Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 44. Luxurious Chinese Cuisine
Feeling mentally exhausted from all the things that have happened, I want to eat something delicious to recover.
My body is really craving calories.
In all honesty, I think I should plan my 1,000-yen repeat purchases carefully. But I also believe it’s not good to be too strict about it.
Even in Japan, the daily price hikes are so intense that when I’m shopping at the supermarket, I get depressed just calculating the costs. Sometimes I just want to indulge in some tasty convenience store sweets. Though those are also getting more expensive…
So, right now, I really want to eat ramen! I want junk food and a ton of calories.
Speaking of ramen,
Our university’s cafeteria had a specialty menu item.
“Luxurious Chinese Cuisine,” or simply known as “Gō-chū” for short.
It was a ramen that was unthinkable for a girls’ college—massive and overflowing.
The noodles were 1.5 times the size of regular ramen, but depending on the mood of the cafeteria lady or the inconsistency in how the noodles are divided, they can sometimes swell up to 1.8 times the size.
Perhaps for the sake of the students, the bowl is topped with extra bean sprouts, plenty of green onions, roasted pork fillets, fish cakes, bamboo shoots, and corn.
And, on top of that, two large fried chicken pieces—sometimes three—making it a truly hefty menu.
All this for just 300 yen.
Because it was so cheap, I ate it a lot. I ate so much, it almost like I was having it for lunch every day. Despite being an all- girls’ college, this dish was unshakably the most popular menu item—really, what was up with us?
There was always a line at lunchtime, and it was crazy long. I think there was a special lane just for this luxurious Chinese cuisine. The cafeteria ladies managing that line were absolutely amazing.
My body was built on Gō-chū.
That’s just to say, it’s a dish I remember eating so much.
I can’t have it anymore—well, maybe it’s still being served occasionally in the school cafeteria—but basically, I can’t eat that taste again.
Reminiscing made me crave it so badly that I prepared a bowl and bought it again with my 1,000-yen repeat.
A voluminous ramen that almost overflows from the bowl—
The noodles, boiled rather roughly and thrown in messily, weren’t perfectly separated and sometimes clumped together in some places. It wasn’t as neatly presented as in a ramen shop—but honestly, that didn’t matter.
I randomly chose it from my long purchase history, and it looks like it was the version with three pieces of fried chicken on top.
The crispy chicken skin looked delicious. Usually, there are two big pieces of fried chicken, but when the cafeteria lady thought they were a bit too small, she added a third.
It’s the ramen I ate while chatting with my friends at the school cafeteria when I was a student.
The oil from the fried chicken and the ramen broth combined for a pretty rich, greasy flavor.
And yet, for some reason, it’s so deliciously magical that I devour it in one go.
I eat eagerly, slurping down the soup.
Since there’s no ladle spoon that comes with it, I pick out the corn that had sunk to the bottom with chopsticks, one grain at a time.
I have this urge to cleanly eat all the tiny noodle bits, green onion pieces, and everything else.
I also really like poking the oil on the surface with chopsticks to break it into large chunks. It’s fun to stick chopsticks in the oil and sometimes it creates something like a little mini oil pool, which is also amusing.
I know I shouldn’t be playing with my food, but I guess everyone has their own little food manners or habits.
Although I know that grilled fish should generally be placed with the head on the left, I find it easier to eat if it’s facing right, so I turn it over when I eat with friends.
My friend was incredibly skilled at eating curry, devising strategies to conquer the rice and roux. I always thought it was amazing how their plate was perfectly wiped clean of rice when they were done eating.
I was amazed the first time I saw some children skillfully eating chicken wings with chopsticks without getting their hands dirty.
Nostalgic foods bring back fond memories. I remember watching the cherry blossoms falling like snow from my seat in the cafeteria through the window.
It’s great to be able to buy things with 1,000 yen repeat, and eat things that I would never be able to eat again at the price they were at back then.
Not only does my stomach feel satisfied, but I also feel fulfilled in many ways. The drowsiness after a full belly is strong…
I should take a short nap.
Even if someone tells me I’ll turn into a cow, I can’t resist the tempting pull of this wonderful sleepiness.
I think everyone has that special ramen that they remember fondly.