[A Sip of a Book] I Don’t Like That Food: "No, Please Leave That Out"

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly reach the reader’s heart, creating a connection with the book. We present meaningful sentences excerpted from books. - Editor’s note

In the seventeenth installment of the Dding series, 22 writers gathered not with the desire to “share what they like,” but with the desire to “share what they dislike.” All of them are authors who have published or are scheduled to publish books about favorite foods in the Dding series mentioned earlier. The theme that brought together writers who have brightened their eyes and raised their voices when talking about favorite foods is none other than “disliked foods.” The title comes from the phrase people say when ordering at a restaurant if they dislike certain ingredients like coriander or cucumber: “No, please leave that out.”

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The feeling I get when I put overly sweet food in my mouth is discomfort. My appetite drops sharply. To fill my stomach with this?what a waste of calories. I could fill up with something much tastier. It seems my brain recognizes deliciousness only if the taste is somewhat salty, sour, umami, or spicy. Since many people like sweets and there are so many visually beautiful and stylish desserts, I tried several times, but after one bite each time, I had to wave the white flag of surrender. - Kim Gyeoul, from “Not Sweet and Salty, but Salty and Salty”

Dororo. I dislike the taste of mint chocolate. The heavy and rich concentration of chocolate does not go well at all with mint. Chocolate is a taste you savor alone, like humming with your lips tightly closed. On the other hand, mint is like a whistle you make by puckering your lips and blowing air. Whistling mint pairs well with light, pale, and transparent concentrations?like mint candy, mint gum, or mint tea. Heavy, rich chocolate that you savor alone like humming, combined with whistling mint? Whew, what a reckless flavor that lets the air leak out. - Gosuri, from “Firmly, with Regret”

How do I get to the year-end party venue now? First, I have to call a taxi to get to a nearby big city, then take a bus to Lisbon, transfer to a bus to the airport in Lisbon, fly from Lisbon Airport to a major European city, transfer to another plane to Incheon, and then take an airport bus again.

The conclusion? Even if the Earth split in half, I cannot attend the year-end party this year. Absolutely cannot. I laughed out loud. I succeeded again this year. I escaped safely again this year. From the year-end party. - Kim Mincheol, from “Do You Know How to Build Shyness?”

Disliked Foods: No, Please Leave That Out | Kim Gyeoul et al. | Semicolon | 272 pages | 14,200 KRW

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