Convenience Store 24: The Tower of the End 1st - Chapter 65



Only Krnovel

Episode 65 Gourmet Guide (2)

‘Huh?! What is this… … .’

All he did was take a sip of the drink.

‘Ugh!’

It feels like my mouth has turned into the middle of a beach.

Shh …

A slightly salty but cool refreshing sensation washes over you like a wave, powerfully teasing your tongue.

I feel like I could lose my mind in these rough waves at any moment.

But in a moment!

The refreshing feeling that had been swirling around in my mouth disappeared, and a gentle yet deep fragrance of unknown depth seeped deep into my nostrils.

‘After a strong shake in the mouth, it ends with a clean scent… … .’

It was as if I had been drifting on a vast ocean and had accidentally entered a waterway.

It felt like I was facing a big river.

‘This is… … a car?’

I’ve been to many fine dining restaurants and received welcome drinks, etc.

I have tasted various teas served at the restaurant.

But I can assure you that no tea can even come close to the scent of this sea!

‘This is… … yes, it’s an oasis, an oasis!’

Dry recognition spreads out like a desert.

In this bleak city where comparison and jealousy spread out like cactus thorns, there is definitely an oasis that quenches thirst!

‘But how on earth is it made? It seems like it’s a blend of various tea leaves.’

I don’t know.

Even though I tried to figure out the source of the taste, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

‘I guess I’ll just have one more sip.’

The evaluator took a sip, as if possessed by something.

‘Ha, just one more time!’

He took a sip, sipped the tea repeatedly, and let out an exclamation.

And only after the contents of the barrel are visible at the bottom.

The evaluator stared blankly into space, forgetting even his duty of evaluating the beverage.

‘I just don’t get it… How can a car like this exist? No, more than that, what have I been doing until now?’

I’ve lived my life without knowing the existence of this ‘scent of the sea’.

It was to the point where I felt like the time I had lived was a waste.

The evaluator shook the empty cup in vain and thought.

‘Now I understand why those guys were making such a fuss.’

There was also an uproar where other team members were foaming at the mouth and demanding that Inseong Cafe be given stars.

I now understand that it is incomparable to other restaurants.

‘If other products had this level of quality, or even half of this, they would definitely get one star.’

Of course, we can’t evaluate everything about Inseong Cafe based solely on the scent of the sea.

His expectations were already sky-high.

‘I want to try other things from Insung Cafe too… … Oh no, I forgot this.’

The coffee that the staff confidently recommended, Insung Coffee.

I haven’t tasted it yet.

‘Where… … First of all, the color isn’t much different from other coffees.’

After all, what’s important is not the color of the coffee, but its aroma and taste.

The evaluator opened the lid and put his nose close to it while he was at it.

‘oh?’

A multi-layered scent reminiscent of perfume seeps deep into the nostrils.

The top note is a sweet fruity scent, as if it had been aged for several weeks.

It’s a natural scent that’s strong and intense, but not unpleasant.

Middle note: a subtle floral scent.

It is a strange presence that seems to be hidden by the scent of fruit, but is not.

Bottom note is… …a bit of woody scent.

A hint of charred wood further enriches the composition of this fragrance at the base.

The evaluator had no choice but to admit that he had been oppressed from the very beginning.

‘What kind of coffee beans do they use? It has such a great aroma. If they were able to bring out this much flavor, then the roasting must have been done very cleanly.’

For coffee to smell like this.

Of course, you have to use expensive coffee beans, and your roasting skills must also be top-notch.

‘No matter how good the coffee beans are, there are many who ruin the beans by roasting them like crap. Anyway, this coffee’s aroma is better than expected.’

Honestly, I was a little surprised.

I’ve heard that the coffee is pretty ordinary.

‘I think this is better than the welcome drink served at a 3-star restaurant.’

The evaluator tilted his head and sipped his glass.

‘hmm……?!’

In contrast to the sweet scent, a strong pungent odor explodes.

Sweetness, acidity, intense body, rich creaminess… … .

The evaluator had a vision of lava breaking through the ground and solidifying into sharp black diamonds.

Emotions that are difficult to express in words must have been expressed as ‘scenes’ in his head.

Have you ever tasted better coffee than this?

No, maybe it’s because there has never been anything like that that I encountered this miracle called today.

‘It seems like my teammates misunderstood something.’

How can you rate coffee as ordinary when there is such great coffee out there!

‘I really need to have another glass of this.’

But the evaluator sees the line forming in front of the personality cafe.

He had no choice but to give up his plans.

‘I guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow or something. I’ll try writing something first.’

* * *

A month later.

‘hmm…….’

I stared down at the plastic plate in my hand.

[Inseong Cafe – ★★]

The plastic plate with two stars firmly embedded in it looked strangely cheap.

‘Is this real?’

I know that gourmet guides exist.

However, honestly, I thought it was an organization that had nothing to do with my cafe.

‘I can’t quite believe it.’

Last night, some people came to the cafe.

After congratulating them and asking them to maintain the quality of their products, he left.

‘You said that my cafe was introduced in the gourmet guidebook. Oh, really, things like this happen in life. I thought stars were only given to high-end restaurants.’

Honestly, I didn’t feel bad.

Anyway, it was a prestigious organization that recognized the value of my cafe and awarded it a star.

‘Hehehe, I guess more people will come in the future?’

Anything that can help the cafe’s business, whether it’s a gourmet guide or something else, is welcome.

