Chapter 878 - Yuan Zhou Holds Steady

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Yuan Zhou’s knowledge about the Soft-fried Banzhi was mainly based on the information he had looked up and Chang Dai Chien’s life provided by the system.

Therefore, he was quite clear about this dish. Nevertheless, he had never tasted it before.

The Soft-fried Banzhi was golden red in color. At the side, there were fresh and green lettuces stacked neatly along with a small plate of dipping sauce.

This dish could either be eaten directly with chopsticks or be wrapped in the lettuces and then eaten with the dipping sauce.

Banzhi was actually the end of a pig intestine. A pig naturally had only one intestine end. It was cut into rhombus. Though it had been deep-fried in oil, it wasn’t really rigid. When picked up between the chopsticks, it even felt a little soft.

“It does look like Banzhi.” Yuan Zhou looked carefully at it and then said affirmatively.

Then, he straightforwardly stuffed it into his mouth and began to chew.

The intestine end was essentially a kind of chewy food with good tenacity, but this one was different. As soon as it entered the mouth, Yuan Zhou could feel the crisp surface and then the soft intestine end inside.

“Ca Ca”. Once he bit it open, it emitted a blast of exotic fragrance from the inside. The taste was completely different from that of pork. It was actually a kind of indescribable taste, but still attracted him to chew it on and on.

The intestine end was overcooked and tasted quite soft because it had been steamed beforehand. Plus, with the brown and crisp surface, it tasted good.

Yuan Zhou gulped down a mouthful of Soft-fried Banzhi and then drank three mouthfuls of warm water continuously in order to rinse the mouth.

Only then did he pick up another piece of Soft-fried Banzhi. This time, he first dipped the intestine end in the dipping sauce at the side and then picked up a piece of lettuce to wrap it up.

After that, Yuan Zhou folded the lettuce into a small cube with the chopsticks and then stuffed it into his mouth. He used the chopsticks all along and didn’t use his hands at all.

This time, there appeared much more different tastes in the Soft-fried Banzhi. First the freshness of the lettuce, then the crispness of the brown surface, then the sweetness and sourness of the dipping sauce, and last, the exotic fragrance of the intestine end inside.

“Fragrant, crisp, scorched, soft, sticky, and delicious,” Yuan Zhou tasted it carefully, “This dish could be considered a top-grade dish.”

Yuan Zhou always commented on the dishes by means of scores between 1-10 and different levels, high, medium and low. Anyhow, he gave this dish a very high comment. Cao Zhishu was absolutely a capable chef.

In Yuan Zhou’s eyes, this Soft-fried Banzhi was undoubtedly very successful. It blended all the tastes together.

There were a total of five pieces of the Soft-fried Banzhi and lettuces. The dish was exquisite but served up with a small amount. It was just like the French dish Yuan Zhou had once eaten. He ate one blissfully at a time.

Therefore, this dish was finished very soon. At this time, the waiter, who had appeared and disappeared mysteriously, served up another new dish again.

As usual, Yuan Zhou commented on the dish earnestly in his heart. The following two consecutive dishes were both exquisite in design but had only a small amount.

Under the condition that Yuan Zhou could eat more, the dishes were made as simple but delicious as possible. Besides that, Yuan Zhou had also been used to the waiter’s timeliness.

The pace could basically guarantee Yuan Zhou eating up the previous dish and drinking a mouthful of water before a new dish was served up. Everything was satisfactory except for some little defects in the side dishes.

While Yuan Zhou was eating blissfully in the room with the expression on his face basically unchanged, Cao Zhishu, that had been observing him in the kitchen, felt at A loss.

“Despite his young age, Head Chef Yuan appears to be rather steady. He has not given any expression from the beginning until now.” Cao Zhishu stroked his own bald head with puzzlement.

As a matter of fact, Cao Zhishu didn’t know that Yuan Zhou wasn’t that steadfast. It was purely the effects of him pretending to be aloof all along.

“Head chef.”

While Cao Zhishu was still guessing, Little Zhao got close to him. On hearing that, he immediately opened his mouth.

Little Zhao was once the sous-chef of the three-star hotel where Yuan Zhou had worked. He naturally knew it was Yuan Zhou who came for the exchange today.

He waited impatiently at the side to see if this Yuan Zhou was really the one he knew.

