God of Cooking – Chapter 151: Global & Local (1)

Martin didn’t admit Jo Minjoon’s guess . However, it was already a pointless thing . Jo Minjoon and the others were already half certain of it . Martin’s dispirited attitude was also one of those reasons . Anderson opened his mouth as if it was obvious .

“Tokyo Harmony……Just listening to the name gives me a feeling that it’s a fusion restaurant . Has someone gone there?”
“I have . ”

The only one that replied was Emily . Emily, that saw Anderson and Jeremy glancing at Sera, smirked and said .

“You all shouldn’t have gone . As I know, it hasn’t been a while since this place got Michelin restaurants . It didn’t have any stars at all and got all three at once . That was why I went there . ”
“…… . . Mm, I have heard once . But I just looked pictures because I didn’t have the chance to go . ”
“Pictures… . . ”

Anderson mumbled with a weird voice . Jo Minjoon opened his mouth .

“Should I show you a picture?”
“No . I’m not looking . You shouldn’t see a picture of somewhere you go for the first time . ”

Anderson denied with a blunt voice . Jo Minjoon asked with a confused voice .

“Why?”
“I think I know the answer for that . Can I answer it for you?”

Emily raised her arm and asked like a student in a class . Anderson made a gesture for Emily to do as she pleased . Emily put on a serious expression and said . It felt like she was treating this like a quiz .

“Because you want to enjoy the first flavor, right?”
“………The first flavor?”

Jo Minjoon looked at Emily with a weird expression and then at Anderson . Anderson nodded as if those words were right . Emily said with a triumphant face .

“You also know well . Appearances also take a role on deciding the flavor of food . But of course, for normal stores… . so I mean for places that sell hamburgers or ramen, you can expect what kind of shape it will have, so it’s a bit different . But the cases of these restaurants are different . ”
“Well, even the appearances are different . But of course, normal restaurants also work on the plating and decorations… . . but normally, the more expensive a store is, they even hire a food artist to focus on the looks . But… . . ”

Jo Minjoon tilted his head as if it was a bit vague .

“Isn’t it also fun to spend a long time after looking a picture of a dish? You don’t know the flavor, and only the look . You are curious as to how it will taste, and the moment it’s served in front of you… . I think that the emotions you would feel then would also be good . ”
“Well, that differs from people to people . There are people that have those things last a long time, and people that disappear after a short time . It looks like for Anderson, it’s short . ”
“Hm… . Anyways, I heard that japanese people liked to talk while hitting around the bush, but it didn’t seem to be the case for restaurant names . Rather, it feels like they want do that to hold the theme of the store . ”

Harmony . Combination . It was obvious what those words meant . People would have made contact or found it between japanese dishes and dishes from all around the world . Perhaps, that may be the strongest point Japan has . Localizing abroad dishes, and the globalizing of japanese dishes .

‘I think that Korea also has some personality for localized food . ’

For example, the thing that was most talked about was pizza and pasta . Several toppings were placed and they put cheese, sweet potato, cream,etc . In the dough……On top of that there were even cases that they made the dough itself to have the shape of a pie or a coffee bun .

It was the same for pasta . Different from the west, that put sauces that stick to the pasta, in Korea when they raised the pasta with cream sauce, the sauce would fall down .

Thinking about it, it was an amazing thing . It was the same dish, but some people may feel that to be delicious and not for some . And the standard for that ‘something’ was that it could get different depending on the environment .

‘If your tasting standard changes depending on the environment you grew up… . . Where will my standard be set at?’

Honestly speaking, he only thought that it was where he wished it to be . Because there was no rule in his mother’s dishes . At times, it was insipid to the point he couldn’t taste anything, and at times it was hard for it to take it close to his mouth .

Perhaps, that hard to eat cooking method was the thing that made Jo Minjoon establish his own tastes . And while thinking like that, Jo Minjoon unconsciously laughed . Rachel opened her eyes roundly and looked at Jo Minjoon .

“Why are you laughing like that?”
“Well, I got that sudden thought . That my mom not being able to cook well rather served as teaching my talent . ”
“……How so?”
“People normally get used to flavors their moms make since small . But for me to get used to it, the food my mom cooked… . . mm……was a bit weak . ”
“……I think that your mother will get sad when she hears that . ”

Rachel said with an awkward face . You wouldn’t know if it was the past, but now she was the mother of his disciple . She couldn’t cooperate because of Jo Minjoon . And Jo Minjoon smirked as if there was no need to .

“If she was going to get sad at these words she would have studied cooking before . But it’s fine anyways . Thanks to that, I obtain my own tastes . ”
“Cases like that aren’t nonexistent . Normal people become interested in cooking because of two reasons . Their parents cook too well or to poorly . But, why did you think of this so suddenly?”
“Thinking about it, it was kind of a mazing . That depending on your country, the place you grew up, your tastes changed . And I wonder how my tastes were established and on what bases…… . Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jo Minjoon paused and then asked towards Rachel . She was looking at him with trembling eyes as if she was really shocked . Rachel shook her head like she was surprised .

