Chapter 275
<Things That Have Changed (4)>
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 
There were 6 10-point dishes. This wasn’t a huge surprise since Hong Mangil’s cooking level was 9. So, if he concentrated, he could easily make 10-point dishes. This was also true for Rachel who could easily create 10-point dishes.
This meant that Hong Mangil made most of these dishes. The characteristic of Korean dishes is that it takes a long time to cook, so he would have enough time to supervise each food during that process. Making 6 10-point dishes even under those conditions left quite an impression. At the same time…
‘The composition was only 5 points?’
Jo Minjoon raised an eyebrow. It was sad to see such high-quality dishes with such a low composition score. It felt as if these great dishes were not utilized to their fullest extent.
It felt as if the painting of the Mona Lisa was run over by a car rather than being displayed at a museum. Kaya had a similar impression to him. She could feel the disarrayed arrangement of the dishes on the table.
“…How can we eat all this?”
It wasn’t a compliment. Rather a voice of disappointment. Just by seeing the amount of food on the table, one could feel that they couldn’t truly enjoy all the food. Even if one just had one bite of all the food, one will be full.
Of course, normal people wouldn’t understand. These many dishes only excited them since normal people usually don’t think like a chef or a food critic. They only thought about the quantity of food rather than the portion, or the order in which the dishes were presented. Lee Haesun said in an excited voice.
“Wow, so much food!”
“She wants to say there’s a lot of food.”
Jo Minjoon smiled as he spoke. Grace nodded and said.
“There are so many things. They were called side dishes, right?”
“Yes, although steamed ribs might be expensive to be called a side dish; however, it does not matter at this point.”
“I know that Korean restaurants were known to have a lot of dishes, but I never expected to be on such a scale.
“Not all Korean restaurants are like this. This place just gave out a lot.”
It was difficult to find a Korean restaurant that served these many dishes. One can only find this many dishes in a high-priced restaurant, a family gathering, or a buffet. Even the buffet didn’t offer these many choices.
“… As a chef I am a bit disappointed.”
“Is it because most of the food will be thrown away?”
“I don’t see any respect being given to the ingredient. They made so many dishes knowing full well that it will be thrown away.”
“I’m sorry, I already gave up criticizing that point. Look at those around you.”
Kaya looked around after listening to Jo Minjoon’s words and groaned for a moment. Everyone had a smile on their faces. This was to be expected since there were so many high-quality dishes on the table. It was to the point where they were mesmerized by the food.
“Everyone is enjoying it.”
“I wouldn’t consider it being a waste if it brought such joy to everyone even before they started eating. We can’t fully know who is right because everyone has their own opinion.”
“You are being philosophical again. I don’t want to have a headache at a dinner table.”
“I know. I will end my philosophy lesson here and not give you any more headaches. Let’s enjoy it first. Here, try this.”
Jo Minjoon lifted a steamed rib and placed it on top of Kaya’s plate. Then he grabbed one for himself and carefully removed the meat from the bone. The meat was tender like noodles since it separated from the bone with a simple touch of a chopstick.
‘So, this is a 10 point steamed rib.’
There were many Korean dishes that could receive high points if they were cooked with sincerity and care. It was because it takes a long time to cook such dishes. However, it wasn’t as simple as spending the time ignorantly. With just the steamed ribs alone, one needs to make sure the ingredients don’t burn, make sure the water is properly leveled, and to make sure to occasionally skim off the excess fat.
It was a dish created with sincerity and care. That was how one would describe most Korean dishes. Rather than using fancy techniques, the characteristic of Korean dishes was sincerity.
“Ah…”
Kaya lost her words in admiration for the dish. He could clearly see that she was staring at the steamed rib angrily as she couldn’t believe what she just ate. He soon understood her feelings. He thought that there were no steamed ribs better than these. He was hesitant at first since the meat came off the bone so easily, but the chewiness of the meat was vivid. It was as if he was eating noodles made from meat.
The next dish that his chopstick reached for was a traditional Korean hotpot. He was not conscientious of the order. Since there was so much food, it was difficult to know what the right order was. That’s why it is more enjoyable to taste dishes that boast a higher score. He then murmured in a low voice
“I never tried traditional Korean hotpot.”
