Expectations Are Always (part 4)
‘Have I hit the jackpot?’
It was an unimaginable level of taste. This level would actually not be far behind Rose Island’s.
‘…They said she has issues with her health, didn’t they?’
She already knew the story, but now, after having tasted the bread, the weight of the story weighs upon her even heavier than before. Someone of this caliber had no place to go and, after wandering around, settled down at Jo Minjoon’s restaurant.
‘It’s as if the blind can see now.’
Sara is confident she will be able to laugh and mock those who missed out on Rosa’s capabilities — how could they have let such a gem slip from their fingers? There are far too many people in the world who cannot properly assess a person’s worth.
With that said, did Jo Minjoon and Kaya see Rosa’s true value and thereby hire her? Or did they just hire her without really thinking about it and later discover what an incredible person she is.
If they were able to assess her at first glance, then Sara honestly would be of mind to drastically reassess what she thinks of the Jo couple. The true quality of a head chef can be discovered in these small details. Simply being a good cook is not enough to capture the hearts of these 21st century customers.
“I cannot even put into words how good this bread is,” Sara said while looking into the camera.
The cameraman was not able to bring it up, but Sara’s reaction was suspiciously strange. Honestly, it was difficult to guess the bread’s quality just from looking at its exterior.
Sara could understand people like him since she, herself, had no expectations of the bread before she had tried it. And that is why she wished that much more to be able to explain what she was experiencing with the bread. She picked each one of the breads up to the camera lens, tore it, and showcased the exposed crumb.
“Do you see the crumb of each of these? Both the size of the holes in the crumb that you see here as well as the texture of the bread help maximize each and every bread’s own particular taste. As for the dough, you won’t find a more perfect bread than this. Look at this grissini, in particular. The layer between the crust and the crumb…”
Sara’s praises for the bread continued on for quite some time after. One could clearly see that she had fallen in love with the bread. The cameraman could not help but feel bewildered seeing Sara like this.
‘However…’
After finishing praising the bread, Sara momentarily got lost in thought. The bread was incredible. However, a restaurant cannot be considered complete just based on incredible bread alone.
Who knows if Jo Minjoon and Kaya’s cooking can even hold a candle to this bread? To think that the chef at a restaurant could not even compare to its pâtissier? Hopefully, it is not as miserable as that.
The very next dish was scallop carpaccio immersed in apple gazpacho. Sara had to gulp down the saliva that formed upon seeing the scallop’s white flesh sink into the green broth.
“They pass on visuals, at least for now.”
Hearing Sara’s words, the cameraman in charge of the food zoomed the camera in to capture more details of the food. Sara had not been exaggerating. Under the bright light, the colors of the various ingredients used in the gazpacho made it look like a watercolor painting.
Sara took her spoon and, without disturbing its surroundings, scooped up a slice of scallop. She put it into her mouth and closed her eyes. Her heavily-made up eyes twitched. The cameraman was focused on Sara’s face on the screen. He put his full effort into ensuring he did not miss a single feeling, impression, or stimulation of hers.
And it was that very moment.
‘What’s that?’
The cameraman had caught on camera something rather strange. The corners of Sara’s mouth were curling up. The corners of her eyes twitched so slightly that it was almost unnoticeable. Her earlobes had been pulled tightly back.
It was happiness. With these minute changes in expression, Sara was slowly expressing her happiness. A moment later, she opened her eyes, and you could still detect a trace of that earlier tension in her eyes. Even the burden of having to carry on with the filming had melted away in that moment.
“…It is delicious.”
Simon who had been waiting by Sara’s side smiled at her remarks. Sara laughed hollowly.
“You have both grown into cunning chefs, Minjoon and Kaya.”
Simon lacked the insight to be able to read between Sara’s lines. Actually, Simon also lacked the ability to appreciate the perfection in the taste that Sara had just experienced.
Sara suddenly remembered a conversation she had shared with Jo Minjoon before.
‘What do you think about expressing the flavor of the ingredients?’
‘The flavor of the ingredients? Wouldn’t it just be about staying faithful to the basic recipe?’
‘That is true. But the flavor of the ingredients is actually very vague. When we eat chicken, we expect the taste of chicken, but we can’t really sense exactly what that taste of chicken is. I find that to be only natural since its taste is far more detailed than just saying it’s salty or sweet.’
‘But why are you talking about this?’
‘I’m letting you know early. I’m going to become a chef who can truly and perfectly express that flavor. In the event I feel I have been able to express even some degree of that flavor, I’ll invite you then, Sara.’
Jo Minjoon had kept his word.
The flavor of the apple in the apple gazpacho was far richer than an apple’s taste alone. That implies that Jo Minjoon had fully understood the flavor of this apple and just where it comes from. The same holds true for the scallop. For being in carpaccio form, the scallops retained a great deal of their own flavor. The moment you put it in your mouth, you experience the taste of the scallop more richly than the unique taste of the sauce.
‘Did he really become a chef who could capture the flavor of ingredients?’
Sara finished off the gazpacho and carpaccio Jo Minjoon had made in an instant. It was so delicious that she could not stop herself from eating. Not long after she finished off the plate, the next dish was placed before her as if it had been waiting. Sara felt goosebumps on her skin. The timing of the next dish being placed before her right as she had finished the previous one was too perfect.
