So now I needed food.
Previously I had put virtual pins on all the close by food related locations in my phone's map app.
Yellow pins for places of interest.
Blue pins for visited and acceptable places.
Red pins for "don't bother / not worth it / blehhh / bad service" or any other major negative reason.
Green pins of course for good places.
And then, I decided to use purple pins for where I'm treated like royalty.
The colour purple in the ancient times was always reserved for royalty and such - mainly because it is so difficult to make without modern chemical processes. If I remember correctly, to get purple, brave souls would cook and ferment some sort of shellfish.
From a documentary I once saw about the worst jobs in history, that process reeked worse than a hill of penguin vomit left in the summer heat.
Right now there were mostly still yellow pins.
Three blue pins for the big brand convenience stores I had already visited, and finally two green pins - one for "Kathy's Cafe" of course and the other for "Sam's Min-Mart and Feed Store".
No red or purple pins yet… but the day was still young.
Hm... that was another thing he used to say, isn't it?
Usually in the evenings, ironically…
Hm hmm....
Ah, I had a hankering for Okonomiyaki, Osaka style if possible!
I know, I know, the Hiroshima style has a lot of good points, being made in a lot of yummy layers, and included a layer of noodles, even.
But for me, the batter being mixed with the cabbage, and then the Japanese mayonnaise on top was what brought this horse to the water! So to speak...
And nearby there was the perfect place: "Auntie of Osaka Okonomiyaki Palace!"
The name was a promise - a promise of being my Okonomiyaki "El DOrado"!
A few minutes later I was standing outside my promised land.
The traditional noren1Short curtain-like pieces of fabric, often with the shop name, hung in front of some Japanese shops at head height. If the noren was out, it meant the shop was open. was hung outside - oh good, they were open!
The corner of the pane of noren at the door was dirty.
That could be fake dirt, but the old saying was that a dirty noren meant a shop had a lot of customers, as they would brush the noren aside when entering and exiting, leaving a bit of themselves on the noren behind each time.
Taking a breath and hoping this would be a green pin, I entered.
My first impression: bright, modern, spotless, but still with a touch of "welcome home".
The ceiling was higher than I expected... at a guess, this was a floor and a half high.
Natural light entered from the south facing windows that were running across the whole back wall all the way up.
And the smell... ah that smell!
This was 100% a place where Okonomiyaki magic was made!
It was already past typical lunch hour, but the place was still half full - I estimated 50 guests could easily fit.
A tall and thin man in typical waiter uniform greeted me, and guided me to the Okonomiyaki bar.
As I was alone, that would be the most entertaining spot for me.
The kitchen was half open, with a massive Okonomiyaki grill stretching left and right of me.
My food would be prepared right in front of me, and I could eat it off the grill directly, as was the case in many Okonomiyaki shops.
On the wall above the grill and cooking area was a classic cafe blackboard with the menu...
Well, it SHOULD have had the menu, but instead it had a cartoon character representing "Auntie from Osaka", and just "Okonomiyaki Lunch Set - As You Like It!" and a fixed price.
From experience, the price seemed on the high end, considering it did not mention what was included, nor what sort of Okonomiyaki was on offer.
As I sat there a moment puzzling over the "not really a menu", a vision appeared.
A fluffy-fluffy silver haired Bijou!
In an apron and holding two sparkling clean Okonomiyaki spatulas in one hand.
"Hi! Welcome to Auntie from Osaka! I'm Anna, and I'll be your cook today! Is this your first time here?"
My Okonomiyaki Goddess has appeared!
"Um... ah... yes, yes.... how does this work?"
"You only have to say yes once, you know? Well, we make any sort of Okonomiyaki you want - Osaka to Hiroshima style. Any extras or substitutions possible, as long as we have the ingredients. What were you looking for, today?"
I noticed I was staring at her hair while she talked. Anna had a Japanese face, but with lighter skin colour - I first thought maybe makeup, but her arms were also light in colour.
"Um Osaka style please... and with cheese, if possible?"
"My hair is real, not bleached - mother is from Iceland, but my father and aunt are from Osaka..." Anna pointed with her spatulas at her hair.
"Oh, I'm sorry for staring..."
"No worries - I could ask the same why you have red hair and freckles... but I won't. We do a 3 cheese Okonomiyaki, is that OK?"
"3 cheese would be great - and... my dad was Scottish... my Mom is from Kyoto."
"That makes sense, hehe, we might be related a tiny bit even... 3 cheese it is - cheddar, Gruyere, and mozzarella."
Anna poured out a generous amount of cabbage-batter mixture onto the hot grill as she spoke, and with well practised movements formed it into a large disk.
"Related?"
"Iceland and Scottland were settled by the Danish around the same time... so on one side of our parental units we have a common ground, don't you think that might be possible?"
Anna flipped the cabbage pancake over and then spread again a very generous amount of shredded mixed cheese on it, and spread a thinner layer of cabbage batter over the cheese - "So it won't stick..." she noted.
"Well, I would have thought our Japanese parents..."
"Weird, you'd think so, right? But a recent studied showed that Osaka and Kyoto genetics are way more unrelated than expected2A reference to the Siege of Osaka (1614/1615) when a lot of people form Osaka fled to Kyoto., where-as there are a lot of genetic similarities to Icelandic and Scottish peoples - some studies suggest 80% or genetic matches... Considering how far those two places are, it is amazing in a way..."
Anna flipped the Okonomiyaki again.
The reason we were talking is that Okonomiyaki is in no way "fast food". It takes time to cook properly!
"Standard Osaka topping?"
"Yes please..."
And with that Anna spread the joyous Osaka Okonomiyaki sauce on the top of the golden brown wonder, and expertly made a cute design with Japanese mayonnaise on top. She slid the finished product over to me.
