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Ice-cream held in mini toilet bowls at Modern Toilet diner in Taipei
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This Taipei restaurant might consider it a compliment to be called an outhouse as the Modern Toilet diner is one of the chain themed eateries appealing to largely young clientele with a special toilet humor.
All 100 seats in the diner are made from toilet bowls, not chairs. Sink faucets and gender-coded "WC" signs appear throughout the three-storey facility, one of 12 in an island-wide chain of eateries with a toilet theme.
Customers eat from mini plastic toilet bowls. They wipe their hands and mouths using toilet rolls hung above their tables, which may be glass-topped jumbo bathtubs.
"Most customers will bring their cameras in because the place is quite special," said Yang Chung-chi, a manager at the restaurant in Shilin district, north of Taipei.
Owner Wang Tzi-wei opened his first Modern Toilet in 2004 after being inspired by a Japanese cartoon and the toilet themes run through the food and drinks menus.
Modern Toilet draws on people ages 15 to 35, especially students from the three universities near Yang's facilities because they're "easily excited," Yang said.
"It's really unusual, so special that it doesn't gross me out," said Betty Tsai, 16, a Taipei high school sophomore trying Modern Toilet for the first time on a friend's recommendation.
But for a few customers, the toilet humor is too much.
"My son thought it was disgusting and didn't know if he could finish his food," said Taipei mother Lin Li-ju.
Managers of the restaurant say the restaurant's popularity shows that Taipei customers, who have a choice of theme-eateries that resemble jailhouses and hospitals, appreciate creative dining.
"In the evenings, we easily fill up," Yang said. "Our headquarters is still looking at expansion."
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(Agencies)
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这家台北餐厅可能会因被称为“厕所”而感到“光荣”，因为这家名为“便所”的主题连锁餐厅以其特有的“厕所式”幽默吸引了很多年轻顾客。
这家餐厅总共有100个座位，全部由抽水马桶组成，而不是普通的座椅。餐厅上下三层随处可见洗手水龙头和区分性别的“WC”标记。整个台湾岛共有12家厕所主题连锁餐厅。
前来就餐的顾客从塑料制的“迷你”马桶状容器中取食，并用挂在桌子上方的卷筒手纸擦手和擦嘴，而桌子看上去则是一个加了玻璃盖的大浴缸。
这家位于台北北部的士林区分店的经理杨春池说：“大多数客人来就餐时都会带着相机，因为我们这确实很特别。”
第一家“便所”主题餐厅创办于2004年，创始人王子伟的灵感来自一个日本漫画。“便所”餐厅的菜单和酒水单全都围绕着“厕所”这一主题。
据杨经理介绍，“便所”餐厅吸引了很多15岁至35岁的顾客，尤其是餐厅附近的三所大学的学生，因为他们“容易兴奋”。
16岁的高中二年级学生Betty Tsai 在一个朋友的推荐下光顾了“便所”餐厅。她说：“这个地方确实很特别，我一点也没觉得恶心。”
但有些顾客则认为“厕所幽默”玩得有些过头。
台北的林丽菊女士说：“我儿子觉得很恶心，吃不下去那里的东西。”
这家餐厅的管理层认为，“便所”餐厅受到追捧，说明创意餐饮深受台北人喜爱。除厕所餐厅外，台北还有监狱、医院等主题餐厅。
杨经理说：“到了晚上，餐厅一下子就坐满了。总部正考虑再多开几家分店。”
（英语点津姗姗编辑）
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