Chapter 106 Shopping
This Italian restaurant, highly recommended by Yue Ning, is right next to the Hong'an Hotel.
Pushing the door into the restaurant, you will see log-style decorations and huge wood-fired pizzas of various flavors displayed in glass cabinets. These pizzas can be purchased in small pieces.
The last time Cui Huiyi brought her here, the two of them ordered five different flavors of pizza. Yue Ning was full, but still wanted to eat more.
There are many people today, so she can try more flavors.
Yue Ning's favorite crispy pork rolls and Garfield's favorite lasagna can't be missed, and black pepper beef stew can't be missed. Yue Ning also wants to order risotto. A Ming said: "Ningning, order their shepherd's pie."
"Isn't shepherd's pie from Britain?" Yue Ning asked.
"This is an Italian chef who came to Hong Kong and married a British wife. The shepherd's pie is absolutely delicious." Ming told her.
When Yue Ning was in the northwest, he occasionally got a small piece of mutton, so he tried to make this shepherd's pie. This dish is definitely friendly to Director Song and his friends who don't often eat foreign food.
Song Ziqiang didn't understand this aspect, so he took this opportunity to chat with Ma Yaoxing and asked him about his situation after he arrived.
"It's completely different from being in Fuyunlou. In Fuyunlou, Master Luo's cooking skills were average, and he was afraid that we would learn and take his job, so he kept it a secret. Now I spend one day at Ningyan studying new dishes with Ningning, and one day at Baohualou. Uncle Hua and Asong will teach me. I can also supervise several apprentices." Ma Yaoxing asked Director Song, "How is Master Luo doing?"
"In the retirement home, it's actually quite suitable for him." Seeing Yue Ning had ordered the dishes, Song Ziqiang asked Yue Ning, "I walked for a while and saw a Xinye convenience store on the street. I also took a bus to the Hong'an hypermarket. These stores are open and let you choose things by yourself. It feels very convenient. I think the prices in the hypermarkets are cheaper than those in convenience stores."
Most of this world is similar to the world of Yue Ning's previous life. What surprised Yue Ning was that the development of supermarkets, especially low-priced hypermarkets, was just starting in the United States. The American supermarket group that dominated the world at the beginning of the new century in his previous life was only beginning to surround the cities from the countryside and was slowly growing in the United States.
Supermarkets in the world's port cities and Southeast Asia are developing very rapidly, and Hong An is one of the best.
It was the last wish of Hong'an's founder, Mr. Ye Jinsheng, that the Hong'an Hotel and Hong'an Department Store return to China. As for the supermarket, Yue Ning heard from his third aunt and uncle that they should wait until the hotel and department store return first before moving forward, one step at a time.
"Director Song, you went to Hong'an Hypermarket by yourself? That's impressive."
The current location of Hong An Department Store is said to be the original site of Hong An Affordable Price Store, the predecessor of Hong An Hypermarket. With the increase of population in Hong Kong, Causeway Bay has become a bustling neighborhood. The Hong An Group built a department store and a large hotel here, and the hypermarket moved away.
“Department store, with scheduled shuttle bus, very convenient.”
There is also this? Yue Ning didn't know. She said: "Supermarkets and convenience stores are completely different models. Hypermarkets focus on large quantities and preferential prices, while convenience stores provide high-frequency, small-volume, emergency items. They are located near you and can be purchased anytime, anywhere."
"I've learned that Xinye Convenience Store and Hong'an Hypermarket both belong to the Hong'an Group. We have connections with the Qiao family and the Ye family, but I still have to go back and contact them through Deputy Mayor Zhu. I don't know when I will come out next time. I heard that you and the second son of the Qiao family are dating, how about you help introduce them? The department store business is more inclined towards the First Commercial Bureau, while the supermarket is more related to the Second Commercial Bureau. Let me listen to the explanation of the professionals, so that I can report to the leaders in a more comprehensive way when I go back?" Song Ziqiang asked her.
"Wait, let's go back to the hotel together. I'll call my third aunt and ask her to make the arrangements."
After the appetizers came, the waiter brought the aperitif. Their restaurant has blended sparkling wine with very low alcohol content, and the sweet taste is very refreshing.
Yue Ning works in the catering industry. She tastes wines from all over the world, but she always tells outsiders that she doesn't drink. Otherwise, in those occasions, someone will ask you to give them face, or someone will insist that you have to drink a sip, and you will get sick from drinking.
It's the same in her life. She would taste wine in the kitchen, but outside the kitchen, she basically wouldn't touch alcohol, except for drinks that even children could drink.
She raised her glass and said, "Leaders, please join me in congratulating Chef Zhang and Chef Ma for their great success."
Song Ziqiang raised his glass and said, "Chef Zhang, Chef Ma, I wish you all the best in winning the title of Chef King."
"Leader, it's too early to give your blessing," said Amin.
Ah Xing said: "After today, you still have no confidence?"
“Yes, yes!”
Yue Ning smiled and said to A Ming: "We should despise our opponents strategically and take them seriously tactically. We must believe in ourselves!"
Ah Ming nodded and clinked glasses with her: "Sure."
The appetizer of pickled raw beef slices was not very appealing to the three comrades from the mainland.
Good thing the lasagna and shepherd’s pie arrived.
