Pork Cutlet vs. Grilled Pork Belly: Which Is the Ultimate Knight Restaurant Food?
Pork Cutlet vs. Grilled Pork Belly: Which Is the Ultimate Knight Restaurant Food?
"Finally, we're open."
At 11 a.m., the Knight Restaurant officially opened its doors for the first time.
There had been one slightly unsettling customer earlier, but all in all, the grand opening went off without a hitch.
"This is the perfect hour."
I'd finished the prep and grabbed my own meal beforehand, and the clock struck eleven right on schedule. If that uninvited guest hadn't shown up, I probably could have kicked back for a solid twenty minutes beforehand.
'Enough time for one last check before opening.'
Can't complain.
Everything was running smooth.
All that was left was for the customers to pour in.
Then noon rolled around, a full hour after opening.
Not a single customer had walked through the door.
Right at lunchtime, and nobody? Not one?
"Liana and Heimer... they didn't just eat and run, did they?"
I muttered to myself, staring at the two reviews they'd posted on the board.
I could have sworn they'd promised to spread the word in exchange for the free meal.
Had they just scarfed it down and kept their mouths shut?
Because that would be genuinely disappointing.
If that's the full extent of the goodwill the viscountcy's own staff can muster.
"Well, they did say running a business out here wasn't easy..."
No helping it.
I knew the customer base would be thin when I set up shop in the middle of nowhere.
Unlike the imperial capital, the foot traffic here meant I'd have to build this place from the ground up, as a local joint.
"Still, seeing it this empty does kind of get to you."
I was just starting to feel a twinge of genuine letdown when I spotted them.
A cluster of people was making its way toward the restaurant from down the road.
No question about it — they were heading straight for my door.
I counted. Eight?
And leading the pack were two familiar faces.
Liana and Heimer.
"Knew it!"
Hah! I never doubted you guys for a second.
The crowd pushed open the door and swept inside.
"Welcome!"
"Good afternoon, owner."
"Sir Lucas, Junior Knight Heimer reporting in!"
Liana and Heimer, with six others — men and women — filing in behind them.
"Glad you could make it."
"It smells incredible in here. What's on the fire? We caught the scent from way down the road."
"Side dishes for the Bulgogi Baekban, and the soup that goes with the Donkatsu. Both on the stove."
Every tiny detail counted right now. Anything that could sell the restaurant.
I looked over the group behind them.
'Three of them are built like soldiers or knights...'
Probably Heimer's people.
Which meant the other three had come with Liana — likely administrators from the viscountcy's Internal Affairs office.
The way both sets of employees kept glancing sideways at Liana and Heimer made it pretty obvious these were their subordinates.
"Team dinners, I take it?"
The glint in both their eyes sharpened at the question.
"Correct. Our commander is away on regional maintenance, so I brought fellow knights to bolster morale in his stead."
"Internal Affairs also found the timing suitable for a proper outing. We came to support the owner on his opening day."
The tension radiating off these two was no joke.
Having said their piece, they each steered their people toward separate tables.
"Internal Affairs will take the seats closest to the kitchen. The knights can sit over here, yes?"
Heimer cut in before Liana had finished.
"Not a chance! The knights must occupy the seats nearest the kitchen, Miss Liana."
"Sir Heimer, are you unaware that Internal Affairs holds the higher rank within the viscountcy?"
"For knights, a meal is both training and tactical operation. In wartime conditions, the field commander's authority takes precedence."
What is wrong with these two?
They were glaring at each other like they were about to draw steel any second.
"Alright, alright, both of you calm down. There's plenty of seating — no need to fight over it. Keep this up and nobody eats. Understood?"
That softened their death stares a fraction.
"Ahem. We did come here to eat. Getting kicked out would be unfortunate."
"I concur."
I pushed two tables together.
They'd shown up at the same time and clearly weren't here independently. Seemed smarter to just merge them into one group.
Better than losing customers over a turf war.
All eight settled around the double table.
"So, what'll it be?"
I handed the menus to my very first customers.
-MENU-
-Bulgogi Baekban - 10 Silver
-Add Fried Rice - 4 Silver
-Kyeongyang-style Donkatsu - 12 Silver
-Fish Dish - 12 Silver - Selection varies depending on the day's catch.
"Huh? Owner, you added fried rice?"
"A new item, I see."
"Tried it out recently. It's good. I recommend it."
