God of Cooking Chapter 124:

It was obvious but there was no way the man hit him . But of course, even if that was the case it wasn’t that he had apologized . He mumbled something by himself and disappeared on the crowd . Jo Minjoon sighed . Normally, he wouldn’t **** in like this, but he couldn’t forgive people that blamed a fine dish at all . It was something that shouldn’t be done . Because he was a chef .

“……I do understand you but it was too reckless . ”

Emily talked like that . Jo Minjoon said with a relieved voice .

“I know . I really thought I would get hit . ”
“If that man was even a bit more stupid you would have . What if you hurt your hand like that?”
“I will reflect on it . ”

And like that, a conversation was held between the two . The owner of the store which the man picked a fight with approached them and gave them two chicken kochis . He smiled with a wrinkled face .

“Thank you . This present . ”

Jo Minjoon received the kochi . And the other one went to Emily’s hand . Maybe it was because of the short english of the store owner, but he didn’t say anymore and returned . Jo Minjoon smirked and said .

“Even so, we earned some kochis . Discussing for five minutes and earning 2 kochis seems quite the business . ”

Emily smiled as if she was out of words and took a bite on the kochi . And soon, frowned .

“It’s fine . He made that scandal with this?”
“How is it? Do you still think that I butted in for nothing?”
“……half and half . ”

It was when she talked like that and almost ate all the kochi . The PD approached and gave them two notes . It seems like they had also calculated the two kochis they ate . Emily asked in a calm voice .

“What were the hints until now?”
“Sea . Building . Somewhere we know . These three . And we have one more now . On my note there is a ‘expensive’ written . How about you, Emily?”
“Mine says peak…… Ah!”

Emily exclaimed . Jo Minjoon didn’t, but it seemed like he also knew where the hint was directing to . He opened his mouth and yelled .

“Penthouse!”
“I was thinking the same thing!”

The only place that was expensive, a building situated on the sea and on the peak . There was only the penthouse Martin had talked about . Emily grabbed her head and said .

“Ugh . Even since it said that it was somewhere we knew I should have realized . How many places do I know in Thailand?”
“How should we go? It should be by taxi, right?”
“I would like to go with a rickshaw, but we are too short on time to chase romanticism . Anderson’s team wouldn’t have found it, right?”
“We don’t know . Let’s go quickly . ”

Jo Minjoon urged Emily with a hurried face . They didn’t know what was this for him to be acting like this, but regardless of the penthouse, he felt a sense of competition . Looking at him that vaguely seemed like a kid, Emily thought .

‘He is indeed young . ’

To be able to put passion in even small things like that . If Jo Minjoon heard it, it was something he wouldn’t like, but she thought that he was cute .

As they drove with the taxi for quite a distance, they could see the residential complex apartment . They got fed up of that height and width, and as they got in the hall Emily opened her mouth .

“As I know this penthouse hasn’t been sold for almost 6 years . Because it’s too expensive . ”
“Then who has it right now?”
“The royal family . ”
“Wow, It seems like they are really rich . ”
“It’s true that they have a lot of money, but in the first place it isn’t that they bought it . As it didn’t sell, let’s offer this building to the royal family and raise it more luxuriously . They calculated like that . Think about it . If the people upstairs, no, if the king of this country was living in the same apartment as you . No, even if he wasn’t living but you were still in their house, wouldn’t you feel proud?”

It was a convincing story . Jo Minjoon, that was listening calmly, opened his eyes with doubts .

“Wait . Then the royalty provided us with a lodging?”
“That’s why I got surprised . Actually, I did hear that when national guests came, they lent it to them, but it was difficult to get in here when I last came here . Certainly…… . . ”
“Certainly what?”
“Wouldn’t it be because of Rachel? I wouldn’t know about young people, but at least 10 years ago Rachel Rose was really a living legend . Precisely speaking, it was from when she ran Rose Island with her husband . ”

Every time he heard this he got curious . Just how amazing was Rachel’s husband? Even if he searched in the internet not many things appeared, maybe because it was before it got more active . Only information about epicureans reflecting on him all the time was all he could find .

As they got in the elevator, as there were many floors, there were also many buttons . When they placed the highest ‘83’rd floor Emily smiled brightly .

