Chapter 101 even trended on social media.
Just as Liao Xiaolu had guessed, Yang Shuyi did indeed have Xiaoyun place an order at noon to have groceries delivered to Gu's Private Kitchen where they had come to visit.
Staying in Jiang City for an extra day was for fun. After washing up in the morning, she specially changed into an outfit that she hadn't worn in public much. Disguised, she went out with Xiaoyun and ate a bowl of Jiang City's specialty rice noodle rolls on the street. Then they took a taxi to explore Jiang City's old town, looking at the arcade buildings and old houses, and then visited the local ancestral halls of famous people.
They planned to visit the Jiang Provincial Museum and the Jiang City Art Museum in the afternoon, so they didn't go back to the hotel. Xiaoyun found a hotel here and booked a room to rest.
Instead of finding a restaurant nearby for lunch, we ate at Gu's Private Kitchen.
Since learning that eating Gu's private kitchen dishes regularly is good for beauty and health, and that it won't cause weight gain if you don't eat too much, and can even help you lose fat and maintain your figure, Yang Shuyi no longer felt guilty when eating them, and was filled with pure happiness.
Moreover, this time they didn't have to hide it from Sister Li, which made them feel much more relaxed. Even Xiaoyun felt more at ease, and the two of them indulged in a delicious meal.
Even when served in a transparent plastic soup bowl, the soup with apricot kernels and pork lung looks high-class. The soup is milky white, and Yang Shuyi scoops it into the bowl with a spoon and drinks the whole bowl directly.
The flavor is fresh, rich, and mellow. The aroma of pork lung and almonds intertwine to create a delicious soup fragrance. There is no fishy smell at all. The sweetness released by the figs and dates during the simmering process makes it very pleasant to drink.
Yang Shuyi sipped the soup, savoring the taste, and quickly finished the bowl. She then ladled out a small half-bowl and drank it again. After finishing, she felt incredibly refreshed and comfortable, and the fatigue from shopping all morning vanished completely.
She doesn't eat pork liver, so she used a soup spoon to scoop up some figs and jujubes to eat, and asked curiously, "Strange, why don't I see any apricots or almonds?"
Xiaoyun drank a bowl of soup and felt her mouth was filled with a sweet and fragrant taste, which was very refreshing.
She replied, "I guess the almonds were ground into almond juice and added to the soup. The almond aroma in the soup is quite strong, and the milky white color of the soup is probably due to the almond juice. You can't get this soup color just by boiling the almonds."
“That makes sense. No wonder the almond scent is so strong. You know a lot.” Yang Shuyi nodded knowingly.
Xiaoyun chuckled: "I was just guessing."
Yang Shuyi smiled and said, "But as long as it's probably right, that's fine."
She scooped up some figs and dates from the bowl and ate them. The figs were soft, sticky, and sweet, while the dates were cooked until they were soft and tender. With each bite, all the sweetness and fragrance burst forth, and the date flesh was so delicate that it could be swallowed without much chewing.
Xiaoyun was also eating the soup base. He ate not only figs and jujubes, but also pork liver. The pork liver was very fragrant, with no fishy smell at all, and it had absorbed some of the sweet soup, making it taste sweet and delicious.
Yang Shuyi picked up a slice of steamed pork and ate it.
In the past, she wouldn't have dared to eat pork belly, partly because she was afraid of it being too fatty and partly because she was afraid of it being too greasy. But the pork belly at Gu's Private Kitchen is delicious. The steamed pork belly like this one is fatty but not greasy, savory and flavorful. It melts in your mouth after a couple of bites, with the aroma of the meat and the aroma of the rice sticking to the meat slices intertwined, creating a rich taste.
She broke her diet today and even stuffed three slices of steamed pork into a white steamed bun to make a carb bomb.
The white steamed buns had a firm texture, and the savory steamed pork inside was delicious. Yang Shuyi took a bite, chewed it, and swallowed it with great satisfaction. She exclaimed, "Xiaoyun, you have to try eating it like this, it's absolutely amazing!"
