The next day, Jingweilou reopened.
The staff at the restaurant were all impressed by the new look the moment they walked in. Although only the wallpaper, carpet and lights had been replaced, the restaurant as a whole looked much brighter, and the new paintings added a touch of quaint yet stylish atmosphere.
The new tablecloths were beige with a dark pattern, perfectly matching the decor. When guests arrived and the tableware was set, regular diners noticed that Jingweilou's tableware had been completely replaced.
The new tableware is not fancy at all, just exquisite white bone china tableware, simple yet very dignified and elegant.
"How is it, not bad, right?" Yan Xi appeared behind Ye Tian.
"It's very good, it looks brand new. I couldn't recognize it when I first came in." Ye Tian affirmed.
"Guess how much it cost?"
"500,000?"
"You guessed too little! Over 800,000." Yan Xi announced the answer directly, then curled his lips: "You didn't see how big the place is, is 500,000 enough?
This simple renovation would cost over 800,000 yuan. Ye Tian suddenly had a new understanding of today's prices. She felt that even if she could open a small restaurant, it would be a long time in the future. Forget it, she would wait until graduation.
"I don't know anything about decoration, but it's really expensive!" Ye Tian sighed.
Yan Xi said, "This is just the beginning. The most expensive thing is our small building. Even if we don't open a restaurant in the future, if we sell or rent this building out, my dad and I can live there for the rest of our lives without doing anything every day!"
"You kid, you said you want to sell my house again!" came the voice of an old man with full energy.
Yan Xi looked in the direction of the voice: "Grandpa, you're here! I was just talking casually, how could I bear to sell the building!"
The boastful second-generation rich kid who just talked a lot suddenly turned into a sensible little grandson and immediately went to greet his grandfather.
"The restaurant is well-cleaned!" Old Master Yan looked around, even the private rooms one by one, which showed that he attached great importance to his restaurant.
Mr. Yan and Master Yun were both accompanying him behind. Ye Tian did not go forward. After saying hello, she went to the kitchen to help.
Old Man Yan also saw Ye Tian, but he didn't say anything immediately. When he walked into the kitchen, Ye Tian was dicing various vegetables for the side dishes.
The old man watched her from behind for a long time, observing her knife skills.
"Table 15, a set of roast duck, dry-fried yellow croaker, and pot-fried tofu..." A waiter ran in.
"Xiao Ye, do you want to try making this dry-fried yellow croaker, the same method I taught you last time." Master Yun specifically wanted Ye Tian to perform in front of the old man.
"Okay." Ye Tian really didn't want to find another master, but she couldn't directly refuse Master Yun.
The yellow croaker had been processed in advance by the kitchen helper. Ye Tian picked a fatter one, placed it on the chopping board, and began to cut evenly on both sides of the fish.
Then, she rubbed the fish with cooking wine and salt, added the chopped green onions and ginger, and marinated them for 20 minutes. This step is crucial because yellow croaker can easily become fishy if not marinated properly.
While waiting, she prepared the ingredients and placed them on the stove nearby.
Once the fish is marinated, drain the blood from the fish with a sweet potato leaf. Wipe the surface dry with paper towels and pat it with a generous amount of dry starch. Heat oil in a pan over high heat, add the yellow croaker, and deep-fry until both sides are golden brown. Keep the oil high during frying. Once the fish changes color and sets, remove from the pan and place on a plate for later use.
She took another wok, added oil, onions, ginger, garlic, and broad bean paste, and sautéed them until fragrant. She then added sugar, cooking wine, vinegar, and some water. She added the fried yellow croaker, diced mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and other ingredients, covered the pot, and simmered it over medium heat for 10 minutes.
There was still some excess soup in the pot at this time. She picked up one side of the pot with one hand and shook it quickly. After the soup was absorbed, she poured some red oil on it and then took the dry-fried yellow croaker out of the pot and put it on a plate.
Ye Tian garnished the plate with some chopped green onions and a few leaves of coriander, and a plate of fresh and fragrant dry-fried yellow croaker with sweet and sour taste was ready.
It should be noted that dry-fried fish must not be thickened, otherwise it will become sticky and will not have the taste of dry-fried fish.
Mr. Yan watched the whole process of Ye Tian cooking. When he saw her showing her slender wrist and shaking the pot with one hand, he widened his eyes cutely.
This was the first time Ye Tian made braised yellow croaker. She had only watched Master Yun do it once before, but she did not have any difficulty at all throughout the process. It looked so smooth as if she had done it a thousand times.
The waiter came in and took away the plate of fish. Ye Tian took the initiative to clean the pot he was using, and then stood there not knowing what to do.
At this time, Old Yan said, "Is there another pot-fried tofu to make? My hands are a little itchy today, and I want to move."
By the time he went to the sink to wash his hands, his son Mr. Yan had already brought him a hat and a chef's coat.
