Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 937 - 461: You Call This a Set Meal?

The cooking in the kitchen continued.

If Fried Double Crisp should be eaten as soon as it's freshly made, with the chewy and crisp duck gizzard, crunchy pig stomach, the lingering aroma of scallions, ginger, garlic in the remaining hot oil, and the residue of the broth clinging to the surface, needing to be snatched up and gobbled down, then the Diced Meat in Sauce and Oil-drenched Whitefish are dishes you can savor slowly.

Both dishes go well with rice.

The diced meat in sauce is deep-fried, crispy on the outside and tender inside, smothered in a rich sauce, a classic salty and umami-flavored stir-fry.

The Oil-drenched Whitefish has a less intense salty flavor; the fish is slightly marinated, and a splash of hot oil makes the initially loose fish meat quite tender, emphasizing freshness over saltiness.

Having tasted the braised shark fin rice, Qin Huai understands the value of pairing a good dish with a perfectly steamed bowl of rice, with plump grains.

Qin Huai really wanted a bowl of rice.

But Fen Garden didn't seem inclined to serve rice, and he and Zhao Cheng'an were eating a set meal, which depended entirely on Xia Mubing's decision. If Xia Mubing's plan included rice, Zhang Guanghang would bring it out; since there's no rice now, Qin Huai thought there probably wasn't rice included in this set meal.

Qin Huai really wanted to wave at the surveillance camera and ask Zhang Guanghang for a bowl of rice.

But he held back.

He remembered a very noticeable trait of Xia Mubing's personality—peculiar temperament.

Whenever people talked about Xia Mubing, "peculiar" would always follow "short-tempered," and they'd emphasize how he had become increasingly peculiar over the years.

If it were a regular meal, Qin Huai would definitely request rice. But now the situation was different; he didn't know how many more dishes were coming, and the dishes weren't all served yet.

If he asked for rice and Master Xia got angry in the kitchen, thinking, "With such good dishes, you want to have rice with them? Our Fen Garden dishes don't come with rice. How could you not appreciate the meal? Forget it, you won't eat, and the rest of the dishes will be canceled," then Qin Huai would become the eternal sinner of this meal.

Qin Huai couldn't bear that guilt, so he chose to eat while suddenly feeling conflicted, hesitating, and then deciding to keep his head down and continue eating.

This complex psychological activity showed on his face, but Zhao Cheng'an, sitting across from him, didn't notice, as he was focused on his food.

The bones in the oil-drenched whitefish were meticulously removed, making it hardly likely to encounter fine bones. Zhao Cheng'an had never tasted such an advanced level of whitefish dish before, and he was eating with rapturous delight, alone consuming at least three-quarters of the plate, exuding an air of triumph.

The guests at the other two tables also didn't notice Qin Huai's expression; dishes were being served at their tables too. When ordering at Fen Garden, as long as you have the money and stomach to finish, you can order as many dishes as you want; even taking away leftovers is fine.

But that's theoretical; if you order too much, Xia Mubing would certainly be displeased, considering his age and inability to handle too many dishes.

Therefore, guests dining at Fen Garden are well-versed in ordering, approaching it comprehensively with a mix of cold plates, hot dishes, soups, and desserts, without repeating dishes. If you get braised sea cucumber with scallion, you won't order butterfly sea cucumber; if you have chicken slices with egg, you won't order Dezhou Roasted Chicken, nor would you deliberately order an excess of dishes just to taste every dish—

Back in the day, guests who did so to flaunt wealth in front of friends angered Xia Mubing and got blacklisted.

After the oil-drenched whitefish was served at Qin Huai's table, hot dishes were also served at the other two tables.

The couple's table got five-color fish shreds, while the group of three friends had braised sea cucumber with scallion, along with a claypot shark fin dish, showcasing their prowess in ordering.

Everyone was focused on their meals, except one person noticed Qin Huai's complex emotions.

That person was Xia Mubing, who kept an eye on the surveillance while cooking in the kitchen.

Xia Mubing frowned, evidently puzzled over how his cooking could elicit such expressions from Qin Huai.

Did Xiao Hang fail to remove the fish bones cleanly, and Qin Huai got a fish bone stuck in his throat?

Or does he simply dislike fish?

"Xiao Hang," Xia Mubing spoke again, "Who wanted the oil-drenched whitefish?"

Zhang Guanghang, already numb, put his knife down and pointed at Zhao Cheng'an in the surveillance: "That guest, if I'm not mistaken, should be Master Xiao Zhao from Zhiwei Restaurant."

Xia Mubing glanced at Zhao Cheng'an, who seemed keen on finishing every drop of fish soup, and somewhat understood—one loves it, one doesn't; it's a matter of taste. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Did Qin Huai say he wanted to eat anything?"

"Meat Pancake."

Xia Mubing: …

Xia Mubing was silent for a few seconds, then plated the dish from the pan: "Xiao Hang, just go outside and ask him directly what he wants to eat."

Zhang Guanghang: "…Alright, Master."

Zhang Guanghang coldly carried the stewed scallops with winter melon out of the kitchen, served the dish, and when everyone craned their necks for a peek, they found it was an ordinary dish—just looked and continued eating.

Qin Huai did the same, busy picking out the cucumbers from the diced meat in sauce.

Zhang Guanghang walked up to Qin Huai, looked at him, saying nothing, merely observing, hoping to see something different in him.

Couldn't find anything, except noticing his taste was certainly unusual.

Loves cold dishes, cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers in diced meat sauce; indeed, a difficult customer to please.

"Guest, your set originally included a beef dish, but today we're short on beef and need to change the dish temporarily. Master asked me to come out and see if you have any particular requests," Zhang Guanghang said.