After saying that, he continued to eat the cabbage bun with steamed pork filling.
Xiao Yun excitedly agreed, and followed suit, taking a piece of white flour steamed bun and eating it with steamed pork. Whenever she had a chance to open her mouth, she couldn't help but praise, "It's really delicious, the taste is amazing!"
After trying the carb bomb, Yang Shuyi was quite satisfied and didn't overindulge. Instead, she switched to eating abalone, fish maw, and chicken, which are relatively lower in calories.
The abalone meat is firm and chewy, and very fresh and fragrant. The chicken is also tender and juicy, and the chicken skin is a bit crisp. At first, it has a sticky feeling, but after chewing, you can taste the fresh flavor of the ingredients themselves.
The Sichuan peppercorns are stewed until soft and tender, with a chewy and delicious texture, and a stronger gelatinous feel, leaving your mouth sticky and full.
Yang Shuyi also used the provided soup spoon to scoop more than half a bowl of golden soup into the bowl and drank it.
The broth combines the essence of abalone, chicken, and fish maw, resulting in a particularly rich and savory flavor with a satisfyingly gelatinous texture.
Yang Shuyi was so engrossed in the delicious food that she buried herself in it and didn't even have time to say a word of praise.
After Xiaoyun finished eating a steamed bun with steamed pork, she picked up several more slices of steamed pork with her chopsticks and ate them, her mouth filled with the aroma of rice and meat.
Seeing Sister Xiaoyi enjoying the golden broth so much, she also ladled out a small half-bowl of soup and drank it herself.
Only after taking a sip did I realize how delicious and fragrant this soup was, made entirely of the essence of abalone, chicken, and fish maw.
After finishing the soup, she savored its fresh and savory flavor and rich texture, and couldn't help but exclaim, "The abalone, chicken, and fish maw used in this dish are all very fresh and of high quality, which is why the broth is so delicious."
“Yes, that’s why we made the right choice in choosing Gu’s Private Kitchen for lunch. You can’t find this kind of delicious food anywhere else,” Yang Shuyi said with a smile.
She ate two pieces of chicken, then picked up an abalone and ate it, followed by some fish maw pieces. Yang Shuyi really liked the sticky texture of fish maw, and since it's good for beauty and health, eating more of it is always beneficial.
After finishing the golden broth, Xiaoyun ate abalone, chicken, and fish maw pieces one after another, praising each one she ate.
Oyster omelet was also popular with both of them. The crust was crispy, with a soft and chewy texture from the sweet potato starch batter and the aroma of eggs. The oysters were fresh, tender, and delicate with a seafood flavor, and quite salty and fragrant.
Yang Shuyi and Xiaoyun each picked up a small piece with their chopsticks and ate it. After finishing it in a few bites, they picked up another piece to eat. Every bite was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, leaving a lingering aftertaste.
After enjoying the meat and vegetables to their heart's content, they finally started on the stir-fried cabbage with vinegar. The cabbage, cut into sections, was very crisp and refreshing, with a unique sweetness in every bite, combined with a rich sweet, sour, and salty flavor that made it especially appetizing.
Yang Shuyi likes to eat green vegetables and also enjoys sweet and sour dishes. This stir-fried cabbage with vinegar suited her taste very well, and she ate several bites in a row.
Xiaoyun also loves stir-fried cabbage with vinegar. She thinks the vinegar flavor is just right, with a touch of saltiness and savory aroma that blends perfectly, and the natural sweetness of the cabbage elevates the dish to its peak.
The two women had a great appetite, and since the stir-fried cabbage with vinegar was not high in calories, they quickly finished the whole plate.
Yang Shuyi and Xiaoyun were both quite full, but they unanimously decided that the apricot and pork lung soup could not be kept, as it wouldn't taste as good if reheated in the evening. So they decided to catch their breath before continuing to drink it, and simply chatted to pass the time.
Xiaoyun asked, "Sister Xiaoyi, where are we going to play tonight?"
They have already booked flights back to Beijing for tomorrow noon.