“N, no . It’s nothing . I just remembered of someone……That thought, is a good one . Keep thinking like that . You will certainly gain something . ”
“Yes . I will . ”

At Jo Minjoon’s smile, Rachel was smiling back with unnaturally . She could only be like that . Because her heart right now was just like storm .

‘He says the same things…… . as Daniel . ’

Perhaps it may only be connecting things . It was something anyone could thing, and there may be more people that said the same things to her than she thought . However, was it because it was Jo Minjoon that said those words, she felt the meaning behind it to be deeper .

“Me too…… . ”

Anderson hesitated but ended up speaking . He glanced at Rachel and Jo Minjoon and then looked down at his fingers acting coldly and said .

“I also got the same thought . Just like the product of japanese people show up on the name of the store…… . Cooking has more ideals behind it than what you can think of . Based on what you think while cooking, the restaurant itself can change . ”
“That’s a good thought . ”

Rachel smiled softly and looked at Anderson . Was it that he didn’t want to lose to Jo Minjoon . To express his thoughts right before a compliment was said, he felt really childish and mature at the same time . Because he opened his mouth even while knowing that he would get that feeling .

While looking at the three of them, Sera looked at Emily with vague eyes .

“This relationship of rivals, isn’t it really funny and cool?”
“Yeah . It’s always like that . It’s regrettable that epicureans can’t get rivals . ”
“……You think so?”
“It is like that . We just eat and write our opinions, so do you think we are able to get rivals like that?”

Sera’s mouth shut down stiffly . You couldn’t know what she was thinking through those lips . While Emily started to get her doubts, Sera turned her head and opened her mouth . It was a kind of dispirited voice .

“Right . There’s no way there can be something like that . ”

–

Michelin three star . The meaning that had was simple . A place worth traveling to go to that restaurant . It is simple but at the same time really magnanimous .

Although there was a saying that Michelin evaluators were rather lenient with Japan, it didn’t mean that the meaning of a 3 star declined .

Tokyo harmony was located on the beach of Tokyo port . It was a 2 story building, but just looking at the height looked like it was a 5 story one . The walls that had a round shape like a dome was made with glass, and because of that you were able to look at the sea while inside of the building .

“Wow……Certainly, after coming to Tokyo and coming to this restaurant, I think that I may only remember this scenery”

Jo Minjoon got amazed and said . The sea was being reflected in his eyes while taking some fresh air . It was when those eyes of him were looking at the western table, clean marble floor, and the rafters on the roof that Martin opened his mouth .

“We are soon going to start the live broadcast . We have quite a lot of viewers on standby today . 140 thousand . We have 10 thousand more viewers than the last start . You all remember the introductory words right?”
“Yes . ”
“Good . Then, before starting the broadcast, say all of the difficult or cheesy words you want to say now . Be it like I love you friend, etc . I will delete it from the scenes . ”
“I know you won’t . ”

At Anderson’s blunt voice, Martin scratched his head with an awkward voice . And soon raised his hand . Three fingers . Two fingers . One . The six people smiled towards the camera at the same time .

“Hello . It’s hunger trip . ”

It was a clear voice, but it wasn’t noisy . Words started to pour down the screen .

[Oh, the camera opened . But where is this . ]
[I heard it was Japan, but it looks really luxurious . Is it a Michelin restaurant?]
[Ah, I think I know where that is . It’s a three star restaurant located in Tokyo . Was it Tokyo Harmony . It was really delicious . ]

The six of them just watched the chat window go up . Only after Martin sticked his face next to the window did they get a hold of themselves and turned to look at them . Jo Minjoon opened his mouth .

“This is a restaurant located in Japan called Tokyo Harmony . It’s a place Michelin gave three stars . We are all quite looking forwards to it . ”
“We are, but how is it that you are even more so?”
“It’s the first time i’m eating asian food that’s ranked with three stars . ”

Actually, just looking at the cooking levels, Higashino’s store didn’t fall down by that much . But of course, there were no 10 point dishes, but the average score was similar to a three star restaurant .

However, cooking wasn’t something you could judge with just the flavor . The surroundings was this open and beautiful, so how could that not influence in the flavor at all . In addition, there may be a lot more expensive ingredients than what Higashino used, so honestly speaking, there was a good possibility that the flavor may be better than Higashino’s restaurant . That was what Jo Minjoon thought . Even if you were an outstanding chef, you couldn’t do anything about the abundant flavor of expensive ingredients .

Soon, one of the chefs approached them . Jo Minjoon just looked at him . His cooking uniform was quite peculiar . It seemed like it was a combination of Japanese yukata and a western uniform . It was black in overall, and had several white bands on it . But there was something more peculiar than that .

[The chef came . But he’s white?]

It was just like the comment . Was he about in his forties . The chef that approached them was a white man with sand gold hair .

“Welcome to our restaurant . I am the head chef of Tokyo Harmony, Samuel King . ”

It was an english with strong britannic dialect . Emily smiled brightly and opened her mouth .