The old man began to cut the tofu steadily. He cut a piece of tofu into thick slices, marinated it with salt for 10 minutes, then put it in flour and coat both sides with it, and then coated it with a thin layer of egg liquid.
When the oil pan is half hot, he puts the tofu in, fries it until golden brown, removes it from the oil and drains the oil, and removes the excess egg coating to make the fried tofu look neat and beautiful.
Then he changed to a wok, put oil in the wok, heated it over high heat, added chopped green onion and minced ginger and stir-fried them, then added the reserved broth, salt, shrimp roe and fried tofu.
The tofu only needs to be cooked for a short while, then add the chicken stock and flip it over before serving.
"Pot-collapsed tofu was originally a Shandong dish, then spread to Beijing, where it was refined and refined into its current form. In fact, the home-cooked dishes we eat every day also have their origins in Shandong cuisine."
"Don't underestimate this tofu because it's simple and it's a vegetarian dish. It's delicious and one of my favorite dishes. I cut some extra and made two plates. You can try it and test the cooking time." The old man continued.
After Mr. Yan, Master Yun, and Yan Xi had all picked up their food, Ye Tian also picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks.
The pan-fried tofu had a golden crust, yet a bite revealed a white and tender interior—a truly fragrant and tender dish. Tofu itself isn't easy to absorb, but after being marinated in salt, it becomes even more flavorful. Combined with the savory broth and shrimp roe, the tofu's inherent firmness and tenderness made it truly delicious. She couldn't find any flaws, except for the chicken essence.
Amidst everyone's praise, Mr. Yan looked at Ye Tian.
"Little girl, I saw you frowned slightly just now. Is it because of the chicken essence? I noticed that you didn't use chicken essence in your cooking. When I first learned to cook, I didn't use it either.
"But some diners nowadays like the umami flavor of chicken essence, and if you don't add it, they'll find it unpalatable. Of course, if the customer tells us in advance that they don't want chicken essence, then we won't use it," he said slowly.
Ye Tian didn't expect that she would have a micro-expression after eating chicken essence. She was a little embarrassed for a moment: "Grandpa Yan, the tofu you make is really perfect. The chicken essence doesn't have much effect. It's just my own little habit!"
"Hahaha, don't be nervous, little girl. I won't think too much about it. You are a really good child. How about becoming my granddaughter-in-law?" Old Yan smiled knowingly.
"Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about? Who would like a little kid like her?" Yan Xi grabbed Old Yan's arm.
"Master Xiao Ye doesn't even like you. You're just hanging around all day and not doing anything." Mr. Yan quickly scolded him. Then the team's father said, "Dad, don't try to match people up. These two kids have only known each other for a week."
Old Yan touched his nose and said, "I think Xiao Ye is too outstanding. It would be great if she could become one of our own family! Forget it. You can't force fate. Xiao Xi is not worthy of that girl."
Yan Xi was puzzled. Why did his grandfather and father both say that he was not worthy of Ye Tian? He was obviously outstanding and handsome!
Mr. Yan said he wanted to go to the office to get something and asked Master Yun to accompany him.
As soon as he entered the office, Elder Yan said directly, "You are amazing! Don't think I didn't understand. You want me to take a little girl as my apprentice. I am over 70 years old, and my eldest son is almost 50. You want me to take in an 18 or 19-year-old girl. Isn't this a joke? She is younger than Xiao Xi, and she wants to call me grandpa. What are you thinking?"
He angrily sat down on the sandalwood chair and pointed his finger at Master Yun: "Look at you and my useless son, neither of us has any talent. Why don't you take in a disciple and I can give him some guidance occasionally!"
"Didn't you see how skillfully the little girl cooked the fish? She's obviously practiced for years, so she must have a master. We can't force her to do anything just because she's in a difficult situation and is working in the cafeteria. Didn't you work there before?" he continued. "Let's leave it at that! I made some tofu just to make sure the little girl didn't come in vain."
Master Yun wanted to argue, but in the end, his lips just moved and no sound came out.
After lunch, everyone saw off the old man who insisted on returning to the suburbs and continued to finish the lunch preparations.
"Did the old customers say anything today?" Mr. Yan asked the lobby manager and foreman.
"The reviews have been really good. They all say it's long overdue for a renovation. They say it's nice and bright now. One guest even commented that our old dishes were all chipped, so we finally replaced them!"
"The guests in the private rooms were also very happy and said they would come here to treat us in the future. It would be much more prestigious than before."
Yan Yuanxing was also very happy to hear this. Finally, his 800,000 yuan was not wasted.
"By the way, another customer said that today's dry-braised yellow croaker and pot-fried tofu are particularly delicious, and asked if the chef has been changed?" a waiter next to him whispered.
Yan Yuanxing sighed. He also wanted every dish to be so delicious, but he couldn’t handle the cooking of two people!
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