Chapter 192 - Chapter 192: Finding The Roots (2)

Koreatown, it was right in the next neighborhood, but he had never gone there before. Cho Min Joon responded in a surprised voice, “But would Koreatown be enough? It’s been so localized that it’s possible I won’t be able to taste the same flavors…”

“I’m sure it’s different in many ways. But that’s the best you can do right now. What you have to do is find your roots, not the roots of Korean food. If that’s your homework… Koreatown should be enough.”

“Okay. Thank you. Do you have any more advice for me…?”

Cho Min Joon’s eyes sparkled. Maya, who was beside him, couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t help it. Although he might’ve been asking to be spoon-fed, he wanted to hear any tips he could get.

Luckily, Rachel responded to Cho Min Joon, “Don’t try to represent everyone. That’s all I have to tell you.”

***

After that day, Cho Min Joon went to Koreatown at least once a day. It wasn’t that hard since it only took 30 minutes by car. The problem was…

“… The traffic is so bad.”

There was a lot of traffic. Rush hour in LA was similar to Hell. And Cho Min Joon was in the middle of it. He looked beside him with an apologetic face. Anderson was putting his foot on and off the gas pedal with a tired look on his face. Cho Min Joon opened his mouth.

“Sorry. Are you tired?”

“Yeah.”

“… Lisa, are you all right?”

Cho Min Joon looked back at the backseat. Lisa and Ella were sitting there. There was no special reason why they were there. Anderson always drove Cho Min Joon to Koreatown since he didn’t have a driver’s license, and since Koreatown was near Downtown and Hollywood, it was easy to eat with Kaya or Chloe. So…

“I’m fine, but Ella…”

Lisa looked at Ella with a worried face. Ella’s legs were trembling as she hugged her doll, which was wearing an apron. It wasn’t because she was cold. Her shaking legs looked all too familiar. Cho Min Joon looked over at Anderson.

“Is there a washroom nearby?”

“Why? Is it urgent?”

In response to Anderson’s question, Cho Min Joon whispered in a quiet voice, “Our little princess needs to go.”

“… Wait. We’re almost there. It’s probably better to go to the one at the restaurant than looking elsewhere.”

He wasn’t lying. By the time Ella’s shaking got even worse, they were already at the restaurant. While watching Lisa running into the washroom while holding Ella’s hand, Cho Min Joon got out of the car. The Korean words on the sign looked familiar.

“LA inn…”

It seemed like they wrote out LA just as it sounded in Korean. He wasn’t sure if it was weird or refined. It was a strange name. Anderson asked, “What does that mean?”

“I think they just sounded LA in Korean. As for ‘inn’, it’s a place where Koreans used to drink and eat back in the day.”

“Does that mean that doesn’t exist anymore? But then again, it does look pretty old-fashioned.”

It was no wonder Anderson said such a thing. LA inn looked just like a traditional Korean house. Even if it was Koreatown in America, it wasn’t a building that could be easily seen. It was the type of house that could only be found in Hanok villages in Korea. Cho Min Joon asked, “What do you think? Do you like it?”

“It’s kind of fun because it has a foreign feel to it. The roof looks different from that in China.”

“China’s a bit stronger while Korea has a calmer feel. The food’s the same way. I’m sure you’ve noticed the last few days.”

“To be honest, I’m the most excited about this one.”

“Yeah. You’re the one who wanted to come here.”

Cho Min Joon spoke with a smirk. The truth was, Cho Min Joon wasn’t interested in this place. The reason was simple… because it was expensive. Besides, it wasn’t even a place that could help him because what they made was more like court cuisine than normal civilian food.

The reason why he was going around eating Korean food was so that he could understand what Korean food was, which was what he grew up on. He had to understand that to fully understand the world of tasting food. Court cuisine was Korean food as well, but it had nothing to do with Cho Min Joon’s childhood. Of course, it probably tasted more refined, but since it didn’t influence Cho Min Joon’s taste growing up… he didn’t think it would help him.

But of course. LA Inn was a good restaurant. It didn’t have any Michelin stars, but it was a recommended one. There were lots of customers, and people had to reserve a month in advance to get a seat. But Cho Min Joon didn’t have to wait very long to get in.