“It’s really interesting. It’s like the Chinese hot pot.”
“Yes, the Korean modified the Chinese hot pot during the Joseon dynasty. These are the subtle similarities between Chinese cuisine and Korean cuisine. It’s nothing new.”
“It’s interesting how there is charcoal inside…”
In fact, this Korean traditional hot pot gave off the strongest presence. There was a hole in the middle to keep the food warm. Surrounding the hole were various vegetables with beef stock. There was chili, mushroom, ginkgo, mushroom, garlic, etc.
‘…I am sure I will be full even if I tried one of each.’
The first thing that Jo Minjoon reached for was the intestine. He wanted to know what sort of chemistry would be created between the intestine and beef stock.
To be honest, he was curious about how the hot pot was able to receive a cooking point of 10. Once he bit into it, he clenched the chopstick in his hand. He quickly looked at Kaya and tapped her on the shoulder. She glanced at him in annoyance. He pointed at the hot pot and said in a clumsy voice.
“Quickly. Try this.”
“Alright. I’ll try it, quit tapping my shoulder.”
Kaya sighed as she reached for the hot pot. She soon understood why he was so excited. Her eyes widened as she looked at him. Then he said in a happy tone.
“It’s good right?”
“…Should I learn some Korean cuisine?”
“I don’t know about Korean cuisine, but I really want to know about this hot pot.”
The taste that the hot pot gave off was completely different than what he expected. He thought that the beef broth would dilute the taste of the other ingredient, but he was completely wrong. The beef broth acted as a sauce, a bubbling sauce to be precise. First, the broth kept the vegetable moist, then the umami taste from the broth brought forth the full flavor of the ingredients.
“Oh… I really want to try each ingredient.”
He murmured in a disappointed voice. His eyes were full of disappointment and regret that if a stranger saw him, they would worry about his well being.
That was when the paper door opened, and Hong Mangil smiled from outside the door.
“Did the dishes suit your taste?”
“Yes. It was so delicious… that it is painful.”
Jo Minjoon said what was on his mind truthfully. And Hong Mangil quickly understood what Jo Minjoon meant since he was also a chef. His heart as a chef was still beating since he was respectful toward the ingredients like what Kaya and Jo Minjoon were saying before.
“I know. I closed Sumokjong because of that reason.”
“…Is that so.”
The answer was finally revealed at that time. And Jo Minjoon nodded as if he was convinced. If he faced such a table every day, he would be tired eventually. Mountain of food that would go to waste. Even if the customers were satisfied with the first dish, he would be pressured whenever the customer moved onto the next dish. By the time the customer got to the last dish, they wouldn’t be able to finish it, so there would be a mountain of leftovers.
“You would be tired from seeing all the leftover food.”
“You are the first to say such a thing so brazenly in front of me.”
Hong Mangil laughed. Jo Minjoon smiled and quickly added.
“I am saying it because it is regretful. These are all dishes too good to be thrown away like that.”
“I am too embarrassed to say thank you.”
“If you were unsatisfied, then you could have reduced the portion. May I ask why you closed?”
“It would be a long answer. I don’t want to disturb the guest when they are enjoying their meals. The reason why I showed my face was because I have a favor to ask.”
“A … favor?”
Jo Minjoon looked at Hong Mangil with a puzzled expression. He thought there was a reason behind everything. He wouldn’t be invited to a closed restaurant for no reason. But he had no clue as to what Hong Mangil was about to ask of him.
“It is true that you possess the absolute taste. It is also true that you are a disciple of the famous Western chef, Rachel Rose. You may be the only one in Korea who has his sight on the world. You understand Korean cuisine and understand how to modify it to suit the taste of foreigners.”
Jo Minjoon had a shabby look on his face. He knew what Hong Mangil was going to ask of him. But he didn’t know why. His cooking level was 9. There were different tiers within the cooking level. And his tier was higher than his. He was on the same tier as Rachel. He was a master. But why would he…
“I have a favor to ask of you. How should I modify my cooking? How should I modify it so that this country, no, the world would remember the dishes on my table.”
A level 9 master. The legend of Korean cuisine was asking him a favor. He was lowering his pride and stubbornness and asking him politely.
“Can you help me?”
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry
<Things That Have Changed (4)> End.