"We'll order fried scrambled eggs, lychee tomatoes, and four bowls of Korean cold noodles. Manager, we just agreed that if you can't make them, it's exaggerated advertising and deceiving customers, and we'll smash up the restaurant!"
In the 1980s, in the Northwest, diners were quite intrigued by these dishes. How could icicles be deep-fried? What are lychee tomatoes? Isn't Korean cold noodles a foreign dish? Wow, these people are clearly connoisseurs. We've never even heard of them.
Xia Enruo stood aside and chuckled to herself. What kind of dish was this? This is nothing special. You can find this in any decent restaurant outside the main street in my past life.
"Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare the order. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
The manager had never heard of the dishes before, but he was confident that the chef he had hired from the provincial capital was experienced and would be able to cook them perfectly.
The chef was called to the front of the room by the manager, who told the group what dishes they had ordered.
"Hurry up and do it, these people don't have good intentions."
The manager gave instructions.
The chef looked distressed. "I've never heard of any of these dishes before, and I can't make them. You'll have to think of something else."
Upon hearing the chef's words, the manager became so agitated that he jumped up and down, pointing his finger at the chef and yelling at him.
"What? You want me to come up with another idea? I poached you from the provincial capital with a high salary, and you want me to come up with another idea? You claim to know everything under the sun, but do you really know how to cook these dishes?"
"I've been in this business for so many years, and I've made every dish that customers order. These three dishes you mentioned are completely unheard of. Have you ever heard of them before?"
When the chef asked him this question, the manager was speechless. Indeed, he had never heard of foreign things like fried icicles, lychee tomatoes, or Korean cold noodles, and he had never even seen them.
Seeing the manager scratching his head, the chef felt more confident.
“These three people are here to cause trouble. They just made up a dish name. I think you should just kick them out.”
The manager was even more troubled after kicking them out. These four men were strong and tall, with a fierce look in their eyes. They were not to be trifled with. If they were to get out of control, they might really smash up his shop. If word got out, he would become a laughing stock in the whole city. How could he ever stand on the main street again?
"I know how to make this dish."
Xia Enruo stood aside, knowing that the group was in a dilemma. This was a golden opportunity. Since they didn't believe in her cooking skills, she would show them what she could do.
"You? Why are you still lingering here? Judging from your tone, do you think even the wild vegetables in your village have foreign names?"
Seeing the disdainful looks and attitudes of the group, Xia Enruo cleared her throat and said.
"These dishes aren't anything special. Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean others haven't. Anyway, I know how to cook them. Manager, are you going to let me give it a try, or are you going to wait for those burly men to smash up the place?"
The manager thought about it again and realized that it made sense. Maybe he really was ignorant and had never heard of these dishes before. If he couldn't serve them, it would not only prove that his restaurant had exaggerated and deceived customers, but it might also anger a few people who would vandalize the shop, which would be a loss for him.
There's no other solution right now, so we might as well let her try. If she can't do it and gets made difficult, we can at least shift the blame onto her.
"Alright, I'll let you give it a try, but don't make a fool of yourself later."
"I can cook, but I can't cook for free. Two dishes and four bowls of noodles will cost me 200 yuan."
What? 200 yuan? The manager thought this was outrageous; 200 yuan was almost half a day's revenue for the entire restaurant!
"200 yuan? What kind of delicacies did you make that cost so much?"
"I don't have any delicacies, my cooking skills are only worth 200 yuan. You should know that I'm the only one who can cook these few dishes right now. You'd better decide whether you want to spend 200 yuan to get through a crisis or have your restaurant smashed up because you can't serve the food."
"Okay, okay, we'll do it your way."
Xia Enruo went to the kitchen and asked them to prepare the ingredients. However, ice cubes were not popular in restaurants at that time, so Xia Enruo could only ask them to go to the street and buy some popsicles, and also bring back 2 catties of fresh lychees.
With all the ingredients ready, Xia Enruo washed her hands and got to work. Hearing that an outsider was attempting a dish she'd never heard of before, the kitchen was packed with people. The restaurant's chefs, waiters, and even the cleaning lady came over to see what this young woman could come up with.
Xia Enruo first peeled the lychees, then soaked them in the prepared tomato sauce and froze them for 10 minutes. While waiting, she started mixing the sauce, blending honey and osmanthus with other seasonings, and finally poured it over the red lychees coated in shaved ice. They looked incredibly beautiful, like candied hawthorn skewers, but with a more translucent red hue, making them very tempting.
"I've never seen lychees made like this before! I've never seen anything like it! It's truly amazing."
Several people in the crowd exclaimed in amazement.
Undisturbed by the crowd, Xia Enruo continued preparing the other two dishes: she quickly cut the popsicles into even strips, dipped them in prepared yogurt, coated them in egg batter, and deep-fried them until golden brown before arranging them on a plate. She smeared a layer of sauce on one side of the plate and added a carved purple radish flower, making it incredibly elegant and instantly giving it a Michelin-starred restaurant feel.
She then boiled the buckwheat noodles she had prepared earlier in a pot, rinsed them several times in cold water, and then mixed them with her own broth using ice water she had frozen beforehand. She then arranged the braised beef, eggs, apples, and cucumber strips around the broth, and finally placed her own spicy and sour sauce in the center of the dough. The Korean cold noodles were now ready.
The manager and chef were dazzled. Xia Enruo not only cooked cleanly and efficiently, but also presented her dishes with great care. The colorful dishes were like a landscape painting, making people's mouths water and greatly increasing their appetite.
"Alright, bring it up: fried icicles, lychee tomatoes, and four bowls of Korean cold noodles."
Inside the restaurant, the four people sitting there were already getting impatient and were loudly urging the waiter to hurry up.
"Does your restaurant even know how to cook? If you don't, just say so. Don't waste our time."
"Exactly, I'm afraid they can't make it and are too afraid to show their faces. If that's the case, then we'll get started."
The onlookers were so excited that even after they finished eating, they stayed and didn't leave. They wanted to see if the restaurant could actually make these unfamiliar dishes.
Hearing the waiter serving the food, everyone quickly got up and gathered around.
"Your order of fried icicles, lychee tomato, and four bowls of Korean cold noodles. Please enjoy."
The four of them stared blankly at the dishes that were served. They hadn't expected that the dish they had casually mentioned on a whim would actually be made.
Moreover, it looks absolutely exquisite. In all my years, I've never seen such beautiful dishes before, and I really can't bear to pick up my chopsticks and ruin them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
