Rigur had many questions on his mind still, but before that, he felt the urge to try this ebi fry first.
He wanted to confirm that this was indeed the iron tail that he was familiar with.
Not because of how delicious it was, but rather he was confirming this for the sake of science. It definitely because he was looking forward to experiencing the taste of iron tails once again.
He stabbed the fork into one of the yellow strips and then brought his knife down to cut horizontally through it.
After he cut through the yellow strip, he found that there was the pink flesh that he was familiar with inside of it. Looking carefully at it, he found that the yellow colour around the pink flesh was actually a layer of what seemed to be flour and egg that had been coated around it before it had been fried.
That was what created this yellow layer of crust around the pink flesh of the iron tails.
With the contrast between yellow and pink, it really created a beautiful picture.
But what he was most excited about wasn't just the look of this ebi fry, but rather the taste.
After all, the taste of iron tails was the one thing that he couldn't forget.
He brought the piece that he cut up to his mouth and after a single sniff which filled his nose with an ecstatic smell, he bit into the piece on his fork.
The moment that he bit into that piece, the flavours of the ebi fry spread across his tongue.
This was it!
This was the taste that he was looking for!
The taste that he could still remember from this childhood to this day!
It was the taste of iron tail!
However, the taste of the iron tail was much stronger than the one that he had back when he was child. The moment that he bit into the iron tail, there was a burst of juices that sprayed into his mouth, hitting his tongue with the strong umami flavour of the iron tail.
This was the natural taste of the iron tail, but it was much stronger than the taste of the dish that he ate when he was younger.
Why was this?
Rigur couldn't help looking down at the ebi fry that was in front of him with a confused look.
Only after looking at it for a while did he finally understand what it was.
The coating that was around the iron tail, it did have a use!
This coating wasn't just added to give the iron tail a different look, but rather it had been added to keep all of the oils and juices of the iron tail locked in.
The dish that he had ate before was grilled iron tail, which while gave it a smoky taste, most of the juices had been leaked out of the iron tail which gave it a bit of a dry taste as well.
But this coated iron tail, the coating locked all of the juices and flavour of the iron tail inside, giving it a powerful taste with the first bite.
When looking down, Rigur could see all the juices that were flowing out of the ebi fry from where he had cut it.
So without hesitation, he picked up the second piece and put it into his mouth as well.
The moment that he chewed into that second piece, there was the same burst of flavour that filled his mouth, but this time, he didn't swallow right away.
Instead, he chewed on the piece of ebi fry in his mouth, fully enjoying the taste of this ebi fry.
As he chewed, the taste of the iron tail filled his mouth.
This was a taste that was filled with the taste of the sea, but at the same time, it had an almost smooth taste that went along with it that helped make it not too piercing. It was a gentle taste of the sea that danced on the tongue instead of assaulting it.
When he finished chewing, with an unwilling look, he swallowed it.
But at the very least, there were still more ebi fries for him to eat.
However, when he looked down this time, he noticed the other plate that had been brought along with his ebi fry.
He had been so focused on his ebi fry the entire time that he hadn't seen this other plate the whole time.
When he looked at this plate, he found that there was a strange white sauce that was placed on it. There also seemed to be specks of green that dotted this white sauce, which made it look very strange.
He couldn't understand what this sauce was no matter how he looked at it and when he sniffed it, he couldn't help getting a slightly sour smell from it.
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't imagine it tasting good when put together with the ebi fry.
But his curiosity got the best of him and he asked one of the nearby waiters, "What is this sauce?"
Anna, who had been passing by, was surprised by this sudden question and the appearance of the one who asked it, but she quickly put down those prejudices and came over to explain, "This is tartar sauce, a special sauce used with seafood."
"Special sauce used with seafood?" Rigur couldn't help repeating before looking back at this sauce that was called "tartar sauce".
Seeing that he was lost in thought, Anna didn't mind at all and continued with her work.
Only after looking at it a long time did Rigur finally cut a piece off his next ebi fry and dip it into the tartar sauce before bringing it to his mouth.
As it was placed in front of his mouth, he could smell the sour smell that came from it and he didn't believe that something like this would make the delicious ebi fry more delicious. But he was a researcher in the end and he had the curiosity of one.