And the person who was smiling at him at the front was the reason.

“Oh, you’re here, Min Joon and Anderson. Your party is already inside.”

“Long time no see, Chef Tae Hoon.”

“Come on. Don’t call me that. Just call me Tae Hoon.”

The cook of LA Inn was Lee Tae Hoon. Aside from the head cook and the chief head cook, he was the third-highest rank. The ranks of a Korean restaurant was a little different, but when comparing to Rose Island, he was at the level of Demi Chefs. Cho Min Joon smiled and said, “Thank you for the seats.”

“We’re the ones who are at a loss if we don’t fill the seats that got canceled. Don’t you get stressed out when that happens at Rose… Oh, you haven’t opened yet.”

“No. But we’ll be open in a few days.”

“You must be busy. Oh, it’s this room.”

Lee Tae Hoon opened the paper panel door. And at that moment, Anderson exclaimed without realizing it. On the other side of the door was all made of glass, and through there, he could see the soft sunlight shedding on the garden in the middle of the house.

The room was a place where one had to take off their shoes. There was a low wooden table in front of the seats, and underneath the table was a hole where they could drop their legs. And there were two women sitting in front of the table. It was Kaya and Chloe.

“Oh, Min Joon. You’re here.”

“Why are you so late?”

“I guess everyone wanted to see me because the LA roads were all there following me. So there was a lot of traffic.”

Cho Min Joon answered in a sly way and sat across from Kaya. Anderson just shook his head and sat next to him. And then he put a strange look on his face.

“… If they’re going to put this hole here, isn’t it better to just put a table and chairs in here?”

“Why? This is pretty.”

“It is… but it’s not very practical.”

“If everybody sat like this, a table and chairs would look weird. Why sit at a table with long legs when you can just sit on the ground with a hole?”

“My girlfriend is so good at talking.”

Kaya smiled. While Anderson shook his head, Chloe turned her head. Her eyes were on the paper panel doors. Across from there was a shadow struggling to open it. But seeing how the door was rattling, they were having a hard time.

In the end, Kaya got up and walked toward the door. As soon as she pushed the door, Ella took turns looking at the door and Kaya with surprised eyes. Kaya laughed as if she won.

“You’re supposed to open this sideways. Don’t you know?”

“Huh?”

Ella didn’t respond to Kaya’s provocation, she couldn’t. Her eyes were sparkling like crazy. She then smiled with joy.

“Chloe! Fairy Chloe!”

Ella ran over to Chloe with her pink socks with bunnies on them. Chloe looked at Ella with surprise. Ella fumbled with her fingers with a flushed face and then pushed out her doll that she had strapped to her side. A doll with dark hair, a soft smile, and an apron. It was a doll made based on Chloe Chung.

“I love you so much, Fairy!”

“Uh… Why am I a fairy?”

“You were a fairy on TV. When you summoned a sandwich, it appeared.”

Chloe rolled her eyes for a second. When she thought about it, she remembered doing something like that on a TV show. Ella took out a pen from her bag. This was why Cho Min Joon brought Ella and Lisa with him. Ella was a fan of Chloe. A huge fan at that.

“Can you sign my doll’s apron?”

“What should I write?”

“Just write ‘To Ella.'”

Chloe smiled and held the pen. In response, Kaya opened her mouth.

“That girl hates me, but she loves Chloe.”

“Please understand. It’s because you’re his love rival. And Chloe is a star amongst all kids.”

Lisa spoke as she entered the room. Kaya suddenly saw Lisa’s feet as she grumbled. To be more exact, the stockings she was wearing. That was when Kaya realized that she was barefooted. She quickly ran beside Chloe and put her legs underneath the table. She mumbled in an awkward voice, “This is too revealing.”

“What is?”

“People without socks have to reveal their feet.”

“… What’s wrong with that?”

Anderson glared at Kaya. Just as Kaya was about to fight back, Ella finished acting cute in front of Chloe and ran over to sit next to Cho Min Joon. It was more natural for Ella to sit there than Lisa… But Kaya still didn’t like it at all.

