( amami will pause in his own progress through the meal, when meng yao speaks up, and though his smile is bright and warm, he's still a bit embarrassed all the same at the praise. )

Well, I try — glad if I could live up to your expectations.

( after he went and built them up so high! but his eyes do brighten at that question — it's a bit of an opportunity, after all, and it can be fun talking about the places he's been. )

Where I come from, we've got a place called Lanling too. It's pretty different, but the culture still feels pretty close, so this has kinda felt like a trip through time.

( kinda — he can't really say "yeah this is the past," because maybe if they had awesome flying swords and cultivation they wouldn't have needed to come up with airplanes, but there is a pretty undeniable sense of similarity to the vibe those period stories he's seen have had. as for the matter of the actual food though, it's natural that it'd lead right back to that lie he'd shared before. )

Anyway, I picked up the rest of these recipes while traveling in that area back home. Thought it might be nice if they turned out to match what you're more used to.