Chapter 138
By the time Nakiri Senzaemon recovered from the flavor, his clothes had somehow slipped from his body, revealing his powerful muscles once again.
Alice’s dish had clearly been impressive enough to trigger his signature clothing burst.
The students in the audience were not especially surprised.
Alice was a member of the Nakiri family and a young genius renowned for molecular gastronomy. Producing a dish capable of stripping Senzaemon’s clothes away was only to be expected.
While the entire arena remained focused on Alice, Haruto lifted his own dish and carried it toward the judging table.
Everyone’s attention quickly shifted.
Instead of arranging his food on an ordinary plate, Haruto had presented it atop a custom-made statue of a Dragon.
The majestic dragon raised its head and swept its tail behind it, every scale and claw rendered in intricate detail.
More than a dozen fist-sized buns were arranged across its back and outstretched talons.
Each bun possessed a brilliant golden surface, almost as though it had been gilded.
They gleamed warmly without appearing greasy.
A wide opening had split across the top of every bun, making each one resemble a face grinning with delight.
A gentle aroma gradually spread through the arena.
The deep fragrance of meat blended perfectly with the warm scent of wheat, immediately awakening everyone’s appetite.
"This is my dish—Golden Laughing Buns. Please enjoy."
Haruto spoke calmly.
The five judges exchanged glances as they studied the cheerful golden buns displayed across the Dragon statue.
"This presentation is certainly unusual. It’s quite creative."
One judge examined the dragon with open admiration.
"Judging by the surface, these appear to be fried buns. Frying them this evenly and beautifully is no easy task."
Another judge leaned closer before reaching for one.
The instant his fingers touched it, however, the bun resting quietly on the dragon statue began to tremble.
A bright, cheerful laugh suddenly came from inside it.
"Hahaha! Hahaha!"
The clear laughter resembled the playful giggling of a child.
The next moment, every bun across the Dragon statue began shaking one after another.
Their laughter rose in overlapping waves, forming a joyful chorus that echoed throughout every corner of the arena.
"W-what is this?!"
The judge who had touched the bun jerked his hand away and stared at it in disbelief.
The other four judges—including the highly experienced Senzaemon—narrowed their eyes in astonishment.
They had spent decades tasting countless dishes, but none of them had ever heard of a bun that could laugh.
The students in the audience sat with their mouths open and eyes wide, their faces filled with a mixture of shock and confusion.
For several moments, the entire Moon Banquet Hall fell silent except for the crisp laughter of the buns.
Senzaemon was the first to recover.
He drew a deep breath, and the astonishment in his eyes gradually gave way to intense interest and approval.
"A bun that laughs... What a wonderfully imaginative idea."
"The path of cooking should never be restrained by convention. A chef must be willing to break established rules."
Even without understanding how the buns produced their laughter, Senzaemon could already say that their creativity surpassed that of most dishes.
Of course, cooking was ultimately judged by flavor.
Senzaemon swept one hand forward.
"Enough. Let us taste them."
The other four judges finally snapped out of their daze.
Suppressing their astonishment, they carefully reached out and each picked up one of the Golden Laughing Buns, which continued producing faint giggles in their hands.
The buns felt pleasantly warm against their fingertips.
Without further hesitation, all five judges bit down.
The instant the crisp outer layer broke, thick meat juices burst out like a fountain and flooded their mouths.
"Hot! Hot, hot!"
The scalding liquid made several judges gasp for air, their brows tightening as the tips of their tongues went numb.
Yet not one of them was willing to spit the bun out.
"It’s incredible! I only bit through a tiny part of the crust, and all that thick, piping-hot meat juice exploded into my mouth!"
One judge spoke indistinctly around the food, his eyes shining with delight.
"The flavor hits the tongue with such overwhelming savoriness that there’s no resisting it!"
"Unbelievable. The juices are so rich, yet the flavor remains clean and refreshing rather than greasy. There’s even a gentle sweetness lingering afterward!"
Another judge closed his eyes and savored it, bliss spreading across his face.
"The outside is fried to perfect crispness, yet the interior remains soft and tender. That crunchy dough paired with the hot, savory filling is a flawless combination!"
"This is unlike any dim sum I’ve ever tasted. It’s delicious and entertaining at the same time!"
The judges’ praise rang throughout the arena.
The clothes Senzaemon had only just put back on slipped away once again, exposing his powerful body to the entire audience.
He paid no attention to them.
Instead, he picked up an untouched Golden Laughing Bun and carefully examined it.
His fingers lightly traced the smiling opening across its surface.
"This split was not created accidentally by the heat of the oil. It was cut into the dough beforehand."
"As the bun expanded during frying, the incision naturally opened."
"However, that should have allowed hot oil to enter through the opening. The juices inside ought to have escaped completely."
"Yet this bun remains overflowing with liquid. Not a trace appears to have been lost."
"How was this achieved?"
With that question in mind, Senzaemon tore the bun apart and exposed its internal structure.
Beneath the golden, crisp dough were tender cubes of beef and translucent glass noodles.
The thick juices had been completely absorbed by the noodles, locking every drop firmly inside the bun.
"Glass noodles!"
Senzaemon’s eyes lit up in realization.
"You used them to absorb the meat juices. They prevent the liquid from escaping while also adding another layer of texture!"
Haruto smiled and offered an additional explanation.
"I soaked the noodles beforehand in the juices released while searing the beef."
"Even if a little liquid escapes during frying, the noodles have already absorbed enough flavor to remain rich and succulent."
The other four judges each tore open a bun to inspect it.
After studying the structure for a moment, one of them suddenly slapped his palm.
"I understand how they laugh!"
"Frying makes the inner surface of the dough crisp, while the bun contains a large hollow space."
"The rising hot air causes the pieces of beef inside to spin around, like the clapper inside a bell. When they strike the shell, they create that clear laughing sound!"
"That isn’t all."
Another judge carefully examined the golden crust.
"A thin, even layer of egg yolk was brushed over the dough before frying."
"At high temperatures, it formed a tight membrane that trapped the hot air inside, forcing it to escape only through the pre-cut opening."
"It gives the bun its golden crispness while also serving as the mechanism that creates the laughter. What extraordinary ingenuity!"
Revealing the secrets behind the Golden Laughing Buns did nothing to diminish their appeal.
If anything, it made the dish seem even more brilliant.
Every detail and every design choice concealed careful thought, blending technical skill and playful creativity into a seamless whole.
"What an entertaining and delicious dish."
Senzaemon raised his head and looked toward Haruto, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
"These Golden Laughing Buns have surprised me tremendously."
"They have also shown me the limitless possibilities possessed by Totsuki’s new generation of chefs."
The judges’ analysis and praise carried clearly through the microphones to every student in the audience.
The students who had initially been stunned by the laughing buns now stared at Haruto with open respect.
Although Haruto had distinguished himself during the preliminaries, many of them had still considered him little more than a fortunate dark horse.
The dish before them changed that completely.
In creativity, technique, and flavor, the Golden Laughing Buns had reached a level far beyond anything most students could hope to reproduce.
They all understood that even after hearing the explanation, their current skills would never allow them to recreate the dish.
That was the undeniable gap between them.
While the audience looked on in admiration, Alice grew increasingly anxious.
She bit her lower lip tightly, her eyes beginning to redden, yet she still clung to one final shred of hope.
Reality, however, was merciless.
Nakiri Senzaemon straightened his clothes and solemnly wrote down the name of the match’s winner.
Suzuki Haruto!