‘Come to think of it, I heard that if a restaurant’s name is listed in a guidebook, a lot of foreign customers will come… … Should I learn some foreign languages ​​or something even now?’

At that time, I was diligently wiping the board with a dishtowel.

Daughter-

“Hello, boss!”

“hello!”

Seon-ah and Soo-jung came into the cafe just in time for work.

“hi!”

“Huh? Boss, what are you holding in your hand?”

“Oh, this?”

I said it was no big deal and handed them the plastic sheet.

“There were people who suddenly came to see me yesterday. They gave it to me.”

“Huh? This is… … .”

“oh my god…….”

Seon-ah and Soo-jung’s eyes widen.

“Boss! Is this real?! Is this really from the gourmet guide?”

Soo-Jung looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

I nodded.

“I heard so? I’m not sure since this is my first time receiving it.”

“A few days ago, Gourmet also published the 6th edition of its Gourmet Guide and revealed the restaurants selected for the Gourmet Guide!”

“Really? Soo-Jung, you know quite a bit, don’t you?”

I was a little surprised to see that Soo-Jung knew more about gourmet guides than I thought.

“Well, one of my hobbies is going to fine dining restaurants and taking pictures of the food. Wow, this is crazy… … . The cafe I work at got a star from the gourmet guide… … .”

“haha…….”

Actually, I don’t feel that much emotion even though I received a star.

I didn’t know Soo-Jung would react so passionately.

“Have you ever been to a gourmet guide site?!”

“Gourmet guide site? Why there?”

“All restaurants that have been awarded stars or gourmet stars are registered on the site! I will check it out!”

Soo-Jung’s fingers, which were pressing the pad on her phone, stopped moving.

“Wow… … I’m back… … .”

“Why? Are you there?”

Instead of answering, Soo-Jung shoved her phone screen at me.

[Oliver’s Steak House – ★★]

[Sushi Dagoto – ★★]

[Magtier – ★★]

[Inseong Cafe – ★★]

.

.

.

‘Oh, it really exists?’

I clicked on my store name.

[Inseong Cafe]

I hope you will understand that I must begin this review with this challenging word.

This cafe doesn’t have a signature. More precisely, it doesn’t ‘need’ one. Most of the food is signature-level.

Among them, ‘Scent of the Sea’ gave a strange experience as if traveling the endless sea.

Although it is a green tea/black tea blend, the scent contains the salty scent of the fresh sea breeze and the freshness of the sea water. When you take a sip, the waves of the sea dance in your mouth, and the feeling of the sand on the beach gently washing away and melting spreads, giving you a sense of tranquility as if you were walking along the beach.

An incredibly powerful tea that captures the awe of the ocean and the beauty of nature in one sip, calming the mind and transporting body and soul to the sea.

And what’s even more surprising is the ‘Inseong Coffee’. The coffee that gives the café its name uses blended coffee beans and captures the passionate peak of coffee. Its strong and intense aroma is like lava erupting from a volcano, and it wets your mouth with an intense fire flavor. This coffee presents a challenging acidity along with sweetness, and it ends with an intense body and rich cream. When you take a sip, the intense aroma and flavor explode in your moist mouth as if you were thrown into the fire, providing a unique sweetness that is clearly different from other coffees and a rough acidity, and the ending is an exciting aftertaste that is strong and lingers like lava breaking through the horizon.

I assert.

It’s worth visiting Korea just to eat the food at this cafe.>

“This has such good reviews? It’s a little embarrassing.”

“Wow, the reviews are so good… … . Crazy, crazy. Awesome!”

While Sujeong kept saying, “He’s crazy.”

Seon-ah comes to me and offers her heartfelt congratulations.

“Congratulations, boss!”

“Thank you, but it doesn’t feel very real yet.”

I just did the same business in the same place.

It was as if a star suddenly came rolling in one day.

“Now you are being rewarded for all the hard work you have done so far, sir.”

“Effort… … .”

‘In fact, rather than devoting all day to cooking research like other chefs, I did put in a lot of effort and effort into visiting the tower.’

Anyway, isn’t it because of those efforts that we have achieved the current results?!

I smiled brightly at Seon-ah.

“Yes, the effort paid off. And your hard work was also great. Thank you.”

“Oh, no… … .”

Seon-ah blushed and waved her hand.

Soo-Jung, who was standing next to me, quietly joins the conversation.

“More than that, I think we need to study English hard from now on. We’re going to see a lot of foreign guests coming in from now on.”

“Do you get that many foreign guests?”

In response to my question, Soo-Jung makes a V sign with her index and middle fingers.

“It got two stars, right? It was rated as a restaurant worth traveling to because the food was so good, and of course, a lot of foreigners flock here too!”

“……okay?”

‘Well, maybe I should try going to an English academy?’

Of course, since I had completed basic education, I could speak English to some extent.

‘But it’s a bit difficult to speak like a native speaker.’

English language school.

I think it’s something we should seriously consider.

‘But today… … I guess I can enjoy this feeling.’

I smiled as I placed the plastic plate on the window sill where it could be seen clearly from outside.

* * *

Two days later.

‘Worm… … .’

I stuck out my tongue as I looked at the long line of people.

‘The power of Two Stars is truly amazing.’

It’s only been two days since I received the star.

I don’t know where they heard the rumor, but the already long line is now so long that it seems to have no end.