Chapter 191: Searching for the Roots (2)
Chapter 191: Searching for the Roots (2)
Koreatown.
It was nearby, yet Jo Minjoon had never once visited the neighbourhood.
He spoke nervously.
“But will Koreatown really be enough? Since it’s in the US, I feel like localisation would make it difficult to reproduce the authentic flavours……”
“I’m sure there are differences compared with food in Korea. But it’s the best option available to you right now. You aren’t searching for the roots of Korean cuisine. You’re searching for your own roots. For homework on that level…… I’m confident Koreatown will be enough.”
“Okay. Thank you. Is there anything else you can give me as a hint……?”
Jo Minjoon’s eyes were practically sparkling.
Maya looked as though she might laugh in disbelief.
Still, he could hardly help himself. It might have seemed like he was asking someone who had already cooked for him to spoon-feed him as well, but he wanted to squeeze out any extra hint Rachel might be willing to give.
Thankfully, Rachel met his expectations.
“Don’t try to represent everyone. That’s all I can tell you.”
*
Starting the very next day, Jo Minjoon went to Koreatown at least once a day.
It was not especially difficult. If traffic was light, he could reach it in about thirty minutes.
The problem was……
“……There’s so much traffic.”
Right now, traffic was anything but light.
Los Angeles roads during rush hour were hell, and Jo Minjoon was right in the middle of it.
He turned his head apologetically.
Anderson wore an exhausted expression as his foot repeatedly moved between the accelerator and brake.
“Sorry. You must be tired.”
“Yes.”
“……Lisa, are you okay?”
Jo Minjoon turned towards the back seat.
Lisa and Ella were sitting there together.
There was no particular reason the three of them had joined him. Anderson had become Minjoon’s driver whenever he went to Koreatown because Minjoon still did not have a licence, and Koreatown was close enough to Downtown and Hollywood that it was easy to meet Chloe and Kaya there for meals as well.
Given that……
“I’m fine, but Ella……”
Lisa looked worriedly towards her daughter.
Ella was clutching tightly at a female doll dressed in an apron while bouncing her legs restlessly.
She was not cold.
Jo Minjoon was familiar with that particular kind of fidgeting.
He looked back towards Anderson.
“Is there a toilet nearby?”
“Why? Is it urgent?”
Jo Minjoon lowered his voice.
“Our little princess seems to need one badly.”
“……Tell her to hold it a little longer. We’re almost there. It’ll be faster to use the restaurant toilet than to randomly search for one around here.”
He was not lying.
By the time Ella’s bouncing legs had become almost frantic, the car finally arrived in front of the restaurant.
Watching Ella rush inside while holding Lisa’s hand, Jo Minjoon slowly got out of the car.
His eyes fell on the Korean characters written across the sign in elaborate calligraphy.
“La Joomak……”
The ‘La’ seemed to be simply LA pronounced in Korean.
He could not decide whether the name was strange or stylish.
Perhaps both.
Anderson asked, “What does La Joomak mean?”
“I think ‘La’ is just LA pronounced directly, and a joomak is what they used to call places that sold alcohol and food in the old days.”
(Translator’s Note: Joomak — A traditional Korean inn or tavern where travellers could purchase alcohol and simple meals and, in some cases, obtain lodging. Jumak were especially important along roads, marketplaces, and transport routes during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910), serving functions comparable to roadside inns and public houses.)
“So they don’t exist anymore? Makes sense. Just looking at this place, it feels really old-fashioned.”
Anderson had good reason to say so.
La Joomak had been constructed in the style of an old Korean tiled-roof house. Even in Koreatown, supposedly a piece of Korea inside the United States, buildings like this were uncommon.
Even in Korea itself, one would normally have to visit somewhere like a hanok village to see houses with this kind of traditional tiled roof.
(Translator’s Note: Hanok — A general term for traditional Korean architecture, particularly residential buildings constructed with timber frames, characteristic tiled or thatched roofs, courtyards, and often ondol underfloor heating. Architectural forms now called hanok developed over many centuries and are especially associated with buildings of the Joseon period (1392–1910). Preserved and reconstructed hanok villages remain prominent cultural sites in modern South Korea.)
