Chapter 37 Peppered Pork Tripe and Chicken Soup.
Grandma Lin first scooped up a spoonful of soup and drank it. It was warm and had a spicy peppery aroma. The flavor was rich and mellow, with the freshness of pork belly and chicken, a hint of sweetness from red dates and goji berries, and a few other flavors...
She savored it carefully, swallowed the soup in her mouth, and then scooped up another spoonful to drink. Only then did she finally taste the flavor of Codonopsis pilosula, and there should also be Astragalus membranaceus and Angelica sinensis.
The various flavors blend together, greatly enhancing the taste of this pepper pork tripe and chicken soup. It tastes very nutritious, after all, it's made with high-quality ingredients.
Grandma Lin drank several mouthfuls of soup before using her chopsticks to pick up some shredded pork tripe and eat it.
The pork tripe strips were cut not too thin, about one centimeter wide, and had a soft and chewy texture. There was no residual fishy smell, and it was cleaned very thoroughly, allowing you to taste the freshness and aroma of the pork tripe.
Next, we had a piece of chicken. The chicken was soaked in the broth, and every bite was bursting with juice. The meat was tender and smooth. In addition to the aroma of chicken, there was also the aroma of pork belly, with a hint of medicinal herbs such as ginseng, astragalus, and angelica. It tasted quite good too.
She used her chopsticks to eat the shredded pork belly and chicken, and felt more and more that the soup was well-made and reasonably priced. There was so much pork belly and chicken in it, it was no less than a meat dish.
As the shredded pork belly and chicken in the bowl gradually decreased, the ingredients that had sunk to the bottom, such as ginseng, astragalus, and angelica, were revealed. Grandma Lin didn't eat these; instead, she ate the red dates and goji berries in the bowl.
The red dates and goji berries also soak up the broth, and even if the soup has been cooked for a long time, you can still taste their sweetness when you bite into them.
After emptying the bowl, Grandma Lin took a soup spoon and ladled out another bowl of soup for her to eat slowly.
Grandpa Lin savored the pepper pork tripe and chicken soup, and was so engrossed in the spicy aroma of the pepper and the warmth of the soup that he broke out in a sweat.
He grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped the sweat from his forehead and temples, laughing, "You can tell this soup is very nutritious just by drinking it. I'm sweating all over from eating it. Normally, pepper pork tripe and chicken soup is meant to be drunk in autumn and winter to nourish the body, but it's not bad to eat it now. It's good to sweat a little and get rid of impurities in your body."
Moreover, the restaurant had air conditioning, so it wasn't too hot. The main problem was that he drank the soup too quickly. As soon as he tasted the rich and mellow soup, he simply picked up the bowl and gulped it down. After that, he ate the shredded pork belly and chicken in the bowl as well.
The subtle spiciness of the pepper not only permeates the soup but also infuses every part of the shredded pork tripe and chicken. After a hearty meal, you'll be sweating.
Grandma Lin smiled upon hearing this: "It's your fault for eating too fast. I'm taking it easy, drinking the soup and eating the meat. It is a bit hot, but not to the point of sweating like you."
"At my age, only the meat dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen can make me this eager. I'll definitely savor this bowl slowly." Grandpa Lin chuckled and poured himself another bowl of soup.
The elderly couple savored the peppered pork tripe and chicken soup, thoroughly enjoying the shredded pork tripe and chicken, and occasionally picking up some asparagus, black pepper beef tenderloin, and garlic broccoli.
They also heard the customers who came in after them ordering. The waiter apologized and explained that there were only ten servings of pepper pork tripe and chicken soup available at lunchtime, and they had all been sold out. The soup was made by simmering a whole pork tripe and a whole chicken, and the quantity was really limited, so they were very sorry.
Grandpa and Grandma Lin exchanged a glance and suddenly felt that the peppered pork tripe and chicken soup in their bowls smelled even better.
