Food Customizer

Chapter 86: Tasting dishes at a time-honored restaurant, disappointed but understanding

When meeting with Shang Mingke, the employees were stunned.

You didn’t even tell us this!

The few people who were noisy at first all became quiet and a bit awkward after getting in the car.

Especially Liu Abao

"Brother, master, are you okay?"

Shang Mingke tilted his head slightly, "Uncle Lu just asked you to follow Boss Su."

"Oh." After saying that, Liu Abao stopped talking.

The person he fears most is Lu Yongliang.

The second most feared person is definitely the eldest brother Shang Mingke!

Although Shang Mingke is not among Lu Yongliang's disciples, every disciple who learns cooking from Lu Yongliang respects this elder brother very much.

"Boss Su, you said you want to eat Shandong cuisine. Cuihua Restaurant in the capital is pretty good, but I don't know if it will catch your eye."

Shang Mingke had lost his temper many times when eating in Jingzhou before. This time it was no different than before. His reserved and calm temperament was particularly obvious among the people in the car.

Su Chen looked more casual, "Thank you, Mr. Shang, for the hospitality~ The Shandong cuisine in Cuihua Building must be good, but I don't know if there is anything I want to eat?"

Shang Mingke put away his smile and thought for a moment before speaking, "I'm pretty thin over there. If Boss Su wants to eat anything, you can tell me then."

The implication is also obvious.

If there's something you want to eat that's not on the menu, I can help find someone to make it.

Su Chen smiled and said, "I'm sorry for bothering you, Mr. Shang. Oh, yes, after leaving the capital this time, I decided to let A Bao stay in Taishui temporarily to help me for a while. The specific time depends on A Bao himself."

Su Chen said this deliberately.

The world of adults is such a big boss, Shang Mingke would not put aside his own affairs to receive his group for no reason.

When people give you face like this, we have to show some respect.

Su Chen knew very well that he was able to chat and laugh with Shang Mingke because he had Lu Yongliang in the middle. Since the other party wanted A Bao to stay and study, it happened that he also needed such a chef.

It's better to be a favor that goes along with the flow.

Shang Mingke also understood this, "Thank you very much, Boss Su."

After saying that, he turned his head and said, "Abao, study hard with Boss Su. When I left, Uncle Lu said that you should go back when you feel you can take on the burden of E cuisine."

Likewise, this was also said to Su Chen.

Uncle Lu sent Abao there not as a coolie.

They are trained as successors. As for how to teach them, it depends on your wishes, Boss Su.

Su Chen leaned back in his chair and smiled. It was really tiring to talk to these people, so it was more fun to tease Zhang Li.

The car drove through one street after another until it finally arrived at its destination around six o'clock.

The driver went to park the car, and Su Chen and his group followed Shang Mingke inside.

Stepping into the door, the decoration style of Cuihua Building is simple and simple, using old-fashioned wooden chandeliers, wooden window rails, tables and chairs.

The simple tones reveal a quiet and elegant atmosphere, as if telling everyone who walks in here: this is a time-honored brand.

At six o'clock, there were already many people dining here, and even a line began to form outside the door.

"This hotel is awesome! Doesn't this meal cost a lot of money?"

As expected of Zhang Li.

As soon as you enter the door, you look left and right, just like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

Shang Mingke smiled and said, "The most important thing is to eat well."

Although it was Xiaobai's first time on such an occasion, he still tried his best to show off his stage fright, "It's not bad, but it's a bit worse than our company."

Shang Mingke was stunned for a moment, then laughed dumbly, "Indeed. Compared with the delicious food at Boss Su's place, it should be a bit different."

A group of people walked into the private room that Shang Mingke had reserved in advance and took their seats.

"Boss Su, do you want to drink?"

Su Chen shook his head, "I won't drink anymore. Let's just watch the food."

The waiter handed everyone a menu in a timely manner and stood aside waiting to order.

Su Chen didn't even look at it, "Dice fried chicken with soy sauce."

This is a dish that I have tried once and must be ordered.

"Double crispy in oil."

Shang Mingke on the side nodded slightly. Su Chen ordered all the classic dishes of Cuihua Building. In fact, few people eat these dishes now.

To be more precise, few people would specifically order this to eat.

In the few years he has been in the capital, he has had many reception meals at Cuihua Building. Nowadays, the number of people who come here to eat is really just tourists.

I don’t know whether it’s to cater to the market or something else, but Cuihualou now makes relatively few traditional dishes, but quite a lot of innovative dishes.