Jo Minjoon looked at Anderson.
“What do you think?”
“It should be interesting because it feels exotic. It’s different from Chinese roofs.”
“Chinese roofs feel more imposing, while Korean ones feel calmer. The food should be similar too. Though I’m sure you’ve already noticed that over the past few days.”
“To be honest, just from the first impression, I have the highest expectations for this place.”
“I’m sure you do. You’re the one who wanted to come here.”
Jo Minjoon smiled.
Truthfully, he had never planned to visit La Joomak.
The reason was simple.
It was expensive.
And it did not seem particularly relevant to what he needed right now.
The restaurant appeared to specialise more in Korean royal court cuisine than ordinary everyday dishes.
The reason Jo Minjoon had been travelling around eating Korean food was to properly understand the cuisine he had frequently eaten as a child.
The food that had formed his palate.
He needed to understand that before he could properly establish his foundation as an food critic.
Royal court cuisine might still be Korean food, but it had little in common with what Minjoon had eaten growing up.
Of course, its flavours would be more refined.
But he doubted it would do much to help him understand his own palate. He did not expect to learn much from it.
Even so, La Joomak was undoubtedly a good restaurant.
It did not have a Michelin star, but it was among the most frequently recommended Korean restaurants in the area. It was so consistently busy that reservations normally had to be made about a month in advance.
Jo Minjoon, however, had not needed to wait that long.
The reason was standing in front of the entrance with a smile.
“Ah, you’re here. Minjoon, Anderson, the rest of your party is already inside.”
“It’s been a while, Chef Tae Hoon.”
“Ay, why are you being so formal and calling me Chef? Just Tae Hoon is fine.”
Lee Tae Hoon was a chef at La Joomak.
Aside from the head chef and sous chef, he held the third-highest position in the restaurant. The structure was slightly different because this was a Korean restaurant, but in Rose Island terms, he was essentially the leader of the demi chefs.
Jo Minjoon smiled.
“Thank you for arranging this for us.”
“No problem. We had a cancelled reservation, so we’d be the ones losing money if nobody filled the table. I’m sure Rose Island must have quite the headache with reserva…… Ah. You’re not open yet.”
“Yes. Not much longer now.”
“You must be really busy. Ah, this is your room.”
Lee Tae Hoon slid open the jangjimun.
(Translator’s Note: Jangjimun — A traditional Korean sliding door or partition made with a wooden lattice frame and historically covered with Korean paper. Such doors allowed interior spaces to be divided flexibly while admitting diffused light. They are strongly associated with traditional Korean domestic architecture and remain common decorative features in hanok-style restaurants and reconstructed interiors.)
Anderson unconsciously let out a gasp.
Beyond the door, one entire side of the room was made of glass, and soft sunlight filtered in through the garden and surrounding trees.
Traditionally, guests had to remove their shoes before entering.
A low wooden table stood in the centre, surrounded by cushions. Beneath it was a large recessed space where guests could comfortably place their legs.
Two women were already seated at the table.
Kaya and Chloe.
“Oh, Minjoon. You’re here.”
“Why are you so late?”
“The traffic was terrible. Everyone seemed to be following me. They must’ve really wanted to see me.”
Jo Minjoon answered jokingly as he sat across from Kaya.
Anderson shook his head and sat down beside him, then looked dissatisfied.
“……If they were going to dig a pit under the table like this, why not just use normal tables and chairs?”
“Why? It’s pretty.”
“It’s pretty…… but I’m talking about practicality.”
“If everyone used this kind of setup, you’d probably say the same thing at an ordinary restaurant. ‘Why do they make chairs with legs this long? Wouldn’t it be easier just to dig a pit?’”
“Your girlfriend certainly knows how to argue.”
Kaya snickered.
As Anderson shook his head as if thinking, Here we go again, Chloe turned towards the jangjimun.
A shadow on the other side was struggling with the door.
