Chapter 40: The Original Taste Of Food
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Little Master Chef, you’re amazing! Even a machine can’t cut potatoes so precisely!”
“Little Master Chef, can we take a picture together?”
“I want a serving of Mapo Tofu Rice!”
“Little Master Chef, I want another bowl of tomato egg soup.”
“…”
The shop was bustling with people.
Based on Xu Le’s popularity, the opening of [Eight-year-old cafeteria] would definitely attract many customers.
The 150 square meters restaurant was not small, but it was still not big enough to accommodate an endless stream of customers.
Xu Le could only request Peng Yan to help him get a few queue number kiosk.
After all the customers came here, they could help themselves to the automatic queue number kiosk. Then, their phone apps would remind them about their remaining queue time.
During this period of time, customers didn’t need to line up in front of the restaurant. Instead, they could go shopping.
This greatly reduced the traffic on the streets.
Otherwise… the city enforcement officers would probably come looking for Xu Le again.
From five in the afternoon until ten at night, he was busy.
When it was already late at night, there were still a few customers scattered throughout the restaurant. Many of them were drinking wine and eating the delicacies that they were so fond of, while getting rid of the fatigue of the day as they discussed interesting things that they had encountered.
There were also people who were in their sorrows alone, silently enjoying the delicious food before them.
“What a fulfilling day.”
Although Xu Le was very busy on the first day of business, he was very happy.
Separated by the glass wall between the kitchen and the hall, he could see the genuine smile on every customer’s face after they ate the delicacies. He could also hear their generous praise.
Xu Le enjoyed this feeling.
At this moment.
Someone pushed open the glass door of the shop. The wind chimes hanging on the door made a tinkling sound.
Xu Le nodded and said, “I’m sorry. The restaurant is closed.”
However, the person didn’t seem to have left. Instead, he said with a benevolent voice, “Little Master Chef, I’ve heard so much about you. We finally meet.”
Hearing this familiar voice, Xu Le suddenly turned around.
This voice…
Hong Kong God of Food—Cai Lan!
Xu Le had read Cai Lan’s books before and had seen the television programs that Cai Lan had filmed, so he was not unfamiliar with this voice.
“Hello, Teacher Cai Lan!”
Xu Le’s little face was a little red due to his nervousness. He greeted him politely.
Cai Lan was almost like Xu Le’s idol.
Now that he saw the real person, Xu Le was a little uneasy.
Soon, Xu Le noticed that there was an entire filming team behind Cai Lan.
There were videographers, director, screenwriter, lighting technician…
A total of ten people followed behind Cai Lan with bags of various equipment.
“Are you filming a show?” Xu Le asked curiously.
“That’s right.”
Cai Lan nodded kindly.
He was in his seventies now, an old man.
Xu Le was only eight years old. In Cai Lan’s eyes, Xu Le was just like his grandson.
Ever since Xu Le became popular on the Internet, Cai Lan had been paying close attention to him. He had supported him many times on the Internet and helped him promote.
Xu Le’s culinary skills made Cai Lan, an old man who had been immersed in the food industry for his entire life, feel shocked and relieved.
The next generation of the nation still had children who loved Chinese food like this.
Then what was there to worry about?
“Xu Le, have you heard of ‘Taste of China’?” Cai Lan asked kindly.
Xu Le nodded.
He looked at the filming team behind Cai Lan and seemed to have guessed something.
‘Taste of China’ was a CCTV food documentary that had already been broadcasted to the third season.
Starting from the first season, the documentary has been a nationwide hit, and even worldwide. It’s a “Foodie Bible” that promoted Chinese culture and incorporated content that moved audiences to tears.
Xu Le had previously heard that the third season of ‘Taste of China’ was supervised by Hong Kong’s God of Food Cai Lan. He did not expect to meet him that day.
Xu Le found a clean table and invited everyone to sit down and chat.
After taking a sip of hot tea, Cai Lan smiled and expressed his intentions.
“Xu Le, we are currently filming the third and fourth episodes of the third season. It’s called ‘The Original Taste of Food’. That’s why we found you. We want to ask you to make another ‘Boiled Cabbage’ for us so that we can record it on camera. Is that okay?”
Xu Le was very curious after he heard this.
The original taste of food?
Xu Le was very interested in this theme.
“Teacher Cai Lan, what are you planning to shoot for this episode?”
“Our current plan is to film the making of Tei Butter.”
Xu Le nodded thoughtfully.
Tei butter was indeed a good choice to draw out the taste of food.
[Tei butter]
‘Tei’ had a pronunciation similar to ‘te’, meaning “only” or “unique”. It was named based on the Suzhou dialect.
The cooking method of this dish was also very advanced. It consisted of crab paste and crab roe, as well as the well-fed fat. After that, it was stewed with green onions, stir-fried ginger, and wine. The broth was seasoned, and pig oil and pepper were sprinkled on top.
The tei butter produced could be used for rice or noodles.
After one bite, the rich fragrance of crabs would linger in one’s mouth.
Xu Le exclaimed in his heart.
Teacher Cai Lan was indeed worthy of being called the God of Food of Hong Kong. His etiquette towards ingredients was extraordinary.
This tei butter could indeed perfectly display the original taste of food.
But [Boiled Cabbage]…
Xu Le disagreed.
The “boiling water” used in this dish was made from chicken, duck, pork trotter, ham, and many other ingredients. Although the final product was only a cabbage, the taste that the customers could taste was not limited to this cabbage.
This… was not the original taste of food.
Xu Le shared his thoughts with Cai Lan.
Cai Lan fell silent for a long time before nodding slightly.
He had to admit that Xu Le made sense.
“Little Master Chef, in your opinion, what dish is most suitable for this episode?” Cai Lan asked modestly.
Cai Lan had been famous for a long time. Although he was already a 70 to 80-year-old man, and Xu Le was only an eight-year-old child.
However, Cai Lan knew that on the path of cooking, the master was the master.
There was no differentiation based on age. As long as the other party was able to offer useful insights in the aspect of food, Cai Lan was willing to listen attentively.
This was one of the reasons why Cai Lan had been so successful all these years.
“Let me see your ingredients.”
Xu Le flipped through the ingredients prepared by the production team. Suddenly, an inconspicuous item caught his attention.
Onion!
Normally, onions were just a side dish or a seasoning.
But what if he made the onion into a main dish?
Xu Le immediately searched through the System Shop and quickly found what he wanted.
Wang Shixiang, a scholar from Yanjing University, had once recorded a dish in detail in his essay “Responding to Mister Wang Zengqi.”
[Stewed onions]!
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