“Why are you sitting there?”

“Why can’t I?”

“… Well, it’s not that you can’t.”

“Hmph.”

Ella turned her head in a chic way. Chloe was smiling as if she thought Ella was cute. Even Cho Min Joon thought so. Kaya pinched Cho Min Joon’s leg with her toes underneath the table. Cho Min Joon flinched from the pain. He trembled and then glared at Kaya. Kaya smiled and playfully tapped his leg further.

‘… So immature.’

He wanted to sigh, but he was worried something worse would happen to him if he did.

It didn’t take long for the food to come out. They didn’t order anything. That was the charm of the restaurant. There was only one menu, but that didn’t mean it was small.

A moment later, the door opened. And at that moment, everyone was surprised. They couldn’t help it. So much food came out that they felt like the table’s legs would break off. Kaya exclaimed.

“Wow. I’ve never seen a fancier table.”

“Same here…”

Cho Min Joon stared at the table blankly. It looked like a table in a movie. There were too many plates to count. Ella froze still and stared at the table as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing in front of her. Lisa also looked around, not knowing where to begin.

“… We’ll be full just by taking one bite from each plate.”

“I know, right?”

Cho Min Joon put the rice in his mouth first. The rice was chewy and savory. Just the taste of their rice told him just how skilled the restaurant was.

There were many side dishes he was unfamiliar with. The ingredients were different from what was commonly seen in Korea. After all, marinated artichoke was hard to come by in a normal Korean meal.

Every time Cho Min Joon ate a side dish, he added some rice to it. He wouldn’t have if it was a Western restaurant, but in the case of Korean food, rice often completed each bite. Even the side dishes in front of him gave off more flavor when enjoyed with rice.

But of course, the spicy rice cakes were an exception. It was rice cakes made with a soy sauce base. When he chewed the shiny spicy rice cake with some paprika, the sweetness of vegetables and the juices of the meat went perfectly with the rice cakes. This was the most familiar dish to Cho Min Joon. For that reason, he knew it was very well-made. But…

“Ugh, this is weird.”

Ella didn’t like it one bit. The texture of rice cakes was what many Westerners thought was the most foreign amongst Korean food. Unless they tried it a few times, they thought it was unpleasant. Cho Min Joon looked at Kaya and asked, “Kaya, what do you think? I feel like this place stuck to its origins than trying to localize… Are the flavors hard to process?”

“I feel like there are a lot of dishes with a lot of garlic scents and sesame seeds. And the scent of sesame oil is very unique… It’s probably not easy to process for a lot of people.”

“Yeah. It’s like how Korean people either love or hate cilantro.”

He understood what Kaya said. The flavors were strong. So it was going to be love or hate for a lot of people. Some people would love such intense flavors while others would find it uncomfortable.

“It really makes you thin. When anyone makes their own country’s food in another country… is it better to keep the original nature? Or localize it?”

“I think both sides have their charms. If you localize it, the public could approach it better. But if you don’t, food critics could like it. But… even food critics are used to what they grew up on. So most would prefer a localized restaurant.”

“… I understand why Rachel told me to find my identity through Korean food, but it’ll be hard. I end up thinking about things like this instead.”

“Can I say something?”

Chloe cautiously raised her hand. Cho Min Joon nodded.

“Sure. Do you have any advice?”

“Not advice… I just want to share my experience. You know I’m more familiar with Chinese food than Western food. But the thing is, I’m more familiar with American Chinese food, not traditional. Of course, there are too many types of Chinese food… But this is what I want to say. When you say localize, it sounds like it loses the colors of the country, but that’s not the case. Even in China, the food is different depending on the region. So I think of American Chinese as just another region. Wouldn’t Korean food be the same?”

“… Then what should I grasp from this?”

In response, Chloe couldn’t answer easily. At that moment, Kaya casually said, “The stream.”

“The stream?”

“There’s a standard cooking method that spans all Korean food. What ingredients you use is secondary. The most important thing is how they cook. And I have one more thing to say.”

Kaya stepped on Cho Min Joon’s foot.

“Stop debating over food. I might get indigestion.”