oishiii moment

This twitter comment was my "oishii" moment. 

Let me explain. 

I used to cook professionally. Working in closed kitchens, I haven't had the opportunity to see a guest react or see their faces in anticipation from a dish I cooked. For many, seeing either is one of the best aspects of being a cook.  

I wanted to have that moment. 

There is a Japanese show on Netflix called, "Midnight Diner" that heavily romanticize the cook's interactions with his guests. The show is about a solo chef/owner who runs his small, but open-concept diner that has unusual hours, midnight to sunrise. Surprisingly, every single episode is about the main character who just cooks and listens for his guests. 

One of my favorite episodes is where a lady and her daughter make a visit. The daughter orders a donkatsu (pork cutlet schnitzel). I believe it was that meal; my memory has a very strong bias towards donkatsu. When the daughter saw the dish, she was enthusiastic and said "Oishiii!" Of course, the owner chuckle and blushed in that scene. 

Interestingly when I saw that scene, I heard "Oh *hittt" which made me tilt my head. What kind of nice kid would say such a profound thing in front of their mom in a public area? For a split second, I thought I didn't understand asian culture? However, with my eyes glued to the subtitles, the second time around the daughter said the same thing. She said, "Oishiiii!". Pheww. It was a misunderstanding on my part. 

In Japanese, "oishii" means delicious. In the context of the donkatsu scene, it means "Oh it looks delicious". Oddly enough, if the daughter said "ohh *hitttt!" it would mean the same thing too (depending on the tone) This unusual comparison with the same meaning and similarities in sound is the reason why "oishii" stuck with me. More importantly, experiencing someone else's enthusiasm over something that you created is the "oishii" moment. I guess that's why I stuck around with restaurants even with the pandemic going on. Subconsciously, I wanted my "oishii" moment. 

During my cooking days, I would get "compliments to the chef" from the servers, but never witnessed it with my eyes. Of course, I can choose to believe the servers' words, but its not the same thing. It's not that scene from "Midnight Diner". As I close my chapter from the hospitality industry, I was sure I wouldn't have that moment. But, it was always in the back of my mind. 

Unfortunately, I am a hopeless romantic with my ideals. 

Little did I know, I felt the same closed doors in the kitchen when I write towards the abyss with these blogs. However, sharing blog posts online has no doors. Interactions aren't only enjoyed by the servers. When I shared the Twitter post about the 1000 twitter follower goal, the twitter user "Oishii" had responded in a very positive manner. He/she enjoyed how authentic the article piece was. Those kind words made my day but I couldn't figure out why.

Initially, I didn't want to write another blog post about a twitter reply. I have done that before. Out of all the blog topics that are in my Trello list, I wanted to write about Oishii's positive comment. 

I started to write on the topic and slowly, the thought lingered on me. Twitter User, Oishii's response was ironically my Midnight Diner "Oishii" moment but as a writer. The article is the dish and the guest is the reader. Obviously, I was the cool chef/owner receiving the highest compliments. Clearly, I don't have the owner's stoic ideal towards life. (Note: Maybe in the near future).

For the cooks, writers, and creators out there, I hope you find your "oishii" moment. It is worth the misery you have to endure. 

P.S.

Thank you Twitter User, Oishii. Next time you get excited about a blog post, I think it would be very meta if you commented "Oishii". It would be an inside joke for the loyal readers of the blog posts.