Not that this deterred hoards of hungry Japanese from swamping the Taiwan Railway's bien dang stall within minutes of the event's official opening. It did come as somewhat of a surprise for Chen and his fellow Taiwan Railway representatives, however. While expecting some interest they were shocked, yet proud, of what actually happened.
Within 15 minutes of the show opening at 10am on Jan. 9, all 400 Taiwan Railway lunchboxes prepared for that day had been sold.
This was repeated the following day, when all 500 lunchboxes sold out within minutes of the show's opening its doors. And day three was no different, with a total of 700 Taiwan Railway bien dangs being sold long before noon.
"We obviously didn't expect to sell out all 400 that quickly on the first day. And when we sold 500 on the second day and even more on the third day I was amazed," said Chen. "I think the secret of our success lays in the fact that the [lunchbox] is simple yet flavorsome."
The lunchbox has proven so popular that Japanese news reports have been filled with interviews with exasperated visitors who had arrived at the event only to discover that Taiwan's lunchbox had sold out hours before.
Missing the opportunity to sample Taiwan's classic pork chop and vegetable lunchbox, one elderly female Tokyo resident was quoted as explaining that she'd be "getting extra early the following day so as to be able to dine on a Taiwan Railway bien dang."
While Tokyo residents looking for that Taiwanese taste of yesteryear have to set their alarm clocks for ungodly hours, locals have it a bit easier. Due to the lunchbox's runaway success in Japan, Taiwan Railway has launched a special Year End Party Lunchbox (
Costing NT$300, however, Taiwan Railway's lunchbox probably won't become a participant in the ongoing "bien dang wars" being fought out between the nation's connivance stores and more recently McDonalds.
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