Su Chen thought for a while and ordered several dishes at once.

"Fried tripe kernels in oil, braised four treasures, braised turtle eggs, hibiscus chicken slices, caoyu fish slices, first-grade bird's nest, and another banana fried in a pot!"

This operation of ordering without looking at the menu made the waiter a little confused.

"Sir, there are a few dishes here that are not on our menu."

Shang Mingke said, "Please tell Manager Wang, we can wait." While speaking, he handed over a business card.

Manager Wang

The waiter nodded immediately, took the business card and said, "Please wait a moment."

Cuihua Building, back kitchen.

Wang Peixin rarely wore a chef's uniform today and was guiding the work in the kitchen.

After sitting in the position of general manager, he actually no longer needs to come to the kitchen in person most of the time, but after being a head chef for so many years, his bones are still itchy if he doesn't leave the kitchen every few days.

"The customers outside are lining up all the way to Chang'an Street! Xiao Liu, what's wrong with you? Why did you fry the fish skin!!!"

"Hey, who is that guy? How did you put the cheese slices?"

Wang Peixin walked around in the kitchen, sometimes looking angry, but there was really nothing he could do, there were too many customers!

The turnover rate determines the turnover, he must be fast!

At this time, a waiter rushed in, "Mr. Wang!"

"Who let you in?" Wang Peixin frowned, "Don't you understand the rules?"

The waiter whispered, "Some of the dishes ordered by this customer are not available. He asked me to tell you that he can wait."

Wang Peixin took the business card and looked at it, and said to himself, "Mr. Shang?"

"Okay, go ahead."

For restaurant owners, it is inevitable to build good relationships with major companies and units in the city. Cuihualou has in-depth cooperation with the Urban Construction Group, and Shang Mingke is a frequent customer.

Because several dishes are not on the menu, the menu brought by the waiter is handwritten, and Wang Peixin reads them one by one.

"Sautéed Chicken with Sauce?"

Just looking at the first dish, his eyes narrowed.

Cuihualou no longer has Sautéed Chicken with Sauce. The dish currently on sale is called [Sautéed Peach Kernel Chicken with Sauce].

"Fried Crispy with Oil?" Wang Peixin narrowed his eyes even more, and his brows furrowed.

This is a dish that tests knife skills and heat extremely well, and it is also difficult to choose ingredients. To make this one dish, there are enough to make three other dishes!

Although Cuihualou is selling it now, not many people order it, and it is not recommended to order it, because Wang Peixin has raised the price of this dish to 289 per dish!

Ordinary people rarely spend this price to eat a dish of [Stir-fried Pork Stomach and Duck Gizzard].

Continue to read.

The more he read, the more Wang Peixin's brows twisted, "Who did Mr. Shang bring to dinner? Are they here to mess things up?"

Let's not talk about the three dishes of stewed turtle eggs, lotus chicken slices, and stewed fish slices, which are now Cuihualou's signature dishes.

What's the matter with the Yipinguan Bird's Nest?

Let's not talk about bird's nest. You ordered braised four treasures to make things difficult for me, right?

Perhaps the chefs of the new era don't know that there is a cooking method called "braised four treasures". Although it has the word "braised", it is not really braised, but made by this method!

Not only is it difficult to handle the ingredients, but it also takes a long time!

Wang Peixin also made a modification to this dish. Now he only cooks duck feet, and the other three treasures are not mixed. It's too difficult!

Seeing these two dishes, Wang Peixin even doubted that they really came to eat, not to make trouble?

"Master, what's wrong?"

Zeng Ming had just made a fried shrimp dish. He had some free time at the moment, so he came up to Wang Peixin and asked.

Wang Peixin sighed, "Follow this order and make room for me."

Since the customer ordered it, he had to make it. Not only did he have to make it, but Wang Peixin decided that the signature dishes of the store could be handed over to his apprentices, but he would cook these dishes himself!

Seeing Manager Wang cooking in person, several chefs who had nothing to do gathered around him. They could see Wang Peixin cooking and if he was happy, they would give him a few words.

That would be a free advanced course!

The first one was fried chicken cubes with soy sauce!

Seeing that Wang Peixin had to cook such a simple dish himself, his apprentice Zeng Ming whispered, "Master, how about I do it?"

"You do your thing." Wang Peixin started to cut the chicken breast very seriously.

As time passed, one dish after another was sent to the private room. Wang Peixin finished the last four treasures, clapped his hands and said to Zeng Ming, "Send another cheese fried meatballs. Just say that we can't make the first-class official bird's nest today because we don't have the ingredients."