They were glad they came to this restaurant for lunch, otherwise they would have really missed this delicious soup.
Gu Qingqiu had a quick lunch with Sister Zhou. When she saw a customer getting up to pay the bill, Sister Zhou went out to collect the money and serve the new table of customers. Gu Qingqiu then cleared the dishes and put them in the sink, and folded up the small table.
After Sister Zhou handed her the new order form and placed it under the glass window, she went to get it and continued cooking.
Around 12:30, the sign saying "Ingredients Sold Out" was put up. All the customers who had been queuing at the restaurant entrance were welcomed in and served. Gu Qingqiu finished cooking the meat and vegetables she had ordered and had Sister Zhou take them to the serving area. She finally had a little free time.
She looked towards the main hall and saw Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin getting up to leave, so she quickly went out.
As she passed by, Sister Zhou told her that she would pay the bill for this table of customers. Gu Qingqiu quickly walked behind the cashier and greeted them with a smile: "Good afternoon, Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin. I was too busy in the kitchen to come out and say hello to you earlier."
Grandma Lin was pleased to see Xiao Qiu's good spirits: "It's alright, you're busy with your business at the restaurant. We just wanted to come over for a meal to improve our diet, don't worry about us."
Xiao Qiu's complexion is much better now than when the restaurant first opened. Her skin is fair and radiant, her smile is bright and generous, and she is full of vitality, making people happy just looking at her.
She said, "By the way, thank you so much for the crispy milk rolls you brought this morning. They smelled especially delicious. We only found out when we got here that the restaurant was only selling four servings today. If you hadn't kindly brought them to us to try, we really wouldn't have been able to get any."
Grandpa Lin chimed in, "Yes, those crispy milk rolls are really delicious. Even I, who don't usually eat desserts, ate three of them. Your cooking skills are amazing."
He held up his right hand and gave a thumbs-up.
Gu Qingqiu was delighted to hear this and smiled, revealing two small dimples: "I'm glad you like it. I made it for breakfast this morning and thought I'd give you some to try. Also, thank you for the strawberries; I tasted a few when I got back and they were very sweet."
"I'm glad you like strawberries," Grandma Lin said with a smile.
Grandpa Lin couldn't help but praise, "Xiao Qiu, the meat dishes you made today tasted very good, especially the pepper pork tripe and chicken soup. It made me feel so comfortable. It was a really delicious soup."
"Thank you, Grandpa Lin, for not minding. I'm glad you like it," Gu Qingqiu replied, while operating the computer to pull up their order for their table number, totaling one hundred and eighty-four yuan.
"It's 180 yuan in total. Just scan the code here."
Grandpa Lin could keep track of these accounts. He had already taken out his phone to scan the code and enter the amount when he heard this, he paused and said, "Xiao Qiu, isn't it one hundred and eighty-four? Just charge us the full amount. There's no need to give us a discount."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's just rounding down. I was afraid you wouldn't accept the discount. We're such good friends, we even exchanged treats this morning, so don't be shy about rounding down.
Grandma Lin sensed Xiao Qiu's determination and nudged her husband's arm, saying, "Then let's listen to Xiao Qiu."
Grandpa Lin understood his wife's meaning, then scanned the code and paid 180 yuan, saying with a smile, "Xiao Qiu, you're such a kind child, thank you."
Grandma Lin couldn't help but urge, "Xiao Qiu, don't overwork yourself. Get plenty of rest and take care of yourself."
She was happy for Xiao Qiu because the restaurant was doing so well, but she was also worried that Xiao Qiu would get tired from working so hard in the kitchen all day.
Gu Qingqiu smiled and nodded: "Okay, I will pay attention. Thank you for your concern."
After seeing Grandpa and Grandma Lin off, Gu Qingqiu went back to the kitchen to finish up.
Around one o'clock, after Gu's Private Kitchen saw off the last table of customers, Sister Zhou was already clearing away the dishes and wiping the tables.
