Chapter 154 - Globalization & Localization (3)

“That’s the worst thing I’ve heard on this trip. I’m imagining it now. Please don’t say stuff like that.”

“Women can’t help but have such thoughts.”

Sarah responded with a smirk. Jeremy groaned, but he didn’t refute. The picture was nice to look at. They were both good-looking, so it was understandable that women had such fantasies.

‘… This isn’t the time for this.’

Jeremy coughed and opened his mouth.

“Not many people stick to just one nationality of food these days. Even if there’s more junk food now, there are more food critics now than there were back in the day, and most want something interesting.”

“Oh, are you saying it’s not fun when you try food you’ve had before?”

“Somewhat. Of course, there are more kinds of food and many new attempts… But when you do that, you can’t help but mix in other nationalities. If you think about it, it doesn’t make sense to stick to just one nationality when there are so many possibilities right next door.”

In response to Jeremy’s opinion, Sarah nodded. Sarah looked then Cho Min Joon and opened her mouth.

“Anyway, don’t you think you’re taking too much care expressing flavors for a chef?”

“That’s because I’m a chef.”

“… I’m jealous.”

“Of what?”

“That you can do both—Cooking and tasting, and you’re good at both of them.”

“There are pros and cons though. For you, your life will be like this. You’ll travel the world, experience the restaurant cultures, and even enjoy new dishes like we did today. But I can’t have that life.”

“Are you trying to comfort me?”

“I’m definitely not trying to tease you.”

Cho Min Joon smiled.

The next thing they ordered was sushi. Samuel spoke in a strong voice, “We did our best to make sushi that’s better than those of sushi restaurants.”

“… Is that possible? While going to various sushi restaurants, I noticed that the flavor is different depending on how you squeeze the rice or how you cut the fish. Is there a sushi master here as well?”

“No, there isn’t. That’s why we contemplated for a long time. How could we make great sushi without an experienced master? We even thought about giving up on sushi, but we didn’t want to leave it out at a Japanese fusion restaurant.”

“Then how… Oh, did you…”

The doubt in Cho Min Joon’s eyes washed away. He opened his mouth.

“So you decided to win with the recipe.”

“… How did you know?”

“Because I thought the same thing. I wondered how to make good sushi on my own, and there was only one answer. Good ingredients and a perfect recipe. The same applies to other dishes as well. If you want to compensate for lacking skills, you have to use your brain.”

His voice sounded strange. He sounded sad yet relieved. Samuel smiled and asked, “So did you supplement it?”

“I’m still working on it, but it’s fun.”

Cho Min Joon smiled sincerely. He liked cooking. He actually loved it. That was why he picked this path. He was now able to accept any wall or mountain… And the frustration and disappointment that resulted with a happy attitude.

[… I’m jealous. There’s nothing better than pursuing what you love.]

[It must be fun since he’s talented at it, too. His life must be fun.]

[But something feels off. I feel like Min Joon thinks he’s not as talented as he seems. I don’t know if I should think of that as modest or foolish. But when you hear him talk, he always sounds confident.]

[That’s because his goals are so high. He’ll never be satisfied with what he has, and I like that he’s greedy like that.]

Many opinions were shared in the chat, but Cho Min Joon didn’t react. He felt embarrassed responding to such comments, and he didn’t want to show them that he cared.

The plates came out. There were three types of sushi. One was chicken norimaki on top of a kale leaf, another was sushi with various types of fish, and the last one was eel sushi that was fried to be crispy.

‘… 9 points.’

And it wasn’t just one of them. The eel sushi was 8 points, and the other two were 9 points each. On top of that, the formation score was no joke. 10 points. That meant the three pieces of sushi established the perfect harmony.

‘How perfect could it be…?’

Cho Min Joon thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he should eat the 8-point eel sushi first or the other two, but his contemplation didn’t last long. Samuel opened his mouth.

“There’s an order in which you should eat this. First, please have the norimaki.”

In response, Cho Min Joon carefully picked up the norimaki. The grains of rice on top of the kale leaf were almost hugging each other. Inside were chicken and okra, and at first glance, it looked like a dash of pepper.

[Ugh, I want to eat that.]

[Why am I looking at this while my fridge is empty?]

When he put it up to his nose, he could smell okra, chicken, and kale. He could smell teriyaki sauce as well. As soon as Cho Min Joon put the norimaki in his mouth with a pounding heart…

“Mmm…”

He groaned unintentionally. Some in the chat called it a Hollywood action, but that wasn’t the case. A 9-point dish had the power to move people. The texture of the okra could be sensed beyond the taste of the kale, and the feeling of the peel ripping and the corn popping inside made him feel like he was drinking a carbonated beverage.

And compared to how the rice was breaking between his teeth, the outside of it felt smooth. On top of that, the soft and chewy texture of the chicken… made him want nothing more in life.

The teriyaki sauce wasn’t average either. It had a very faint smell. Cho Min Joon spoke up in awe, “You added nutmeg in the teriyaki sauce.”

