Chapter 145 - Chapter 145: Taste of a Master (1)

If one had to choose the most popular Asian food in the Western world, most people would pick Japanese food. Japanese food tended to be weak for those who liked strong flavors, but it was appropriate as a food that everybody liked.

Cho Min Joon liked noodles, so he naturally liked ramen. And when it came to texture, he liked udon the most. But among the place he had been to, there wasn’t a single place that soaked their noodles with broth properly.

But that was to be expected. Udon noodles were much thicker than ramen noodles, so it was hard to make them absorb the broth unless one had true talent. Of course, if a person cooked it for long enough, it would probably work, but that would compromise the texture of the noodles. It also depended on the ingredients of the batter and how old it was, but even so, it was weaker than ramen noodles.

That was why he liked ramen more than noodles. It was important to be clean, but the flavors he liked happened to fit together like a puzzle, creating one simple result. Broth, fragrant grass, green bean sprouts, and green onions along with the ramen noodles made for a delicious meal.

But despite how much he liked ramen, what really lingered in Cho Min Joon’s head was sushi. To be more exact, it was dishes made with fish. And the reason was simple.

‘3.11 earthquake.’

There wasn’t even half a year left before the big earthquake in Japan would take place. As a result of the radioactive leakage, people grew suspicious of ingredients from Japan. A few years later, the Japanese government claimed that no harm was done by the ingredients, but people couldn’t believe it.

So this was his last chance to eat sushi in Japan before the commotion broke out. Not long later, people wouldn’t be able to have the same meal again no matter their money or status.

‘I’d better eat lots of fish.’

He was salivating. Grilled mackerel, soy sauce cod, sushi. He felt comforted that he could have white rice again. He was in Korea for a while after Grand Chef ended, but after that, he hadn’t had a proper meal with white rice and side dishes.

“You look excited. You look even happier than when we went to Olive Island.”

On the morning they landed in Tokyo, Anderson stared at him in awe. Cho Min Joon responded with a smile.

“You’ll end up remembering this trip for a long time.”

“Why? Because we came with a show?”

“Just wait. You’ll find out over time.”

Cho Min Joon answered in a sad voice. He felt sad that despite knowing about the earthquake, there was nothing he could do. And even if he told people, ‘There will be a big earthquake next March. Get out of here’, not many would believe him.

Besides, he didn’t go back in time to be a hero. His heart ached, but it was best to focus on cooking and the show. Cho Min Joon looked back at Martin and asked, “So what are we doing today?”

“It’s simple. You’ll pair up and go wherever you want. You don’t have to worry about spending money.”

“That’s generous of you.”

“Well, Japan’s a free country.”

In response, Cho Min Joon looked around him. Since it was time to go to work, the roads were packed with cars, so he didn’t understand what Martin meant. Martin continued with a calm face, “Who you’ll partner up with is up to you. I won’t interfere.”

As soon as Martin finished, Cho Min Joon and Anderson’s heads turned to Rachel. Jeremy, who was beside her, grumbled, “I’m never the popular one no matter how much I age.”

“Come on, don’t be like that, Jeremy. Let’s be partners.”

“Haha, are you sure?”

“The experience of a food critic reflects upon age. I’d like to experience your wisdom today.”

Emily smiled and linked arms with Jeremy. Sarah smirked.

“Are you linking arms with another man? Allan wouldn’t like that.”

“Allan’s not that uptight… Wait, what does that have to do with anything?”

Emily stopped in the middle of her response and glared at Sarah. Sarah shrugged and looked at Cho Min Joon and Anderson. She stuck out both hands and jokingly said, “It seems like one of you will have to come and save me. Rachel, kick one of them off already.”

“Hm…”

Rachel looked back at Anderson and Cho Min Joon with a cautious face, but she didn’t have to think for long. Her eyes pointed at Anderson.

“Anderson, I want to work with Min Joon this time. Why don’t you pair up with this beautiful young lady today?”

“Sure.”

Anderson looked disappointed, but he nodded without a word. He couldn’t dare to oppose Rachel. Sarah linked arms with him and grinned.

“You should’ve just come to me from the very beginning.”

“… Let’s go.”

As soon as Anderson and Emily’s party left, it was just Cho Min Joon, Rachel, cameramen, Martin, and some staff remaining. Cho Min Joon looked at Rachel and asked, “Rachel, is there a place you recommend?”

“Hm, I’m not sure. To be honest, most of the people I know here have Western restaurants… So we’ll just have to trust our gut with this one. How about we walk around and walk into a place that smells good?”

“But sushi places only smell of fish and not much else.”

“Do you want sushi?”

“… Yes. I’ve always been curious about sushi in Japan. There were a few good sushi places in Korea, but they were too expensive to go to.”

“They were probably expensive, but you probably also didn’t think it was worth it, right?”

Rachel smiled as if she knew everything, and Cho Min Joon nodded with an embarrassed smile.

“To be honest, yes. Usually, it’s just rice and some ingredients… And I also wonder if the hands of an expert change the taste that much. What do you think?”

“Min Joon, do you remember what I said last time? If you want to make good food, you have to put your heart into it.”

“Yes.”

“As long as you can believe that things unseen to the eye can control flavor as you hold the knife… it gets easier to believe that age and experience changes it as well.”

