Chapter 126 - Chapter 126: Royal Palace (1)

“… What did you just say?”

“You’ve been invited to the royal palace.”

“Like the actual royal palace? You’re not talking about something else, right?”

Martin smirked. He didn’t even have to answer because Emily already knew. She looked back and forth between Martin and the fried egg on her fork and then took a bite.

She then smiled. In between the fried layer was the soft white of the egg, and the yolk was so soft that it almost tasted like sweet potato mousse.

“The royal… Wow, this fried egg is so good. Thank you, Min Joon. Anyway, why? Is it…”

Emily glanced over at Rachel. Jeremy smacked his lips.

“Even withered roses are still roses. Seeing how people still look for you.”

“Choose one or the other. Either cuss me out or compliment me.”

“Keeping it iffy is my specialty. It took me 20 years just to decide between being a chef and a food critic.”

“Make up your mind.”

“This is what leads to change. You can’t say that to a chef. Wait, I’m not a chef anymore.”

Cho Min Joon burst out laughing, and Jeremy smiled as if he had won.

“The Min Joon, who you’ve been going after, laughed at my joke.”

“You’re funny, Jeremy.”

In response, Rachel dropped her head in sadness. Jeremy clicked his tongue.

“Did you think you can win over a young man so easily at your age?”

“Jeremy, act your age and have some class.”

“That’s funny coming from you. What did you say when I went to Rose Island once and said the water tasted weird? You told me to clean my teeth of old food and get rid of the gross smell inside my throat first. That’s what you said to me.”

“That was a long time ago…!”

“No, it wasn’t. It hasn’t been 20 years. Oh, Min Joon, this mango rice is delicious. It tastes even better with condensed milk. It might be better if you add a little soy sauce to it.”

Jeremy made fun of Rachel with a laid-back attitude. Cho Min Joon laughed at them. He acted unlike his age, but he didn’t dislike him.

But Sarah whispered in Cho Min Joon’s ear.

“Don’t look so happy. You’ll get hurt later.”

“I will?”

“Jeremy Bennett is known to have the baddest mouth in the food world. Apparently, pretty much all restaurants panic when he shows up as a food critic.”

Hearing that made his humor look different. He then noticed Andreson’s face. He continued to look at Jeremy with an uncomfortable look on his face. At first, he assumed it was because he made fun of Rachel, but it seemed to be more than that.

“Has Jeremy gone to your parents’ restaurant, too?”

“… As you know, my parents are pretty famous. If a food critic hasn’t been to their restaurant, they’re one of two things. A scam artist or a liar.”

“Did he say bad things?”

“That’s completely up to him. Back then, I used to serve in the hall… Ugh, never mind. He was so strict.”

If Andreson said he was strict, that meant something. Cho Min Joon tilted his head.

“But he hasn’t said much about my food.”

“Because it’s free. Who would say bad things when they’re eating for free? But if he had to pay even a dollar… I’ll leave it up to your imagination.”

He couldn’t believe that this funny man was that evil. Sarah asked with an amused voice, “But if we’re going to the royal palace, that means we’re going to Bangkok.”

“Yes. It’s about a two-hour drive.”

“It’s not as far as I thought, but what do we do when we get there? Do we have to follow a certain custom?”

“They don’t expect much more than just plain respect from foreigners.”

After their conversation, she stepped up to do the dishes, which didn’t suit her sexy and chic image. Emily helped out, but she didn’t seem experienced.

‘A woman who looks good in rubber gloves and a woman who doesn’t.’

It was an amusing sight. Cho Min Joon looked at the system window about Sarah.

[Sarah Kates]

Cooking Level: 5

Baking Level: 6

Tasting Level: 8

Decoration Level: 5

She was impressive. She wasn’t even a chef or a baker, but her scores were high, and her tasting level was lower than that of Emily, but it was high for her age. Sarah was 24 years old. In Korean age, that was only 25 years old. She was only two years older than him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“… Do you have eyes on the back of your head?”

“Oh, I was just guessing, so you were looking. See, Emily? Men love watching women do the dishes.”

