Chapter 143 Photo Opportunity

The waiter pushed a small cart in. In front of the cart were six blue high-legged glass bowls with lids. Yue Ning took a glass bowl, placed it in the middle, opened the lid, and inside was a piece of white and tender almond tofu.

Yue Ning picked up the piping bag, which was filled with yellow mango jam. Agar was added to the mango jam to increase its viscosity. She used the piping bag to draw a dragon's body on the almond tofu, used chocolate jam to dot the eyes and claws, and used red cherry jam to draw a dragon ball.

Almond tofu with a painting of a golden dragon playing with a pearl was served on the table. The second bowl was of a tit pecking at a loquat. The third bowl was of a tiger sniffing a rose. The fourth bowl was of a magpie climbing a branch. The fifth bowl…

Seeing that the last one got the Phoenix Peony, the brother who got the Titmouse seemed to have missed something.

A Japanese man took the lead in clapping, and the translator said, "Mr. Yamazaki said that he really saw the master."

Yue Ning sneered inwardly. The ingredients on the table today were very ordinary. Just now, Ah Ming asked her why he didn't serve expensive dishes such as Kunlun Baofu since he had to take this opportunity. Yue Ning told him that the lack of ingredients in Japan has led to their research direction of food, which is the so-called extreme knife skills, simple seasoning and Zen aesthetics. If they were given Kunlun Baofu, they wouldn't know whether it was good or bad.

Sashimi and sashimi compete in knife skills, eel kabayaki and eel kabayaki compete in seasoning, Beijing almond tofu and Japanese almond tofu compete in aesthetics.

The Japanese admired the strong. After the Battle of Baekgangkou, they were defeated by the Tang army, and began to learn Tang culture in its entirety. After the World War II, they were defeated by the United States, and looked up to the United States. Yue Ning wanted to show his strength in the direction where the other side was good at.

Chicken tofu pudding, on the other hand, plants a question in the minds of the other party, letting them know the transformation between extreme complexity and extreme simplicity in Chinese cuisine, which is what they call the immortal realm that a chef reaches in a certain skill.

She had another dish to win favor. Yue Ning smiled and said, "You're too kind. I'm still learning. I'd like to ask some industry insiders for some advice. Is that okay?"

As soon as the translator said this, they showed their honored expressions. Yue Ning said, "The booming Japanese economy has boosted the tourism industry in neighboring countries. I want Japanese people who come to Hong Kong to enjoy Hong Kong-style delicacies while eating comfortably, so I opened a Hong Kong-style noodle restaurant in Causeway Bay. Several varieties have a Japanese flavor, and the soup base of this wonton noodle has a Japanese flavor. But this is ultimately the flavor that Chinese people imagine is close to Japanese people. I wonder how you feel after eating it?"

In fact, this soup base is the soup base that Ning Shaola specially supplied to Japan in the previous life, and it has long been verified.

The Japanese people during the period of economic boom had a strong sense of pride. They had just classified Yue Ning as a big name in the industry. Such a big name not only saw the strength of their country, but also wanted to make food that was close to their people, which made them have a stronger favorable impression of him.

“The soup base is different from the Japanese clear soup, but it has our Japanese flavor. It’s delicious!”

"It's delicious. I like this soup very much. In fact, our Japanese soup base is not just bonito flakes and kelp, but also contains various kinds of fish. The flavor of this fish is very similar. It's okay to call it Japanese style."

"I'm more interested in the soup in this chicken tofu pudding. It's said to be made from a thick soup that's been boiled for eight hours. Thick soup is thick soup. To turn a clear soup into a thick soup, just boil it over high heat, the fat will emulsify, and the thick soup will become a clear soup. How is this possible?"

"This is the difference between Chinese food culture and Japanese food culture. China is a continental country with abundant resources. In terms of cooking techniques, it uses multiple techniques, which is very complicated. Therefore, our soup making techniques are diverse..."

Cai Zhiyuan saw that everyone had finished their meal and the Japanese were still interested in listening to Yue Ning talk about Chinese food culture. He said, "Ningning, if you have nothing to do, can we sit down and chat for a while?"

"Okay! Let's have some tea together."

Yue Ning extended her hand to invite them to sit in the rest area. She added purified water to the kettle, boiled the water, heated the cups, and made tea.

Yue Ning chatted with them while drinking tea. The major Chinese cuisines and even the soups of each restaurant are different. The Japanese were confused and only knew that it was troublesome and they couldn't understand it for a while.

Ishikawa simply asked her if she cooked it in Chikuzen. After all, it is a Japanese dish, so why did they understand it?

The translator asked on behalf of Ishikawa: "Can I ask how the Chikuzen Niburi is made? The vegetables and konjac all have the flavor of beef, but the wagyu cubes are still roasted and tender."

"The beef flavor in the vegetables is not the beef flavor from wagyu beef. If you really put wagyu beef in to cook, it would be a waste of food. I stir-fry grass-fed oxtail and stew it with vegetables. After the chikuzen niboshi is stewed, I fry the wagyu beef. After the wagyu is fried, pour the fried butter into the chikuzen niboshi, stir it, and serve it on a plate immediately."

Several Japanese people talked about it in unison and said that it turned out that this was possible.

"This just illustrates the problem with the clear soup I mentioned earlier. Chinese cuisine is very complicated to cook, while Japanese cuisine is relatively simple and emphasizes delicacy and refinement. They are two completely different ways of thinking..."

Yue Ning started from this and talked about his personal experience of the development history of Japanese cuisine, knife skills, how to slice, and the use of knives such as Yanagiba, Deba, and Boroba.