Gu Qingqiu walked over to the restaurant entrance, stacked the chairs that were waiting in line, and put them inside near the door.
As she closed the wooden door, she glanced at the noodle shop diagonally opposite. There were only one or two people eating inside; it was quite deserted.
Gu Qingqiu recalled that the noodle shop across the street had always had a rather slow business, but since it had been operating for a long time and offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it had gradually attracted more customers.
Without thinking too much, she closed the wooden door, casually found a chair to sit down, opened Weibo and Xiaohongshu to reply to some comments under the official accounts, and then started browsing the messages on various social media platforms.
After playing on her phone for a while, Gu Qingqiu went into the kitchen, where Sister Zhou had already washed the dishes and chopsticks and was putting them into the sterilizer.
Grandpa Lin gave her two boxes of strawberries earlier. They were quite large and of good quality. After she came back from grocery shopping, she washed a few and ate them. They were sweet, juicy, and not sour at all.
She took out the box she had eaten from and put it aside, then handed the remaining box, along with the plastic bag, to Sister Zhou, who was operating the sterilizer and had turned around to start sterilizing.
"Sister Zhou, please take this box of strawberries back with Fangfang. I've kept one for myself too."
Sister Zhou didn't take it: "Boss, you can keep it for yourself. I usually buy it for Fangfang too."
"It's alright, these strawberries won't last more than a day or two. It's best to share them while they're fresh," Gu Qingqiu said. "Didn't you share some with me when you went mango picking in the suburbs last time?"
Upon hearing this, Sister Zhou smiled and reached out to take it, saying, "Okay, thank you, boss."
She still had to clean the room and mop the floor. Gu Qingqiu gave her a few instructions and then went upstairs to rest.
Yunyang ate at Gu's Private Kitchen for two consecutive days during the May Day holiday, and he was still reminiscing about it at work today.
The only way to soothe the sadness of returning to work after the holiday is to reminisce about the delicious and tempting meat dishes.
At noon, the department ordered meat dishes from a nearby restaurant and ate them together at the company. The signature dishes that usually taste delicious seemed ordinary today.
After lunch, he sat at his workstation scrolling through his phone. He searched for Gu's Private Kitchen on Weibo and managed to find a few photos of meat dishes that had just been shared that day, which looked very tempting.
I thought I was full, but I still can't help wanting to eat more.
Finding that he couldn't find any new food-sharing photos, he simply opened Xiaohongshu, which he hardly ever used, and directly searched for Gu's Private Kitchen, then clicked on the latest posts.
The last time I opened Xiaohongshu was to see some recommendations and comments about private kitchens. I was so engrossed in all kinds of food photos that I couldn't tear myself away. It wasn't until I went to the restaurant and ate the delicious meat dishes that I felt truly satisfied.
On Xiaohongshu, there were far more posts related to Gu's Private Kitchen that day than on Weibo, and many of them included pictures.
Earlier, at Gu's Private Kitchen, I saw food photos of the five meat and vegetable soup dishes on today's menu, taken from various angles, presented to Yunyang.
He looked at the glistening oil on the stir-fried pork with chili peppers, the red and spicy curls of the spicy squid tentacles, and the savory and refreshing combination of asparagus and black pepper beef tenderloin, and couldn't help but swallow.
The peppered pork tripe and chicken soup looks like it's made with lots of ingredients and is very nutritious. I can already imagine the rich and mellow flavor when I drink it, even through the screen.
And the crispy milk roll has a beautiful cross-section, with a golden-brown outer crust and a milky-white milk jelly inside, it looks delicious.
This is the first dessert served at the Gu family's private kitchen, and only four portions are available for sale at noon. Yunyang could never catch it, so he could only sigh as he read other people's excited posts describing how delicious it was.
The more he looked at it, the more he wanted it. Although he couldn't have the crispy milk rolls, the other meat dishes today, especially the peppered pork tripe and chicken soup, were still quite good. His mind was screaming with desire to eat them.
