Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 377 - 350: Then Let’s Buy Up All the Ingredients in Town!
If Chen Mo is only making shrimp, he’s not busy.
"Dunzi."
"What’s up, Brother Mo?"
"Can you go next door and buy me a bun? I want to taste what the buns from big restaurants are like."
"Brother Mo, you’re betting against them, and you still want to eat their buns? Aren’t you helping their business?"
Dunzi thought the same way as Yang Wenhua’s subordinate.
But Chen Mo’s thoughts were exactly like Yang Wenhua’s.
"Winning or losing doesn’t hinge on one bun, right? Besides, since we’re all out here on the street, let’s support our fellow vendors."
Dunzi muttered a few words, not sure what he was saying, and quickly strode next door, heading straight to the front of the line.
"Give me a bun, how much is it?"
"Brother, please line up."
Yang Wenhua looked up and saw it was someone from Chen Mo’s side, seemed to be that tough guy, so he said, "Since it’s Boss Chen’s person, give him a bun."
Seeing Dunzi was about to scan the code to pay, Yang Wenhua chuckled and said, "No need to pay. This bun’s on me, let’s call it a complimentary one for Boss Chen."
Dunzi, being straightforward, didn’t realize Yang Wenhua was being sarcastic and thought it was a good deal, so he asked, "If I want to eat, can I also get it for free?"
Yang Wenhua’s mouth twitched slightly, damn, you Jingzhou people really have some nerve, don’t you?
He said nothing, making his position clear.
Dunzi snorted twice, "I thought you’d be more generous, not even willing to give a free bun, whatever."
Yang Wenhua took several deep breaths, suppressing the urge to put his hands on his hips and scold, even squeezing the dough with more force.
"Here, Brother Mo."
Chen Mo took the bun brought by Dunzi, tore it in half, and handed over a piece, "Try it."
Dunzi wasn’t shy, grabbed half the bun, and gobbled it all up in one bite.
As soon as the bun entered his mouth, Dunzi spat it directly into a food waste bin next to the food truck, "Ptooey, what is this stuff? How can they bet against you with this level of taste?"
Chen Mo was a bit surprised, "Is it really that bad?"
"Truly, can’t even call it average, just plain awful!"
Chen Mo became curious, looking down at the half bun in his hand. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
The bun’s dough... just like regular dough, you could vaguely smell the yeast, and upon a squeeze, it felt neither soft nor elastic.
Indicating the dough wasn’t properly fermented.
Don’t underestimate the skill of fermenting dough; every place has many shops selling steamed buns, but only a few do well, due to well-fermented dough.
Steaming buns or dumplings doesn’t mean you can simply use a ratio or follow the times to make it right.
This business has no precise values, it’s all based on experience from start to finish.
Unless the maker can design a temperature and humidity-controlled environment for dough rising, but the profit margin on buns and dumplings isn’t that high, investing in this kind of equipment is nearly impossible.
So, a little bun can hold significant knowledge.
Now for the bun filling.
"Hey, is this a Three-Piece Bun or a Five-Pepper Bun?"
Chen Mo immediately noticed the difference, beyond chicken, pork, and bamboo, there were two other types.
Sea cucumber and shrimp fillings.
"Two sea ingredients, enhancing the original flavor with seafood, making it more diverse; but how does it taste?"
Chen Mo took a bite including the filling and dough.
Ugh!
Seeing Chen Mo’s embarrassed expression, Dunzi immediately said proudly, "Right? Right? I told you it’s yucky, what was the boss thinking, making buns like this?"
Chen Mo calmly tossed both the bun in his mouth and hand into the garbage bin on the cart.
It wasn’t that it tasted bad, but... the flavor of these buns was far different from the taste preferences of Northern people.
Northern people love seafood but dislike hodgepodge-style seafood.
Even when mixed, it should only be seafood with seafood; pork, beef, and lamb should not mix with seafood.
This is also why, when making Lion’s Head, Chen Mo uses only pork, without crab roe.
In the North, some can’t eat or even stand the smell of seafood.
That’s why Dunzi spat it out after one bite.
This Yang chef, when preparing the Five-Pepper Bun filling, just followed the book, mixing five ingredients by recipe and seasoning, then wrapping it up.
He probably never thought about how to deeply integrate seafood flavor with the chicken and pork flavors, which is why Chen Mo chose to use pork skin jelly for the soup.
The soup plays this role.
When the broth infused with various ingredients’ umami enters the mouth, it helps the taste buds adjust, enhancing acceptance as they anticipate what’s next.
"But it makes sense. In such big restaurants, flashy gimmicks often overshadow the culinary essence. When you dine at their place, not only do you observe how the chef crafts the bun, but they also issue a bun ID; now tell me, is it worth it?"
Dunzi rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Worth a dang thing! Who eats needing an ID? Eating is about taste; if it’s not good, nothing else matters!"
Chen Mo smiled in silence.
Some say it’s a matter of perspective; people dine out for reasons beyond just taste.
Like...
"Director Gao, your culture and tourism departments should seize this wave of media traffic. Our trend online today jumped over the 80th rank on hot searches. With a bit more push, we could break the top 50, and our city could leverage it!"
Gao Hong, in charge of culture and tourism, was the leader who had earlier demanded Gao Hao write a self-critique.
"Yes, Leader, you’re right, we’re working hard on it. I’ll take this opportunity during the meal to thoroughly report our progress to you."
This is simply a meal; the guests present are leaders from the next higher city level.
"Having come this far, you must try our local specialties. I’ve heard this restaurant’s Phoenix Tail Shrimp is famous, let’s start with that!"
Tingfeng Tower.
One of the four famous towers, renowned for its Phoenix Tail Shrimp, a Huaiyang specialty, this is the most business-oriented among the four.
During meal times, it sees a constant stream of guests, mostly notable business figures from the city.
"Sorry... we’re out of Phoenix Tail Shrimp today."
"What the heck?" Gao Hong turned sharply, "You’re out of Phoenix Tail Shrimp?"
The waiter was embarrassed, "Leader, you know how fast our Phoenix Tail Shrimp sells."
Gao Hong nodded, he definitely knew that. Guests dining at Tingfeng Tower always order Phoenix Tail Shrimp first.
"So we usually make them fresh to order, but who knew today..."
The waiter felt both awkward and bewildered.
Would it be okay for news of Tingfeng Tower running out of shrimp today to spread?
