Liu Xiaoli nodded. Shen Fang was telling the truth. Fame brings trouble, while obscurity prevents trouble.

However, Shen Fang disagreed with this, and no one would dare to do it.

"Why create a CP (couple pairing)? I don't even like Brother Xiaoming."

Shen Fang smiled and said, "It's just a publicity stunt to increase popularity. You don't need to worry about the rest. The company will take care of it."

"Sisi, what do you want to eat tonight? I'll take you there."

"I want to eat hot pot."

"Why eat hot pot? It's so hot, you can't eat that. Something lighter is better." Liu Xiaoli directly rejected Liu Tianxian's option.

Liu Qianqian pouted and said, "Hmph."

"Let's eat Shanghai cuisine, the Shanghai cuisine here is pretty good."

Liu Qianqian looked puzzled: "Shanghai cuisine? What's that?"

Shen Fang smiled and said, "Shanghai cuisine refers to the new style of Shanghai cuisine, which is also known as local cuisine. It has been developed by absorbing the characteristics of other cuisines and combining them with the style of Shanghai cuisine. It also introduced the flavor of Sichuan cuisine into Yangzhou cuisine."

Shanghainese people don't usually eat spicy food, so "Mei Long Zhen" reduced the spiciness and numbing sensation, and introduced four innovative dishes. The "Rich Fish with Noodles" dish is adapted from the Henan restaurant "Liangyuan Zhimei Lou," featuring rolled noodles on a piece of braised fish, and changing the original sweet and sour flavor to a spicy one. Sichuan people don't like eggplant, so the modified "Stir-fried Eggplant with Sauce" uses minced beef and sauce to cook the eggplant, abandoning the spiciness.

When people talk about Shanghai cuisine, they often use terms like "Benbang cuisine" or "Haipai cuisine," but that's not entirely accurate. According to experts, Shanghai cuisine is a unique culinary style prevalent in the Shanghai area, characterized by its fresh and sweet flavors. It actually encompasses both "Haipai" and "Benbang" styles.

Benbang cuisine, also known as old Shanghai cuisine, primarily consists of home-style dishes. Its flavor is similar to Suzhou and Wuxi cuisine, tending towards sweetness, and is particularly renowned for its rich, dark sauces. It is a traditional Shanghai style. Haipai cuisine, also called modern Shanghai cuisine, is a style that absorbs the strengths of various culinary traditions. Traditionally, Haipai cuisine can be traced back to the opening of Shanghai as a treaty port in the late Qing Dynasty, where local and foreign cultures combined to form a diverse and inclusive Shanghai culture and culinary style.

Shanghai cuisine is a style that absorbs the strengths of other cuisines and modifies them to better suit the characteristics of Shanghai cuisine.

Liu Qianqian slurped her saliva as she listened to Shen Fang's description: "Is it delicious?"

Shen Fang nodded: "It's still pretty good."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!!!"

Liu Qianqian couldn't wait. For a foodie like her, delicious food is more important than anything else; she can't let go of good food!

Don't say that Shanghai is a food desert.

In Shanghai's culinary history, a blend of Chinese and Western influences and a cosmopolitan spirit, there exists a flavor that, though humble in origin, has carved its own niche, refusing to disappear despite external influences or lose its essence with the changing times—this is Shanghainese cuisine. It is the essence of the city's flavors, the "taste of childhood" from the memories of old Shanghai.

In Sanlintang, Pudong, Shanghai, there was once a special group of rural chefs called the "Shovel Gang". In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, a group of Sanlin chefs with superb cooking skills rushed to Shanghai to open local Shanghai cuisine restaurants. Among them was Li Borong, a master of local Shanghai cuisine.

Li Borong draws on a wide range of knowledge and boldly experiments, integrating techniques from all over the country. Based on traditional cooking techniques such as stewing, braising, simmering, steaming, roasting, quick-frying, and pan-frying, he introduces Western cooking methods and uses various techniques such as baking, roasting, grilling, poaching, and braising. This has led to innovation and development in Sanlin local cuisine, bringing it to a new level of culinary excellence.

With the development of the times, Shanghai, as an international metropolis, is particularly adept at accepting foreign cultures. This is especially true in the realm of cuisine, where local Shanghainese cuisine has now taken on new forms and interpretations in this cosmopolitan city.

Zhou Yuanchang was a top student of Li Borong. Old Shanghainese people remember local cuisine as rich and flavorful with dark sauces, but Zhou Yuanchang wasn't confined to that. In his philosophy, the true focus should be on Shanghai-style cuisine, which draws on the strengths of various regional styles. Shanghai-style cuisine, in its broadest sense, refers to Shanghai cuisine.

Shanghai boasts a diverse culinary scene, from the "Red House" restaurant specializing in Western cuisine, to the "Meilongzhen Restaurant" serving Sichuan cuisine, the "Xinya Restaurant" offering Cantonese dishes, the "Yanyunlou" restaurant serving Beijing cuisine, and the "Dafugui" restaurant serving Anhui cuisine, among others. This demonstrates that Shanghai's long history since its opening to foreign trade has witnessed cultural clashes and the test of time, resulting in the unique "Shanghai spirit." Master Zhou, who has been running his restaurant business for over forty years, continues to uphold this spirit.

Zhou Yuanchang was born into a family of renowned chefs in Sanlintang, the birthplace of Shanghai cuisine. For over forty years, he has dedicated himself to the promotion and innovative research of Shanghai cuisine. His "New Shanghai Style Creative Cuisine," along with his style and character, has made him a standard-bearer and role model in the Chinese culinary field. He adheres to the principle of "taste as the core and nutrition as the goal," innovating and developing over 500 new Shanghai dishes from the perspective of diners' needs. These new dishes have brought customers a completely new sensory experience and won him a large number of loyal followers.

Thanks to his hard work, 68 of his dishes have been recognized as famous Chinese dishes and Shanghai specialties. These dishes have earned him a renowned reputation in the Chinese culinary world.

Shen Fang specially brought Liu Qianqian to the newly opened Zhou She restaurant in Wenzhou, cutting in line. It was supposed to require an appointment, but Xu Wensheng had a way. Xu Wensheng wielded considerable influence in Zhejiang.

Today, the only people at our table are Chen Fang, Shen Kun, Zhang Dahuzi, Yu Min, Liu Xiaoli, Liu Qianqian, Huang Xiaoming, Kenny Bee, Meng Guangmei, and Chen Zihan.

The dishes were served shortly afterward, and a dedicated waiter was assigned to explain them.

The first classic Buddha Jumps Over the Wall dish

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a famous dish from Fuzhou, belonging to the Fujian cuisine. After it became famous, it can be considered the essence of Chinese cuisine.

The main ingredients, including sea cucumber, shark fin, abalone, dried oyster shell, deer tendon, fish maw, skirt, pigeon eggs, and shiitake mushrooms, are gathered in a pot and prepared according to different procedures to infuse them with flavor. They are then simmered for a long time with a well-prepared broth.

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