But after get off work that evening, I promised to go to my maternal grandfather's house for dinner and keep him company.
After exiting Xiaohongshu and scanning the food delivery app, Yunyang decided to wait until it was almost time for Gu's Private Kitchen to open before placing an order to have a delivery person buy meat and vegetables and send them to her grandfather's house so she could eat with him.
Around 4 p.m., Yunyang took the opportunity to slip away to use the restroom and placed an order on his phone for a delivery service. He specifically noted that the rider should try to arrive at the store by 5 p.m., otherwise the queue would take a long time.
As he walked back to his desk, he was still thinking that it would be great if Gu's Private Kitchen could offer a delivery service. Ordering errands is expensive and troublesome.
On the other side, Wang Bai received a new order. The delivery address was in the family compound of the Provincial Procuratorate, which was fine. The pickup address was a restaurant called Gu's Private Kitchen on Suli Street, which looked quite familiar.
He checked the order notes and his employer suggested arriving at the restaurant before 5 p.m. to order in order to avoid a long wait.
Wang Bai glanced at the address of the order he was currently delivering. It was quite close to Suli Street. After finishing the delivery, he should be able to reach the destination before five o'clock by taking a detour.
He gripped the handlebars of the electric scooter with both hands, glanced at the traffic at the intersection, turned the handlebars with his right hand to start the scooter, and turned right into another alley.
When it was time to go to Gu's Private Kitchen, the staff opened the wooden door from the inside and started business.
Wang Bai only recognized it now; it was the restaurant with the delicious meat dishes. He had delivered an order to them once before. He had even planned to bring his family there for a meal when he had some free time.
But lately I've been so busy. As the weather gets hotter, there are more people ordering takeout. Not only are the full-time delivery riders busy, but those who run errands have also received a lot more orders, such as buying food and drinks, delivering documents within the same city, etc. They are tired but happy, and their income has increased a lot.
He parked his electric scooter and walked to the cashier. He took out his phone and said to the customer, "Hello, one of everything on the menu today, to go. Please include the menu and invoice."
Sister Zhou has been receiving quite a few delivery riders who come to buy meat and vegetables on her behalf lately. She smiled and nodded in agreement: "Okay, I understand."
She printed out the order on her computer and gave it to the delivery driver, then said to him, "Why don't you sit in the shop for a while? It's quite hot outside."
Wang Bai took the menu, nodded in agreement, and found a seat near the door. The waiter even poured him a glass of water, which he thanked with a smile, thinking to himself that the service at this restaurant was surprisingly good.
He took out his phone, took a picture of the menu, and sent it to his employer to let them know that he had ordered and was waiting to pick up the food.
For orders like these, the employer pays the delivery fee upfront, and the employee pays for the meat and vegetables at the store personally. The employer then pays the service fee after the order is delivered.
After browsing the rider app for a while without seeing any orders to accept, Wang Bai looked up and realized that there were already three tables of customers in the store. It was only a little past five o'clock, and business was really good.
After a while, he smelled a spicy aroma wafting from the kitchen. It must be the smell of stir-fried pork with chili peppers. The aroma of chili peppers mixed with the rich, salty, and savory smell of pork wafted out, instantly arousing the appetite of everyone in the inner shop, including himself.
Upon hearing that the table was still ordering food, Wang Bai immediately told the waiter that he wanted a plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
Various aromas gradually wafted from the kitchen: the savory fragrance of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, the fresh and spicy aroma of spicy squid tentacles, the black pepper aroma of asparagus and black pepper beef tenderloin, and the faint fragrance of garlic broccoli and the rich aroma of pepper pork tripe and chicken soup.
To distract himself, he roughly counted that there were five tables of customers in the restaurant. The two of them were struggling to decide which dish to leave out and completed their order. The garlic broccoli, a vegetable, was left out about half the time.
The remaining three tables, each with four or five customers, unhesitatingly ordered all the meat dishes on the menu.
