Lunch ended with everyone asking for seconds. The tangy, sweet, savory, and spicy eggplant with garlic sauce won positive reviews from everyone.
Mag was naturally very happy about this.
Technically, this was the first recipe he had learnt on his own, so the sense of achievement was unparalleled.
“Welcome to Mamy Restaurant.”
Mag opened the door of the restaurant and smiled at the customers waiting at the door.
The customers filed into the restaurant and greeted Mag. They went to their favorite spots.
Harrison came in and curiously asked, “Does this new dish ‘eggplant with garlic sauce’ has fish in it, Boss Mag?”
Many customers were also looking at Mag with curiosity. It was worth paying attention every time a new dish was introduced.
“No, this is a vegetarian dish.” Mag shook his head smilingly. He wasn’t going to be secretive about it.
“Vegetarian dish? It’s purely made of eggplant?”
“Oh! Eggplant is the food I hate the most! It’s so soft that it’s scary!”
“I hate eggplant’s taste too, but my neighbour loves it. Every time I went over to his place for dinner, it simply…”
“Your neighbour must be a forest troll.”
“How did you know?”
The customers started a discussion after they heard Mag. Most of them didn’t have a good impression of eggplants.
“Vegetarian dish? Eggplant?” Derrick, who just sat down, glanced at Mag. He couldn’t help being curious. Eggplant was also one of the foods that he hated. The horrible texture and hard to remove smell were enough to repel him.
However, since the boss of this restaurant said it was a vegetarian dish, and most likely the only vegetarian dish available, trying it was basic professionalism, regardless of his personal preference.
Mag didn’t explain any further. It was normal not to like eggplant. Those who loved it would enjoy it. He returned to the kitchen with a smile on his face.
Of course, the main reason was they hadn’t tried the eggplant with garlic sauce yet.
Otherwise, they would be in love with eggplant.
The customers began to place their orders. Due to their resistance to eggplant, there weren’t many customers ordering it. Of course, there were more customers deliberating between ordering and forgoing, waiting for the brave ones to try first.
Derrick was appraising the restaurant. His first impression was comfortable and soothing. The lighting, the furniture and decorations in the same color, and the plants along the banister made people relax.
When he did a closer observation, he could feel the restaurant’s cleanliness. There wasn’t any dust in sight. There wasn’t even dirt in between the table’s gaps. It had to be a professional magic caster doing the cleaning to reach such a cleanliness standard.
However, what made him uncomfortable was the sharing of tables. He was a little nervous looking at the orc sitting across and the wolf-headed demon sitting next to him. He had a guarded expression.
Since he had lived in Chaos City for a period of time, he naturally knew that it was a city where all races lived together, but he was used to living in Rodu, so he was still on guard toward other races. Furthermore, he had never shared a table with an orc and a demon.
There isn’t even basic segregation in place. This restaurant only deserves one star for its dining environment. I can’t even focus on tasting the good food when I have to share a table with an orc and a demon.
Yabemiya came over with a smile, and asked Derrick, “What could we order for you, Sir?”
“Give me a minute. Let me have a look.” Derrick took the menu and flipped it open. Pictures of delicious food appeared in front of him. Looking at all those enticing dishes had even made a vegetarian like him salivate.
However, he quickly skipped over the meat dishes and went to the snack category. The pictures of the sweet and savory tofu pudding were different. The white tofu pudding was held in a porcelain bowl. The savory tofu pudding was covered by finely chopped vegetables, while the sweet one was drizzled with a layer of reddish-gold sweet syrup. Both looked enticing.
After some deliberation, Derrick chose the sweet tofu pudding.
Then, he flipped over a page and looked at the only vegetarian dish in the vegetarian category: eggplant with garlic sauce.
In the picture, there were two fish lying on a rectangular plate with golden red sauce drizzled on top. There were only two fishes and no eggplant in sight in the picture.
One helping cost 400 copper coins. At the same time, it indicated that one bowl of white rice cost 50 copper coins, and there was no free refilling.
Derrick stared at the picture for some time before raising his head to talk to Yabemiya, “Are you sure this is vegetarian food?”
“Yes. It’s vegetarian. There’s no meat in it all.” Yabemiya nodded. They hadn’t had any customers ordering the eggplant with garlic sauce yet. It almost made her want to tell them how delicious the eggplant with garlic sauce was; it was a pity to miss. She wondered if this customer would be the first to order.
After Derrick got the confirmation from Yabemiya, he closed the menu, and said, “I would like to have a sweet tofu pudding, an eggplant with garlic sauce, and a bowl of rice.”
“Sure, please wait for a while.” Yabemiya’s eyes lit up. Finally, a customer had ordered the eggplant with garlic sauce. According to her previous experience, this meant other customers would soon follow suit.
“Wow, Bro. You eat eggplant. You’re fearsome.” The wolf-face demon sitting with him gave him a shocked expression.
“You’re really brave.” The orc sitting across also gave him a thumbs-up.
“I’m a little curious, will the eggplant that Boss Mag cooked become a new delicacy? You shall be our tester, Bro,” a young man sitting diagonally across him said happily.
“Mm-hm.” Derrick nodded awkwardly. The orc and demon were very different from his fearsome impression of them. They were friendly. He didn’t expect to be deemed as brave just because he ordered the eggplant with garlic sauce.
Yabemiya went into the kitchen, and excitedly said, “Boss, a customer ordered one eggplant with garlic sauce.”
“Roger that.” Mag nodded. He took an eggplant from the shelf next to him. It was longer than the round eggplant, but shorter and rounder than the long eggplant. He sliced it open in the middle like a fish cut open lengthwise. He twisted his chopper around, and the thin skin was removed. Soon, the two slices of eggplant began to resemble a fish. Scales were carved out with rapid knife movements. They were cut deep, but not clean through.
Two pots were heated up simultaneously. The eggplant was deep-fried in a pot filled with oil. He put a little oil in the other pot and added in finely chopped garlic, ginger, chilli, and a spoonful of his secret chili broad bean paste. He fried them till the red oil began to appear before he added in white sugar, vinegar, and a little starch water. The garlic sauce was done.
He took out the eggplant that was fried till crispy and golden brown out and plated it. Then, he drizzled the hot and thick sauce over them.
Shhhhh!
A soft sizzling sound.
A helping of tangy, sweet, savory, and spicy eggplant with garlic sauce was ready to be served!