She made sense, but he still wondered if changing the way one squeezed rice and sliced fish could really make such a difference.

And that thought must have shown on his face because Rachel looked at Cho Min Joon with soft eyes and then pinched his cheek. Cho Min Joon didn’t avoid her hand. Rachel felt like a grandmother to him, and no matter what she did, he simply felt excited. After all, after becoming friends with his role model, Kaya, Rachel was definitely worthy of his respect.

“Let’s go eat. It’s better to taste it than talk about it.”

“But you said you don’t know any places.”

“That’s why we should look around.”

They headed to a neighborhood just outside the city. There were restaurants in between the residential buildings, and Martin introduced some restaurants that were older. There were quite a few places that were 50 years or even 100 years old.

Cho Min Joon couldn’t hide his jealousy as a result. It was hard to find a 100-year old restaurant in Korea. One of the reasons was because many restaurants closed down after the war, but it was also because there was no person to take after the legacy. Cho Min Joon opened his mouth.

“It’s sad to see restaurants close down because there’s no one to inherit it.”

“But these days, many pass it down to a pupil rather than their own children.”

Rachel then looked at Cho Min Joon with a strange look on her face. Her eyes looked so heavy that Cho Min Joon ended up looking away. Rachel smiled and asked, “If I offer you to take over my restaurant, do you have the confidence to do it?”

“No, I don’t.”

His answer was stern. Rachel stared back at him with a serious look in her eyes. Cho Min Joon cautiously continued, “That’s how I feel right now. I’m still lacking. But if you teach me everything I need to know… I’ll treat the restaurant as if it’s my own, so please teach me.”

“… You’re a clever one. So your abilities depend on me? Hahaha. Okay. I’m always up for a challenge.”

Rachel broke out into laughter. That was when Cho Min Joon stopped in his tracks. During their conversation, he was still checking the small words past the restaurants because he could see cooking stores of dishes on the other side of the glass.

For the sushi places, most of them didn’t surpass 6 points. It wasn’t because they were lacking in skill, sushi was just that simple. At that moment, the guide whispered in Martin’s ear. Martin pointed at a restaurant and said, “Apparently, that sushi restaurant is 170 years old.”

In response, Cho Min Joon turned his head with a confused look on his face. Seeing from the refined visuals of the place, it was hard to believe that it was 170 years old.

“But the building looks so new.”

“Their original building was too old, so they recently built a new one.”

“Hm…”

Cho Min Joon let out a groan. The building didn’t really matter, but he wasn’t so sure about the system window he saw across the window. Many dishes were only 5 points, and although some were 7 points, that was rare. No matter how simple sushi was to make, the scores were too low for a 170-year-old restaurant.

‘… The quality isn’t good.’

Average. There was no high-quality ingredient. All the sushis were average in quality. Cho Min Joon looked at the customers’ faces and opened his mouth.

“Does this place have good reviews? It doesn’t seem to be good quality compared to its history.”

“… Can you tell just by looking at it from outside?”

“Yes. It looks like their fish is only average quality.”

Martin showed a surprised face and then spoke with the guide. The guide tilted her head and then searched it up on her phone. She then opened her mouth with a surprised look on her face.

“Oh, their reviews went down in the last few weeks. The former boss’ son took over the restaurant, but he must be lacking. I didn’t know because I haven’t gone in quite some time.”

In response, Martin, the staff, and the cameramen looked at Cho Min Joon in surprise. Rachel nodded with a pleased face.

“You have a good understanding of food. It’s not easy to know the status of a fish with eyes alone. You must’ve studied a lot.”

“Not really… I just have keen senses.”

“No need to be so modest. Your efforts will always show.”

Rachel looked at Cho Min Joon proudly and lovingly. Cho Min Joon also smiled. There was some misunderstanding, but he couldn’t help but feel good due to her kindness. Rachel opened her mouth.

“Perhaps, we should let Min Joon pick our restaurant. Will you escort your mentor?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Cho Min Joon stuck out his arm with a smile. Rachel wrapped her hand around his arm and slowly proceeded to walk. They were so friendly that they looked like grandmother and grandson despite their difference in race.

He scanned the restaurants with his system. Of course, there were times when he couldn’t check the scores because there were no customers, but if there were no customers, that probably meant they weren’t good.

At that moment, Cho Min Joon’s feet stepped in front of a restaurant. There were many restaurants, but that wasn’t uncommon. Cho Min Joon’s eyes were fixed on the plates. They were mostly 7 points. There was even a sushi worth 8 points. Cho Min Joon laughed.

‘Egg sushi?’

“Let’s go here.”

“Does it seem different from other places?”

“Yes. The quality is good, and it looks like the fish are more alive in there.”

To be honest, he just made up the compliments. He couldn’t say, ‘Let’s go there. The scores are high.’ But then the guide whispered in Martin’s ear with a surprised face

“That’s a new place. Only people who’ve been there know of it. I heard someone who worked in a hotel in Shanghai owns that place. Their reviews are so good they’re considered for Michelin stars. Wait, who is that person? Even if he knows about Japanese sushi, I’ve never seen anyone who can figure out quality just by looking at it…”

The guide glared at Cho Min Joon. Martin also looked at Cho Min Joon and mumbled, “He’s a fairy chef given to us by God.”