Mhm, that's something I feel often too. Even now, quite often. But well, I guess that's just how we are. And I happen to have a goal so I think I better strive towards it, even if not thinking about the emptiness is very hard at times.
I find it interesting that sometimes I still feel lonely, even though I know I have a goal. Perhaps I was too deep into the loneliness before that it became a part of me.
I doubt it. This goal, unlike others I tried to call goal before, gave me a stronger sense of purpose. And I've seen the effects of losing it on myself, so I strongly believe this is THE goal.
In Toriko every main item of a meal is called ingredient.
And no, Century Soup sits at the top not because of how tough to get it (well, in the manga currently there is only one way) but because of its so damn superior taste that I could somehow imagine just from the words. The first spoon Toriko tasted made him bit it, because the taste was so rich he thought he was putting supreme steak into his mouth. The soup is pure liquid with nothing else. Go figure.
Bubble Fruit on the other hand because of how it really tests the people who want it.
I'd probably suggest something along the lines of "having a Toriko-themed restaurant IRL" right about now, but I get the feeling this world can neither properly make such materials, nor is it ready for the magnificence (if actually possible).