Song’s Lazy Day: Fast Food

Song’s Lazy Day: Fast Food 

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Commissioned by quiteadapperlass

Word Count: 2037

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Hyoudou turns to with a gaze filled with fierce determination.

“Li, do you remember the principle tenets of our upcoming operation?” The question is something you’re prepared for, yet you feel a drop of sweat form upon your brow. A myriad of possibilities arise to the forefront of your mind. The possibility of you having missed something is present. Though you’ve reviewed what you’ve been given, have you spent enough time reading supporting articles from other sources? Was thirty minutes of extra preparation, beyond the fifteen it took to read Hyoudou’s missive, enough? “Well?”

Hyoudou’s features are filled with a subtle, smoldering determination. His face is set and gaze heavy. The locks of his hair cast a shadow upon his features. Indeed, what you look upon is a face filled with conviction that could cut through steel with ease. Someway, somehow, though you tremble at the sight, you find yourself emboldened. There is no way such a face could be made by a man who intended to see you fail. Those thirty minutes you spent, looking for more information online, is a shame you’d have to bear for the rest of your life, because there is not way Hyoudou attempted to misguide you last night.

Without hesitation, you recall Hyoudou’s message perfectly.

Go in. Order from machine. Order this restaurant’s specialty. Take a seat. Do not speak. When offered, get water. Only water. When pressed, get everything. Noodles: extra firm. Upon arrival, take no more than six minutes to eat. Slurping is necessary. Sip of water to cleanse palate between one or two bites. Halfway, crush at least one clove of garlic into the soup. Drinking the rest of the soup is necessary, unless you order another bowl. 

Thus, you are confident that you shall experience ramen.

Hyoudou’s steely gaze lessens fractionally, but he gives you only a single nod of recognition, before entering the store without another word.

You follow. 

…

Ramen.

The Japanese’s gift to the world, according to Hyoudou. While it is undoubtedly fast food, given its nature as a quick, greasy, and filling meal for a cheap price, those who create it undergo tremendous amounts of hardship for what they create. The store you enter, while automated in terms of servers, is manned by a trio of human cooks. One of them is a man wrinkled and gray, possibly six times your age, who simply sits and watches the two younger men. He is obviously the master, and the two are apprentices, but that is made more clear when the two start at your entrance, only to turn back to their work at a single “tsk” from the elder.

Your gazes lock with one another.

Despite your fame, and everything you’ve done, he only gives you a nod before turning back to watch his apprentices.

Leaving you to get your ticket and pay for your meal.

That moment alone makes last night’s lesson worth all the effort you’d invested. 

Soon enough, mere minutes after you’ve been served water, you and Hyoudou are silently granted your bowls.

Tonkotsu ramen is a dish that is laborious in effort to create. Not only does an animal have to be raised and slaughtered for its creation, as pounds of bones is utilized to turn water and other ingredients into a thick stock akin to gravy, but it also has to be watched, maintained, strained, and augmented over the same period of time. Not only do you consume the resources that went into an animal, even if that animal is as low in cost as a pig, but hours upon hours of effort by cooks and their assistants. Bones alone would make goodly broth, but the individuals pouring their work and dedication into the ramen you have before you, has practically liquidized bone through their efforts, making the inedible into a delicacy.

That fact alone ought to grant it status as a delicacy, but that is not all that ramen is!

House-made noodles, specially crafted by the shop itself, for their own broth, is added in after a brief shock into boiling water! The noodles, thick with a coating of starch, will become coated by the broth that they’ll be engulfed in. Knowing that, one would worry about the noodles becoming soggy. However, being extra-firm, ensures that even a large bowl of ramen, such as the one before you, will remain as it’s supposed to be eaten! Then, atop the noodles, is a generous portion of fresh vegetables, from beansprouts to bamboo shoots, to cut through the richness of the broth, and two soft-boiled eggs with perfect yokes to act as another layer of texture and flavor. 

Once upon a time, you hear that whole slices of pork belly would be laid upon Ramen, but the shop you’ve gone to is one that is for the common individual, living on the average wage, and so such a thing is not present. 

In all honesty, you’d rather not have it any other way!

For a second, you’re about to dive in, as Hyoudou’s instructions suggested… but you stop for a moment. 

Hyoudou’s halts for a second in his eating, and you’re sure that all eyes are on you, but you plow through the nerves brought by your changing of the tradition. 

Without hesitation, after binding up your hair, you clasp your hands together and thank the staff for the meal.

Only then, do you focus all your fervor into experiencing the unhealthy, irresponsible, and delicious food known as ramen. 

Upon first bite, you realize that you are but a neophyte, an individual who didn’t understand Ramen, and probably never will, as dozens upon dozens of truths set your dark, unknowing mind alight with knowledge. 