So when he was told that this combination would make it more delicious, he couldn't help trying it.
He hesitantly put it into his mouth and the moment that he chewed into it, he couldn't help revealing a shocked look.
That was because there was a burst of flavour that entered his mouth.
This was a slightly tangy flavour that helped bolden the umami of the ebi fry, bringing it up to a new level. As the juices mixed with the tangy flavour of the tartar sauce, they created a mellow flavour of the sea that suddenly had a kick to it.
It wasn't an intense kick, but it was a burst of flavour that couldn't be ignored.
This tartar sauce…just how did it accomplish this?
Rigur couldn't help bringing his knife over to take a bit of the tartar sauce by itself before putting it in his mouth.
The moment that the tartar sauce entered his mouth, there was a sour, but rich taste that filled it.
That was right, this sauce was sour like how it smelled, but the actual sauce itself gave off a rich and creamy texture that helped smooth it out and balanced it to create a nice kick.
He didn't hesitate at all as he kept cutting ebi fry and dipping them in the sauce before putting them in his mouth. It was almost mechanical at this point as he kept stuffing his face.
Goblins were quite short to begin with, so it really was unknown where Rigur was stuffing all the food that he ate.
After he finished his first plate, he ordered a second plate of ebi fry.
Then a third, a fourth, a fifth, and so on…
He only stopped when he reached his tenth plate and he couldn't eat anymore.
When everyone saw him leaning back in the chair with his bulging stomach, they couldn't help revealing smiles since it reminded them of their first time here. They no longer cared that he was a goblin and had come to regard him as one of them.
That was the power of this restaurant.
No matter what you were, it had the power to bring people together with the power of food.
Yami came over with the bill, but before she could say anything, Rigur suddenly asked, "How did you manage to stock up on iron tails? There's no ocean nearby, there shouldn't even be a river nearby. So how did you get such fresh iron tails?"
Yami revealed a confused look at first since the term "iron tails" wasn't one that she was familiar with, but it didn't take her long to understand that Rigur was talking about the shrimp. But then she revealed a confused look for a different reason.
Yami asked, "Why is it surprising that we're able to get fresh shrimp? Don't you have the same transportation network in your world?"
Rigur shook his head before saying, "No one has been able to solve that problem for ages. It will always rot if we leave it out for more than a day."
Yami was confused as she asked, "Why would you leave it out? Just freeze it when you store it."
Rigur's chin dropped before he asked, "Why do we need to freeze it?"
Yami couldn't help looking at him like he was an idiot as she said, "Freezing will prevent the food from rotting by slowing down the microbes and forcing them into a dormant stage. It will stop microorganisms from rotting food."
Rigur revealed a shocked look as he asked, "You're telling me that freezing food can preserve it?"
Yami nodded as if she was looking at an idiot. After all, this knowledge was common sense in this world.
Rigur looked at her and after making sure that she wasn't lying, he suddenly pulled out his money. He swept a look at the bill before slapping down the exact amount and then running for the door.
He didn't gave anyone any time to stop him as he ran through and returned to his world.
Yami didn't mind since he had already paid, but she was caught off guard by how much of a rush he was in.
After Rigur came out of the door, the door disappeared behind him, but he was too busy to care.
Rigur ran right out of the warehouse and into the workshop where his master was currently refining glue.
Seeing Rigur come in, the master wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Rigur before he could.
Rigur said, "Master, let's continue your research."
The master couldn't stop his hands from trembling, causing him to drop too much of his ingredients in, causing a large mess with an explosion.
But he didn't care as he looked at Rigur with a shocked look and said, "Are you sure? What about the budget?"
Rigur just said with a smile, "That doesn't matter. I'll figure out a way to balance the budget, but I want to change the direction of the research."
The master wasn't surprised this time since it was normal that Rigur would have some kind of demand for allowing him to continue this research. So the master carefully asked, "What do you want to change it to?"
Rigur said with the same smile, "I want to use cold to prevent food from freezing."
The master couldn't help revealing a shocked look as he looked at Rigur like he was crazy. After all, he had never heard of such an effect before.
But since Rigur was willing…there was no reason for him to reject…