The off-road vehicle moved steadily forward on the winding mountain road. Xiaoman and Mianbao leaned against the window to admire the scenery along the way.
Soon, Mingyue arrived at the hot spring hotel.
This hotel is called Bamboo Valley.
The environment is as its name suggests. There is an exquisite stone bridge at the entrance of the hotel. The water flows under the bridge and the bamboo forest sways gently in the wind, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
The hotel's architecture is full of classical charm, with roofs with flying eaves and angles, carved doors and windows, and stone paths. Every detail reveals a strong classical charm.
Walking into the hotel lobby, in the center of the lobby is an intricately carved stone fountain with gurgling water.
Several colorful paintings of the four seasons hang on the walls of the lobby, complementing the antique furniture in the lobby.
The furniture is made of dark wood and has smooth lines, which makes it comfortable and solemn.
The most eye-catching feature is a huge floor-to-ceiling window that takes up an entire wall of the lobby.
This window not only allows ample natural light to flood the entire space, but also provides guests with a natural landscape that changes with the seasons.
Sitting in the lounge area by the window, guests can enjoy tea while appreciating the scenery outside.
In spring, the cherry trees outside the window are full of pink and white flowers. When the breeze blows, the petals fall to the stream, forming a flower raft.
In summer, the bamboo forest is lush and green, and the sunlight shines through the gaps between the bamboo leaves, casting mottled light and shadows.
In autumn, the maple leaves are as red as fire, intertwined with the golden fallen leaves, forming a warm autumn picture.
In winter, the snow scene outside the window and the blooming plum blossoms complement each other, with red plum blossoms dotted among the white snow.
Only then did Mingyue realize that the four seasons paintings hanging in the hotel were exactly the views from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
She went to the front desk to check in first. She had booked a pet-friendly room, so the bread could come with it.
After arriving in the new dimension, the system also gave her an identity document, so Mingyue has local formal identity information.
The front desk clerk smiled brightly. "Okay, we've checked you in. Do you need help with your luggage?"
"No, I only have one carry-on."
"Okay, then please confirm the dinner time and we'll deliver it to your room. Also, the public hot springs close at 9pm, but the private hot spring in your room is available anytime. The hotel also offers a variety of services, which can be found in the brochure in your room."
"Okay, thank you."
After getting the room card, I walked around the lobby first.
There is also a small tea room in the lobby, serving tea and snacks.
The tea room has the same floor-to-ceiling windows as the lobby, where guests can take a rest, sip tea, appreciate the scenery, and enjoy a quiet time.
Mingyue saw that the teahouse menu also included tea and snacks specially for pets, so she ordered a piece of bread.
She ordered a pot of rose tea and a snack and found a seat next to the floor-to-ceiling window.
The pet snack is a small pastry that looks like an egg yolk pastry and is served on a small plate with a cat head pattern printed on it. It looks similar to human snacks, and there is an instruction sheet next to it that describes the ingredients used in the snack.
Mingyue took a quick look and saw salmon, duck, chicken liver, carrots, yam, etc.
A friendly reminder: if you have cats, you can help them cut the snacks into small pieces so that they can eat more easily.
After taking out the snack, Bread's eyes were fixed on the snack. After Mingyue sat down, he kept poking Mingyue with his claws, urging her to let him eat it quickly.
"Maomao! Quick! Eat, eat, cat snacks!"
When it comes to food, Bread quickly showed his talent as an orange cat.
"Okay, I got it. Don't worry, I'll help you cut it."
Mingyue picked up the knife next to it and helped Bread divide the pastry into four small pieces.
After cutting the pastry open, Mingyue saw a whole egg yolk in the middle, with a layer of minced meat wrapped around the egg yolk. The outer shell should be a topping made of yogurt mixed with cheese. At first glance, it really looks exactly like an egg yolk pastry.
Bread couldn't wait to start eating. He ate a quarter of the pastry in one bite, then grabbed the cup and took a sip of corn silk tea.
"Cool!"
Mingyue saw that there was no one around and ignored Bread's unnatural behavior. She poured some rose tea for Xiaoman who was waiting obediently beside her, and then cut a few snacks for Xiaoman.
She ordered a set of snacks. On the bamboo plate were four snacks of different shapes: peach blossom pastry, matcha snow skin mooncake, peony crystal cake, and osmanthus soft cheese.
These snacks are all very beautifully made. The peach blossom pastry looks like a real peach blossom, and the peony crystal cake is even more realistic, like a lifelike blooming peony.
Xiaoman was originally sighing that she was reluctant to eat it, but then she saw the beautiful peony flower being destroyed by Mingyue with a spoon.
Mingyue gave the crystal cake to Xiaoman and said, "Food is for eating. You must eat it decisively after appreciating it."
She took a bite and found the crystal cake had a strong floral aroma, leaving a lingering taste in her mouth. The chef who made it must have put a lot of effort into it.
The origin of tea snacks is also posted on the wall of the tea room.
Mingyue sipped tea and watched silently.
Tea snacks, also known as "tea cakes", are a long-standing custom of drinking tea with tea snacks.
There are some requirements for the combination of snacks and tea, and the two should be coordinated with each other.
After a series of experiments by our predecessors, a set of matching methods was found: if the tea has a fruity or floral aroma, the snacks should also choose some fragrant ingredients; if the tea is bitter, the snacks should be sweeter.
Unfermented tea like green tea has a bright green tea soup with a refreshing taste with a hint of bitterness. It is suitable to be paired with light and non-sweet snacks such as mung bean cakes and pineapple cakes.
Semi-fermented teas like oolong tea have a mellow flavor. Pairing them with salty snacks like flower seeds, peanuts, and almonds can make the tea more flavorful and highlight the aroma of oolong tea.
Fully fermented teas like black tea have a rich aroma and sweet tea soup. They can be paired with slightly sour foods, such as lemon slices, plums, hawthorns, etc., to make the taste in the mouth more layered.
Black tea, a post-fermented tea with a strong tea flavor, is suitable for pairing with oily and crispy snacks, such as honey three-knife, moon cakes, etc. The balance of the two makes the taste just right.
The teahouse has indeed put a lot of effort into it. For example, Mingyue’s rose tea is paired with floral-scented peach blossom pastries, peony crystal cakes, and osmanthus cheese.
After reading the introduction to tea and snacks, Mingyue also became interested and wanted to try other combinations of tea and snacks in the next few days.
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I don’t know if my kids like this kind of food mixed with some explanations about food culture.
By the way, the pictures of the snacks are still placed in the chapter discussion of this chapter. You can see them by clicking on the book circle or comments.
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