“You know.”

Samuel looked at him, realizing that he indeed had the perfect palate. Cho Min Joon answered, “Everyone can guess that much.”

“… I noticed that, too.”

Anderson opened his mouth and then flushed when everybody looked his way.

“Am I not allowed to get things like that right?”

“No, I’m just surprised. Anderson, you were never the type to play along with this stuff.”

“Hmph.”

Anderson turned his head. Samuel looked at Cho Min Joon. His eyes were filled with anticipation of what he would say next. The perfect palate. He was curious to find out what the sensitive tongue had to say about his food.

But Samuel didn’t ask. This time, he wanted to be considerate of Cho Min Joon. Samuel pressed down his greed and pursed his lips.

“By the time the flavors fade, put the eel sushi in your mouth. Oh, you shouldn’t eat ginger in the middle of it. This plate of sushi counts as one dish.”

Cho Min Joon picked up the eel sushi with a confused look on his face. Seeing how the outer peel was inflated, it wasn’t just the eel that was fried. Did they dip it in flour? What was weird was that the eel was in the middle instead of the end. On top of that, the fried eel was bound to make a strong influence. It made more sense to have it at the end instead of second.

But he probably had a reason, or the formation score wouldn’t have been 10. Cho Min Joon put the eel sushi inside his mouth.

He couldn’t see what kind of sauce it was beneath the eel, but as soon as he bit into it, he had an idea. A smooth texture like cream, the scent of ginger and garlic, which got rid of the fishy smell, and the sweet flavor from the fruit. It was puree made of fruit, ginger, and garlic.

‘The ingredients are…’

Cho Min Joon began to guess without looking at the system. Was it because he trained himself often these days? His tongue was much more accurate than before.

And that also had to do with his environment. He was making an effort to live up to the expectations. Many food critics didn’t care about getting the ingredients right. Even if they did, they were never sure what was inside. After all, chefs rarely revealed all of the ingredients they used.

But for Cho Min Joon, even if they didn’t reveal it, he could guess all of them. While other food critics didn’t know, Cho Min Joon had the answer sheet thanks to the system. That difference was clear.

And now…

‘… Sudachi, honey, pear… No. This is different from pear. What’s similar? Oh yeah. Watermelon. It’s watermelon. And…’

Cho Min Joon made his guess before looking at his system, and then he smiled. He got all of them right. Anderson, who was watching him, knitted his brows and asked, “What are you mumbling about? The ingredients?”

“… Oh, was I mumbling?”

“You’re totally obsessed.”

In response, Cho Min Joon smiled. Was it because of the freshness of the puree? He felt satisfied that he could get all of the ingredients and not tasting anything fishy. At that moment, Cho Min Joon read a comment from the chat window.

[Did you see that? When Cho Min Joon smelled the food, Anderson copied him, and he chewed the exact number of times that Cho Min Joon did.]

‘… Does he care about me that much?’

He understood, but he also felt bad. After all, there was a difference in Cho Min Joon’s real skills compared to what people saw. It was possible that he was trying even harder because of Anderson. Just like how Anderson wanted to be on level ground with Cho Min Joon, Cho Min Joon didn’t want Anderson to be tricked either.

Was that why? Cho Min Joon’s face looked more serious than usual when he ate the last sushi. He also anticipated it more because the first pieces were so delicious. He looked forward to what was to come…

The last sushi was a line of three types of fish. When he smelled it, it was quite complicated. He could clearly see that there was soy sauce, but he couldn’t figure out what else was added to it.

The flavor was strange. And beyond that, the unfamiliar taste surprised him. He knew what the fish were. Salmon back, tuna belly, and the outer portion of rockfish. The savory flavor of the salmon, and oiliness of the tuna, and the chewiness of the rockfish went perfectly together. But what was unique was…

“It all tastes different.”

Cho Min Joon mumbled blankly, and he was right. The meat must’ve been aged ahead of time because the soy sauce on each of the fish tasted different. One was salty while the others were sweet or sour.

He couldn’t see the recipe because it was a 9-point dish. Normally, he would’ve been in despair but not today. Was it because many were praising him for his perfect palate? Or because Anderson was so competitive with him? Or perhaps it was because of Rachel and Samuel looking at him.

Cho Min Joon analyzed it. He tried his best to do so, and all of the information taken in by his palate consumed his mind. He didn’t focus on what he heard or saw. He then opened his mouth.

“The tuna… was marinated in soy sauce with wasabi. There’s also some pear juice… to get rid of the oiliness. As for the rockfish, you end up chewing it the longest because it’s so chewy. So you marinated it with soy sauce with pomegranate, and the salmon must’ve been marinated in diluted soy sauce. Am I right?”

Samuel smiled.

“That’s right.”

“Really…?”

“Why do you look surprised? You got all the other ones right.”

Cho Min Joon smiled instead of answering. It wasn’t impressive. It was ordinary and plain, but he got them right. He found out the flavors without the system… with his own tongue.

He took it one step at a time…

But he did it.