The Maeuntang I'd made while catching fish had turned out so well I'd put it on the menu too. The random element — the catch changing every time — might just become one more reason for people to keep coming back. The core staple dishes were already solid enough to anchor everything else.
The two of them thought it over for a moment, traded glances, then raised their hands practically in unison.
"Still, you can't go wrong with Bulbaek. Four orders, with fried rice added!"
"A knight eats Kyeongyang-style Donkatsu! Four Donkatsu, please."
"That's four Bulbaek sets and four Kyeongyang-style Donkatsu!"
Nobody picked the fish.
Shame.
I was pretty proud of that one.
"Coming right up."
I took the orders and headed into the kitchen.
"Water and utensils are self-serve, by the way."
Solo operation. Can't be helped.
I slicked one pan with oil and tossed in the pre-prepped Bulgogi. On the other side, I battered the pork cutlets and dropped four of them into the fresh oil I'd set before opening.
A searing hiss!
The oil snapped, crackled, sizzled!
Cranking out both dishes at the same time wasn't a problem anymore. Seven years ago it might've taken me forever, but a man who'd served as the Imperial Princess's Knight Order cook could do this with his eyes shut.
Try making over five hundred servings a day, three meals a day, all by yourself.
At least in the kitchen, I had more high-volume experience than any Master-class knight out there.
Left hand on the Donkatsu, right hand on the Bulbaek.
Fwooosh!
And in between, I worked the wok — layering in that fire-kissed flavor.
Flames licked up over the oil with theatrical flair.
"Whoa..."
I could hear people murmuring in admiration.
"See? Deep-frying will never give you a performance that cool."
"..."
Liana was preening. Heimer had gone very quiet.
Why are you the one preening?
Still, felt good.
This was the whole point of cooking-as-spectacle.
Guests watching the process, marveling at it.
I wanted them to enjoy the food with their eyes first — to see how it came together.
Maybe then they'd appreciate what a cook actually goes through.
-A cook knight basically leeches honey all day, right?
-Skips training. Easiest gig there is.
-Man, I'd love to skip the shit drills and just cook.
This is absolutely not because I'm still bitter.
Though dredging up old memories does kind of sting.
"Every movement is perfectly disciplined."
"As expected of an Imperial Knight..."
The knights had gone slack-jawed, their eyes pinned to me.
There.
That's the look.
Looks like hard work, doesn't it?
That reaction was exactly what I'd been aiming for.
'My body feels lighter than usual.'
That olive flounder yesterday really was something else. Genuinely invigorating. Did my constitution some real good.
Over the glistening, red-tinged Bulgogi, I scattered a final dusting of toasted sesame seeds — a gentle, rustling shower.
The nutty fragrance melded with the meat and rose in a deeply pleasant cloud.
Sizzle-simmer.
I lifted the Donkatsu from the oil, let them drain, and ladled the thick, hot Donkatsu sauce over them — slowly reduced to exactly the right consistency.
Alongside that, a mound of white rice.
I loaded the trays with food so freshly made the steam was still drifting upward in soft curls.
In the time it takes to tell, four servings of Bulbaek and four Kyeongyang-style Donkatsu were done.
"How should I serve these?"
"Two Bulbaek and two Donkatsu to each table, please."
Internal Affairs and the knights were at separate tables.
Two and two. Nice and equitable.
Both of them looked pretty satisfied with how the menu split had worked out.
"You got it."
I set the finished plates down on each table.
"The fried rice that comes with the Bulbaek sets will be fired up as soon as you order it separately — go ahead and start eating first."
"Thank you for the meal!"
I set the Bulgogi Baekban in front of Heimer and the Kyeongyang-style Donkatsu in front of Liana.
Gulp.
Looked like they'd each recommended the dish the other had eaten last time.
Which meant both Liana and Heimer were gazing more longingly at the dish in front of their counterpart than at their own.
How to put it. That expression you make when you set a guy friend up with someone, and then the moment the double date starts, you realize you don't actually want to give him away after all.
"Whoa! What is this? It's incredible!"
The knights and Internal Affairs staff reached for their spoons first, and smiles bloomed across their faces.
They kept glancing back and forth between the food and me, marveling aloud more than once.
"This is the skill of a capital chef...?"
"Wow..."
"Mmm~!"
"Delicious! So good!"
"You have to be honest in your assessment. No going easy because he's a fellow knight."
"No one's rating it higher just because a superior recommended it."
