Golden | Countryhumans ASEAN

『🔟』:: food and fireworks

You're the reason why I still keep trying.

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"THREE MINUTES! Be sure to plate your food NOW!"

The announcer, Thailand, called out through the microphone in the dark.

The 2 contestants were in a rush in terms of placing their product on the plate. Brunei in one corner preparing what-so-looks-like curry and Laos in the other corner preparing a noodle soup.

The clock ticks as fast as ever, the audience in the dark has been staring at the suspense for quite a while. It was interesting to see them prepare and organize the plating, and noticing how careful they are in just putting the food on the plate.

The EU, ASEAN, and Canada was staring from the judging table, alongside Thailand who wasn't really part of this whole thing. She wanted to join, but she'd think it was really unfair-everyone in the organization adored her cooking. At the same time, she hated judging.

The clock ticks, one minute left. The atmosphere has suddenly became louder. Cambodia and Vietnam cheering for Laos repeatedly. Timor Leste was being dragged by Papua to not go wonder on his own completely. Singapore was dead silent, concentrating on a remote he was holding onto for later. Malaysia and Myanmar were just straight up worried and had a lot of anxiety. The Filipino wasn't to be seen, so assumingly he went to the restroom. Indonesia wasn't really paying that hard attention.

The timer stops, and the bell rang thrice. It was over. Both of their plates were on the table, and everyone in the audience (apart from Phil since nobody really knows where he went) gave a round of applause. The lights were out again, only this time a number of drone lights has been spread across the area, shining brightly, looking like a bunch of fireflies has entered the area. One of them fell on the audience seat though, near Myanmar, but there wasn't any major catastrophe.

"So it's, done!" Thailand stated, while walking around the area. "Now tell us, what did you prepare for this evening, Brunei?"

"Uhh- Okay! This is Pajeri Nenas—Pinapple Curry in English! This is actually a dish taken from one of my closest relatives, and consists of pineapple and coconut milk, served with rice," Brunei stated loudly. Malaysia's eyes lit up with glee in the audience seat, as he knew that she took it from him.

Canada stated, "I didn't know curries can be not-meat related. This feels interesting."

The European Union stopped. "I'm so sorry, but you didn't know that?!"

"I'm not Asian, but how did you know?" he replied. EU was left to huff, while the other judge just laughed it off.

ASEAN excitedly grabbed onto the plate and took a slice of pineapple. He investigated the sauce and took a bite. Noticing the little flavor it had added, he commented. "Did you add a little more seasoning? This feels a little more pepper-ry compared to the one I'm used to."

Brunei has started to become nervous and nodded. The organization just responded with a sweet "hm" and eventually passed on.

A couple of minutes later, it was Laos who proceeded to introduce his own dish, quite nervous than usual—ASEAN hasn't really seen Laos this emotive before. Probably because the last time he saw him cook, he burned a kitchen.

"This is something I- I haven't cooked in years. This is Khao Poon, a spicy rice soup. I don't really have anything else to say."

The Asian organization just smiled in response. The European Union muttered, "I hate spicy foods." The table was left in laughter.