Compared to a noisy group meal, Kakizaki Taki preferred to slowly eat and chat with one or two good friends!
The food was delicious.
The sake was excellent.
The conversation was thorough.
Then, they would open their hearts to each other.
This kind of dining environment was perfect for her.
Regrettably, ever since she graduated and went to the distant Spanish country, opportunities to meet and eat with Sonoka became rare.
After finishing her meal, Kakizaki Taki continued to sit at the table, occasionally drinking sake alone, then slowly closing her eyes to enjoy the tranquil moment!
...
Indeed.
Just as Mujiuzhi described.
The Chef of this Izakaya, Sosuke, was more skilled than both of them.
Moreover, there was an even more terrifying fact for Kakizaki Taki: Sosuke could even make unpopular dishes so excellently, as if there were no weaknesses in him at all!
"Shopkeeper."
"There was a time."
"Spanish grilled meat quickly became popular worldwide."
"However, this phenomenon was short-lived, and it soon became neglected."
"Actually, this grilled meat is simple to make, its taste is relatively suited to Chinese palates, and it's affordable."
"But why is it rarely seen in China?"
Although Kakizaki Taki had an impatient personality, her interpersonal skills were quite good, and she was not scheming.
Coupled with the culinary skills Sosuke displayed, which gave her hope for the rise of Spanish cuisine, her impression of him improved significantly compared to her previous cold attitude.
"The reason!"
"I think it might be because customers need to grill it themselves."
"This creates a significant problem: the inability to guarantee the taste."
"For many customers, when they grill meat for the first time, they might be unskilled and afraid of not cooking the meat thoroughly, resulting in them failing to control the heat at the right time and burning the meat!"
"Consequently, whenever she wants to eat grilled meat, whether with friends or for business, she avoids choosing it to prevent embarrassment."
Sosuke thought for a moment and explained softly.
"Hmm?"
"Is that so?"
"Isn't letting customers grill their own meat a pleasure of creating delicious food?"
"Moreover, Spain is originally the land of bullfighting, abundant in beef."
"Especially the local Rubia Gallega beef, which, along with Piedmont's Fassone beef and Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture's Ozaki beef, is known as one of the world's three great beef types!"
"So, the main reason it didn't become popular in China, I think, is that Chinese people don't eat much beef, right?"
Kakizaki Taki, with her arms crossed, confidently expressed her own insights in front of Sosuke.
...
Every year.
Chinese people consume 50,000,000 tons of pork, while beef and lamb are only about 1/10 of pork.
Therefore, saying that Chinese people don't eat much beef does have some truth to it.
After all, from a historical perspective, the Central Plains only raised pigs, and beef and lamb were the staple foods of nomadic peoples outside the Great Wall.
The Chinese character for "home" (Home) means a house with a pig inside, so Chinese people place more importance on pork.
Furthermore, in ancient times, cattle were a particularly important "labor force"; farming required cattle, and ancient officials often prohibited eating beef.
Perhaps, there truly are historical and traditional reasons?
However, attributing everything to this single issue is clearly biased.
"In China, there are already foods similar to roujiamo, rouhuoshao, or grilled meat wraps."
"Compared to these long-standing local products, Spanish grilled meat doesn't have a particular advantage in terms of cost, taste, or convenience, so it's not easy for it to become popular!"
Finally, Sosuke merely glanced at her and said indifferently.
"This..." Kakizaki Taki, hearing this, couldn't help but be stunned, and then she stopped refuting.
She had once been to Xinjiang, China, where one only needed to set up a barbecue stall by the roadside, grill lamb skewers over charcoal fire, and then hawk them with an accented voice.
And these professional barbecue stalls were often incredibly popular, with many people constantly queuing up in front of them.
Therefore, it might be as Sosuke said, Spanish grilled meat simply couldn't compete with these local specialty grilled dishes!
...
"Shopkeeper, check, please!"
Then, Kakizaki Taki, having finished her last sip of sake, called out to Sosuke for the bill.
Although when they first met, because he was quite close to Sonoka, she was a bit "jealous" and didn't have a good impression of Sosuke!
But it must be said that this woman, who often had a fierce gaze and an impatient personality, had now deeply fallen in love with the Izakaya.
"Huh?"
"Taki, you... are you leaving so soon?"
Sonoka was happy to see that Kakizaki Taki's relationship with Sosuke had finally improved.
Yet, it wasn't even closing time, and Kakizaki Taki was already wanting to leave the Izakaya!
"Yes!"
"You big-chested monster."
"I just can't stand your innocent mind; if we continue to stay here, both you and I will probably fall completely into it."
With that, Kakizaki Taki feigned anger, extending her "dragon claw hand" straight towards Sonoka.
"Ah!
"Taki, you... you... no!"
Seeing Kakizaki Taki's actions, Mujiuzhi quickly realized something and hurriedly covered her chest, moving backward to maintain a certain distance from her in fear.
It had to be admitted that Sosuke was the kind of man with a fatal attraction to any woman.
Leaving aside his handsome appearance, just his profound and mysterious aura, along with his calm, wise, un-frivolous, and gentle personality, was enough to make all women fall deeply for him, unable to extricate themselves!
On him, every part seemed so charming, so captivating!
Yes, Kakizaki Taki admitted that for a moment, she, who had never been interested in men, was touched deep in her heart.
But the more she felt this way, the more afraid she became. She was even more worried that Sonoka, beside her, would "fall in love" with Sosuke due to insufficient self-control.
"Shopkeeper."
"Your paella is indeed very good."
"It's truly shameful to say, although I, Kakizaki Taki, am a Chef skilled in Spanish cuisine."
"But no matter how hard I've tried these past years, I've always been unable to promote this cuisine, and now I'm even inferior to you, the Shopkeeper of this Izakaya!"
"Even if I work hard for a few more years, no, decades."
"I'm afraid I still wouldn't be able to elevate paella to such a high level as you have."
Then, seeing Mujiuzhi's fearful expression, Kakizaki Taki could only sigh deeply, then turned to Sosuke and exclaimed.
"This paella."
"It's just a normal way of making it; it's not particularly elegant or delicious."
"Of course, if you like my cooking, you can come to the Izakaya often in the future!"
Sosuke, after listening to Kakizaki Taki's words, merely replied humbly.
"Hmm!"
"I will come again."
With that, Kakizaki Taki pulled the still bewildered Mujiuzhi beside her and said, "Alright, we should go!"
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