One or two dishes were served to the other tables one after another, and Wang Bai finally saw the waiter come out with two large takeout bags: "Your takeout order is ready. We've included five sets of tableware, is that alright?"
The order only required two pairs, and Wang Bai nodded, "That's enough, thank you."
He took the two large bags of meat and vegetables, followed the clerk to the cashier, took out his phone to pay, and paid a total of three hundred yuan.
While the clerk was issuing the invoice, Wang Bai thought that ordering three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and one soup, which tasted delicious, for only 300 yuan seemed like a good deal, but compared to his daily wage, it seemed a bit expensive.
However, it's not a problem to bring the family here for a meal occasionally; the smell is just too tempting.
He took the invoice, thanked the invoice, picked up the takeout bag, put it in the insulated box on the back of his electric scooter, then sent the payment record and invoice to his employer. After keeping them safe, he rode away from the fragrant and bustling restaurant.
In Yunyang, I can barely concentrate on my work in the afternoon. After finishing what I need to do, I occasionally open the food delivery app to check the messages the riders send me and reply to a few of them.
When he saw that the other party said they had already bought all the meat and vegetables and were waiting, he couldn't help but smile.
He later saw the invoice and payment record sent by the rider, and replied, "Okay, received. Thank you for your hard work."
After finally getting off work, Yunyang quickly left the office, took the elevator to the parking lot, and went to get his car.
On the way, I received a call from my grandfather. The old man spoke with a strong voice: "Did you order takeout?"
"Yes, Grandpa, the meat and dishes at this restaurant are especially delicious. You and my brother should try them later," Yunyang said while driving, his phone on speakerphone.
Grandpa: "Your brother isn't coming home for dinner tonight. How can the two of us possibly finish all this food? And you didn't even tell us you were ordering takeout earlier. It's a good thing it arrived early, otherwise Aunt Mei would have already started cooking."
Aunt Mei was helping with cooking at her maternal grandfather's house.
Yunyang suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Grandpa, you still need to ask Aunt Mei to cook some rice. I thought we had rice at home, so I didn't order any."
"You rascal..." You can imagine Grandpa shaking his head helplessly on the other end of the phone, and then you hear him say, "Don't worry, Aunt Mei has already cooked our rice. I was just worried about what would happen if you also ordered rice."
Yunyang chuckled: "That's good."
The foreigner said, "Alright, drive carefully, we'll wait for you to eat."
He muttered at the end, "I must say, this takeout smells pretty good."
Yunyang smiled and agreed. Looking at the traffic jam ahead, and glancing further ahead, he could see the orange-red sunset peeking through the gaps between the tall buildings. He was no longer in a hurry.
Half an hour later, he drove into the Provincial Procuratorate, parked in his own parking space, and then quickly walked to the sixth floor of a nearby building.
Before I even knocked on the door, I could hear the familiar bickering inside—my grandfather's voice and Uncle Feng's voice.
He knocked on the door, and there was an immediate response. Then the wooden door opened: "Xiao Yang is back, come in quickly."
Yunyang greeted her with a smile, "Hello, Aunt Mei."
The air conditioning was on, and it was immediately cool as soon as he stepped inside. He took out his slippers from the shoe cabinet by the door, put them on, and then went to the living room.
"Grandpa, Uncle Feng, I'm back."
Grandpa Xu Shiren bluntly exposed his friend in front of the younger generation: "Look at your Uncle Feng, he can't move from the smell of the food you ordered when he comes to the house, and he insists on eating at home."
Uncle Feng said bluntly, "I'll ask Xiao Yang about the food he ordered. Don't think I don't know you're possessive of your food!"
He looked at Yunyang with a smile and said, "Xiaoyang, why don't you treat Uncle Feng to a meal? You like Qi Tian's calligraphy, right? I heard from Xiaoshan that there's a calligraphy exhibition of his recently. I'll have Xiaoshan get you a ticket."
