Day 25: Pozyomka, Cystbeast Meat (Beef) Gorshochki
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.
When Gavial and others returned from Zeruertza, the Summer Carnival had yet ended. The curious Durins came on board following Gavial saw the shimmering pools on the gigantic deck decided to undress right there and then and jump into the water. To these carefree small folks, this was no different from their "Big Basin" - the water, the sun, and the endless food and drinks.
"So you are the Lupo Durin?" the Chef slightly raised his straw hat. He examined the pink-haired lady in front of him and said. "You must be that 'gentle Durin lady taller than the Radiant Knight' I've been hearing about."
"I don't even know I had a moniker like that." The girl smiled. "But please call me Avdotya."
"Well then miss Avdotya, do you want to try the exclusive menu item for today?" The Chef said, taking out ingredients from the fridge one by one. "Authentic Ursus gorshochki, even general Hellagur had praised it."
When she heard the word "Ursus", Avdotya's left eye twitched. She quickly collected herself, and nodded to the Chef. "Please do if it's no trouble. Although I'd like to watch you cook it. I am writing some advertisement on behalf of miss Closure lately, and your cooking could perhaps help me spark some inspiration."
"Very well!" The Chef posed a welcoming gesture, and turned sideway so she could have a better view of the kitchen. He then started pouring vegetable oil and melted butter into a frying pan.
Umber.
The colour of melted butter with roasted flour.
Like a smear of tanning lotion from Closure's Exclusive Selection. Melt it in the palm of your hand, and present your skin to the chromatic shining sun – the real sun, not the simulation from the dome of metal and glass.
No no, this wouldn't do. She would hear no end from Stitch. Avdotya put a small cross beside the sentences, then resumed her gaze toward the Chef's direction.
Rose.
The colour of fresh tomato.
Presenting tomato juice brought you by the Department of Commodity and Trade. No, not the pre-packaged type – Made exclusively with fresh tomatoes and no additives. Treat yourself for a sweet stroll in an afternoon orchard.
Too stiff, Avdotya, too artificial. She crossed out the entire paragraph. The Chef was adding spoonful of water into the pan. Inside, the mixture of tomato sauce, butter and flour was coming together into a lump of near solid paste. He could only add more water once the paste fully absorbed a spoonful – if the water was poured in all at once, there would be many small hard knots in the broth. The resulting taste would be vastly reduced, and the flavour of the ingredients could not be brought out at all.
The white of the salt, the greyish yellow of the powdered pepper, and the clearness of brandy...Avdotya watched as the Chef prepared the broth step by step. New ideas sprout forth from her mind yet were rejected one after another. She propped up her arms on the counter and held her head in her hands with troubled thoughts. The Chef, meanwhile, produced a rather plain ceramic jar from one of the shelves. The thing looked older than Avdotya, with its shiny black glaze fallen off by large flakes and showing the earthy base underneath. It looked quite cheap. The Chef added in large chunks of boiled carrots, lightly fried potato, fresh mushroom and dried red jujube. When all these ingredients were stacked neatly inside the pot he put in chunks of succulent cystbeast brisket, and top it with the bright orange broth he had been stewing. Finally he left the entire pot simmering in light heat till all meat and vegetables soaked through with the delicious broth.
When the Chef present the small jar to Avdotya, she still felt some reluctance to partake the food. Even though to a certain degree the speech she gave at Zeruertza helped her stepping out of the shadow of the past, she still needed more courage and conviction to face that snowy landscape once again. Using a pair of chopsticks, Avdotya picked up a piece of meat with hesitation. The perfectly stewed meat took on a hue of golden red from the broth, the fat of the meat subtly swayed with each motion of her chopsticks, while the light grey lean part could almost be break apart effortlessly with a slight pinch. Avdotya sent the meat towards her mouth and caught it with a natural motion, with the sweet and sour broth dripping down on her tongue.
She sat still with her hands on her face, not realising a portion of the meat had broken apart with the pinch of her chopsticks and fallen onto the counter. She knew this flavour – a nigh familiar taste. Her cook created it before, her father created it before, her mother taught her how to create it before, hand by hand. Bread was dipped in it, then sprinkled with sparkling snowflakes through the gap between the window pane and enveloped by the smell of burning pinewood from the stove. With one bite the flavour of home blossomed on each and single one of her taste buds, then seeped down towards the sensation hidden deep within her heart.
"Thinking of home now?"
Avdotya only noticed her awkward posture when the Chef called to her. She quickly wiped off the untimely tear drop on her cheek, and reached towards another chunk of meat in the jar.
"I think you could use a talk with the Ursus girls." The Chef said, bringing out a small plate of Ursus lieba slices. "They are also..."
"I am a citizen of Zeruertza." Avdotya interrupted. She shook her head and said. "There is nothing for me in Ursus. I don't miss it."
The next day, Closure put up a few more large posters on the walls of residential area. Most of them were placed in the guest quarters of the Durlin visitors.
Cerulean
The colour of water.
Ceaseless waves, exciting diving competition, unlimited food and drinks, all in the Rhodes Island Summer Carnival!
And the most authentic Ursus gorshochki, too.