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"Ahhhh, they have seafood scallopini with a Japanese flair! I'm definitely getting that. Oooh, flounder, scallops, shrimp, and a yuzu-butter sauce... that sounds yummy!"

Ten looked at his friend and colleague, Sicheng, over the top of his menu, with a wry smile. "You go right ahead and enjoy yourself. Tell me how it is, though."

He skimmed the menu; the offering list was relatively small - unsurprising for a new restaurant of this size - but everything looked good. Most of it was familiar with a unique twist here and there - such as Sicheng's Japanese scallopini - but towards the bottom of the menu, his gaze fell on the item "Chef's Special."

That was it; just a name and a price. He raised an eyebrow.

Most such offerings had some sort of description - offerings of that day's catch or the freshest seafood on the market or see the server for details - but not this.

"Wonder what the 'Chef's Special' is." He held out his menu, and Sicheng shrugged.

"If you're curious, try it. Duh."

Ten made a face at him, and he laughed. The two had been friends since high school - they'd dated for a couple of years, but it just hadn't worked out - but both of them had gone into the music and entertainment business and now they worked together at the same agency.

Sicheng was in the middle of transitioning from a dancing career to a modeling career of his own; Ten was a songwriter and dancer, and he'd been responsible for more than a few of Sicheng's hits. T

hey made it a habit of going out for lunch any time they were both in the practice rooms, since they were usually both so busy otherwise - well, Sicheng was busier than Ten, but the fact still held - and when a new restaurant had opened on the next block over, of course, they'd made plans to try it.

It was a rather busy day; nearly every table in the restaurant was full, although as there were only ten or so tables, with a handful of seats at the bar, that didn't mean too much.

As Ten looked around, the waiter walked up. "Do you have any questions?" Ten, nodding, held up the menu. "What's the Chef's Special?"

"Exactly what it says." The waiter gave an oblique smile. "The chef will make a meal of her choosing."

"So... it could be anything?" The silver-haired's sense of adventure was piqued. When the waiter nodded, he grinned. "Sure, then. I'll get that."

"Do you have any allergies or extreme food dislikes?"

"He's allergic to tofu and he really doesn't like fish." Sicheng giggled, and Ten nodded in agreement. The waiter made a note, and Sicheng pointed to her menu. "I, on the other hand, love seafood! I'm getting the seafood scallopini, and a glass of white wine."

"And I'll take whatever wine pairs with the food I get." Ten handed their menus to the waiter, who nodded and hurried off.

- - - - - -

Their food was a little slow in coming, but they'd had worse waits and neither of them were in a hurry, so it wasn't an issue.

Eventually, the waiter carried out a tray from which wafted the most amazing smells - Sicheng's scallopini was a mound of fresh seafood, mushrooms, pasta, and golden yuzu butter - and with a small flourish, the waiter set a covered dish in front of Ten, who watched with anticipation.

"Butternut-squash ravioli, spaghetti squash sauteed in peppercorn brown butter, and fresh semolina angel hair pasta with a pumpkin seed, basil, and sage pesto topped with fresh parmesan and Reggiano cheese. Does it meet your satisfaction?"

Ten's eyes were already shining. "It looks amazing." He grabbed a fork, cutting open one of the ravioli to take a bite. "It tastes amazing! My compliments to the chef."

The waiter smiled a little. "Of course. Once you've finished the meal, would you be willing to give your full opinion on the dish, as well as any changes you'd make or ingredients you would have preferred?"

The silver-haired raised an eyebrow at this but nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Thank you."

When the waiter walked away with the tray, Sicheng looked over at Ten. "I guess if these are from-scratch dishes, the chef probably wants feedback."

"Yeah, I mean, I understand it," Ten was already digging in; the food really was amazing, and it paired perfectly with the wine they were served. "How's yours?"

"Really good! Really unique. I mean, I wouldn't say it's the best dish I've ever eaten but it's a really interesting swap and tastes great - they got all the flavor changes right."

Ten nodded. He might actually say this was one of the best dishes he'd ever eaten, but he did his best to be objective.

Still, it was a joy to eat, and when the waiter came back to bring their plates and their cheque - which Sicheng yanked away before he could get to it, as that was one of their continual 'arguments' - Ten nodded.

"I guess if I have to say anything other than it was really fucking good, I'd say that the sage was more pronounced in the pesto than I would have expected, and I think that more garlic - perhaps in the peppercorn brown butter - would have been great. Really, though, it didn't suffer from either of those things and I'd gladly eat it again."

As he spoke, the waiter scribbled down his comments, then nodded with a smile. "Thank you, and thank you for eating at New Culture's. (It's Neo Culture Technology!) We hope to see you again soon!"