She glanced over at the kitchen to see Jo Minjoon and Kaya keeping control of the kitchen. Did they perhaps predict the moment she would finish eating and prepared the next one’s timing perfectly?
It was a question she would not be able to find the answer to without asking them directly. Sara looked at the next dish quietly. It was a fried dish. Pure-white cod fish fritters were laid out on the plate like a train, and alongside them were various sauces. But the unusual aspect of it was that the sauces came in the form of bottles.
Next to the fritters were two syringes and a medicine bottle. Seeing the slightly confused look on her face, Simon smiled brightly and began to explain.
“Would you like to open the bottle first?”
“Ah, sure.”
After opening the lid of the bottle, something long was attached to the lid. Sara realized then that it was a disinfectant-style bottle. The swab-like stick attached to the lid looked like the frame of a tennis racket1. And the contents of the bottle were generously applied to the frame.
As Sara let out an exclamation, Simon said, “It is a sauce made by mixing lime and red wine vinegar. Next to it are syringes of wasabi tartar sauce and a red pepper paste-based sriracha sauce. Please try the dish with each of the sauces that you wish to try. Oh, and the fritter has enough seasoning by itself to be eaten alone without any sauce, so I recommend trying it alone first.”
Immediately after Simon finished speaking, Sara stabbed a piece of fried codfish with a fork. The flesh of the fish was so soft that she had no need for a knife. It was fascinating that, despite how soft the meat was, her fork did not actually slip. She supposed the fried batter was keeping the shape intact.
‘…It looks like some kind of dough was mixed into the sauce.’
She had no way of knowing what it was yet, however. Sara decided to first just try it and put the piece of fried codfish in her mouth.
It was at the very moment when she exclaimed, “Oh?”
“How is the taste?” Simon asked while smiling softly.
Sara was not the only one to have such a reaction after trying this dish. From children to the elderly, from gourmands to normal people — everyone had a complete look of shock on his or her face because of this dish.
“Is this tom yum?”
“Yes. You can taste tom yum broth in the actual fritter. That is why, from just that taste alone, you would not actually need any other kind of vinegar.”
“This reminds me of the old days when we were shooting Hunger Trip with Minjoon. In Thailand, Rachel had showed off her fried ribs that had been steeped in tom yum broth to the Thai king.”
Jo Minjoon who had been surprised and full of joy by the taste back then, had now become a chef who could create such a dish not far off from that one.
Sara did not talk much and focused on eating. Lotus Bridge was a magnificent enough restaurant where one would want to enjoy eating and not be rushed while doing so, but… there was no way the taste of this dish would allow her to do so. Once she put a fried piece in her mouth, she would already be wanting the next piece before she could even finish swallowing this one.
It was the type of taste that makes someone hungry. For those who have forgotten what an empty stomach feels like, this taste would remind them what appetite feels like. If the earlier apple gazpacho and scallop carpaccio had been a calm lake, then this was like a tsunami swallowing up a city. Her tongue felt like it would be ruined from being stimulated so much by the taste.
However, that there were various sauces still left to try was one of the factors urging her on. First by trying the wasabi tartar sauce, then by trying the red pepper paste sriracha sauce, then by trying the red wine vinegar one — she rotated between them so that the fritter that had looked so long on the plate before disappeared in the blink of an eye not leaving a single trace.
‘…I suppose I cannot ask for seconds.’
It was so delicious that if Lotus Bridge were to sell just this fried dish alone, they would achieve success solely based on the regular customers who would come to eat it every day. Sara even hoped that Lotus Bridge would specialize in fried codfish.
But, alas, that was not to be. There were quite a number of dishes left, and she was here to introduce Lotus Bridge to her audience.
One amusing aspect is that rather than being here to introduce her viewers to Lotus Bridge, Sara felt like she was the one who was being introduced to the real Lotus Bridge. The difference between this Lotus Bridge and the level of perfection of the Lotus Bridge from before is too stark to even compare.
‘Didn’t Michelin come?’
If the remaining courses were anything like this, it would not be unheard of for them to receive a star. The only debatable topic would be how many stars they receive.
Sara’s heart was pounding now. Lotus Bridge was by far a brighter star than she had been expecting. It was yet to be seen if this star would grow as bright2 as the moon or as the sun. Because stars are not something we can really measure, we can only look at them from afar. We can only bring our eyes close to the telescope, like an astronomer would.
And now, everyone’s eyes will be on that telescope.
If you think about it, Jo Minjoon and Kaya have been waiting for a rather long time.
It is now time for their star to shine.
“…This place hasn’t even been open for half a year, right?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
The people at the table that not just Sara, but also Simon and everyone in the kitchen, had been keeping an eye on were quietly conversing. They had been selected to be Michelin judges. The two young men, who looked so alike they could be considered twins, cocked their heads and spoke.
“That’s unheard of. I had not yet seen a place that achieved this level of perfection in just half a year.”
“And so the headquarters must have already sensed this and sent us to this newly-opened restaurant.”
“…Fred, what do you think of this place?”
“Are you really unable to figure that much out about your own brother, Ronald?”
Fred grinned.
“The head chef here is crazy. Absolutely crazy.”
^ reference image for what a bottle of disinfectant can look like in Korea
CREDITS:
Original author: 양치기자리
Translator: Comic Seoul
Proofreader: Potato