Uncle Feng is a connoisseur of food. When he was working, he traveled all over the province in search of delicious food. After retiring, he traveled all over the country to eat all kinds of delicious local specialties. He can be described as a gourmand.
Yunyang understood Uncle Feng's eagerness to eat it after smelling the aroma, and he agreed even without the calligraphy exhibition tickets. Of course, having them would be best, as tickets to the Qitian Calligraphers' exhibition were quite difficult to obtain.
He replied with a smile, "Sure, I'm glad Uncle Feng doesn't mind the simple meal. I thank you for the ticket in advance."
Seeing that Lao Feng had bled a little, Xu Shiren smiled and said, "Since Xiao Yang has agreed, let's eat quickly. I'm starving just smelling this delicious food."
He had previously complained when he received the takeout, saying that Xiaoyang only liked to eat out, even though homemade food was more hygienic and tasted just as good.
Later, when I opened the takeout bag to see what was inside, the aroma that wafted out changed my mind. The meat and vegetables that Xiaoyang ordered seemed to be something special.
Thinking that the takeout bag could keep the food warm, he didn't take out the boxes of meat and vegetables inside, but he left the bag open without sealing it tightly, letting the aroma waft out while waiting for his grandson.
Just then, Old Feng came over to return his fishing rod. This guy is a picky eater with a keen sense of smell. He smelled the aroma of the food and asked which restaurant this was. He said the aroma was just as good as that of Yupin Pavilion and that he wanted to eat at home.
Xu Shiren smiled when he heard his friend's praise, and in his heart he also praised his grandson for knowing how to find a restaurant and order takeout.
He knew that his grandson would definitely invite Lao Feng to dinner at home once he found out, but he still couldn't help but banter with each other first. He used to banter with Lao Feng when he was working, and he still had this habit now that he was retired.
The two bickered back and forth, both with smiles in their eyes, and occasionally they would slam their fists on the table.
Aunt Mei brought out four bowls of rice. She was about to go into the kitchen to get chopsticks when Yunyang stopped her.
"Aunt Mei, here are five sets of disposable chopsticks and spoons. Let's use these; they're pretty good quality."
Xu Shiren glanced at them and nodded: "Let's listen to Xiaoyang. These disposable tableware items look to be of pretty good quality."
Feng Jianguo sat in the dining chair, his eyes fixed on the boxes of meat and vegetables that Yunyang took out of the takeout bag. When the lids were opened, an even more domineering and slightly spicy aroma wafted out.
The packaging box was just an ordinary one with a slightly frosted finish, but the meat and vegetables inside looked incredibly appetizing.
Aunt Mei smiled and agreed, then sat down at the table.
Yunyang tore open the cutlery bags, took out the chopsticks, broke them apart and rubbed them together a few times before handing them to the three elders. Then he sat down with a thud and said, "Alright, eat up. I've been thinking about this meal all day."
Xu Shiren had actually been craving this aroma for quite some time, so he picked up his chopsticks and first took a piece of stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
The meat slices are slightly spicy with green peppers, followed by the salty and savory flavor of the thickened sauce. The meat slices are tender and firm, and the spiciness of the green peppers becomes more pronounced with each bite. You can swallow them after just a few bites.
The meat slices were quite flavorful, so he picked up another slice and ate it. He then mixed the salty and savory meat with rice, which was especially satisfying.
Feng Jianguo and others only started eating after Lao Xu did, and he was the first to try what seemed to be the most ordinary stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
He picked up a piece of water chestnut and green pepper from the stir-fried pork with chili peppers. It wasn't very spicy, but the rich sauce flavor was accompanied by the aroma of the meat and the subtle fragrance of the green peppers themselves.
Just by tasting these green peppers, you can tell that the chef at this restaurant is highly skilled. The stir-fried green peppers are still crisp and tender, not too soft or too spicy, and they are particularly enjoyable to chew.
