Chapter 265: Chapter 240 – Trying Local Cuisines

"Eateries, inns, whorehouses, all generally cater more to travelers than to locals. They lure in tired locals who just arrived from their travels to spend their money on comforts and luxury, on pleasure and fulfillment. These places remain a staple of more economies, barring isolated places that see no travelers." - Garth Wainwrought, Dean of the Levain Institute for Higher Learning, formerly professor of Socioeconomics.

"Come, come! I insist! It's the least I could do to repay yer generosity!" Said Helgr as he counted the contents of the pouch in his hand with glittering eyes. Cal and her party had been quite generous in sharing the beasts they had killed along the way, which resulted in quite a bit of extra income for the adventurers.

 

They themselves had quite a windfall - for the students at least, who were not that well-to-do - from the plumes, pelts, and other items they sold. The meats they mostly kept for their own consumption, and other than some plumes they kept as souvenirs or gifts they sold off the rest.

 

Helgr had insisted to treat them at a local eatery he vouched for, supposedly one of the best places in town, and Cal's party had followed along. They walked deeper into the town, towards the wooden platform built over the confluence of the river, and there they found the eatery Helgr mentioned.

 

It was a large two story building, situated near the middle of the platform itself. Heavily crowded, with the cooks busying themselves over grills, woks, and large cylindrical clay ovens all the time.

 

Helgr had gone in and flicked his tag towards the nearest waiter, who bowed and returned it, before leading them towards the second floor. Unlike the first floor, which was crowded to the brim, the second was only half full or so, with most of the people there dressed like adventurers or mercenaries.

 

Apparently the second floor are reserved for guards, adventurers, and mercenaries, anyone who had contributed to the city's safety and prosperity with their lives on the line, pretty much.

 

Before long appetizers were brought to their table, as Helgr had rattled off a long list of orders to the waiter that brought them upstairs along the way. A massive platter of fritters was placed in the center of the large table their group occupied, with a ring of small bowls containing dipping sauces around it.

 

Every sort of food was battered and fried in the mixed pile. Onions and other vegetables, fingers of fish and succulent river clams, strips of meats, cut thin and tenderized, even to things like mashed tubers and cheese-filled balls of rice.

 

The various dipping sauces, which varied from ones so spicy it burned the tongue, to ones which had a cooling sensation instead, tangy flavors meant to draw out the flavor of the food, to rich concoctions to further complement it, every sort was presented, and the diners happily tried all the combinations presented before them.

 

By the time they were finished with the appetizer and licked their lips, the waiters and waitresses returned. This time with various main dishes in their hands, which they deftly arranged on the table.

 

Meat and poultry were thickly slathered with spice, then baked in the large cylindrical clay ovens Cal saw on her way in until they were so tender they fell off the bones once lifted. The strong flavor and aroma of the spices removed the less desirable qualities of the meats, and just made them into morsels of pure succulence to be feasted upon.

 

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Fresh fish, just caught hours ago from the abundant rivers that flowed through the town, was steamed whole, and served with hot, spiced oil poured onto it after its flesh was scored with a knife. The resulting mixture of fresh, clean flavors mixed with the spiced oils proved delightful to say the least.

 

Other kinds of river fish were cleaned and chopped into chunks, then cooked together with crayfish, river clams, and snails, into a thick, clear soup spiced heavily with peppers. The spiciness helped draw out the taste from the fresh ingredients, and made one wish to eat more and more of it.

 

Chunks of local cheese were cooked in a thick stew of various kinds of vegetables mashed together to a paste, liberally doused with spices, and mixed with a very liberal amount of good, clarified butter. It was served with soft, fluffy, chewy flatbread that also smelled strongly of butter.

 

That dish proved to be one of extreme richness, as the rich flavor of the good quality butter used dominated, with the other flavors accenting it, yet it was not the sort of richness that felt too much to stomach even so.

 

Whole jugs of spiced milk tea, fruit juices cooled with ice, and a drink which tasted like someone directly turned milk and fruit to ice and then finely crushed it were there to wash down the copious amounts of food. Also present were bottles of liquor that smelled strongly of coconuts, supposedly made from coconut water, which had a refreshing taste, especially when drunk cold.

 

The dessert that followed were served in large bowls, for the diners to scoop into their own, smaller bowls and eat with the provided spoons. Both of them smelled sweet and rich, the scent of milk dominating the aroma.

 

One was an odd sort of thin porridge-like dish, where thin, hairlike strands of noodles made from rice flour and bean flour were stewed in a mixture of milk, butter, sugar, and dried fruit until it absorbed most of the liquids. It tasted rich and fruity, with a pleasant chewy texture from the bean noodles, and the various dried fruits to keep every scoop varied.

 

The other was a pile of small, plump dumplings, which was made of fresh cheese and flour, and then cooked in a sugar syrup until the syrup had thoroughly seeped in. They were soft yet chewy, almost toothachingly sweet, yet with the tangy savoriness of cheese to undercut the sweetness, one of the tastiest things Cal had tried in her travels.

 

That she devoured four bowls of it was proof enough of how much she liked it. The rest of the group clearly agreed, as they left only two empty bowls for the waiters to clean up.

 

Satisfied and with full bellies, they reclined back in their seats as they nursed their drinks. More than a few of the group burped loudly in satisfaction at the excellent meal.

 

It was definitely a treat worth remembering.

 

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