- - - - - -

While Ten wouldn't say he was a foodie, he'd definitely say he liked good food; the memory of that meal stuck with him, and a few days later he found himself looking up at the clock, mid-afternoon, having been so engrossed in his work that he'd forgotten about lunch.

The meal from New Culture's immediately flashed through his mind, and he sighed.

Doubt they're open between lunch and dinner, and-

He was already checking the internet; surprisingly enough, they were open, so he hummed a satisfied tune as he grabbed his jacket and scarf, setting out for the restaurant. It was only a five minute walk - ten minutes, if you counted getting through his office building - and when he walked in he was unsurprised to see that there were no other customers.

A guy - with red hair, of all things, which was unusual in itself - was measuring some stuff out of bottles behind the bar, but he was the only person in the place. He looked up when Ten walked in, his expression a little surprised, but he smiled and nodded.

"Hello, welcome to New Culture's. I'll be right with you."

"Yeah, take your time." Ten smiled, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

The waiter - or bartender, or whatever he was - just nodded, capped whatever he was pouring, and set it on the corner of the bar before wiping his hands and walking over.

It gave Ten enough time to notice that he was tall - several inches taller than him, - and he walked with a comfortable gait that was certainly easy on the eyes. When he got to Ten, he smiled, taking up a menu, and gestured to a small nook with a few hooks and a coat rack.

"Would you like to hang your coat and scarf?"

"Sure, thanks," Ten quickly divested himself of the indicated articles of clothing, tugging his sleeves back down to cover his wrists; the waiter waited patiently as he did.

"Do you have a table preference?"

"Hmmm," Ten looked around the room. "I'll take the window table, do a little people-watching."

"Of course," The waiter led him over and then left Ten with the menu as he walked off to fetch a water pitcher.

Ten skimmed the menu, but although the offerings were different, he found himself musing over the 'Chef's Special' again. When the waiter walked back over and started to fill his water glass, the silver-haired looked up.

"The Chef's Special - it's something different every time, right?"

"Hmm? It is," The waiter's gaze sharpened for a moment. The waiter just shook his head, as if to clear it, then nodded. "You've had it, then?"

"Yeah, it was, uh, butternut squash ravioli with-"

"-spaghetti squash, angel hair pasta, and pumpkin-seed pesto. I remember. You said that a little less sage and a little more garlic might be good."

Ten blinked at this but nodded. "Yeah. You weren't my waiter, then, though-?"

"No, but I remember the Chef's Specials. We keep a list of all the suggestions made for future improvements."

Ten raised an eyebrow. "The chef sounds like something. She's certainly got a lot of talent, or she spent a long time in school or something."

An odd look flickered across the waiter's face and he merely nodded. "Our chef has a culinary degree and several certifications, yes. I'll make sure to pass along the compliments. Have you decided on an order?"

"I'll have the Chef's Special again," Ten smiled, handing over the menu. "And some sort of non-alcoholic drink to go with it, I'll trust you or the chef or whoever to put it together."

"Mmm. Right away," The waiter looked as if he was lost in thought as he walked away from the table.

Ten raised an eyebrow at this but just sat back, propping his chin on his hand, elbow on the chair arm as he watched people walk by on the sidewalk.

After a while, the waiter brought him a cup of tea; it smelled fragrant and herbal. "A starter for the meal," he said, smiling.

Ten noticed that it was a really nice smile, and he just returned it with a nod and smile of his own.

"Especially considering the cold weather. Blackberry and holy basil." The waiter gestured to a container on the table. "You can add sugar if you'd like it; I don't recommend cream."

"Smells great, thanks," Ten was already reaching for the sugar; the waiter just nodded and walked off, disappearing back into the kitchen.

The meal this time was a little less of a wait, but considering that Ten was the only person in the restaurant, it wasn't surprising.

Finally, the waiter returned, holding a tray; on it was a glass of something golden and a plate of what looked like chicken and fruit; as it was placed before him, Ten chuckled at the lack of covering.

"Not going to make a presentation of it this time?" The waiter paused for a moment, looking a little uncertain as his gaze flickered to Ten's face; the silver-haired just smiled at him. "It was a joke, sorry."

"Ah, my apologies," The man rubbed the back of his neck, then gestured. "Chicken with sautéd mushrooms and figs in a honey-balsamic reduction over baked brie with artichokes and asparagus. The drink is hot lemonade with lavender and thyme."

Ten just stared at the plate. "Wow!"

"Does it meet your satisfaction?"

"Uh, definitely," Ten took a bite of pear and brie, then grinned up at the waiter. "I'll tell you if there are any issues but go ahead and tell the chef that it's amazing."

A small smile flickered at the corner of the red-haired man's mouth, and he nodded. "I will, thank you."

Not Edited

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

This story is only going to be like 6 chapters long!

Song Recommendation:

"The 7th Sense" by NCT U