“I would be able to erase one thing from my bucket lists . ”
“Is this place that amazing?”
“The most expensive things in the world can’t always be obtained with money . The penthouse we are right now is just like that . ”
“We should express our thanks to Rachel . ”
“You should know how precious the treasure you have is . Minjoon . Rachel’s interest can’t be obtained solely with effort . ”
“I know . Sometimes I get stomach aches because the expectation is too big……I will have to see it off . That expectation . For her, and for me . ”
“Is it because it’s in front of the camera? That line feels quite tickly . ”
“Is it that noticeable?”

Jo Minjoon smiled teasingly . The elevator stopped . The door that got plated in gold opened and what was seen next was a room with a cozy atmosphere . A room that only had a door and the elevator between . It felt like one kind of elevator . The moment the cameramen and the PD entered together to the room, the door opened abruptly and Martin appeared .

“Congratulations! Emily, Minjoon . You got the answer . ”
“We are the first, right? Huh?”

Emily asked in a careful voice . Jo Minjoon just laughed at that look . Once, she was a judge that teased the participants but now she was the same as him that only stared at Martin’s mouth . Martin didn’t reply and pointed at the door .

“Go inside . ”
“Ey . Why are you like this again? Acting all scary . We won, right?”

Martin replied with a smile . In the end Emily and Jo Minjoon got inside and it was at that moment . Their mouths opened up naturally . There was nothing to say about the width, and the ceiling was also really high .

On the marbled floor, there were white furnitures placed, and through the glass that was placed instead of walls, you could clearly see Pattaya’s scenery . Below the buildings lit with yellow and white lights, the lights of the cars were moving slowly like a swarm of bees .

This is why they wondered why the penthouse was the symbol for romanticism . It was when Jo Minjoon was slowly getting drunk under those flowing lights . An old voice and without weight was heard .

“Huhu, it seems like that old hag Rachel was late . ”

Jo Minjoon turned his body . And as he did so, after he saw an old man he was about to unconsciously bent down and stopped . Could he be in his seventies . Originally, he would show a courteous attitude, but this wasn’t Korea .

“Uh……Are you perhaps the new person?”
“Right . And you will be that famous Jo Minjoon?”
“Ah, yes . ”
“I’m Jeremy Bennett . I’m an epicurean . It seems like it’s the first time meeting the one next to you . ”
“Ah, it’s Emily Potter . I did hear some things about you . But are you perhaps… . . The one they say is my friend?”

Doubt appeared on Emily’s eyes . She did hear the name Jeremy Bennett, but she couldn’t say that she was acquaintanced to him . Jeremy slowly shook his head and said .

“No . Your lady friend was here until now… . . Did she go to the bathroom?”
“Lady? She’s a woman?”
“Yes . And quite a young one . ”

Emily put an even more confused face . There were no more people that she could guess . But at that moment, a door from a side opened with a click and sounds of the high heel was heard . At that moment, the heads of the three of them turned side by side . And at that instant, Jo Minjoon got surprised . It wasn’t because of her clothes which the part of the chest was deep . It was because of the feeling .

‘She feels like Kaya . ’

It wasn’t that she looked like her . Compared to her she looked less fierce, and she was a woman that gave a strong feeling she was from South America . If he were to say the things that resembled her it would only be her black hair and the blue eyes . But the dangerous and harsh charm that emanated from her body made him think of Kaya .

In the other side, Emily was feeling a completely different thing than Jo Minjoon . Astonishment . And it wasn’t a good one . She said as if she couldn’t believe it at all .

“Sera…… . ?! How come you are here?”
“I came as an epicurean . It’s been a while, Emily . ”
“You are an epicurean? Since when?”
“I wonder . Has it been a year? I’m quite famous nowadays . As the sexiest epicurean in america . ”

The woman called Sera replied comfortably and approached Jo Minjoon . And then extended her hand .

“It’s the first time seeing you . I’m Sera Keich . ”
“Ah, it’s Jo Minjoon . ”

Jo Minjoon grabbed her hands . Sera put a charming smile that would enchant most men and said .

