Sometimes people think that unless they have a job that requires them to compete with others, they won’t have to feel offended by others or offend their feelings. Why? Because they don’t have to have friction as their jobs are different.
Min-joon used to think so. Who in the world would expect some normal social life of a chef like him? Of course, a chef might have friction with a customer, but if the chef felt offended by the customer, he wouldn’t have to see the customer again, so this was not a big deal. Usually, such a customer would try to find fault with the chef even if the latter had a job other than a chef.
That was why Min-joon was so embarrassed right now. Wasabi was a famous Japanese restaurant in New York. Now that he came to the restaurant that even Michelin gave three stars, he could not help but have a lot on his mind.
“It’s not as good as we thought, right?”
“Nope. Not good enough,” said Kaya, calmly nodding at him.
Min-joon sighed after hearing what she said. He felt like his admiration and expectations of this restaurant when he set foot on it fell apart in an instant.
Honestly, the interior of the restaurant ‘Wasabi’ was luxurious enough to pale June’s Rose Island branch in New York. Even though it was not a sushi restaurant, there was a log bar table on one side that seemed to have cost millions of dollars for its installation, and the lamps that looked like lanterns had a luxurious and unique design that seemed to be limited edition at first glance.
The waiters and waitresses dressed in Western-style kimonos welcomed Min-joon and Kaya with greetings of ‘Iratshai Mase,’ even though they were not Japanese. When they walked inside the restaurant, escorted by the server, they passed by the kitchen and arrived at a quiet room that was soundproof everywhere.
As it was attached directly to the kitchen, Min-joon and Kaya could watch the chefs cooking just by opening the door. Besides, the kitchen wasn’t even a separate space. They were using the garden with an open ceiling as the kitchen, which was a bit amazing. Min-joon wondered how they could cook there when it rained, thinking they had to cover the ceiling.
Wasabi wasn’t a restaurant specializing in sushi, roll, or ramen. Promoting itself as a Japanese bistro, Wasabi served all kinds of Japanese cuisine one by one in the form of a course.
It was neither a common nor a rare concept, but Min-joon thought it was okay because he found it very old-fashioned that all Japanese restaurants outside Japan specialized in ramen or sushi, which was only part of the Japanese cuisine, so Min-joon really didn’t like it.
That was why Min-joon had great expectations when he sat down at the table in this restaurant. Even if different Michelin stars didn’t necessarily show the different level of taste of any restaurant, he knew from experience that all the three-star restaurants he visited until now made him happy, to say the least.
Aside from the Michelin stars of Wasabi, the unique atmosphere of ‘Wasabi’ and its unusual serving style made customers excited as soon as they entered this restaurant. Min-joon even had high expectations when he entered this unique Japanese restaurant, so duly expected quite a decent Japanese dish.
But he had to give up such expectations.
The first dish Wasabi served was sort of miso soup made with soy sauce, miso, and tofu. At first glance, the crispy boiled bok choy and the ground radish on top looked like a soy sauce for soba.
Honestly, it didn’t taste bad. The taste of soy sauce and soybean paste spreading in the mouth was exquisitely salty, and the tofu with moderate saltiness was also good.
Overall, it was proper in terms of seasoning, texture, and the recipe idea. To be honest, Min-joon couldn’t find anything to admire as far as the dish was concerned. It would be okay for those customers who visited here to enjoy ordinary home-style dishes. Besides, the price of the menu here was not cheap.
If the chef here had been thinking of using a recipe that was neither original nor novel, he should have brought out the deep and rich taste with his masterful cooking that ordinary chefs could never imitate, but Min-joon could not find any such efforts in the dish.
Of course, Min-joon could give it a pass up to that point. If the first one of Wasabi’s dishes was not good enough, he was willing to accept it. But the problem was that all the other dishes that came next were not as impressive as the first one.
Pickled mackerel in soy sauce, soba, and sushi and rolls were served one by one. All tasted good. But that was it. If the average score of deliciousness was about 8 points, the score of fun in the dish was at most 6 points. Given that Wasabi had three Michelin stars, it was quite a boring restaurant.
