Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 949 - 465: The Charm of Side Dishes (Part 2)
Zhang Guanghang heard Xia Mubing say this and couldn't help but ask, "Master, why have I never heard you mention these things in all these years?"
Xia Mubing paused after hearing this, looked at the monitor, smiled, and sighed, "Maybe it's because I'm getting old, and I've forgotten many things. I can't remember them myself."
After speaking, he continued cooking.
In the private room, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an were unaware of Xia Mubing's painstaking efforts in the garnishes. They simply thought that Fen Garden deserved its reputation as Beiping's top private restaurant, as even the casually decorated garnishes were impressive. The soybeans tasted like soybeans, the green beans like green beans, the tomatoes were sugar-dipped, and the cucumbers were refreshing. Even broccoli, carrots, zucchinis, and young greens were meticulously seasoned, each with its own flavor.
The main dish stood out uniquely, while the garnishes blossomed with variety.
Halfway through his meal, Qin Huai almost forgot the secondary task, his mind filled only with eating.
Delicious, loving, and enjoying the food.
Previously, when dining at restaurants, seeing garnishes like radish, broccoli, and tomatoes on the side of the plate, Qin Huai usually ignored them, even using chopsticks to push them aside, finding them bothersome.
Today, dining at Fen Garden, every dish was exquisitely plated, and the garnishes were varied. When the dishes arrived, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an didn't start with the main dish but with the garnishes used for decoration.
The flavors of the garnishes varied from dish to dish: some tomatoes were sugar-dipped, some were salt-dipped, and some were wine-dipped. The carrots ranged from crisp to mushy. Even the seemingly ordinary broccoli surprised Qin Huai with at least three different flavors.
This is the strength of being in the top 10 of the Chef Record!
This is the gold standard of Beiping's top private restaurant!
Zhang Guanghang kept serving dishes, bringing in fully loaded plates and taking out empty ones, leaving the guests at one table in the hall wide-eyed and amazed, marveling at how fast the six people in the private room were eating.
Readers might be curious now, wondering if Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an really have such a large appetite? They're not like Ouyang and Shi Dadan, so how could they eat so many dishes.
They don't have such a large appetite, but Xia Mubing can discreetly reduce the portion sizes.
To allow Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an to taste more dishes, Xia Mubing made each portion smaller, only 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the usual portion sold at Fen Garden. The remaining empty space on the plates was filled with garnishes used for decoration, which is why Xia Mubing paid so much attention to the garnishes.
Even if this effort is only known by the creator Master Xia and his disciple Zhang Guanghang.
"Wanfu Meat, please enjoy."
"Sweet-scented Osmanthus Fish Fin, please enjoy."
"Braised Deer Tendon, please enjoy."
"Clear Soup and Willow Leaf Seaweed, please enjoy."
"Mandarin Duck Cauliflower, please enjoy."
"Black Fish Egg Soup, please enjoy."
"…"
"Burp." Qin Huai burped after sipping the last mouthful of Black Fish Egg Soup.
The burp jolted Qin Huai awake.
Since he and Zhao Cheng'an had been finishing every dish, Qin Huai hadn't carefully counted how many they had eaten, just felt it was quite a lot. He and Zhao Cheng'an seemed to have a larger appetite today, as they hadn't felt too full despite eating so much.
Qin Huai sensed something was amiss.
The main course hadn't been served yet!
Fen Garden's serving style was quite casual. Apart from ensuring cold dishes were served first, they wouldn't serve a few hot dishes with cold ones in between; other dishes were served randomly.
It's possible to have desserts or soups interspersed with hot dishes.
Fen Garden's loyal patrons attribute this unique serving method to Master Xia's casual and spontaneous style, as unpredictable as Fen Garden's menu, which always changes according to Master Xia's whims.
Qin Huai believed there might not be much roundabout reasoning behind this, simply because Fen Garden had only one chef, and Master Xia didn't bother following an order but cooked whatever came to mind.
"Zhao Cheng'an, are you full?" Qin Huai urgently asked.
"Full? Burp, somewhat, but I'm alright. I think I can eat at least three more dishes." Zhao Cheng'an meticulously scraped the remaining Black Fish Egg Soup from the bowl, leaving nothing wasted, embodying the phrase 'cherish food' to the fullest.
"Then stop eating for now."
Zhao Cheng'an: ?
As soon as Qin Huai finished speaking, Zhang Guanghang entered with a new dish.
"Braised Tofu, please enjoy."
Seeing the predictably empty plates on the table, Zhang Guanghang habitually collected them and prepared to leave, but Qin Huai called him back.
"Um… excuse me, can we have the main course now?" Qin Huai said loudly, his voice full of longing for the main course and urgency, fearing they'd be too full to eat it, "The ones I made, steamed buns, rice cakes, and Yam Cakes, serve them all. Zhao Cheng'an's can be skipped."
Zhao Cheng'an: ??
What do you mean, brother? Why serve all yours and skip mine? What I made… indeed, can be skipped since they're puff pastries and don't fit today's banquet.
Zhang Guanghang: ???
Remembering snacks even now, do you really love snacks that much?
"Alright." Zhang Guanghang nodded and left.
Actually, the snacks Qin Huai made were already steamed, but today Xia Mubing only took an extra table of guests, serving quickly and seamlessly, so Zhang Guanghang hadn't found the time to serve the snacks.
The table reserved at 6 PM was to prevent Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an from feeling like there were no other guests tonight. There were no guests at the 7 PM time slot; tonight, Fen Garden was practically operating just for Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an.