Whoever it was apparently did not realise that it slid sideways and kept pushing and pulling it back and forth instead.
Eventually, Kaya stood up and walked over.
She slid the door open.
Ella, who had been struggling with it, stared back and forth between Kaya and the door in shock.
Kaya wore a triumphant, teasing smile.
“You slide it sideways like this. You don’t even know that?”
“Ah!”
Ella did not respond to Kaya’s provocation.
She could not.
Her eyes suddenly began sparkling with tears, and her lips spread into a huge smile.
“Chloe! Fairy-nim Chloe!”
Ella, her pink rabbit socks on full display, ran straight towards Chloe.
Chloe looked at her nervously.
Ella’s face turned completely red as she fidgeted with her fingers, then held out the doll she had been carrying.
It had black hair, a gentle smile, and an apron.
A doll modelled after Chloe.
“I really, really like Fairy-nim!”
“Uh…… why am I a fairy?”
“You did it on TV. ‘Sandwich, appear! Yap!’ And then a sandwich appeared.”
Chloe looked upwards as she searched her memory.
Now that she thought about it, she did remember appearing on a programme with that kind of concept.
Ella pulled a pen from the backpack hanging over her shoulder.
That was the reason Jo Minjoon had invited Ella and Lisa to dinner today.
Ella was a fan of Chloe.
An extremely passionate one.
“Could you please sign the apron on this doll?”
“What should I write?”
“Please write, ‘To Ella.’”
Chloe smiled and began writing.
Watching them, Kaya spoke irritably.
“She hates me, but she likes Chloe quite a lot.”
“Try to understand. You’re probably love rivals. Besides, Chloe is really popular with children.”
Lisa answered as she entered the room.
Kaya, who had been grumbling, happened to notice Lisa’s feet.
More precisely, the stockings covering them.
Only then did Kaya remember that she herself was not wearing socks.
She hurried back beside Chloe and tucked her bare feet beneath the table.
Then she muttered awkwardly.
“I think this is too erotic.”
“Erotic? What is?”
“People without socks have to show their bare feet.”
“……I’m not sure what’s so erotic about bare feet.”
Anderson gave Kaya a strange look.
Kaya was about to snap back when Ella, after acting cute beside Chloe for a while, ran around the table and sat next to Minjoon.
It made more sense for Ella to sit there than for Lisa to do so, but……
Kaya did not particularly like it.
“Why are you sitting there?”
“Am I not allowed to?”
“……I suppose you are.”
“Hmph.”
Ella scoffed rudely and turned her head away.
Chloe apparently found her adorable and smiled brightly.
Jo Minjoon did too.
Seeing that, Kaya stretched out her foot beneath the table and pinched Minjoon’s calf with her toes.
Jo Minjoon jerked backwards in pain and glared at her.
Kaya merely smiled as though warning him to behave, then lightly tapped his leg with her foot.
……So childish.
He desperately wanted to sigh, but he was worried about what terrible things might happen beneath the table if he actually did.
The food did not take long to arrive.
They did not even need to order.
That was one of the distinctive features of the restaurant.
There was only a single menu, but it was not something to be taken lightly.
A short while later, the jangjimun slid open once more.
Everyone stared in shock.
How could they not?
There was so much food that even ten people could probably eat until they were stuffed.
Kaya stared in amazement.
“Wow. I think this is the grandest feast I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Me…… too.”
Jo Minjoon stared blankly at the table.
He had only ever seen feasts this extravagant in films.
There were so many dishes that he quickly lost count.
Ella seemed unable to process the sight at all. She sat completely stiff, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
Lisa looked around the table as though she could not imagine even beginning to eat everything.
“……Even if you only took one bite of every dish, you’d probably stay full until lunch tomorrow.”
“I feel the same.”
Jo Minjoon quietly tasted the rice first.
The short grains broke apart in his mouth with a chewy, savoury texture.
That single mouthful was enough to tell him the level of the restaurant.
As for the banchan, many of them were unfamiliar even to him.