After a moment of eyeing each other's dishes, Liana and Heimer at last turned to their own plates.
Heimer to the Bulgogi Baekban. Liana to the Kyeongyang-style Donkatsu.
Heimer wrapped a bundle of Bulgogi in leafy greens with a dab of rice and Ssamjang and took a big bite.
Liana used her fork and knife to cut into the Donkatsu, its surface soaked through with warm seasoning, and lifted a piece to her mouth.
"Hmm?"
"Ohh!"
A distinct light flickered in both their eyes.
What came next was simple.
"This, too, is this good...?"
"Bulbaek tastes like this?"
No words — just spoons moving.
***
Ever since the Donkatsu had bestowed its lesson upon him, Heimer had dedicated himself wholly to the knightly code and trained relentlessly.
That was why he could never accept Liana's claim that Bulgogi Baekban was the ultimate Knight Restaurant dish.
Even if he acknowledged her extensive culinary experience, a knight's food wasn't decided by taste alone.
Enlightenment.
The true food of chivalry had to be a dish from which one could draw genuine insight.
So he had refused to concede to her Bulgogi Baekban.
Because eating Donkatsu had shown him the life of a knight — had revealed the pride of chivalry he would carry forward.
But the instant he tasted the Bulgogi Baekban, his thoughts shifted.
'This dish speaks of harmony.'
What mattered most to a knight?
His own martial strength?
Of course that counted.
But surviving the battlefield demanded something beyond that.
Namely, the rhythm you shared with your comrades and the faith you placed in them.
Battlefield survival rates shifted depending on how well you could synchronize your breathing with the people beside you.
He'd already felt it during the skirmish with the bandits, hadn't he?
Even the weakest soldier — if he had dependable comrades around him and was accustomed to fighting alongside them — could still make it through.
The Bulgogi Baekban was telling Heimer about those comrades.
And that idea extended outward, into the very combinations of swordsmanship.
A blade that was merely flexible could never pierce a knight's solid plate armor.
A blade that was merely hard could never catch a swift opponent.
A blade that was merely fast could never carry sufficient force.
One, one, one — each approach had its clear strengths and clear weaknesses.
But if they were gathered into a single whole?
Then each would cover the others' shortcomings and amplify their strengths.
Heimer closed his eyes and savored the flavor.
Eating the Bulgogi on its own, he'd thought it fell short of the Donkatsu.
But wrapped in leafy greens, the flavor transformed.
The simple taste became layered — the crisp, fresh texture joining in.
When Ssamjang was added to the wrap, the flavor shifted again.
Eating the meat alongside the vegetables it had been stir-fried with brought yet another new taste.
It kept getting better.
The more harmony was achieved, the more new combinations were discovered, the more new flavors welcomed Heimer in.
He had received yet another revelation.
'Senior...'
To think he would offer such teachings to a junior he'd had no prior connection with — a man who simply happened to settle in the same village.
'Truly, he is a great man.'
As a backcountry knight himself, Heimer could barely fathom the scale of the vessel the man carried.
He was gazing at Lucas with unguarded admiration when —
"Fried rice, here you are."
Lucas smiled and set down a new dish.
The fried rice that came paired with the Bulbaek set.
The sight of those red-seasoned grains, glossy and golden-brown from the wok, made Heimer's mouth water all over again.
"Thank you for the meal."
He scooped up a spoonful of the crisp surface and put it in his mouth — and the depth of flavor that hit him was immediate.
A taste he'd never encountered before.
Nutty and spicy, the provocative kick of the seasoning and the profound savor of the meat all at once.
'Ah.'
I've lost.
Heimer admitted defeat.
He had been too arrogant.
No need for a vote — he already knew.
Heimer looked across the table at Liana, who had scraped her Donkatsu plate clean.
"Miss Liana."
He spoke her name.
"Sir Heimer."
She answered in kind.
The time had come to acknowledge it.
His own loss.
"I concede. Bulbaek is, after all, the true food of a knight."
"I'll admit defeat. Donkatsu is more delicious than Bulbaek."
The two of them bowed their heads almost simultaneously.
"Huh?"
And then they lifted their heads and stared at each other.
"What did you just say?"
"You're conceding defeat?"
For a moment, they simply gaped — two people each admitting defeat, frozen as if time had stopped.
What in the...
Watching the pair, Lucas tilted his head slightly and kept wiping down the utensils.
"What are those two doing?"