Chapter 20
Even though the three dishes presented before Erina and Alice were visually stunning, the portions were quite small. Because of this, Erina and Alice could only choose one dish each for themselves, while the remaining third dish was split right down the middle!
Erina was the first to taste the dish titled "Low-Temperature Slow-Cooked Longjing Tea Scented Salmon with Lobster Bisque, Spinach Jelly, and Strawberry Coconut Fog."
Resting atop the rectangular cut of salmon were tiny, spherical droplets of Matcha cream, no larger than sesame seeds, dotting the fish like emerald jewels. Pink strawberry essence had been transformed into a delicate gel, draped elegantly over the arrangement.
Mineo-kun's cooking... it really is beautiful!
Erina praised him sincerely in her heart. She picked up her cutlery, pinned a small piece of the dish, and brought it to her petite lips.
The moment it touched her tongue, a faint, cool sensation greeted her. A split second later, an indescribable explosion of freshness erupted within her mouth!
A rich, fragrant aroma of Longjing tea echoed between her teeth. The sweet and savory touch of the scattered cream felt like nothing short of a divine caress.
Erina closed her beautiful eyes, savoring every nuance of the flavor with absolute focus.
But a second later, the savory aroma of the dish transformed into a rolling wave, surging through her palate!
No words could accurately describe the sheer power of this culinary impact. Erina could feel it clearly—at this moment, her God's Tongue was instinctively broadcasting signals of pure joy and celebration!
Bypassing her brain's rational thought, her tongue reacted violently and uncontrollably.
A soft moan escaped Erina's small, red lips. The powerful strike of the dish's deliciousness, guided by her body's gustatory nerves, seeped directly into her bloodstream.
That deliciousness flowed with her blood to every corner of her body! It felt as if every part of her was receiving perfect nourishment at this very moment.
Even with her eyes closed, Erina could feel every cell in her body radiating instinctive happiness.
Is this... is this Mineo-kun's cooking?
Is this... the ultimate end of deliciousness?
The impact continued to resonate. Even after she finished the bite, the echoes of the flavor refused to fade from her mind.
At this moment, Erina felt as if she were standing in the middle of a vast, breathtaking landscape—endless tea plantations, with a faint, natural fragrance lingering in the air.
This feeling... it was truly, wonderfully beautiful!
H-how can there be food this delicious!!
Erina's heart rate quickened, and her breathing began to turn shallow and ragged.
Of course, she wasn't the only one completely moved and submerged by the dish.
Erina's cousin, Alice, was showing an even more exaggerated expression!
The dish Alice was tasting was the "South Sea Deep Sea Salad." The most unbelievable part was that this salad had been crafted to resemble a fortress. At a glance, it looked like a dream castle where a princess from a fairy tale might reside.
At the peak of the fortress sat a curved roof made of translucent green deep-sea fruit gel. Beneath that covering was a vegetable aspic, meticulously layered with mandarin orange segments and succulent crab meat.
The entire dish looked like a work of art—part fortress, part vegetable aspic. It was incredibly tempting.
Alice used her knife and fork to part the dish. The next second, she began her tasting in earnest.
The moment the food entered her mouth, the chilled aspic began to melt slowly against her tongue, warmed by her body heat. The savory broth took only a single second to completely conquer Alice's senses.
"Oh my god... the flavor of this dish is absolutely perfect!"
"With every ingredient, Mineo-kun has somehow managed to extract the amino acids representing the elements of deliciousness with total perfection!"
"The texture is springy, fresh, and melts instantly in the mouth!"
"This savory liquid is like a river that never stops flowing!"
"This is the highest level of 'Cryogenic Partitioning' in Molecular Gastronomy!"
"To look past the essence of the ingredients and directly process the flavor elements within..."
"Has Mineo-kun's mastery of Molecular Gastronomy really reached such a height?"
"I... I find it truly hard to believe!"
"I-I can't hold back anymore, I have to have another bite!"
Faced with a dish that had reached the pinnacle of taste, Alice seemed to have nothing left but her deepest, most primal instincts for desire. She enjoyed the deliciousness before her, bite after greedy bite.
The tenderness radiating from the dozens of ingredients felt like a beautiful musical composition playing in her mind. This sensation was so captivating that it was nearly impossible to pull oneself away.
After five minutes had passed, the turmoil in Alice and Erina's hearts finally began to settle, if only slightly.
Alice turned to Erina, her face remarkably serious.
"Erina!"
"From now on, Mineo-kun is mine!"
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