Yang Shuyi shook her head: "I don't have any plans for the time being. I've seen and done most of what I wanted to see and do today. Is there anything else you'd like to go to?"
Xiaoyun also shook her head: "I don't have any either."
Yang Shuyi said, "Then let's just go straight back to the hotel after visiting the art museum this afternoon, heat up the leftovers for dinner, and then get a good rest tonight."
Ever since she ate at Gu's Private Kitchen, she has lost all interest in other restaurants in Jiang City.
"Sure, after a day of fun, you should get a good rest tonight, since you have to catch a flight tomorrow," Xiaoyun nodded in agreement.
The two chatted about other things, and Yang Shuyi asked Xiaoyun to check if the online reservations for the Jiangxi Provincial Museum and Jiangxi Municipal Art Museum were ready. These venues do not require tickets, but reservations are required in advance.
Xiaoyun took out her phone and showed her the successful booking pages from the official WeChat accounts of the two venues: "Don't worry, Sister Xiaoyi, I booked them all last night."
"That's good." Yang Shuyi was completely relieved.
After chatting for a while, they felt they had more room in their stomachs, so they each got a bowl of soup to drink. The soup was fresh, fragrant, and mellow, nourishing them from their mouths to their stomachs.
After drinking two bowls of soup, I finally finished the whole soup of apricot kernels and pork lung. I put the remaining soup ingredients in the soup bowl, put the lid back on, and reheated it for dinner that night.
Dishes like steamed pork with rice flour, abalone and fish maw chicken, and half a piece of oyster omelet were placed back in their original boxes with the lids on, then put back into the insulated bag and reheated for later in the evening.
Yang Shuyi has a habit of standing against the wall for half an hour after eating to aid digestion and maintain her figure, while also browsing her phone.
She opened Weibo and browsed around for a while. Because her secondary account had followed her main account and joined fan groups and supertopics, she could see many of her fans' posts.
Yang Shuyi usually just browses the page without liking anything. Even when she does like something, it's just a casual click using a secondary account, making her just another ordinary person.
Just then, Yang Shuyi came across a post by "Xiaoshuang Chenlu," who had a high-level fan badge. The post was witty and cute, and the user shared their experience of eating Gu's Private Kitchen for lunch. It was practically a mouthpiece for Yang Shuyi!
In that instant, she felt a strong resonance with Xiaoshuang Chenlu. The lovely fan enthusiastically shared her joy with her, and Yang Shuyi also wanted to make the fan happy.
She shared the fan's post to her main account's chat window, then switched to her main Weibo account, logged in, clicked into the chat window with her secondary account, tapped on the post, liked it, and then replied in the comments section.
[Yang Shuyi: I got to eat too! Thank you for sharing your happiness, little fairy! I'm so happy~]
After posting, she immediately swiped left to exit, switched back to her alternate account, browsed Weibo for a while, then exited again and went to browse Xiaohongshu.
After half an hour, Yang Shuyi went to lie down for a nap.
The hotel room was a double room, and Xiaoyun rested on the other bed.
The room was quiet and peaceful, but Weibo became lively again because of Yang Shuyi's likes and replies.
The first to notice Yang Shuyi's likes and comments were her fans. One by one, they received notifications on their idol-following apps such as "Your idol is online" and "Your idol has suddenly appeared in the super topic." They also received notifications from Weibo.
Fans excitedly clicked in and found that their idol was indeed online, had even appeared in the super topic, and had liked and commented on a lucky person's Weibo post, but it seemed that he had already gone offline!
Excitement and disappointment were intertwined in an instant, but everyone still joined in the fun to look at the lucky winner's Weibo post.
The number of likes, reposts, and comments on Xiaoshuang Chenlu's Weibo post are all increasing rapidly.
The comments section was filled with fans who shared the same opinion.
[Pretty Yi Bao kisses: Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! What did I just see?! Little fairy! Shu Yi baby actually called you little fairy!]
[Yi Ni Du Xing: Oh my god! Sister, you're so lucky! Shuyi calls you a fairy!]
