancake. After a short while, the mixture turned golden yellow.
He divided the large pancake into smaller portions and put them on dishes. When he added a little hot sauce, they became authentic Taiwanese style oyster and eggs. The dish was soft and tasted like seafood. It tasted like the lifestyle and romanticism of the people in the city.
The history of that snack was filled with heroism.
