Chapter 211 Delicious BBQ
In front of each person is a row of skewers with meat and vegetables on them. The boys slowly turn the skewers and brush the sauce on the skewers.
The meat was sizzling, and the green peppers, eggplants, beans, leeks and potatoes were steaming.
More and more people gathered around, and everyone looked at the dishes and the boy behind the grill curiously, wondering what he was doing.
Barbecue is a way of eating that takes two extremes.
When ordinary people go out, they can just build a fire, roast potatoes, roast peanuts, roast grasshoppers, bake a few dry biscuits, sprinkle some fine salt on them and fill their stomachs.
The grilled lamb chops that Tianxianglou used to serve were considered high-end.
It is carefully cooked and seasoned with unusual ingredients, making it unpalatable for ordinary people.
Now Tianxianglou has reopened and also serves barbecue.
The only difference is that the dishes on the wooden plates are varied, including vegetables and meat.
Someone who had eaten grilled lamb chops at Tianxianglou before couldn't help but sneer in disdain: This is an attempt to imitate Tianxianglou's signature dish, but failed, and now they're using some vegetarian dishes to show off.
Some people are full of anticipation: this way of eating is novel.
At least these young men grilling skewers are pleasing to the eye, and the open-air barbecue gives it a wild and wild feel.
Just as the onlookers were talking, the teenagers by the grill took out some powder and sprinkled it on the vegetables and meat skewers that had been roasted to a crispy golden color.
There was a rustling sound, and then green smoke billowed up, followed by a strange fragrance.
“What a nice smell! What a nice smell!”
The fragrance was so alluring. It was not the rich and lingering aroma of stew, but a frivolous, alluring kind of fragrance, just like the courtesan with her gently swaying waist in Chunyue Garden.
Everyone was like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, looking around blankly with their nostrils flared, trying to find the source of the fragrance.
The two waiters standing nearby lost no time in shouting:
"Don't miss it if you're passing by! Tianxianglou is offering a tasting event, and the skewers are amazing."
“If you miss this day, you’ll never find this delicious food again!”
"Come on, take a look, it's free stuff."
Such a delicious thing is free, and a group of people gathered around with their hands stretched out.
"Here, I want a box to try!"
"It smells strange, but I don't know if it tastes good. It looks like it's burnt."
"Haha, what is this? It's white and slippery."
"Haven't you heard? This is a box made of paper!"
Because the meat was grilled using iron skewers and no one was allowed to take them away, Song Liyun asked someone to take the grilled meat skewers and vegetables off the skewers and put them into paper boxes no bigger than a palm.
Those who wanted to try it were given a box each, which contained only two pieces of meat and some vegetables, and a piece of wood as chopsticks.
Some people took the paper box and put the food directly into their mouths without even using the wood chips.
After just a quick taste, I couldn't help but shout: "Wow, delicious, delicious."
One person said it was delicious, and the rest who tried it all said it was delicious, and more and more people came over to ask for the paper boxes.
The eight people in charge of grilling the skewers worked hard to flip the iron skewers. Their movements were awkward, some of the meat was cooked, some was still raw, and some of the skewers were even broken apart when the food was served.
A lot of the mixed seasonings of chili peppers, peppercorns and cumin powder were also dropped into the charcoal fire, and the spiciness from the roasting made the onlookers salivate.
The rich aroma of barbecue filled half the street, and the crowd rushed towards Tianxianglou frantically, wanting to get a taste of the food in a small paper box.
The amount of dishes displayed outside for free tasting is limited, and some people are not satisfied after trying them, so they go into the store.
When you find out you can eat now, start ordering immediately.
The peculiar way of ordering dishes is also strange. You have to pay by clicking on the sticks: a skewer of mutton costs five cents, a skewer of green peppers costs one cent, and a skewer of eggplants also costs one cent. It seems quite cheap, and you can order a skewer of each to satisfy your craving.
But when the lamb skewers were served, the diced meat, which was not much bigger than a thumb, did not satisfy my appetite. Instead, it made me feel uncomfortable and nauseous.
The newly opened Tianxianglou also offers chilled sake. After eating spicy and hot barbecue, taking a sip of ice-cold sake is a great way to experience the extreme stimulation of the spicy food in your mouth, followed by the pleasure of sliding down from the peak in an instant.
Every bite of food and every sip of wine is the cycle of life.
The most frustrating thing is that when everyone is asking for more food, they are told that there is no more.
Tianxianglou clearly stated that today is just a trial operation for everyone to try out new things.
If you want to eat, please come back tomorrow. Those people could only leave with a sigh.
Tianxiang Tower is a two-story wooden building, with the second floor being the private rooms and the first floor being the lobby.
We are short of staff now and are in trial operation, so only the downstairs is open.
But in just a short while, all ten tables were filled with people.
People came and went like a tide. Song Liyun was busy in the back kitchen helping two kitchen helpers wash vegetables, cut meat, mix ingredients and skewer them. The full basin of meat and vegetables quickly disappeared.
The guys in the lobby were also running around, taking back the used plates.
This is completely different from the feeling of delivering food slowly and leisurely as before.
Zhou Xiang took his men to count the iron skewers at each table and collect money... It was a simple job.
Finally, all the dishes in the kitchen were sold out, so they stopped grilling skewers, and there were still several circles of people gathered outside the door.
Song Liyun stood at the door with a smile on her face: "Everyone is welcome to come back tomorrow to try it. The free event will last for three days. If you don't get to try it, you can come back to the store later and there will be more dishes."
"Hey, female shopkeeper, can you take what you said seriously? Can we eat for free tomorrow?" someone shouted in the crowd.
"Of course you can."
"Okay! I'll come again tomorrow!"
The man squeezed out of the crowd and left happily, planning to bring his whole family to try it tomorrow.
On the street not far away, a young servant in a green robe and a small hat curled his lips, rubbed his nose, and muttered, "It's already open! This is too easy! There's no firecrackers or red silk hangings, but it smells pretty good."
He raised his eyes again to look at Song Liyun, who was wearing a green shirt and white skirt and talking to the onlookers about barbecue skewers, then turned and ran to the back door of the county government office.
The onlookers who did not get the sample were persuaded to leave, and the oven was carried back to Tianxianglou and the shop door was closed.
The eight soldiers in charge of grilling the skewers were already sweating through their clothes. Now they sat down and drank the iced sake in big gulps, and then ate the skewers they had grilled themselves, feeling refreshed.
These people were specially selected by Song Liyun from the garrison. They not only have outstanding looks, broad shoulders and narrow waists, but they also know how to grill meat.
The skill of barbecue was easily acquired in the Zhenbei Army, as it was a compulsory course during their field training.
They were just not used to being watched by others while barbecuing.
Especially the young girls and wives in the crowd, their gazes at them were hotter than charcoal fire, as if they wanted to strip off their clothes and peel off their skin.
Zhou Xiang was so excited that he walked around the building. He had never thought that just such a simple barbecue skewers could solve the problem of Tianxianglou's lack of a chef and also make the building famous.
(End of this chapter)
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