Then she turned around and put some rice into a bowl, and place that next to me, with a small plate of assorted pickles.
"House special - vinegar rice and pickles on the side. Plus your choice of beverage - we are even licensed so have beer on tap..."
"Oh! In that case... your house beer, please!"
"Un, one moment..."
Anna left for a bit and returned with a large glass mug of golden liquid, with just the right amount of foam on top. Condensation drops were starting to form on the outside of the glass, showing the beer to be chilled just the way I liked it.
"Local micro-brew, of course. Not too hoppy, but goes good with this meal. Enjoy!"
With that Anna turned off the grill and went to the back to do whatever chefs do when they are not cooking.
Out of curiosity, I tasted the rice - it was actually the same as used in sushi, with a definite taste of having been cooked with kombu, and then mixed with what is commonly called "sushi vinegar". Usually sushi rice is cooled, but in this case, the rice was still hot.
It was actually very pleasant...
The pickled vegetables included fiddle heads - the tops of young fern leaves - one of my all time favourites. In this case they seemed to be from the zenmai3Or also known as flowering fern, in case you were wondering. fern.
There is not much I can say about my Okonomiyaki other than "cheesy wonderland goodness Oh My I want to eat this forever"!
I was hungry, so even though the portion was a bit bigger than I'd normally order... there was nothing left once I was done.
And at the cash register, I decided the price was very fair for what I got today.
Maybe next time I'll try the Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.
Maybe...
Ugh... I ate too much in the end.
Anyway, time to get back to "The Lost Pyramid of Balza D’Uhm"!
Arranging a few snacks and cans of fruit juice on the computer desk, I logged in.
And I was back at the fire-pit where I had logged out.
Behind me was the "hop and jump" training chasm with the fluffy-fluffy sage bushes at the bottom... and the "embarrassed I did not notice it" stairs on both sides.
In front of me was jungle again.
I walked a few steps in and noticed vines dangling down from the trees.
They registered as "usable" - so I did.
And I found myself hanging from one.
O...K...
Even though the safe jungle path was just below me, looks like this is a "Me, Tarzan" training opportunity - i.e., I could practice swinging from vine to vine, here, in a relative safe manner.
So I did.
Swing... swing... swing... plunk... oops.
Missed that one.
And because I was that sort of stickler, I walked back to the starting point each time I missed a vine - after all, what was the point of just half-heartedly swinging?
If I ever really needed the skill later in the game, I wanted to be sure to have had a really good chance to survive whatever evil trap awaited me!
And then I finally made it all the way to the end of the vines!
Although, I did sort of lose track of the time.
But!
I'M A NEET SO THAT'S OK!
The vines ended at the end of the jungle, and I was greeted with the view of a mud walled hut with tables on the side.
Was that... yeah, there was a camel...
The doorway to the hut was open - just a cloth was hanging in front.
Inside it was dingy, and several players and NPC were sitting around, doing various tavern related things.
"Ah, most honourable future customer! Can I offer you a map to the forgotten treasure of Shnurr En'Auff? Only 1 gold coin, and I am slashing my own throat!"
It was him again, that house merchant that was trying to get me to buy a plot in the tent city outside the pyramid at the starting point.
Or maybe just an in-game standard merchant. Being only the second one I encountered it was too early to say for sure.
"What is the treasure?"
"Ah, most favourable future-customer, I do not know. But legend has it, it is one of a kind! Only one gold, and I am ripping out my own throat at that cost!"
Well, I still had 3 coins... this probably was setup for a real quest, so... why not?
"Ok, I'll take it..."
"Indeed! And I have a tip, most wonderful new customer! You will need a party of at least 3 to find this treasure! I do not doubt your formidable talents, but even for such as you, solo-ing will only end in tears! And I am cutting... oh wait, that does not work in this case, haha!"
So... a party?
I... guess? Why not?
Looking around the tavern, I saw several candidates.
So, how does one do this? Oh yeah, local broadcast... like this?
"Hey fellow adventurers, anyone want to join me in a party? I'm going to go look for the forgotten treasure of Shnurr En'Auff..."
From two different directions came two very different characters.
One one side there was a lithe and tall cat headed individual of indeterminate gender, ten or so golden ear-rings gracing one ear, and a slender curved sabre clipped to their hip.
And on the other side a short an stumpy professor looking fellow with an impressively large moustache was waddling towards me, virtual sweat beading on his brow.
"Oy! You said you are going to search for Shnurr En'Auf?!? How did you get that quest?!? I've been trying for the last 3 days to get a lead! And nothing! Nothing but rumours!" this from the professor.
"I just bought a map off the vendor ... over... oh, he's gone?"
I looked around - the throat obsessed merchant was no-where to be found.
"Mrrrreoau... I hearrrrd that might be one way to get the quest, purrr...."
Srsly?
Cat cliche much?
Sigh.
But it was one impressive cat character, even complete with a swishing tail and now that it was closer, I noticed finely painted silver nails, and eyes the colour of emeralds.
"So you two are interested? Recommended party size is 3 or more..."
"I have nothing to do right meow, so meow is a good time... I am SnaggleMeow."
"Of course! I, Professor Gofhorn Freedledip, am always interested in finding new trea... ah.. new scientific wonders to add to my collection!"
He was going to say treasure. I know he was.
Both seemed to be really into role playing properly, so this was promising to be fun!
"Well, I am Arizona James, and my trusty whip and I are always looking for adventure, so welcome on board!" I said.
Ah, click here to start the party procedure... and then, here... and...
Boop!
We now are a party of 3, ready to go search for trea... amazing adventures!