"Oh! Who ordered that dish?"

Wang Peixin waved his hand to signal Zeng Ming not to talk too much, and he walked outside to find the waiter in charge of that private room.

"Keep an eye on it, and tell me if there is anything."

This situation obviously often occurs in Cuihua Building. The waiter nodded very understandingly and trotted to the door of the private room.

Looking at the exquisite dishes on the table, Bai Xiaobo and his friends had already started to drool!

But Su Chen and Shang Mingke didn't make any moves, so it was difficult for everyone to move.

"Boss Su, try it?"

Shang Mingke was still somewhat confident in the dishes here.

"Boss, can I take a photo?" He Shuting waved her phone.

"What's there to take a photo of? Places like Cuihualou are almost explored by those who visit the restaurant, so there's no need to take a photo of this."

"Oh." He Shuting put away her phone.

"Then I won't be polite!" Su Chen picked up the chopsticks and aimed at the fried chicken cubes with sauce at the first touch.

When he was on the train, he tried to make this dish. He just made it casually according to the old recipe, and it was rated A, which was enough to show the status of this dish in Shandong cuisine!

It's simple and delicious!

The evenly sized chicken pieces are wrapped in a rich sauce, which covers the chicken pieces but does not stick to the plate. This alone is enough to show how good the chef's skills are.

Pick up a piece of chicken cubes and put it in his mouth.

It tastes sweet and salty, the chicken is tender and crispy, and there is no peculiar smell.

Overall, it is acceptable!

But the only thing that makes Su Chen a little uncomfortable is that

there is a strong smell of cooking wine in the back of the mouth

Maybe it is difficult for ordinary people to taste it, and many people even think that this smell is normal, because they also cook like this at home!

But for Su Chen, who often tastes food in the gourmet practice room, just this little taste is enough for the practice room to downgrade the rating from A to B!

"What? Boss Su, you don't seem satisfied?" Shang Mingke didn't eat and kept looking at Su Chen.

He really wanted to hear Su Chen's evaluation of this time-honored restaurant that had just received one Michelin star this year.

"Perfunctory." Su Chen thought for a while and summed it up in one word, "It's just very perfunctory."

"The most taboo thing about cooking chicken is blanching. Once blanched, the freshness of the chicken will be lost."

Everyone listened to Su Chen's words, especially the employees of Delicious Food. Every time Boss Su summarized his experience, they listened carefully and found it quite interesting.

There is a sense of satisfaction that I have mastered another technique!

When talking about professionalism, Liu Abao couldn't help but interject. After all, he is familiar with Shandong cuisine and has some say, "So when Boss Su makes fried chicken, he uses a slow fire method to heat up the chicken before the water temperature has fully risen. Take out the chicken quickly?”

This is what Liu Abao admires most about Su Chen.

He can always think of a simple method to replace the original time-consuming and labor-intensive method, but the methods he uses test the chef's skill and IQ!

Most people can't think of it, and even if they think of it, they really can't do it.

As for the job of boiling chicken in warm water, Liu Abao messed up several times under Su Chen's guidance before he got the hang of it.

Su Chen nodded, "Yes! There are family ways of doing things at home, and restaurants have ways of doing things."

"This is a dish because chicken cannot be blanched. Logically speaking, the chicken breasts should be soaked in cold water for several hours before cooking. This chef directly used cooking wine to solve this problem. In addition, the final [explosion] of this dish The time used is extremely short, and it is impossible to completely evaporate the cooking wine, so "

Cooking wine needs to be added, it is added to the sauce to remove the odor, but it is not used to remove the odor from the chicken.

Su Chen's evaluation fell into the ears of the waiter outside the door word for word.

"Oops, you're really here to cause trouble!"

The waiter quickly ran to the corner and told Wang Peixin word for word what Su Chen said.

"Explore again!"

Wang Peixin gave the order and immediately held his chin and fell into deep thought. Isn't this too picky?

Isn’t it common practice in restaurants to use cooking wine to remove the fishy smell?

This is how it has been done since he took over and learned this dish!

After Su Chen finished speaking, everyone took a bite, and no one touched the dish again.

Bai Xiaobo said seriously, "It seemed that the first bite was pretty good, but after I swallowed it, I felt that it was a little bit less interesting."

He Shuting also pursed her lips and nodded, "Well said, boss!"

Su Chen was speechless and rolled his eyes.

Are you blowing a rainbow fart on such an occasion?