(Translator’s Note: Banchan — The collective Korean term for side dishes served with cooked rice. Banchan may include seasoned vegetables, kimchi, braised foods, dried or stir-fried ingredients, pickles, fish, and numerous other preparations. Rather than functioning as sequential Western-style courses, several banchan are normally placed on the table together and shared throughout the meal.)
Some of the ingredients alone were things he was not accustomed to seeing in Korean cuisine.
There was certainly no way ordinary Korean home cooking included something like pickled artichokes.
Jo Minjoon made sure to eat a little rice with every bite of side dish.
That was not normally how food was eaten in a Western restaurant, but many Korean dishes only felt complete when eaten together with rice.
He could feel the truth of that as he tasted the different banchan spread across the table.
Of course, something like tteokbokki was an exception.
This was royal court-style tteokbokki, simmered in a soy-sauce-based seasoning rather than the familiar spicy red sauce.
Jo Minjoon put one of the bird’s-egg-shaped rice cakes into his mouth together with a piece of beef shank and paprika.
The sweetness of the vegetables harmonised beautifully with the juices from the meat and the seasoning coating the rice cake.
Of all the royal court dishes on the table, this was the one most familiar to Jo Minjoon.
Because of that, he could tell immediately that it was an exceptionally well-made tteokbokki.
However……
“Bleh. This feels weird.”
Apparently, it did not suit Ella’s palate.
The texture of rice cakes was one of the things many foreigners found strangest about Korean cuisine.
Even after eating them several times, some people found them difficult to get used to.
That smooth, sticky chewiness could feel extremely unfamiliar.
Jo Minjoon looked towards Kaya.
“Kaya. What do you think? To me, this place seems more focused on preserving authentic flavours than localising them for American customers…… Is it difficult to eat?”
“My overall impression is that there are a lot of dishes using garlic and sesame seeds. The aroma of sesame oil is pretty distinctive too…… It would probably be difficult for someone who’s really picky.”
“Probably. Even in Korea, some people love the smell of coriander and others hate it.”
Kaya had a point.
Cuisine often carried the characteristics of its country very strongly.
People’s reactions to those characteristics tended to split.
Some enjoyed bold, unfamiliar flavours.
Others found them difficult to eat.
“It makes me think about a lot. Not just Korean food, but food from any country…… Is it more important to preserve the authentic flavour of that country, or to localise it for the customers eating it?”
“I think both have their own appeal. If you localise it, you can become more approachable to the general public. If you preserve authenticity, you might appeal more strongly to food critics. But…… even food critics who claim to be unbiased still have the flavours of their home countries ingrained in their palates. Most of them tend to prefer restaurants that have localised at least somewhat.”
“……I think I’m starting to understand why Teacher Rachel told me to find my identity through Korean food. But it’s difficult. I keep getting distracted by questions like this.”
“Can I say something?”
Chloe cautiously raised a hand.
Jo Minjoon nodded.
“Of course. Do you have some advice?”
“Not exactly advice…… I just wanted to share my own experience. You know I specialise more in Chinese cuisine than Western cuisine. But honestly, what I cook isn’t traditional Chinese food. It’s Americanised Chinese food. Of course, there are far too many regional cuisines in China to lump everything together as simply ‘Chinese cuisine’…… but anyway, this is what I mean. Putting the word ‘localised’ in front of something can make it sound as though it has lost its authenticity, but that isn’t necessarily true. Even within China, dishes change depending on the region. So I just think of Americanised Chinese cuisine as another regional branch of Chinese cuisine. Couldn’t Korean cuisine be viewed the same way?”
“……If that’s the case, then what exactly am I supposed to find here?”
Chloe could not answer.
Kaya, however, responded casually.
“The stem.”
“Stem?”
“There has to be some fundamental cooking method underneath all Korean cuisine. What ingredients you use and how much you use comes second. The bigger question is how the food itself is cooked. And one more thing.”
Kaya lightly pressed her foot down on Jo Minjoon’s beneath the table.
“Stop analysing everything while you eat. You’re going to give yourself indigestion. Sheesh.”