[Today, Yi is happy: Waaaaah, I don't care! When Shuyi calls you "little fairy," it's practically the same as calling us Yi fans "little fairy"! Ahhh, I have to take a screenshot and save it as a souvenir!]
[Aiyi Yisheng: It's obvious that Shuyi really loves Gu's Private Kitchen, so I'm flying to Jiang City to eat there tonight and posting on Weibo. @Yang Shuyi, could you please give me a like? (starry-eyed.jpg)]
[Whether heavily made up or lightly made up, you always look beautiful: I'm so envious I'm practically splitting my limbs! To be liked and commented on by Shuyi and called a fairy, you're the first one among all of us Shuyi fans!]
[Yi Ding understands you: Got it. To attract @Yang Shuyi's attention, you need to go to Gu's Private Kitchen and post more reviews of your meals. It would be best if you could tempt @Yang Shuyi (manual doge head)]
[...]
Yang Shuyi's super topic instantly became lively, with many fans who heard the news gathering under Xiaoshuang Chenlu's Weibo post to express their envy and jealousy.
In less than an hour, Yang Shuyi's comment had rapidly climbed to 56,000 likes, creating a multi-layered comment section. Xiaoshuang Chenlu's Weibo post also had over 10,000 likes, more than 20,000 reposts, and a considerable number of comments.
This lively scene immediately caught the attention of entertainment marketing accounts that hadn't met their KPIs. They took screenshots, re-edited the text, and reposted it, instantly attracting more casual netizens and causing the number of likes and discussions to continue to climb.
Yang Shuyi has a built-in following, and soon another topic appeared on the trending search list: Yang Shuyi eating Gu's private kitchen again.
As more and more netizens watched and discussed it, the topic continued to climb to the top of the trending searches, and even a new topic appeared at the bottom of the trending searches: Just how delicious is Gu's Private Kitchen?
On Suli Street, Gu Qingqiu went back to the second floor to rest after lunch.
Thanks to the increased traffic from Weibo these past two days, there have been more customers dining in and ordering online through delivery services than ever before.
The restaurant has a limited supply of ingredients each day and cannot increase its capacity in a short period of time. It can only operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the dine-in orders are exhausted, a wooden sign saying "Ingredients Sold Out" is hung at the door. Riders who arrive at the restaurant have no choice but to inform their employers of the situation and discuss canceling their orders.
Overall, the business closed earlier than usual, and Gu Qingqiu and Sister Zhou also ate breakfast earlier and took an early nap.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, Gu Qingqiu woke up naturally, feeling refreshed.
She's recently gotten into the habit of dealing with her interactions with fans on Xiaohongshu and Weibo after she wakes up. This time, she opens Xiaohongshu first and sees that her number of fans has increased significantly.
The number of followers has been increasing since it became a trending topic yesterday. The speed only slowed down slightly last night, but the base number is still quite large. Why does it seem like the growth rate has increased again now?
Gu Qingqiu was somewhat taken aback, yet also had a vague suspicion. She clicked into the comments section of the notes she posted today and, sure enough, saw through the clues.
[Moonlight is Yi: I could restrain my curiosity before, but this time I really can't resist! I have to see what's so magical about the Gu family's private kitchen that Shuyi baby keeps eating!]
[Yi Ding Yao Kaixin: Waaah, I just wanted to know how delicious Gu's Private Kitchen is that made Shuyi click into the super topic, like, and comment. I browsed through the entire homepage, and well, I'm definitely tempted!]
[Drink more water: Great! I've decided to take advantage of being a Jiang City resident and find time to go to Gu's Private Kitchen to enjoy their delicious food, then take photos and post them on Weibo!!! I hope Shuyi will like and comment, calling me a fairy (dreaming.gif)]
[...]
After reading the message, Gu Qingqiu exited Xiaohongshu and opened Weibo. Sure enough, the number of followers gained here was more than twice that on Xiaohongshu!
With anticipation, she clicked into the trending topics list and, sure enough, saw Yang Shuyi's name again, along with the name of her own restaurant.
The entry "Yang Shuyi eats Gu's private dishes again" ranks fifth.
