Restaurant comic series heads to TV

Huang Lei lead stars Midnight Canteen, a Chinese TV drama adapted from the hit Japanese manga with the same title. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Set in a fictional restaurant which only serves from midnight until dawn, the series revolves around 24 heartwarming stories of the diners.

Cai Yue-xun, a veteran director famed for hit TV series such as Meteor Garden and The Hospital, says he was fascinated by the script for its in-depth touch of humanity.

"The restaurant is like a harbor, providing a sort of psychological sanitarium for those who are hurt and seeking love," Cai said in Beijing on June 8.

More than 200 crew members spent four years on the project, building 300 film sets and tailoring 700 costumes.

Lead stars include A-lister Huang Lei, Taiwan actor Mark Chao, host-actor He Jiong and actresses Hai Qing and Liang Jing.

The comics were previous adapted as TV dramas in Japan and South Korea.

Huang promises the localized content will make the Chinese version appealing to domestic audiences.

Taiwan actor Mark Chao in Midnight Canteen [Photo provided to China Daily]