“I wanted to see you at least once . You know that nowadays, you are quite famous?”
“Really?”
“Yeah . You also have the absolute sense of taste, but personally i’m a fan of your cooking style . Grand Chef, I saw it well . ”
“I feel thankful as you only say good words . ”

The first impression of the new participants wasn’t bad . But although the relationship between Sera and Emily seemed kind of delicate, compared to the word that they were friends .

And that was the same for Rachel, that came in after 30 minutes . The moment she saw Jeremy, she suddenly frowned .

“You were still alive?”
“Why would I die if not even Rachel Rose did? I have to stay alive until my niece meets his own niece . ”

While they were conversing like that, Anderson was on a side of the room breathing shortly and slowly with a pale face . Looking at Rachel’s age she couldn’t eat much… . . And all the hints were vague things . As it became like that, Anderson had to eat it all .

“…… . Are you okay?”
“Don’t talk to…… . Ughh . ”

Even after that, Anderson went quite few more times to the toilet . If there was one thing that comforted him was that Martin had prepared a gift for them . But it wasn’t anything special . It was that Emily and Jo Minjoon would obviously be able to stay in the penthouse along with Anderson and Rachel .

But it didn’t seem like a moments mercy . It seemed like he was planning to do so from the start . If Rachel didn’t stay, it could turn out that they were ignoring the consideration of the king .

That day, could it be that he couldn’t get accustomed to the luxurious mat and blanket? Even before dawn ended, Jo Minjoon had to open his eyes . Funnily, what he thought that moment was cooking . As soon as he opened his eyes, he remembered the various colored dishes the thailandese store owners showed, and he couldn’t hold it .

And as he went and opened the fridge while thinking perhaps, fortunately, there were ingredients . He couldn’t know if the staff had prepared it, or it was already there due to the manager of the penthouse . The important thing was that he could cook .

There were exactly four kind of dishes that he ate on the stores .  Banana loti, chicken barbecue, pad thai made by frying shrimp and noodles, and cow galbi boiled down in soy . But the cooking scenes he saw while passing by weren’t only four .  Tom yum with a clear soup, phat kai paomu 팟카파오무 (Not sure about this) fried with basil and pork . Mango glutinous rice with condensed milk and mango placed on it .

But of course he could only know the ingredients if he didn’t put it on his mouth, he couldn’t get to know the recipe . At least it was like that with the strength of the recipe . But just because of that, it wasn’t that he could keep watching the cooking process . Jo Minjoon looked at many dishes, and he was confident on making those his own .

It wasn’t that there were all kinds of ingredients in the fridge, Cow, pork, chicken, duck, crab, shrimp, and basic vegetables . And some fruits . Jo Minjoon slightly checked his system window .

[Comprehension on Thai cooking] – Proficiency 13%
Your overall comprehension on Thai cooking increases .
The probabilities of failing a dish when making a Thai dish lowers .
You can make a piece that’s higher than your cooking level with a low probability .

It wasn’t that high of proficiency . Looking at it through all the experiences he has had, it was difficult to make a good dish compared to a dish with low proficiency . Sushi made by a chef with several styles and with tens of years of experience, and a japanese chef with three years of experience . If you were considerate the latter would be better .

Jo Minjoon raised his sleeve . There were some cameras installed on one side of the kitchen, but there was nobody here . That’s why it felt rather good . Because he could completely concentrate .

First, he soaked the rice noodles in water, and Jo Minjoon started to recreate the many dishes he saw . The freshest thing was that he could use coconut oil instead of butter . Originally, he wouldn’t even be able to touch it as it was expensive, but in Thailand, coconut oil wasn’t that expensive .

It wasn’t that he recreated the original recipe like it was . Because there was no need to . For example when even he made pad thai, on what he ate it had big peanuts placed on it . But this time, the peanuts were chopped small  and even when he fried it he poured a bit of sangsom, which was a thai alcohol, and flambeed it .

A smile appeared on Jo Minjoon’s face . Some people may not be able to understand it, but he was happier when he cooked than when he ate . No, actually even when he ate his head was filled with ‘how can I change this?’ so it may feel more fun because of that .

It was when he was placing the dishes one by one on the table . The voice of a man that still hadn’t fully woken up was heard .

