Night 18:Ceobe, Pita Bread, Roasted Meat with Sour Cream
The Late Night Diner is a part of Rhodes Island's canteen. That goes without saying – to whom had anyone ever heard of a diner in the boiler room?
As the name implies, it opens around midnight. There are only a handful of customers at a time.
Operators off their night shift could take an order and bring back to their quarters. Night owls could sit dining-in while leeching off the Diner's wi-fi. The Doctor would come for instant noodles from time to time.
Drinks are in the cooler. Anyone burdened by their own thoughts could take one and chug it down, anytime.
Menu? No such thing exists. What the Chef prepares is what you get. It all depends on his mood of the day.
Welcome to the Rhodes Island Late Night Diner. In here, you might even meet a familiar face or two.
Belly O my belly, please grumble no more. The place where people eat was just ahead!
How to get in? Big guys were at the door in the day, but now they all went snoring in bed. Nobody's guarding it!
Look left and right, left and right. Nobody saw me. It's time!
Crouching down, Ceobe pushed open the back door to the Diner kitchen. There was only an old man with an apron inside kneading dough.
"Well if it wasn't little Ceobe. In the middle of the night no less." The man covered the kneaded dough with a piece of wet cloth. He poined at the sticker sign on the small window above the door. "Do you know what this means?" He asked.
"Ya. It's me, Ceobe. There was also a red circle and a line on it." Ceobe nodded.
"That means you can't come in here." The man folded his arms and gestured towards the door with his chin, "I heard you were reprimanded just two days ago."
"Repri...re-pri-man-dad? What does that mean?" Ceobe said, tilting her head.
The man took an apron from the cloth hanger and put it around Ceobe's waist. He then patted her head. "That means they put a sign around your neck and ask you to stand in the hallway. Remember now?"
"I did, I did! Ceobe had a card around her neck and stood in the hallway." She said, and immediately caught the scent of roasted meat. She rubbed on her belly. "Hungy."
"Hungry? Then make food with me." The man asked Ceobe for her palms and sprayed on hand sanitizer. "I'll teach you how to make pita bread."
"Pipa bread? Ceobe wants to learn!"
Ceobe followed the old man to the counter, skipping the whole way. She watched as he lift the cloth and presented her with large rounds of unfired bread. "I prepared these beforehand. I am going to tell Vulcan how to mix the dough, so she can help you make them the next time." He picked one up and handed to Ceobe, "Put this on that frying pan over there."
"Like this?" Ceobe carefully placed the bread in the center of the pre-heated pan. She gave it a pat and said, "Wake up big bread! No time to sleep!"
"Move it around a bit with the wooden spatula, then flip the side after you count to twenty." The man instructed her while taking out a large iron bowl. It's filled with some kind of white sauce. He stirred it for a moment, then put in diced cucumber. "Yes, just like that. Do that again. Turn it a bit and flip after you count to twenty. The bread's shape are set that way. Don't wait for too long though, if the bread is broken then we have to start over."
"Ceobe doesn't want to wait! Ceobe want to flip right now!" With spatula in hand she flipped the bread awkwardly. The other side was slightly yellow, and there was a small bubble in the centre. The spatula was not easy for Ceobe to use, so she turned the hot bread with her hand. A few turns later she blew on her lightly reddened hands, then kept going.
The bubble grew bigger. After flipping the bread once more, a part of its flat surface suddenly puffed up, then followed by another, and another, till the entire bread grew like a big balloon!
"Whoa! It's growing! So big and wonderful! Pipa bread is fun!" Ceobe exclaimed. The old man then instructed her to put it on a plate.
He cut open the balloon-like bread. The inside as empty, like an open pocket. He filled the bread pocket with the white sauce, shredded onion and lettuce. Most important of all, he also put in loads of piping hot roasted beast meat! Ceobe grabbed the filled bread and squeezed it hard. The fillings all fell onto the plate below. She took a huge bite, tasting the soft bread soaked in the savoury flavour of roasted meat. After she finished the bread, she ate up the meat and veggies on the plate. The meat was delicious, and the sauce was sweet. It tasted really good!
"Had your fill yet?" the man said, giving Coebe another bread, "You can have more. But first you need to help me make some for them." He pointed towards the people on the other side of the counter. Ceobe saw them and waved. They waved back with widened eyes.
Ceobe was quick to learn. The old man instructed her a few more times, and she had everything memorized. Put meat and veggies and white sauce in the balloon bread pocket and hand to the people waiting at the counter. When there were no more people waiting, the man told Coebe she can make more for herself.
The bread was good, but Ceobe can only eat the meat on the plate after finishing the bread. It bothered her a little. She ate one, two , three and four and five plates, and her belly no longer grumbled.
"Good now?" the old man patted her belly.
"Ya, I'm full!" Coebe answered loudly, "Pipa bread is delicious!"
Just then the back door burst open. Ceobe saw aunty Vulcan came in with a worried face.
"Ceobe?! How did you find your way here?!" Vulcan pulled Ceobe towards her, then talked to the old man, "Sorry boss, I couldn't control hers when she's hungry...she didn't trouble you with anything, did she?"
"Aunty, Ceobe learned how to bake pi-um..pipa...pita bread! Ate a lot too! Not hungry anymore!" Ceobe gave Vulcan a big hug and pressed her head against Vulcan's bosom. "Boss's tapi bread is the best!" She said.
*Sarkaz swearing* the official regulations.