Even if he had already seen the reports and photos of Yuan Zhou, he was still unwilling to believe that.

In this impression, Yuan Zhou was nothing but a kitchen hand in the hotel kitchen. How could he suddenly became so capable and well-known in the cooking circle?

Even if he made progress like a rocket, it couldn’t be so quick.

As Cao Zhishu prepared the meal personally today, Little Zhao must stay in the kitchen to help and study. Thus, he hadn’t yet seen Yuan Zhou’s true features until now.

“What’s the matter? Is the flame alright?” Cao Zhishu asked.

“Senior is watching the flame.” Little Zhao answered obediently.

“Um. Then what did you come here for?” Cao Zhishu asked again.

“Master, I don’t think it’s good to always let the waiter serve up the dishes. I’m young and inconspicuous, so I can ask about Head Chef Yuan’s comments when I serve the dish up.” Little Yuan said that proactively and beautifully.

By saying so, he directly put a ladder at the feet of Cao Zhishu and also gave sufficient reasons to do so.

Little Zhao was right. A renowned chef like Cao Zhishu was unlikely to go to ask Yuan Zhou about his comments or observe his expressions at close range. That would totally degrade himself.

Cao Zhishu naturally wouldn’t do such shameful things, but it was also a must to know Yuan Zhou comments.

“All right. You go and serve the Spicy Boiled Fish.” Without any hesitation, Cao Zhishu pointed at the dish freshly cooked and said.

“Trust me, Master,” Little Zhao said smartly.

While carrying the freshly cooked Spicy Boiled Fish, Little Zhao walked towards the Mount Longmen Room a little hurriedly.

“Let me do it, Chef Zhao,” the waiter who had served up dishes just now went up proactively and said to him.

“No. I will serve this dish to him,” Little Zhao said solemnly.

“Okay.” The waiter retreated obediently at once.

Then, Little Zhao carried the Spicy Boiled Fish and entered Mount Longmen Room where Yuan Zhou was.

“This is the signature dish of our hotel, Spicy Boiled Fish. Please take your time and enjoy.” Little Zhao lowered his head and served the dish up seriously as soon as he entered the room.

What a joke! Little Zhao didn’t dare to let Cao Zhishu’s signature dish have any problems due to his jealousy. So it was the best choice to introduce it and put it on the table first.

“Thank you,” Yuan Zhou wiped his mouth and said unconsciously.

Every time a dish was served up, Yuan Zhou said thanks to the waiter, to which Yuan Zhou was accustomed. And naturally, he was also used to the waiter appearing all of a sudden.

After Yuan Zhou said thanks, Little Zhao also placed the Spicy Boiled Fish down. Then, he raised his head.

In front of him, Yuan Zhou was dressed in the Han Chinese clothing and was seated on the solid wood chair exquisitely carved, with his back straightened, and his sitting position upright and stable. His hair was short; his face was full of alertness, and his figure wasn’t skinny, either.

On the whole, this person appeared not only spirited but also handsome.

Judging from his appearance, however, he was indeed Yuan Zhou whom Little Zhao knew. When they had worked together before, Yuan Zhou was only a kitchen hand in that three-star hotel.

“Yuan Zhou?” Little Zhao uttered unconsciously.

When Yuan Zhou heard somebody call him, he also raised his head and looked at him.

He didn’t recognize this Little Zhao immediately. After all, there had been so many people in the kitchen and this sous-chef had little contact with him. Actually, Yuan Zhou was more familiar with Dunzi than him. Moreover, it had been more than one year since they departed, so Yuan Zhou couldn’t recognize him right away.

“It’s me, Zhao Xin, the sous-chef of the hotel,” Little Zhao gnashed his teeth in fury and said again.

“Oh, it’s you, Sous-chef Zhao. You changed jobs.” Yuan Zhou greeted him politely.

“I have been in Shu Restaurant for two years. Little did I know that you are also a chef now,” said Little Zhao with a complicated tone.

“Something happened, so…” Yuan Zhou suddenly thought of the system.

After saying that, the two people fell silent. Yuan Zhou didn’t know Little Zhao while Little Zhao didn’t want to say anything.

After all, their former roles were simply exchanged and furthermore, the change was so drastic that they were not even on the same level now. All in all, they were simply not in the same world.

“Dammit!” That was Little Zhao’s feeling now.

EMPTY