Lows and Highs
"Hamburger joint...?"
Breakfast served, meal tickets sold. The words were scrawled haphazardly on a metal plate with a marker and hung in front of the door. A ham-ba joint, huh. The kind of cheap diner aimed at laborers... right? But even so, this menu...
"Lava shark tail stew...?"
Lava shark tail stew? What the hell is that? He stood on tiptoe, peering cautiously inside.
"Ah, that must be it."
Piled high on metal trays were various foods. No vegetables in sight—just noodles, porridge, a few sauces, and sides. Wasn't this a bit too spartan for a restaurant? But one thing immediately caught the eye: massive chunks with striking cross-sections, slathered in thick, red, sticky sauce that looked spicy as hell. A huge... fish? Yeah, that's what a shark would look like chopped up. Was that the lava shark tail stew...?
Looking around the shop, he saw it was fairly crowded. Probably laborers from nearby. Tables laden with booze suggested they were here for a post-work drink.
"...Makes me wanna try it."
The customers piled up towering stacks of lava shark tail stew and raised their glasses. It hadn't looked so big when stacked, but up close, each piece was the size of a dwarf's face. Thick bones, sure, but plenty of meat too...
"Welcome... Oh my. A suit?"
"Gah...!"
"No way. A high-up in a suit here?"
"Uh, well... um..."
He'd stepped inside on impulse, and now the stares stung. Fair enough. Who else shows up to a dump like this in a suit but some company exec? Guess he got the dress code wrong. But what choice did he have? It was the only heat-resistant outfit he owned.
"Nah?"
"Not at all."
"Phew. Thought it was an inspection. Got scared I'd get busted slacking off."
"You slacking?"
"As if. Doesn't pay to slack anyway. Just kidding, obviously."
As he sat down, the customers resumed their chatter naturally, but the stares lingered. Hmm... Came in out of curiosity, but maybe I should bail now.
But on the other hand, that stuff's way too intriguing...
A mountain of lava shark tail stew. Unlike the other sides, it had bits of onion, green onion, bean sprouts—barely visible unless you looked close, but it followed seafood stew basics.
"...Alright."
He stood and headed to the center counter. Let's see. Bowls for noodles...? Ugh, all clumped. Pass. Porridge...? Eh. Better just grab some lava shark tail stew and bounce. The other sides didn't appeal.
He scooped a bit into a bowl. "A bit," he said, but each chunk took up half the damn thing. One from the top, one from the bottom soaked in sauce. Two to start.
"Hmm..."
The aroma was decent enough. Shark-like, with a faint metallic or ammonia whiff, but masked by the thick sauce—not too off-putting.
"...Soft."
Looked tough and springy on the outside, but surprisingly, bone and meat separated effortlessly. Felt firm scooping, though.
"Mmm... Huh?"
Honestly, low expectations. Curiosity piqued, but not drooling over it... Whoa.
"This... this is way better than I thought."
Surprise! The meat was delicious! Expected fishy from the smell, but nope. Pure umami explosion. Without the odor, you'd swear it was mackerel—nutty, oily. Red meat, yet this richness...?
Another bite. Unexpected delicacy. Why was it this good?
...The sauce! A few more bites confirmed: the shark meat itself was oily and nutty, but reeked. Big chomp for max savor, and nausea hit. Smell assaulted the sinuses. Bleh. Not great solo. Meat was good, but the stench made it niche.
But the sauce? Masterful. Seemed aroma-less at first, just red-hot spice. But that was the shark fooling you. Complex flavors: faint onion, bean sprouts... tons of garlic. Not raw, chopped, or minced—fried and roasted garlic, sweet and mellow...
...And pepper. Lots of it. The kick was peppery sting, not chili heat. Minimal veggies, max pepper? Ironic. Here, spices cost less than produce. Made sense—budget hack.
The subtle spice, pepper-packed heat masked the shark's stench. Irony and ammonia gone, leaving nutty, umami bliss. Without it, polarizing dish. With it? Universal crowd-pleaser!
"Makes you crave more... Nice."
He stood, grabbing a few more chunks. Palm-sized, near a pound each, but sauce made 'em irresistible.
"...That suit guy's eating like a champ."
"Hoofing it down hearty. Wish my youngest took notes."
"You from Vulcanian? Only us grunts like cheap fish like that."
"Huh. Suited exec with good vibes."
...Huh? The stares softened. Red-nosed dwarves even chatted him up.
"Lava shark stew's bottom-shelf grub. Catch a few from slag canals when broke, cook 'em up."
"Needs heavy spice to be edible. Polarizing even here."
The red-nosed dwarves spilled the truth on lava shark tail stew. Ah, so infinite refills at rock-bottom prices made sense!
"That common?"
"Ask a golem pal to sweep the slag floor—walnut-sized sharks, twenty, thirty easy. Sometimes clog vents, chew factory wires."
"Spawning season? Can't go near. One step, thousands of fry swarm—"
Lava sharks: Vulcanian ecosystem pests. Origin? Some dwarf exec's pampered pets, dosed on elixirs. Company tanked, exec fled, sharks dumped in lava. Thrived at thousands of degrees, bred wild.
"—Or so the story goes."
"Don't buy it hook, line, sinker."
"No, it's... quite the tale."
Dwarf megafans built habitable zones, booming shark numbers. Rich folk ate fresh veggies and meats, ignoring 'em. Now, cheap snack for the broke.
"...This has real merch potential."
"Huh?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Story, flavor, dirt-cheap. Beats forced souvenirs like Vulcanian candy.
"Um, by the way—"
"Anyway, you eat like a pro, so listen: multiple ways to chow this."
"...Pardon?"
"Mix with noodles, sauce 'em up. Chop meat fine—killer."
"Egg on top if ya got 'em."
"Pfft, that fancy? Just grab a premium burger!"
"Fair."
"Anyway, try it. Suits you. Hey, auntie! Bill here!"
"Coming~."
The worker paid, hiccuped out. ...Mixing methods, huh. He bolted up, snagged clumped noodles. Dunked in sauce—surprise, silky smooth. Even mushy noodles tempted...
"Mmm...!"
Bite: not bibim noodles, but unique charm. Shark umami infused, pepper punch, sauce now sticky-smooth. Chinese stir-fry vibes, like chewy jjambbong broth. Not gourmet, but solid!
"...No matter the world or ingredients, craving tasty eats is universal."
Familiar combos for them, novel for him despite globe-trotting feasts. World vast, lessons endless... or so.
Work flowed smooth here. New ingredient and combo. Curiosity in, triple satisfaction out. Another saucy noodle bite. Aaah, ideas bubbling. Product concepts. Unexpected spot, ingredient, creativity! High-risk gamble, but jackpot—grand prize.