Cho Min Joon looked at both of them with a troubled face. Sarah lifted her head and smiled at him.

“Right?”

“I can’t say you’re wrong.”

Cho Min Joon smirked. It wasn’t a pleasant joke, but he didn’t mind it. It wasn’ t because Sarah was beautiful, but it was because she had a refreshing charm. She had a talent for making people feel comfortable. Emily stuck out her lip.

“Ugh, anyway. I can’t get used to this feeling. Why do you wear rubber gloves anyway? Isn’t it more comfortable without it?”

“You’ll know when you get eczema.”

Sarah calmly responded to Emily’s grumbling. Cho Min Joon couldn’t hide his fascination.

“You must’ve done a lot of dishes.”

“Why? Do you think I grew up with a silver platter?”

“You don’t seem like the type who worked growing up.”

Sarah laughed in response.

“You’re right. I did grow up in a well-off family, but I’ve always liked to cook, and I like to clean after myself. So I had no choice but to do the dishes. What about you? I heard you didn’t learn how to cook anywhere on Grand Chef. Did you practice at home?”

“Yes. I followed recipes online.”

“We’re comrades. I did the same thing.”

“But it seems like you’re more interested in baking than cooking. Am I right?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“I just got a feeling.”

Cho Min Joon answered with a smirk. The system was useful in more ways than just cooking.

‘Can it be even more useful in cooking, too?’

He didn’t have time to finish that thought. They finished the dishes, and the producers provided them with a 6-seater car. Of course, they had to drive themselves. Cho Min Joon volunteered to drive, but Anderson wouldn’t back down.

“Let me know if you get tired. I can take over.”

“You must be tired from cooking breakfast. Just shut up and sleep.”

“I’m not that tired though…”

But Cho Min Joon fell asleep in his seat in no time. By the time he woke up, Andreson was shaking his shoulder.

“Get up. We’re here.”

“W-what…? We are?”

“No need to look sorry. It wasn’t that hard. Let’s go.”

They weren’t just in Bangkok. They had arrived at the royal palace. Cho Min Joon looked at the tall wall beside the parked car and exclaimed.

“Wow… This definitely looks like a palace.”

The Thai palace looked unique. It was fancy, but it also had a different charm. The roof looked like something that came from an Indian building, and the statues of Buddha that were on each of the god rooftops left quite the impression.

As soon as they bypassed the tourists and entered the palace, people in black suits came out to greet them. They didn’t know if they were guards or employees of the palace. Anderson walked with a stiff look on his face. But it wasn’t just Anderson. Except for Rachel and Jeremy, everyone looked nervous. Even Martin gulped from behind them.

Cho Min Joon couldn’t calm his heart down. Rather than being excited to meet the king, he was excited to eat the food there. Royal cuisine. On top of that, it wasn’t an imitation of the past, but a meal that the king ate to this day. This was not an experience that came by easily, even for food critics.

They walked in through the halls. They got in the elevator… and opened the door.

And the king was there.

***

The king of Thailand looked like a scholar just as he looked in the posters and bills. His deep-set eyes and his shining eyes looked stubborn yet bold. Once they chatted and sat down at the table, the king looked over at Rachel. He looked at Rachel as if they were long-lost friends, but there was also longing and sadness in his eyes. He opened his mouth. His English was very fluent.

“I often visit Rose Island chain restaurants, but I can’t help but miss the vibe and flavors of the main restaurant.”

“I’m sorry. I feel as though I did something horrible to my regular customers.”

“Are you interested in reopening it?”

“The only reason why there’s a difference between the main store and the chain stores is because of Daniel. The reason why I shut down the main store isn’t because of the shock of losing my husband but because I knew I couldn’t fill his place. So these days, I sometimes dream of bringing his shadow back into this world before I meet him in the afterlife.”

Rachel’s eyes rested on Cho Min Joon for a moment before turning back to the king. The king didn’t miss that glance. He asked, “Are you confident you can?”

“I see some light. That’s why I came out of my house and came here. In order to catch that light, I have to get up first.”