Unlike the last time it trended on social media, this time the phrase "Gu's Private Kitchen" appeared in its entirety on the trending list for the first time, and it was even at the top of the list.
Just look at the explosive growth in followers on Weibo and Xiaohongshu accounts to know how much traffic this must have generated!
Gu Qingqiu originally wanted to click on the entry to take a closer look, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a trending topic that seemed to contain the name of her family's restaurant, with only half of the text visible. She quickly swiped the screen to reveal the complete entry—Just how delicious is Gu's Private Kitchen?
The excitement of that moment was indescribable, like catching a huge pie falling from the sky. This was the first time that Gu's Private Kitchen had become the main topic of this search, clearly demonstrating netizens' curiosity and discussion about their own restaurant.
She clicked on it immediately and saw that the top post was still from an entertainment marketing account.
[A Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire: Yang Shuyi was previously spotted by netizens enjoying dumplings at Gu's Private Kitchen in Jiang City after filming wrapped up, looking quite happy. This afternoon, Yang Shuyi suddenly appeared in the fan community's supertopic and liked a fan's post sharing their experience at Gu's Private Kitchen. She then mentioned that she was also eating at Gu's Private Kitchen and jokingly called the fan a "little fairy." This shows that Yang Shuyi really loves Gu's Private Kitchen. So, just how delicious is Gu's Private Kitchen?]
I'm not a food enthusiast, so please just take my humble opinion with a grain of salt (bowing).
Gu's Private Kitchen is a restaurant that reopened in April this year. It had been operating in Yunjiang District of Jiang City for more than 30 years, so it can be considered a restaurant with a long history. The current owner is the daughter of the previous owner.
Mr. Gu has changed his previous business model. He now creates a daily menu based on the fresh ingredients he purchases. The menu is usually posted at 10 a.m. on his Weibo account @顾氏私房菜 and his Xiaohongshu account of the same name. Customers can check if there are any dishes they like before deciding whether to go. It's a bit like opening a blind box.
According to what we understand, Gu's Private Kitchen has never repeated most of its dishes since it opened, meaning that customers eat a limited selection of dishes every day, and missing out would be an irreparable loss.
It is said that the most classic dishes of Gu's Private Kitchen are the braised pig's feet, braised duck, braised chicken, braised beef and braised platter that were launched on May Day. The braised aroma is rich and the meat is tender and soft, which is still unforgettable (I was drooling when I looked at the food photos). Dishes such as braised pork with preserved mustard greens, braised pork with abalone, lemon shredded chicken, braised beef brisket with dried bean curd, perilla duck, handmade fish balls, braised chicken with whelks, sweet and sour yellow croaker, and almond tofu are all popular dishes among customers. Many netizens have also posted their reviews and food photos on Weibo or Xiaohongshu.
I highly recommend that if you have the chance to dine at Gu's Private Kitchen, don't forget to take photos while enjoying the food. I've heard that you don't need any special skills to take great photos! Then, share your thoughts on Weibo and tag your favorite celebrity. You might even get lucky and get a comment! (rubbing hands together)
We welcome more enthusiasts to share their thoughts in the comments section on just how delicious Gu's Private Kitchen's dishes are! (starry-eyed)
P.S.: The food photos are taken from comments posted by netizens on @顾氏私房菜's blog. Please contact us to remove them if there is any copyright infringement (thank you).
[Images of braised pig's feet, braised beef, braised meat platter, braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens, braised abalone with pork belly, lemon shredded chicken, braised beef brisket with dried bean curd, and handmade fish balls]
The blog post was quite long, and Gu Qingqiu read it line by line, word by word. The accompanying photos were a nine-grid collage of food pictures, each dish looking and smelling delicious; you could almost smell the enticing aromas without even clicking on them.
Let alone the restaurant owner mentioned, even a passerby who happens to glance at the photos would pause for a few seconds. The nine food photos selected by the blogger are indeed of high quality. They may not be the most visually appealing, but they are enough to whet one's appetite.