I talked to them about the development of Japanese kaiseki cuisine in the Edo period, and the monk-themed kaiseki cuisine. During the Meiji Restoration, meat eating was encouraged, and high-end Japanese cuisine was influenced by French cuisine, while mid- and low-end Japanese cuisine was influenced by Western colonies in Southeast Asia, such as Nanban chicken and Japanese curry.

Seeing that she knew Japanese food like the back of her hand, the Japanese people brought the topic to Chinese food culture. Yue Ning once again quoted from classics, talking about the connection between Tang fruits mentioned in the Japanese food classic "Nichuli (Bagongzen)" and today's Japanese fruits, and talked about the contribution of the economically prosperous Song Dynasty to Chinese cuisine. She took another sip of tea, quite sadly, and talked about the description of Chinese restaurants in "Travels in China" by Japanese literary giant Akutagawa Ryunosuke, and said that Chinese cuisine has been in decline, and that Chinese food is still a low-priced food internationally.

A fellow master with outstanding skills, a Chinese colleague who knows your culture very well and respects it, is sad about the decline of their country's cuisine, and the food culture of this country is the enlightenment teacher of Japanese food culture. Those Japanese people praised Chinese food culture very much. I hope I can comfort her.

"This time we want to film China's food culture and bring it to Japan, so that the Japanese can know the breadth of Chinese food culture."

"Yes, yes, let's talk about how to do this episode tomorrow."

Yue Ning asked Cai Zhiyuan: "Have they learned about other restaurants?"

"I thought of you. Is there any restaurant in Hong Kong that is more suitable than yours?"

"You can't say that. The Kunhe Restaurant in today's competition is a representative of street food restaurants, as is Chunfeng Restaurant. Every inch has its own strengths and weaknesses. Ningyan can't fully represent Hong Kong cuisine, let alone Chinese cuisine. No, no, I have to write you a list. After you eat at these restaurants, we can discuss how to shoot this program."

The translator translated the conversation between the two people to the Japanese guests. The Japanese, who have always been known for their rigorousness, discovered that there is someone who is even more rigorous than them, and who is so capable and yet humble.

Yue Ning went to the cupboard and got a pen and paper, and wrote down the restaurants she knew, and also wrote down their chefs' specialties. She translated the list and said, "You guys learn about it first, and then we can discuss together how to make this program attractive to Japanese audiences."

Ishikawa took the paper from the translator and put it away carefully.

"By the way, I'm going to Japan next Friday. This trip to Japan is also for the noodle restaurant. I want to explore Japan's street food. Do you have any recommendations?" Yue Ning asked.

This question touched upon their strengths. Several Japanese were discussing intensely when Cai Zhiyuan suddenly said, "Why don't we collaborate on a program called 'Ningning Takes You to Explore Japanese Food'?"

The translator translated this statement, and Cai Zhiyuan also said: "I told you before that Chef Yue is as popular as a star in Hong Kong."

Everyone thought this suggestion was a genius idea.

"No, brother! This time I plan to go from Osaka to Kyoto and then to Tokyo. At most, I will go to Hakone to take a hot spring bath. It's too late to shoot a program." Yue Ning shook his head, "It's the end of the year. I don't have that much time to do a program!"

"We can make it available in Japanese and Chinese, and broadcast it not only in Hong Kong, but also in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia." Cai Zhiyuan smiled cunningly, "Ningning! Just think about how helpful it will be for your Ning Xiaochu. As long as you send someone out, this program will be sponsored by Ning Xiaochu."

"I went with Qiao Junxian, Jun Shen, and Sister Huiyi."

"Cui Huiyi will definitely agree. She wants the Japanese market. Qiao Junshen is just going to eat and drink. It's good that Huiyi is willing to take him." Cai Zhiyuan said, "Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo are enough to shoot a few episodes. Next, whether you continue to shoot or someone else will do it, we will talk about it later."

The translator said, "Chef Yue, we have already done this program. We have a complete shooting plan. We are just changing to a host."

Mr. Ishikawa looked at her and said a long string of words.

Translation: "Mr. Ishikawa said, didn't you just say that we only focused on finding famous dishes and ignored the audience's feelings and didn't describe them in detail, which led to the episode of bladder chicken not having the expected effect. A Chinese chef like you who understands Japanese cuisine well can introduce Japanese cuisine more accurately."

It's fine to go by yourself, but the problem is that the people you go with may not want to be disturbed.

There was a knock on the door, and the waiter went to open it. Ah Ming came in and asked, "Ningning, according to the schedule today, you are the one to lead the rounds."

Yue Ning stood up: "Sorry, I have to go to the stage."

The Japanese heard the translator say, they were puzzled: "Patrol Taiwan?"

Yue Ning explained what a tour was. Mr. Ishikawa asked cautiously, "Can we follow the tour?"

The restaurants in Hong Kong City were very interested in their tours. Mr. Liu from Chunfenglou had brought his people here twice to learn from them. Yue Ning was happy to share this management experience.

Yue Ning smiled and said, "Sure, let's go together!"

Cai Zhiyuan said: "I won't accompany you. I'll go sit in your office for a while."

"OK!"

Yue Ning led his men to conduct an after-dinner inspection. When they came back, Cai Zhiyuan came over and said, "Jun Xian said he would listen to you, and Jun Shen would listen to Cui Huiyi. Cui Huiyi said she would love to, but she would still listen to you."

The final decision is back in her hands?

Yue Ning looked at Cai Zhiyuan and said, "Okay!"

Mr. Ishikawa clapped his hands happily and gave some instructions to Yamamoto.

After a few more words, the translator said, "We will receive the shooting plan tomorrow and communicate with you then?"

This work efficiency seems to be different from the Japanese that Yue Ning met in his previous life.

The mentality of the Japanese during a period of overall growth and that of the Japanese after the lost thirty years is really different.