He picked up a piece of green pepper and ate it, then added a slice of meat to his rice.
The sliced meat is firm and tender, salty, fragrant and spicy. When you take a bite of rice, even the rice grains are soaked in the salty and fragrant sauce. After chewing a few times, you swallow it along with the aroma, and your whole body feels refreshed.
Even the simplest stir-fried pork with chili peppers tastes this good, making Feng Jianguo even more excited for the meat dishes to come.
He picked up a piece of beef tenderloin to eat. The tenderloin was also tender and smooth, with a bit of chewiness, and had a rich black pepper aroma, a spiciness different from the green peppers he had eaten before.
This beef tenderloin was also a good dish to eat with rice. Feng Jianguo mixed a mouthful of rice with it, chewed and swallowed it, then ate two more pieces of beef tenderloin before picking up a piece of bright green bamboo shoot to taste.
The bamboo shoots were just as crisp and tender as I had imagined, with a refreshing taste and the aroma of beef and black pepper. The bamboo shoots themselves also had a unique fragrance.
He then picked up a bamboo shoot and a piece of beef tenderloin at the same time and bit into them together. The rich aroma of black pepper and the fresh fragrance of bamboo shoots blended together, and the crispness of the bamboo shoots made the whole dish refreshing.
Feng Jianguo nodded repeatedly as he ate. The taste of both dishes exceeded his expectations. He had no idea when such a good restaurant had opened in Jiang City.
I opened my mouth to say a few words of praise, but when I looked up, I saw the grandfather and grandson eating with great relish, so engrossed in picking up food that even Aunt Mei was immersed in the delicious meat and vegetables.
Feng Jianguo simply picked up some spicy squid tentacles and ate them.
This spicy squid tentacles dish looks quite spicy, garnished with red chili peppers and coated in red oil. It's tender yet chewy, and very fresh.
It tasted much spicier than the stir-fried pork with chili peppers from before. Feng Jianguo opened his mouth to breathe and found it acceptable. The squid tentacles were fresh, spicy, and flavorful.
Xu Shiren couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't very good at eating spicy food. He could barely tolerate the level of spiciness from the stir-fried pork with chili peppers and the beef tenderloin with bamboo shoots and black pepper. The food was not only delicious, but it also relieved the spiciness to some extent.
Because the previous two meat dishes smelled so good, even though he knew he might not be able to handle the spiciness of the spicy squid tentacles, he still picked up a piece to try.
He had barely taken a couple of bites when the spiciness choked him, and he started coughing. But he couldn't bear to spit out the squid tentacles. He insisted on taking a few more bites to savor the spicy, salty, and tender flavor before swallowing them, feeling that it was worth it.
Yunyang stood up, patted her grandfather's back to help him catch his breath, and called to Aunt Mei to get a carton of milk for her grandfather to relieve the spiciness.
There was milk in the living room, so Aunt Mei quickly went to get the carton, inserted a straw, and gave it to the old man to drink.
Xu Shiren drank several mouthfuls of milk, and the spiciness in his mouth completely dissipated. He was still savoring the fresh and fragrant squid tentacles.
Unfortunately, he really couldn't eat it.
Seeing that his friend had recovered, Feng Jianguo shook his head and said, "You can't eat spicy food but you insist on being strong. You should eat the stir-fried pork with chili peppers and the bamboo shoot and black pepper beef tenderloin. We three can save this spicy squid tentacles."
Yunyang nodded: "Yes, Grandpa, you can eat the other dishes."
Aunt Mei sat quietly to the side and watched.
Xu Shiren waved his hand: "Alright, alright, you guys can eat it, I'll eat something else."
He picked up his chopsticks again and ate some garlic broccoli. The broccoli was cooked until it was soft and tender, with the aroma of garlic. The stems were also slightly crunchy, and the broth was thickened with cornstarch and was savory and delicious.
This vegetable dish is really good; Xu Shiren picked up a few more pieces of broccoli to eat.