As Gu Qingqiu scrolled down, she saw posts from entertainment bloggers and food bloggers praising the deliciousness of Gu's private kitchen dishes, listing some past recipes and accompanied by tempting food photos.
She clicked into the comment section of the first blogger, and there were indeed some netizens sharing their experiences of eating Gu's Private Kitchen, complete with pictures.
[Hopefully it's true: My hidden gem restaurant has finally been discovered! I'm so excited to see the restaurant's full name trending! Although this surge in popularity might make it even harder for us to queue, I still couldn't resist sharing it.]
Gu's Private Kitchen uses exceptionally fresh and high-quality ingredients. You can check out the food inspection reports issued by the Food and Drug Administration that @Gu'sPrivateKitchen previously posted. They truly have none of the substances that shouldn't be there, and all the necessary nutrients are present with excellent data. Officially certified as nutritious, you can eat with complete peace of mind.
To be honest, I eat there often, and if I really wanted to share, I couldn't pick out any dishes to talk about right away, because every single one is delicious.
Let me pick one of my recent meals as an example: the preserved vegetable and pork patty is savory and flavorful. The patty is tender yet has a slightly grainy texture, and the addition of some fatty bits makes it not greasy at all. The seeping oil moistens the patty, and the preserved vegetables mixed in make it especially fragrant. The cheese chicken and potato tart is loved by both kids and me, the big kid. One bite reveals a crispy crust, rich potato flavor, and cheese that's stretchy enough to be pulled apart. The chicken mixed with onions is delicious. The Thai-style thin crispy shrimp cake is also crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The thin crust wraps around firm and fresh shrimp meat, which is pure and sweet on its own. Dipping it in sweet chili sauce makes the flavor even richer.
There are many more delicious dishes to discover in the comments section of @顾氏私房菜's blog posts. I guarantee you'll get more and more hungry just looking at them, and you'll wish you could go to the restaurant right away to try them. You'll fall in love with @顾氏私房菜 from then on (laughs).
Preserved vegetable and pork patty.jpg, cheese chicken and potato tart.jpg, Thai crispy shrimp cake.jpg
[Rely on yourself, kid: Speaking of Gu's Private Kitchen, I think every dish is delicious. You can basically choose blindly. When you dine in, you don't need to worry about what to order; just order everything from the menu. If you can't finish, you can take it home and reheat it for dinner. My friends and I all do this, and every time we eat there, we feel incredibly happy all day!]
If I had to point out one thing, it would be that Gu's Private Kitchen's soups are absolutely amazing. They simmer daily, using rich, high-quality ingredients. If it's a pork rib soup, then they use only the finest spare ribs, simmered until incredibly tender, falling off the bone with every bite. It's not bland at all; it's soaked in the sweet and savory broth, making it irresistible! Plus, most of Gu's Private Kitchen's soups are good for your health, so you can't go wrong with drinking their soups often!
Gastrodia elata and fish head soup.jpg Lychee chicken soup.jpg Coconut chicken soup.jpg American ginseng and lean pork soup.jpg Winter melon, kelp and old duck soup.jpg Yam and pork rib soup.jpg Papaya, bamboo shoot and fish fillet soup.jpg
[I've figured it out: I clicked on the trending topic "How delicious is Gu's Private Kitchen?", and my answer is: Every dish at Gu's Private Kitchen is exceptionally delicious, with perfect color, aroma, and taste. After eating their food, it's really hard to eat at other restaurants. Everything else is just a compromise!]
Let me share some dining tips. They open at 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, so it's best to arrive early or right on time to be among the first to get in and avoid the queue. Lately, the restaurant has been incredibly busy, so the wait can be quite long; if you arrive late, you might not even get a number.
If you want to order takeout, you'll have to place an order with a delivery service. It's best to order early, as business is so good lately that even if the delivery person goes to buy it, they might not be able to get it (in this case, it's advisable to be patient and understanding, and not to complain about the delivery driver).
The restaurant offers a subsidy policy for delivery services. There's a benefit card inside the food packaging bag; just follow the instructions on it. The subsidy is quite substantial!
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