“It’s been a while, Samuel . You are still looking cool . ”
“Thank you . You are also beautiful Emily . ”
“Uh… . . I’m a bit confused . As it was a Japanese restaurant and a fusion one at that, I obviously thought that a japanese person was going to be the head chef . ”
“Well, I may be half japanese by now . I have studied cooking in this land for more than 10 years already . ”
“Samuel smiled gently and answered . Jo Minjoon looked down at the menu . There were words written in english and japanese in it . Jo Minjoon, that glanced at the whole menu said .

“There’s no differentiation with appetizer or main dish?”

It was like he had said . Although it was categorized as salad, noodle, rice, meat, sushi, sea food, etc…… . There wasn’t an order to it . Samuel replied with a calm voice .

“That was the restaurant I wanted . A restaurant that doesn’t fit in the normal dining system . Ordering whatever food you want to eat whenever you want . Are you uncomfortable with it?”
“No, actually……I’m really comfortable with it . Because there is no uneasiness about what I should pick . ”

Jo Minjoon laughed in a good mood . Samuel turned to look at them and said .

“I won’t be recommending a dish to you . I have done investigations after investigations to the point I could say that each and every dish is perfect . And I also don’t care about the order of it . Only one thing . ”

Samuel cutted his words . And at the same time, servers appeared from behind him and placed down a total of three dishes in the center of the table . They were all pickled **** .

“Every Time you finish a dish, cleanse your mouth with this pickled **** . That way, whatever flavor you may try, will feel clear regardless of what you ate before . ”
“It just seems like a sushi store . ”
“I won’t deny that I got inspired by it . ”

Samuel smirked and said . Jo Minjoon looked at the menu . Soon, his eyes stopped in one place . Steamed beef dumpling . Next to it, it was written as the origin was Kobe . Jo Minjoon opened his mouth .

“How about ordering a dumpling?”
“Uh… . . ah! Steamed dumpling? If it’s a steamed one instead of a fried one, it won’t be that burdensome to eat at first . Fine . I agree . ”
“I also agree . ”

Like that, their first dish became steamed dumpling . After a while, the steamed dumpling that were on a steamer were placed in the middle of the table . Jo Minjoon gulped that and looked at that .

[Steamed beef dumpling]
Freshness : 98%
Origins : (Hidden, too many ingredients)
Quality : High
Cooking Score: 8/10

“It’s a dumpling we made by making the skin and fermenting it ourselves . I did my best for it not to look like it was lacking to the ones served at dumpling stores . Now . Eat it along with this soy sauce . ”

Samuel mixed wasabi with soy sauce suitably himself . Jo Minjoon slowly grabbed a dumpling and sticked it on the soy sauce . And then looked at it with lovely eyes .

The dumpling that had the size of a finger was elaborate and cute . The skin that had a light colour trembled just like jelly, but it didn’t tear that easily, and you could see the ingredients inside faintly . The drop of soy sauce falling down the dumpling was quite lascivious and sexy, just like water flowing down the body of a woman .

That was why he felt some kind of guilt when he ate the dumpling . At first, it stimulated his lips as if it was kissing him, and when the stock inside the skin of the dumpling moistened his throat, his chest became numb as if he was a vampire sucking on the neck of a kid .

The soy sauce also wasn’t a normal one . Maybe it was because it was mixed with lemon juice, that a fresh and sour aroma cleaned his throat . And the juices that came out of the green bean sprout and beef was so moist he almost couldn’t differentiate if he was eating a dumpling or soup .

[Jo Minjoon is certainly the best when eating . He eats really deliciously . Is it because he’s more sensitive?]
[I couldn’t see him because I was appreciating Emily’s, face . How did he eat?]
[It looked like he was kissing a woman . I can’t express more than this . ]

To the point even the chat spoke like that, the happiness, guilt, and anxiousness in Jo Minjoon’s face was just too clear . But it was when some time passed . His eyes that were closed to savour the flavor trembled a little . The window that popped in front of Jo Minjoon, the thing he was reading touched him .

[The origins of the beef…… . It’s not Kobe but Matsaka?’

It was certainly written as Kobe on the menu . Of course, beef from Matsaka didn’t fall back to Kobe’s at all but rather it was claimed to be better . It wasn’t that they were playing with the ingredients .

Jo Minjoon looked at Samuel . Samuel faced Jo Minjoon and smiled softly .

“Is there something uncomfortable?”
“No . It’s not that……This…… . ”

Jo Minjoon smacked his lips . He wondered if he should be asking this . Because there would be no way to remark that if it was of the same quality . But if they had to use beef from Kobe and not from Matsaka, and the beef they were using now was a mistake from the kitchen . If that faint difference in flavor could make a more excellent dumpling… . While thinking like that, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut anymore .

Because even the breeding of Kobe and Matsaka were different . It wasn’t simply a problem of origins, but brand . So the flavor could also be different . At least, it was like that for Jo Minjoon . Matsaka’s had more marbling, and the kobe one had a more harmonious marbling . If there was no difference on that, there would be no way people would prefer two different things .

Jo Minjoon opened his mouth .

“It was written as the origins was from Kobe on the menu… . . But what I feel is softer and has a stronger flavor than the harmonious marbling I know . Is it really…… . . from Kobe?”

At that moment, silence fell on the table .

< Global & Local (1) > End