Seeing that the old man was eating normally and seemed fine, Aunt Mei was relieved and continued eating her meat and vegetables.
She considers herself a good cook, but she also found the meat dishes at this restaurant to be delicious today. Each dish brought out the flavor of the ingredients, and the stir-fries were fresh, tender, and fragrant.
Needless to say, Yunyang ate the meat and vegetables he had been craving all day. Every dish tasted exactly like the food he had imagined from the photos he had seen that afternoon, and even seemed to taste better.
The four of them ate in a focused manner, none of them paying attention to anything else, not even a word of praise. The constant reach of their chopsticks and the incessant chewing sounds said it all.
The three meat dishes and one vegetable dish were quickly finished, and Aunt Mei went to get a soup ladle and put it into the peppered pork tripe and chicken soup in the large soup bowl.
Seeing that his grandfather and Uncle Feng's bowls were empty of rice, Yunyang stood up and ladled a bowl of soup for each of them. He then warmly ladled a bowl for Aunt Mei and finally ladled a bowl of soup for himself.
He consulted everyone's opinions, and because of the rich, milky white soup, he also added some pork tripe and chicken when making the soup, which are all good ingredients.
Yunyang picked up the bowl and drank the soup directly. The warm soup was rich and fragrant, with a slight spiciness. The freshness of the pork belly and chicken was fully incorporated into it, along with the sweetness of red dates and goji berries.
Next, the pork tripe is soft, chewy, and not at all fishy. The chicken, soaked in broth, is tender and juicy, with a hint of spiciness.
Thankfully, I was in an air-conditioned room. After drinking this bowl of soup, I felt a little warm all over, but not enough to make me sweat.
Feng Jianguo was a connoisseur of food. After drinking a few sips of the peppered pork tripe and chicken soup and eating the pork tripe and chicken, he praised, "The best dish of the whole meal has to be this soup."
"Although pepper pork tripe and chicken soup is more suitable for autumn and winter, it is also good to eat in summer. The pork tripe and chicken are well prepared and the soup is very flavorful. In addition, ginseng, astragalus and angelica are added, so the whole pot is full of good ingredients."
He took another sip of soup and swallowed it, leisurely swaying his head as he savored it.
"Well, you're really lucky to have me today. If Xiaoyang hadn't come to see me, I wouldn't have been able to eat such good meat and vegetables and drink such good soup." Xu Shiren drank a few mouthfuls of soup, feeling warm all over, and couldn't help but retort.
Feng Jianguo was completely satisfied with the good food, and since he had gotten a good deal, he was happy to admit defeat: "Yes, yes, it's all thanks to you."
Yunyang and Aunt Mei sat in their seats enjoying their soup, ignoring their usual banter.
Xu Shiren took another sip of soup and said, "Sigh, your brother is just unlucky. He said he'd come over tonight too, but he had a business dinner to attend to. The meat dishes on those tables don't taste as good as what we eat here."
Yunyang subconsciously spoke up for his cousin: "Grandpa is fine. My brother can't do anything about work. I'll treat him to this restaurant when he comes back next time."
Feng Jianguo quickly asked, "Xiao Yang, which restaurant did you order from?"
Xu Shiren also looked at his grandson.
Even Aunt Mei is eagerly awaiting the answer, hoping she can take her family to eat there when she takes a vacation.
Yunyang smiled and said, "This restaurant is called Gu's Private Kitchen. It's located on Suli Street in Yunjiang District. It's the one with a peach tree in front of it."
"This restaurant changes its menu every day based on the ingredients it buys. I ate there twice during the May Day holiday, and the food was very good both times."
Upon hearing this, Xu Shiren immediately glared at his grandson: "You went to eat such delicious meat dishes during the May Day holiday, and you didn't even take me?!"
Yunyang: "..."
Do you still remember what I always say: eat less meat and vegetables from outside, and that homemade food is the healthiest?
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