Soup! Hyoudou had called what you’d referred to erroneously as broth, soup! He was entirely and completely correct! The unctuous, thick composition of liquefied bones, due to heat, pressure, and technique, can be nothing besides a soup! It is something that can be a dish by itself! A meal that is rich, hearty, and consumed eagerly with any form of accompanying starch! Fresh bread can be dipped into it to glorious effect. Potatoes can swim in it, lending their creamy texture and subtle sweetness, for a divine combination. You have no doubt that, if allowed to reduce, it shall become a sauce that is triumphant upon the most base of grains!

However, it is not upon the most base of grains.

The noodles, as well, could be a dish all their own. A composition of subtle sweetness, chew, and pronounced depth. True, eating it alone would be a boring affair, yet one can do the same with an excellent piece of baked bread, or freshly prepared, aromatic rice. While the soup has a body all its own, the noodles provide the canvas for it to perfectly flow on the mouth. It is the perfect blank canvas for the soup to be laid upon. It is a painstakingly crafted material meant to accentuate the vibrancy, depth, and bounty of another. The unsung heroes supporting the grand weight of the whole structure, that manages to take the extremes of a soup composed of bone and half-a-dozen ingredients, along with all the toppings, and constrain them for the sake of the eater!

It is easy to love the broth, but you shall most certainly return for the noodles alone.

But, that is not all.

The toppings are not mere additions to satisfy one’s desires for texture and change. The bamboo shoots have been fermented, providing both the acidity of a pickle and a resounding crunch, but also a strong earthiness, reminiscent of mushrooms, but nowhere near as harsh. Beansprouts naturally find themselves between teeth, and when crushed, become bursts of refreshing bursts of fresh flavor. Then, of course, there is the egg.  The outsides are pliant to the teeth, providing  more texture that flavor, but that changes once the orange, molten yolk comes into play. It is a fatty accentuation that is intoxicating and sticky to the tongue, which urges you to take healthy slurps of the soup, until your palate is cleansed of the wholesome richness.

Of course, with a palate wreathed by the heavy soup, one must consume more noodles.

The cycle is a demanding, heavy, and challenging one, but one can easily forget it due to the mélange of flavors. Consuming noodle, soup, and amenity together is a whole scene of a movie. Adding, or subtracting, from the combination allows you to derive more and more. The sips of water cleanse the palate more than beansprouts ever could, granting a new start that is strongly reminiscent of the first bite. The addition of garlic at the halfway point turns the noodles into a scarce resource, to be husbanded carefully, as the soup’s flavor deepens to a point where supping upon it alone is nearly an impossibility. Then, of course, one can choose to take part of a singular bites, or sips, of the ingredients on their own, albeit influenced by the now-spiced broth.

Consuming ramen, you find, is an experience akin to reading a book, but one that evolves with each thought and action taken by the reader. The heroes can be one ingredient or the next, supported easily by the rest of the cast. Through sips of water, the whole story seemingly returns anew, but retains the foundation of the old. Finally, upon the addition of garlic, the tone becomes night impossible, with the soup going from a hearty addition, to a nigh impossible antagonist against which all the remaining ingredients compete to overthrow… to the point where the reader must become the hero, by having the courage to drink all of the soup, regardless of its fierce flavor!

Ramen is more than just a dish! 

Ramen is an experience to be treasured!

Ramen is something that you will always wish that you can forget, so that you can experience it again!

So, you down the whole bowl, without a shred of hesitation!

…

You do not break the conventions which have guided you so well, and speak only after the meal is done. Though you do take a moment to take a picture with the owner, and praise the staff, you and Hyoudou speak to one another only after exiting the Ramen house. 

“That was super good, right!?”

Extremely!

“You want to get three more bowls, at least, right!?”

Of course!

“I knew it! Ramen transcends all boundaries! There’s only one thing that can eclipse it in its ability to bring men together… and the other’s boobs!”

You’re not willing to stoop that low in your praise, but you will support Hyoudou in his words!

“Well, that’s good enough for me!” Hyoudou laughs boisterously, clapping you in the back. You take a moment to undo the tie you’ve made of your hair. The fact no paparazzi lies in wait after your meal is a testament to the integrity of the Ramen house. Without a doubt, you’ll be visiting the place in the near future. “So, where do you want to go next? We’ve got the whole day ahead of us to stuff ourselves silly and celebrate!”

You ponder the question for a moment, before coming to a decision.

You’ll leave that up to Hyoudou. 

You trust him to guide you correctly in this new world.

“Really!? Well, I won’t steer you wrong, Li!” Hyoudou’s beaming smile makes you grin. Before you know it, he has his communicator out. Rapidly, he ticks through it, before coming to a deft conclusion. “Alright! We’re running to the train station, but our route’s got some great stuff you need to try! Takoyaki, Taiyaki, and even a Bento or two! We’re getting another Ramen, but entirely different this time, to expand your palate!” He sends you the route and abruptly begins jogging. You nearly suggest taking flight, or calling a cab, but Hyoudou makes his intent clear by suddenly bursting into a run. “C’mon! If we’re not quick, we’ll miss the train!”

On foot, you chase after him.

Wearing the same uniform as he is, you’re sure that all onlookers will think you’re simply two students enjoying their weekend.

And, you’d rather not have it any other way.