“What are you doing this early in the morning?”
“Ah, did you wake up because of me?”
“No . That’s not it . If you age, you tend to sleep less . And the urinating habits weaken . Can I eat this?”
“Of course . I made it for you to eat it . ”

Jeremy served a bit of the pad thai with an indistinct face . And it was at that moment when he poured a bit of red pepper sap and thai vinegar . Jo Minjoon looked at that with a surprised face . The cooking score that was a 6, raised to 7 in an instant . Jeremy ate a bite and trembled . Compared to before, he looked at Jo Minjoon with clear eyes .

“You covered the flavor of fire really well . On top of that it seems like you flambeed it……”
“Ah, yes . I did it with sangsom . But the thing you did before… . . ”
“It’s something not many know about . You have to sprinkle a bit of red pepper sap and thai vinegar for pad thai . If you don’t do so, it’s not that delicious . ”
“I learned a good thing . ”

Jo Minjoon said with a simply amazed face . Jeremy smirked .

“I just know how to eat deliciously . ”
“Eating deliciously is the most difficult thing . ”
“So cooking deliciously like you is easy? When I was young, I was also in charge of a restaurant . As a head chef . No, actually it was a small restaurant it would be funny to say that I was the head chef . It was a small place where a friend and I ran . People that acted like epicureans always said bad comments…… . . and well, just take this into account . Anyways, i’m not a chef anymore . ”

As time flowed, the other people started to wake up and gather in the kitchen . And they exclaimed at the dishes Jo Minjoon made . It was so because of his effort, but they could only express amazement at him copying exactly a dish he saw for the first time . To reproduce something he only saw and didn’t eat, that wasn’t only the problem of his sense of taste but the power of observation and concentration . Sera said .

“You really are a duplicating machine . ”
“…… . A duplicator?”
“A cooking duplicator . How about stealing all the menu in a chain store and make a new one with me?”

He just laughed at that groundless proposition, but even so he felt quite happy on listening the compliments by them . Jo Minjoon checked how the people gathered in the table ate . Unfortunately he didn’t get an 8 point dish . Because he still hadn’t properly understood about thai sauces . Looking at it like that, it may be obvious . It was fortunate that he had some 7 poitns dishes .

Rachel was tasting the dishes Jo Minjoon made one by one with a face more serious than ever . A fried rice with crab meat claw, soft shell crab which was fried it its whole body . She felt that every ingredient was being deployed in a good place .

She obviously felt a thailandese feeling, but what she felt above that was the colour of Minjoon being a chef . It seemed like he still hadn’t realized it, but he certainly had a colour of his own . And that was the part that made Rachel the most expectant . Rachel put in coriander, crab meat, chicory and lime juice on a lettuce and ate a big bite . Jo Minjoon looked at that and smiled . She had the age of being a grandmother, but even so she eating his food like that was cute and joyful .

While Rachel was in the middle of chewing the food that filled her entire mouth Emily, that was eating fried kangkong, said with a bright face .

“As the kangkong is fresh it’s really delicious! And the flavor and aroma of the sap and garlic are also good……How is it, Rachel? Eat this . ”

Rachel gulped and said .

“There’s nothing in this table that isn’t not delicious . For a breakfast, it’s so big it makes me perplexed . ”
“Thank you . ”

Although the cooking score were between 6 and 7, even so it wasn’t that it wasn’t delicious . Rather, giving a straight flavor with a simple cooking process could be more delicious for normal people . But of course, although they were epicureans, they still felt fun with this simple flavor . Anderson, that saw Rachel eating deliciously, mumbled with a mortifying face .

“I also had to make breakfast . ”
“You do it tomorrow . ”
“Even so, I was already planning to . ”

It was when they conversed like that . Martin appeared with a swelled face . And then said while smiling .

“Good morning . Maybe because it’s a good morning, there’s a good news . Should I explain it longly or shortly?”
“The short one is long . ”

At Anderson’s answer, Martin opened his mouth for a moment and closed it . And then, said with a voice filled with amusement when watching the stifled faces of them .

“Good . Then let’s do so . The royal family has invited you to lunch!”

< The envelope that embraces the street stall (3) > End