“It would have been nice if Chef June had been here.”
“Why?.”
“Because we can ask her if it is right or wrong that we are already bored with this restaurant here”
“You don’t have to ask things like that. The culprit is the kitchen here that has made us come to such a conclusion. Honestly, this restaurant is so boring. I think the reason Michelin gave three stars to this restaurant was because of its unique serving concept.”
“Yeah, they didn’t just evaluate this restaurant with that only. They must have taken into account its original concept to some extent… Oh, I got it.”
“Why? Did anything come to your mind?” Kaya asked with a puzzled expression at his exclamation. He frowned for a moment, lost in thought.
He said in a dissident voice, “You and I have actually been to Japan. Don’t you think our experience affects our rating now?”
“Well, to some extent. People who aren’t familiar with Asian cuisine will feel exotic enough when they taste it. I think that’s the same with the Michelin Guide judges. Well, they might feel it more strongly. As a matter of fact, Michelin Guide throws away stars to Japanese restaurants just like they do the same thing to European restaurants.”
“Do I have to carry our conversation in Choters Guide along with our ratings?” Min-joon muttered with a sigh. He wondered if this kind of conversation could have a positive effect on this restaurant. The purpose of Choters Guide was to help customers choose the restaurant correctly, but at the same time gave the chefs a chance and way to improve.
By the time Min-joon and Kaya received the dessert, they were extremely confused when they saw a plate of mochi and fruits soaked in walnut grain syrup. The plating itself looked so artistic, but there was nothing special when they looked inside it. Maybe because of its Oriental style, this kind of dessert might look more valuable than it actually was.
‘Well, should I say that the guys at this restaurant are smart?’
Min-joon suddenly thought that this restaurant might be cleverly using Westerners’ illusion of Orientalism. Maybe the chef here didn’t aim for it intentionally, but his style might be close to Orientalism.
Either way, Min-joon already sized up this restaurant firmly.
He said, “This restaurant is getting a much better review than it deserves.”
“I agree with you to some extent.”
“The problem is that this is only our judgment, but those who don’t have a good sense of the Asian, or Japanese dishes can regard this kind of dish served here as fresh and beautiful enough. Is it okay for us to ignore their existing perceptions like that because of our own rating?”
“Well, we should evaluate it by our standards. Isn’t it even weirder if we rely on others’ standards?”
“That’s true.”
They kept exchanging views like that, but at that moment the head chef of Wasabi came out to visit the room where Min-joon and Kaya were talking. He was an old man who looked pretty stubborn.
“Did you enjoy the dishes?” He asked.
“Well…” Min-joon hesitated.
“Nope. To be honest with you, I was a little disappointed,” Kaya quipped without any hesitation.
Unlike Min-joon who hesitated without answering immediately, Kaya did not think long and immediately gave her opinion. Min-joon looked at her Kaya in surprise at that moment, but he didn’t blame her for that. In fact, it was not Kaya, but Min-joon, who was not doing their job right. They were here as gourmets, and if so, they had to express their honest opinion in any situation.
If they couldn’t give an honest evaluation, worried about offending the other party, who in the world can trust it? As a matter of fact, giving an inaccurate evaluation out of sympathy was the same thing as giving a dishonest evaluation because of one’s connections or something like taking bribes. Such chefs should not try publishing any restaurant guide at all.
Head chef Yoshimoto looked at Kaya, slightly hardening his expression.
“You just said you were disappointed. Can I ask…”
“Well, all the dishes you served tasted delicious. I really felt that Chef Yoshimoto was a really talented chef. But at the same time, I wondered if you were too complacent about where you were right now, or a chef who was just content with your past. I don’t feel anything fresh or vital in your dishes. So, I felt like your dishes were a corpse following its bygone legacy. When did you try making new dishes last time?”
As someone who met the head chef for the first time today, she was highly critical without any hesitation. His sous chef, standing next to him, looked at her and his boss with a startled expression, while Min-joon was just resigned to the situation because she already spoke her mind. Obviously, he seemed offended by her criticism.
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