“I hope that happens in my lifetime. My health hasn’t been good these days. I want to taste those flavors again before I die.”

“Please don’t say that. You know my old personality. I like to get mad at people who act weak.”

“You’re right. I should watch my mouth if I don’t want to get scolded.”

The king then grinned at the queen. The queen didn’t look happy when he talked about dying, but she couldn’t hate him.

That was when the dishes came out. Everyone looked shocked. They thought fancy dishes would be served in the royal palace, but what they saw in front of them was just one plate. To be exact, there was only one dish that could be eaten. At the center of the table were fruits and cake, but they didn’t see any other main dishes.

They all hid their confusion and looked away from the plate. They figured there was a reason why the royal palace was serving them in such a way.

What was on the plate looked familiar. He thought the red color and the scent of lemongrass meant it was Thom Yam Gung, but he didn’t see any shrimp. However, it was definitely something of the kind. Thom Yam meant spicy soup, after all.

But what was inside wasn’t shrimp or chicken. It was wontons. The refreshing combination of the Thom Yam surprised all of them, but Cho Min Joon focused on something else. His eyes were wet as if he had found a gem.

’10 points!’

An unexpected score popped out of nowhere. He figured the royal dishes would have high scores, but he didn’t imagine any of them would be 10 points. After all, this dish was like spicy fish stew or ox bone soup in Korea.

“In Thailand, we normally eat rice with side dishes, or we cook noodles and add ingredients like this. I thought about what to serve you and decided to bring out the best dish of our palace. I hope it’s to your liking.”

It was understandable. The dish was 10 points. There was no need to bring out other dishes. Just this dish alone would bring all of them happiness. Not because it was worth 10 points but because it had the basics of Thai cooking. Sweetness, Sourness, saltiness, and spiciness. Thom Yam was a Thai dish that had all of those flavors.

Cho Min Joon picked up his spoon. As soon as he put a wonton in his mouth, it fell apart in his mouth. The juices that were inside poured out, allowing him to taste the ingredients more clearly. Shrimp, tofu, and pork. These ingredients made the wonton chewy, and it was packed full. It was so delicious that the wontons were all he needed for this meal.

There were noodles at the bottom of the bowl. As soon as he put it into his mouth, he realized they were no average noodles. He tasted something familiar inside. Cho Min Joon spoke in awe, “These are fish noodles.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s our secret weapon that we pull out only for our special guests.”

The king answered with a soft smile. Fish noodles. They were noodles made of fish meat. The smell of the ocean could be wafted from the noodles, and along with the mushrooms, bean sprouts, and radish, it was more than satisfying.

They focused on eating without a word. They didn’t want to draw attention away from their food. Once they emptied half of their bowls, Jeremy finally spoke in awe, “This is phenomenal. There are times when Thom Yam is too strong and nothing else, but this tastes like history.”

“Of course. This recipe has been passed down by my father. This recipe came from when my father was young and was picky with food. My father didn’t like seafood, and my grandparents solved that. They ordered the chef to bring out the most perfect dish… And after a few months, the chefs came up with this dish.”

“… A dish that was made to fix his picky taste turned out this perfectly?”

“You could say that, but you could also see it like this. It’s a delicious food that you can’t help but eat even though it has an ingredient you hate. Of course, the wontons and noodles were made of shrimp and fish meat, but it tasted good. Since it was good, my father was able to get rid of his hatred for seafood, and that’s how it was passed down all this time. We call this Thom Yam Thai.”

“Not a single person could hate seafood after eating this.”

Cho Min Joon made his remark and took another sip of the broth. After that, he excused himself and drank the broth right from his bowl. Even Emily, Anderson, and Sarah joined him in doing that. The king watched as if he was looking at his grandchildren. At that moment, Rachel opened her mouth cautiously.

“Thank you for the delicious meal. I’d like to repay you somehow.”

“Repay me?”

“Of course, I don’t know if your circumstances will allow it… But if possible…”

Rachel looked down at her hands. She then spoke in a determined voice, “I’d like to invite both of you to dinner tonight.”