150 Grams to Walk Home

I took the bus to a nearby computer shop to attend an AI utilization circle. While I was there, I also had them look at my computer, which had been bothering me for a while. After talking plenty about AI at the circle and consulting about my computer, I left the shop to find that it was well past lunchtime.

There is a CoCo Ichibanya inside the nearby MrMax. You don't need a reason to be drawn into that yellow sign.

I ordered a pork cutlet curry with a soft-boiled egg topping. And 150 grams of rice.

Looking at the plate that was brought to me, I was first taken aback. Because there was so little rice, the sea of curry sauce was vast. More than half the plate was brown. On top of that, the cutlet lay in a row. The top half remained the orange color of freshly fried food, while the bottom half was already submerged in the sauce, its color deepened. Within a single cutlet, a dry season and a rainy season coexisted.

And the soft-boiled egg wasn't on the plate. It came in a small white bowl, sitting all by itself next to the main dish. With its smooth skin, it had an innocent look, as if it didn't know anything yet. It seemed the timing of when to add it was left up to me.

First, I took a bite of the cutlet. I ate the side that was submerged. The breading was already soft, and the sweetness of the pork fat came through along with the sauce. 'Good,' I thought. I couldn't wait any longer. After just one bite, I moved the egg from the small bowl to the center of the plate.

A white island formed in the sea of sauce. When I pressed it with the back of my spoon, the yolk slowly tilted. A single yellow streak ran through the brown. This moment, right before mixing, is the most beautiful.

From there on, it was a world with egg. The sharp edges of the spice were rounded off, and the whole dish leaned toward something gentler. When I ate the dry side of the cutlet, it still made a crunching sound. Even though it was the same cutlet, it was a different food in my mouth.

The battle with 150 grams of rice is quick. There is no 'second half' where you have to calculate the ratio of rice to sauce. Before I knew it, only a little bit of sauce remained on the plate. The honest conclusion of 150 grams of rice.

I walked home. Even though I had taken the bus to get there. Usually, my body feels heavy after curry. But on this day, I felt like I could walk. If you asked me if it was enough, it probably wasn't. That slight sense of wanting more made my steps toward home feel lighter. Perhaps 150 grams was the perfect amount to walk home.

There will be another circle meeting. And my computer will probably have something else that bothers me again. Every time that happens, I will stop by here. Next time, too, I will hold back for just one bite before adding the egg.

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