Yue Ning has always believed that shepherd's pie is one of the few delicious foods in the UK.
However, its style is to continue the simplicity and roughness of British meals. Minced lamb is fried in olive oil, and then chopped celery, carrots and onions are fried. Tomato paste is added to cook it into a thick meat sauce. After seasoning, it is topped with mashed potatoes and baked in the oven.
Today's shepherd's pie, the top layer of mashed potatoes was baked to a golden brown, and it was crispy when cut. An Italian chef is an Italian chef, and the meat sauce he made is still more complicated than what Yue Ning had eaten in the UK in her previous life. The meat sauce is sweet and delicious, and the mashed potatoes are dense and smooth with a milky aroma, steaming hot. One bite makes her, who has been eating potatoes as her staple food for so many years, super satisfied.
The lasagna is even more delicious. The last time I came to this restaurant, Yue Ning fell in love with every kind of cheese they used. The aged Parmesan cheese used in the lasagna has a very rich flavor.
After lunch, Yue Ning asked the lady at the cashier when he went to pay the bill: "Can I ask where you buy your cheese? Or do you import it from Italy?"
"Please wait a moment." The lady took the money and immediately went in and called, "Luca, Miss Yue from Baohualou wants to ask where you bought the cheese?"
A white man in a chef's uniform came out and called her enthusiastically, "Hello, Miss Yue!"
"Hello, your cheese tastes great. I want to buy some too. Where can I get it?"
"Wait a moment." The man went in and took out a business card. "My friend owns a food company. You can contact him if you need anything."
"Thanks!"
Yue Ning looked at the business card and it looked like a British food store.
"What do you think of our food?" the foreigner asked expectantly.
"This is my second time here. The pizza is super delicious, and there is also shepherd's pie. I think I will come again next time." Yue Ning said to him, "I have a friend today. If you come next time, I wonder if it is possible for us to chat together?"
"welcome."
This person escorted them out of the restaurant.
They accompanied several people from the mainland back to the hotel. Yue Ning contacted Ye Yingyi, who said that she was free at 3:30 and would ask someone to come to Hong'an to pick up Song Ziqiang.
Yue Ning made all the arrangements. She took out the business card and saw that the address was in Central. She said, "Ah Ming, Ah Xing, let's go buy some cheese."
"Cheese?" Amin was surprised.
"Taro with sugar, or taro with sugar, made into taro balls, with mozzarella cheese as filling inside, and the candied filling on the outside?" Yue Ning said to A Ming, "What do you think?"
"I think so."
"Walk?"
"Walk."
The three of them arrived in Central and found the store according to the address. The store had an office upstairs and a sales department downstairs. The boss came to greet her and said to her, "Last time at the exhibition, you bought black vinegar at our booth."
"Sorry, I only remember that black vinegar brand, it tastes very good!" Yue Ning told him.
"Would you like to taste my balsamic vinegar which is 80% grape juice and aged for twelve years?"
Yue Ning couldn't refuse this. The black vinegar spread on the tip of her tongue, with its delicate sourness and rich grape aroma. She had found a new flavor for the gathering of heroes.
She came to buy cheese, and also brought a bottle of vinegar and several Western spices.
After leaving the food store, Ming pointed ahead and said, "Let's go to the Central Market. Don't we usually put dried scallops in boiled chicken? When I was choosing seasonings today, I found that dried sandworms would work as well."
Ah Xing smiled: "You think red dates, cinnamon, and bay leaves are all OK."
Ah Ming looked at him unhappily, and Yue Ning said, "Go, you really need to go to the market and look for some inspiration."
Yue Ning had been to the Central Market with Yue Baohua before. It was very big, with vegetable markets, dry goods stalls, and a comprehensive market for daily necessities. It was a market that had everything, but also good and bad products.
If you go there at this time, the vegetable and meat stalls have closed, but other shops are still open.
Ah Ming said that this place was very lively when he was a child. Now there are fewer residents in Central and more commercial buildings, so this market is not as lively as before.
But many old stalls have been open for decades, and the stall owners are old and unwilling to move, so they have remained here.
The quality of products in large quantities in hypermarkets and supermarkets is guaranteed, but they are also less personalized. Many uncommon items need to be bought here.
The three of them looked at the shops one by one, and Yue Ning saw macadamia nuts. She had been in Hong Kong for so long, but had never seen macadamia nuts used in dishes. Yue Ning really liked to use macadamia nuts as a side dish. Cubed beef was paired with macadamia nuts, and celery and shrimp were paired with macadamia nuts. The alternation of soft and hard, and the contrast between tender and crispy.
Yue Ning tried it and found that the macadamia nuts in this shop were of very good quality. She asked the boss to weigh two kilograms and planned to go back and try the dish.
"Jiafu...Brother!"
Yue Ning heard A Ming's voice, turned around, and saw Lou Jiafu looking at her.
She paid and took the macadamia nuts from the boss.
Lou Jiafu looked at A Ming again: "I heard that you won this morning?"
"Yes!" Amin won today, and a smile appeared on his face when he talked about it.
"Old Qiu from Chunfeng Tower is old and his hands are shaking, so you got the advantage." Lou Jiafu laughed and looked at his junior brother, "Do you think you will have such good luck next time?"
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