"Oh, sorry."
When he bumped into a young and beautiful girl he slightly bowed and apologized immediately.
He had finally arrived at Kath Town. It was big. The city was surrounded with big buildings. And the streets were full of people. He was bumping with a lot of people. Since he was alone in this big city full of people, he was a bit nervous. He could also see many small food stalls placed around the place. Thus the place was filled with the aroma of variety of delicious foods.
Sam was not just wandering around the city aimlessly. He took his mobile phone and checked the address that Rita had sent him.
"Bragg Restaurant, Statford-6, Kath town, huh?"
That was the address of the place where he was going to stay in this city. The place belonged to Rita's relative. While he was thinking that they wouldn't allow a stranger like him to stay in their place for free, Rita had somehow managed to convince them. On a certain condition, though.
The condition was that he was to help them run the restaurant until his stay there. It was a rather easy condition for him so he accepted it. But he was still nervous, and wasn't sure that it will turn out to be good as he expected.
It was the first time he had come to this city. So, of course he didn't know where this Statford-6 was.
So, he decided to ask someone who was a local. But he wasn't confident enough to ask someone random. He decided to ask a young lady who was standing there alone and seemed approachable. But after taking the first step, he retreated. He thought that if he approached the lone beautiful girl, it would seem like he was hitting her. So, he started looking for someone else.
"Hmm?" His nose picked up something a delicious aroma. He followed the aroma and saw a small stall there.
"Mo:Mo?"
He read what was written on the board that was placed at the bottom of the stall. He had heard that name for the first time. Because of the delicious aroma that floated on the air, he wanted to try that.
So, he went towards the stall. An old woman was sitting in a round chair. She was holding a cup with both her hands and taking occasional sip.
"Excuse me," he was a bit hesitant but managed to squeeze out those words somehow.
"Yes, sir?" replied the old lady.
"Can I have this Mo:Mo thing?"
"Yes. But it would take about 10 to 20 minutes. If you don't mind waiting, I will start preparations right away, sir."
"It's fine with me."
The old lady immediately gulped down the rest of the tea. She stood up and put on her apron. She offered the chair on which she was previously sitting and urged him to sit down.
He took the chair and seated himself. The lady then lighted the stove. It had multiple storey. In a round utensil she had prepared some fillings. He extended his neck and tried to look at the ingredients. It mostly composed of minced meat and onions. She had also mixed various ingredients. She had made thin circular doughs. Taking a tablespoon of the filling, she put it in the center of that thin flour wrapping. Pinching one edge of the wrapping to the other and twisting it for a few times until the filling was covered. Then she made about 20 such wrappings and then one by one she put it in that multiple storey utensil.
She then brought another chair from under the stall and sat beside him.
"Is it now done?" Since he was curious he asked the old lady.
"Yeah. Now all that's left is to wait for it to steam. It will be done in about 15 minutes."
"Oh."
While he was thinking about those Mo:Mos he had completely forgotten about his main objective. He pulled out his phone and showed the screen to the old lady.
"If you don't mind me asking, do you know where this place is?"
The old lady read the address that was shown on the screen.
"It's quite near from here. You just go straight from here and take a left. After about 5 minutes, you will find a big museum on your left. Across the museum, you will find an alley. Follow that alley until you see another busy street like this. Then on the left side after finishing the alley, you will find the restaurant you are looking for."
He memorized the directions that she gave. After that they started talking about the city. He enjoyed talking with the old lady. Never in his dreams, had he thought that he would able to hold a decent conversation with a complete stranger in an unfamiliar place.
After a while, steam was leaking from the sides of the utensil. She opened the lid and the delicious aroma reached his nose. He inhaled deeply. The lady took out a chinaware plate and served it on it. She also served a yellow sauce like liquid in another chinaware bowl.
"You dip the Mo:Mo in this soup and then eat it."
Just as she instructed, he picked a piece of Mo:Mo by his fork, dipped it in the yellow sauce and had a bite.
"Umm. Delicious."
It was tastier than he had thought. The thin flour wrapping was soft. The meat filling was packed with various spices enriching the taste. The yellow sauce was spicy and much to his own liking. All the spices and ingredients resulted in a spicy and delicious texture.
He couldn't help himself. He took bite after bite and without even realizing he had finished all the 20 pieces. Seeing him enjoy his food, the old lady's lips curved in a smile.
After finishing his food, he paid the old lady.
"Thank you so much. I will be coming often from now onwards."
Saying that he slightly bowed.
"I will be happy to serve you again." The old lady replied.
With that final exchange, he dragged his suitcase and following the old lady's directions he arrived at the restaurant.