Night 67: Eyjafjalla, Volcano Lava Cake with Iced Coffee
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.
"Mister Dolly, are you sure you can gather all the mischievous 'black sheep'?"
In the hallway, two pink figures strolled and chatted among themselves. The smaller one spoke.
"I heard they caused a lot of trouble on the land ship...especially for the Logistics. Their report to the Doctor had mentioned lots of supplies going missing, or floating by themselves in various hallways."
"Relax, Adele." The large figure shook his fluffy body confidently. "We've been here for a while, and you know their temper. Those missing supplies should go back on their own in a few days. Now , let's head to the canteen and wrangle in the most mischievous of the bunch."
Adele looked at him in confusion. "Canteen? You said we should look for them in the Medical..."
"Adele, my good child." Dolly halted in midair and tilted his head towards the girl. "I don't recall saying anything like that. At any rate, let's start with the Canteen. If we don't act fast, they would spew flour everywhere like volcanic ash from an eruption."
His words did convince Adele. The girl nodded, and picked up speed.
Yet when she arrived at the Canteen and saw the immaculate Late Night Diner, she realized that Mister Dolly had played her again.
"Don't look at me like that." The giant floating sheep circled around in midair. "You've been down in the lab for the whole day again today. Eleven and half hours, to be precise. You didn't even pick up the message Province sent you. Living like this is way too stuffy, and you need some delicious snacks to lighten it up. What say you?"
"...Mister Dolly." Adele sighed and said. "The data from reports showed that Catastrophe clouds were fluctuating quite erratically. I need to finish my analysis as quickly as possible. Also, I need to go out for field work in a few days with colleagues. I am not sure whether I have the time for breaks yet."
"But my child, would that make you happy? How long had it been that you had tasted a piece of tender chocolate cake on your tongue, or enjoying a cut of steaming hot cocoa? You should step out of the lab and take in the sunlight on the deck, or go have a gathering with your friends and take some pretty pictures."
Dolly said, and pranced around Adele. Then he pushed her with his fluffy back towards the bar counter.
"Like I said, what you need is some relaxation. Enjoy your life a bit, like that afternoon in Siesta."
"Wait, Mister Dolly...!"
Before she could resist against Dolly's pushes, Adele had already found her sitting on the bar stool before the counter.
"Care for a bite?" The Chef placed the silver wares neatly on the counter and said. "I heard about your adventure in Siesta, Miss Adele. I heard Miss Swire made quite a scene. Heh. Last time she came for Xiaomian noodles she made her entire lips swollen. Not sure when she'd be here again."
"Yeah...Thank you, boss." Adele peeked around the counter and into the kitchen. There were no free floating bags of flour, nor little black sheep with fork and beer bottles in their fur. Knowing this, she sighed with relief.
The Chef took out a plate of small cake from the oven then opened the mold around it. It's pink in color, wide at the bottom and narrow on the top, like a pink mini volcano. He wrapped a layer of cellophane around the cake, then poured thick pink icing on top and sprinkled some strawberry powder before presenting it in front of Adele.
"Volcano lava cake, please enjoy." he said, picked up a large piece of white cotton candy and placed on the top. "There we go. Almost forgot about this."
Adele carefully took off the fluffy cotton candy and unwrapped the sheet around the cake. Pink icing erupted from the top of the cake and flowed downward into the plate. Different from the traditional avalanche cake with just whipped cream as icing, the ones of this cake were added peach, strawberry and cherry pulp. This made it carrying a rich, fruity aroma and did not taste overtly greasy. The cake below was baked using a mixture of pink colored chocolate syrup, fowlbeast eggs and fine icing sugar. When Adele cut into it, thick chocolate syrup dripped down along the fulgurite-like edge of the cake. It was just as if a miniature volcano was sliced open, exposing the boiling lava within. Adele sent a piece of into her mouth – the soft cake was covered with sweet cream, its smooth texture intertwined with crunchiness of the fruit pulp. Then came the richness of the chocolate syrup, lingering at the tip of her tongue. Underneath the exquisite rich taste was the toasty aroma and the slight bitterness of the chocolate.
"Um...I think this is more than I can eat, Mister Chef, " Adele took a few more bites and said, then put down her fork shyly. "I think I already had my fill." She said.
"Ah-ah-ah, my dear Adele. Certainly you could have a few more bites. It must be that thick and sweet icing doing a number on your taste buds. You want to turn and go back to the lab. You want its quite and solitude." Dolly whispered behind her. "What you really need, however, is some time and patience to enjoy this delicacy, and the courage to enjoy life's finer things. Of course, also a mug of steaming hot...hmm..maybe something cold?..."
"How about a cup of 'Volcano coffee'?" The Chef timely produced a cut of bubbling iced coffee and said. "Something bitter, goes perfect with this treat. He's right, you know, take your time. Enjoying a delicacy requires time and patience."
"Absolutely right, that's exactly what I wanted to say!" Dolly rolled merrily in the air and said "I like this Chef, Adele."
"...Wait, did he just see me?"