Drawing from Taiwan’s ethnic politics, history, and culinary culture, the story of No. 1, Siwei Street revolves around a historic boarding house for female graduate students. As the five residents cautiously draw closer to one another over their shared meals, the influence of the Japanese genre of yuri fiction (girl’s love) also becomes apparent. By blending historical details concerning the boarding house, the author breathes new life into the structure, an actual historic building located in Taichung, Taiwan. Food lovers, yuri fiction fans, and readers of historical fiction will all find themselves easily drawn into the story.
The convivial dining room scenes, with the young women of the boarding house gathered around the dinner table, are filled with exquisite images of food: desserts like taro porridge, castella (Japanese sponge cake), and lemon-shaped cakes (a specialty of Taichung); main dishes like wine-stewed chicken, old-style fried chicken, chicken soup with pickled vegetables; and snacks like lumpia and fried spring rolls. From shopping, to washing the vegetables, to preparation, everyone lends a hand, their nutritious and mouth-watering meals meeting the unfulfilled needs of body and soul, and their shared conversations promoting their deepening flow of their emotional connections.