Only Zhang Li lowered her head silently, wanting to eat another piece but feeling embarrassed.

It's obviously quite delicious.

Why does everyone say it’s not delicious?

If she said this, Sister Shengnan would definitely tell her: Your time at Delicious Food is still short. You will know after you eat the boss's meal for a month.

For the second dish, Su Chen looked at the braised four treasures. He was also quite interested in this dish.

If someone customizes Shandong cuisine in the future, this dish will definitely shock them!

Su Chen picked up a piece of duck paw and looked at it, "Duck paw, duck wings, duck tongue and duck waist are the four treasures."

Looking carefully, the edge of the duck's feet was a little sticky. Su Chen smiled and put the duck's feet back on the plate.

"The chef is a little impatient in cooking this dish."

"What should I say?" Shang Mingke looked at Su Chen with interest. He felt that it was getting more and more interesting.

If possible, Shang Mingke would even think of doing nothing these days and taking Su Chen to eat every day!

When Boss Su gives a good evaluation of which restaurant, he will be in good luck in the future.

Su Chen didn't even want to eat it, because just looking at it, it didn't meet his basic cooking standards.

"The four treasures are cooked." Seeing everyone's confusion, Su Chen added a few more words, "It means that the juice must be slowly absorbed over low heat to absorb the flavor of the juice into the ingredients, but the heat must be low because the four treasures are cooked." Bao's cooking is considered cooked. If the heat is a little too high, the ingredients will become rotten."

Su Chen pointed at the piece of duck paw with chopsticks, "If it's cooked, the texture will change. What kind of flavor can duck paw have? Isn't it just the texture and seasoning that you eat? If the taste is gone, the dish will be boring. ”

Liu Abao felt like he had some epiphany again, "I was obsessed with this technique when I was learning Shandong cuisine. It's better alive, but the cooked heat is really torturous. I have to keep an eye on it and never leave it."

Su Chen nodded, "Either this master was too hasty. Instead, he lost the most important thing."

The waiter at the door ran down quickly and quickly reported again.

"Explore again! Report again!"

Wang Peixin said this through clenched teeth!

When the waiter walked back, she happened to encounter a group of people in the private room walking out, and she was immediately confused.

Is this leaving?

Just listen to the young man who was surrounded by everyone say, "The food here is just like that. I know a good place, let's go to that restaurant instead!"

And the man next to him who looked mature and steady said, "Oh? Boss Su also knows about Beijing? Which company is it?"

The young man smiled and said, "I'll take you to eat fried rice dumplings."

Fried pimples?

Shang Mingke had heard of this thing a few years ago in Beijing, but he had no interest in this kind of snack noodles, so he had never eaten it.

Liu Shengnan asked suddenly, "Is it the same as our stir-fried noodles?"

Su Chen shook his head, "It's different, you'll know after you eat it."

After that, Su Chen led everyone to leave Cuihua Building.

It should be said that Su Chen was still a little disappointed with this tasting, but he could understand it.

For example, one of the unique skills of Shandong cuisine is the source of freshness, which is a professional ability that other cuisines do not have.

According to famous recipes, in the past, many Shandong restaurants would make fresh soup in advance, and even many restaurants would close because the broth was used up.

Even if all the ingredients are available, even if the guests strongly request it, they will never make dishes without broth.

Today's restaurants can't do this at all. Anyway, a handful of MSG and chicken essence are sprinkled in, and everything is there. Ordinary people can't taste any difference at all.

On the way, Shang Mingke asked Su Chen with some curiosity, "There are still several dishes you haven't tried. Do you think Cuihualou is not worth it?"

Su Chen sighed, "I think that they are Michelin, traditional dishes, and a time-honored brand. The dishes are sold at that price, but they just do this. It's a bit wrong."

Su Chen paused and said, "Of course, they are doing nothing wrong. It's business. It can only be said that everyone has different ideas."

Not long after, under the guidance of Su Chen, the car stopped at the bottom of an elevated bridge. Shang Mingke was a little confused about where this location was.

Not only were there few people and cars, but even the light of the street lamps was very weak. Looking around, there was no restaurant at all.

Su Chen only pointed to the side of the road, and at the edge of the shadow under the bridge, a tricycle could be vaguely seen.

A bloated woman stood behind the car, wrapped in a headscarf, and looked around from time to time.

"What is this?" It was the first time that Shang Mingke knew that there were people setting up stalls in such places in the capital.

Su Chen grinned and said the same old thing.

"Try it and you'll know!"

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