Haruna led Yutaka and Masami to sit down in front of the counter. After giving them hot towels and hot tea, she reluctantly glanced at the jar and went back to guard the door, as well as taking care of the few people near the door.
Kazuya glanced at them and found that the man was Yutaka. He was impressed by this guest so couldn't help but smile: "I thought Mr. Matushige has something to do and can't come today. Do you still want to order a House Full of Blessings first?"
Yutaka nodded repeatedly, but complained by the way: "Chef Matsuoka, your store is now somewhat famous. Isn't it time to consider expanding its business and providing reservation services?"
He was dissatisfied. The store was small and the decoration was old-fashioned. More importantly, the manpower was too scarce and certain dishes could only be cooked once a week. Money was left not to earn at all! What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that people like us won't be able to afford?
Kazuya turned around and scooped out of the jar for him. There was no need to put the jar at the door to attract customers because he was already too busy. He just smiled: "We are a traditional business. There is no way to expand the business if we want to cook every dish well."
He haD made enough money and no interest in investing more time and energy in opening an izakaya, and also had no plans to expand the business. As for reservation services, it was even more impossible. There was usually no one in the store during the day. Who can answer guests'call?
He didn't want to talk about this topic anymore and looked at the pretty and fashionable women next to Yutaka. After placing the Buddha jumps over the wall in front of them, he turned around and scooped two bowls of clear soup from a iron stew pot, "Our new dish, white miso fish bone soup, particularly refreshing and suitable for women. It is the giveaway today, please try it."
Kazuya was very good at being a good person. Anyway, these giveaways were not a loss. The tips Yutaka usually gave were enough for eight meals.
Yutaka nodded and thanked him, but his eyes were already focused on the Buddha jumpsover the wall. He said casually: "Please decide on the wine and other side dishes!"
This store's wine was average, but it was the food that made people swoon.
"No problem!" Kazuya responded and got busy with his hands. He tilted his head and joked a little with the female white-collar who also sat in front of the counter.
He was now becoming more and more demeanor like a shopkeeper, and he could be regarded as a model of loving what he does when doing what he does.
Yutaka took a sip of the soup and felt the taste on his lips and teeth that he had been looking forward to for a week. Then he remembered that he had brought his girlfriend with him. He turned around and asked softly: "Masami, how do you feel?"
Masami gently covered her mouth with her palm, used a tissue to clean the corner of he rmouth and said a little embarrassedly: "It tastes very good, no wonder you insist on coming over..."
She was also a foodie and couldn't resist the alluring aroma. She had already finished her portion while her boyfriend was talking, which was extremely unladylike.
She really wanted to eat another bowl, but her boyfriend was still tasting it, so she was too embarrassed to appear too greedy. She forced her eyes to turn to the bowl of fish bone soup, which was also a common dish in izakayas.
Generally, izakayas will try their best to make all ingredients full use as much as possible. For example, the fish bones after filleting the fish are not discarded directly. Instead, they are mixed with some vegetable and condiments and then stewed into soup for sale. It is cheap but some people especially like to drink this kind of soup.
But isn't the bowl of soup in front of me too clear? Like a bowl of boiled water!
She took a snip hesitantly and was stunned. What kind of soup is this? It has the breeze of the sea, the freshness of fish, the tenderness of chicken, the feeling of mountains and forests and the aroma of miso. It rolls over the tip of the tongue like water and then goes down the stomach, leaving only layers of various ingredients. The flavors blend together with a long finish.
If the first bowl of stew was a combination of sophistication and luxury, with countless ingredients blended into one. The aroma was so strong that she couldn't help but swallow it in one gulp, then this bowl of fish bone soup was a combination of simplicity and plain. The clear soup had so few ingredients but made people taste all kinds of flavors and have endless aftertaste.
Masami was stunned there, while Kazuya brought them two bottles of iced taro yaki and said with a smile: "Drink this today, the side dishes to accompany the wine will be ready soon. Please wait a moment."
"Okay!" Yutaka responded. Seeing his girlfriend dazed with a spoon, he touched her lightly and asked, "Masami, what's wrong?"
Masami looked at the soup and fully understood why her boyfriend vomited back it after drinking that bowl of pork miso soup just now. It was not that soup was not good, it could be rated 80 points, but this bowl of white miso fish bone soup in front of her must be rated 180 points at least. A full 100 points difference!
She drank another spoonful of soup and felt the joy in her heart. She wanted to share it: "This soup is so special. It is refreshing but has a lot of flavors. It should be made from mountain spring water, fresh fish bones, chicken broth and a handmade miso, as well as shellfish and ham..."
Kazuya happened to pass over the side dishes to go with the wine, but when he heard it, he was surprised. This person was also an expert! Except for tap water, everything else was the same as what she guessed.
He hoped to achieve the highest level of rip-off customers, that is, to make customers pay with smiles on their faces, he carefully combined local tastes. This bowl of fish bone soup may look clear, but it actually took a lot of work.
Mix the leftover ingredients of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall into a pot, then chop the chicken into minced meat and put it into the soup to absorb impurities. Filtering the dregs several times before adding the soup and finally get this product that looks clear but tastes special. The dregs of the soup were not wasted. He added it into rice for Haruna, so she was so full that she couldn't run anymore. Even if there was a shortage of manpower, she could only be sent to guard the door.
Kazuya gave a thumbs up: "You are right, this lady must be very good at cooking." He turned to Yutaka and joked: "Mr. Matsushige, you will have a good wife in the future."
Masami's face turned red. This accidentally revealed her foodie nature. However, she gently held Yutaka's arm, with a look of happiness on her face. She realized that she had thought too much before, her boyfriend still valued her very much and this kind of store was really worth visiting. Let alone waiting for more than half an hour, waiting for three hours also worth it!
Masami sat there, smiling constantly as she ate. She whispered and laughed with Yutaka from time to time, as if she was back to her love days in college. She wouldn't leave even when it was time to watch a movie, just staying here and enjoying the food.
Food can indeed make people closer, especially between lovers. At least Masami felt extremely happy now.
Kazuya was forced to watch them show their affection.Then he saw Haruna leading Kanae in who held a small bag in her hand, probably a gift. She nodded slightly at him and entered inside without saying a word. She must come to visit Haruka.
This was also reasonable. Kazuya actually didn't know much about her, so he didn't pay much attention to her and was still busy with what he was doing. But soon Kanae came out and still didn't talk to him but left directly.