Chapter 10 This Matsutake is Wrong
The waiter gave a stiff smile. "Sir, we do use wild matsutake mushrooms. Is there anything you don't understand? We can explain it to you. Or if you have any dissatisfaction or comments about our service, you can let us know."
The waiter thought that their service was not good enough, which annoyed Shao Yuan.
Only I, Shao Yuan, would find fault in public.
I, Shao Yuan, said to the waiter, "I have no problem with your service, but I do have a problem with you using Agaricus blazei instead of wild matsutake."
Ding Lanlan and Yu Shan looked at each other, and then saw confusion in each other's eyes.
Ding Lanlan couldn't help but ask Zhen Shaoyuan, "Your Majesty, you said this isn't a wild matsutake mushroom?"
"Yes." Zhen Shao Yuan picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of matsutake from the bowl. "The color of this matsutake is not right."
When the waiter heard this, he said helplessly, "Sir, the matsutake has been cooked into soup, and the color is indeed different from the fresh ones."
A middle-aged man at the next table gave him a look of contempt.
"Young man, even if you haven't eaten matsutake, you've probably eaten other mushrooms, right? There are other ingredients in this chicken soup, and if the color changes a little after cooking, what's the big deal? I've eaten at least a few dozen pounds of matsutake, if not a hundred. I'm telling you, this is what matsutake tastes like. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the matsutake in this chicken soup. I think you're the one with the problem."
The other guests nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I've eaten a lot of matsutake mushrooms, and this is what matsutake mushrooms taste like. And the matsutake soup here is much better than the one made by my own chef."
"Of course I do. I'm a descendant of the imperial chef. My ancestors served the emperor. Can the soup I make be the same as that made by an ordinary chef?"
"Looking at his expression, he probably hasn't eaten matsutake before, otherwise he wouldn't say such stupid things."
"Judging from their appearance, they're probably students from Blue City University. Judging from their clothes, their families aren't wealthy either. Yet they're eating such expensive food. Such vanity is unacceptable."
"Young people nowadays think they can do anything just by surfing the internet. They have no moral integrity at all."
None of the customers around thought that I, Shao Yuan, was right.
After all, this private restaurant called "Imperial Kitchen" is very famous in Blue City.
It has been open for decades and has always had a good reputation.
Moreover, their signature dishes always use fresh matsutake mushrooms, and have previously received praise from many senior chefs.
In comparison, I, Shao Yuan, seem a little untenable.
Ding Lanlan and Yu Shan heard that people around them were attacking Shao Yuan.
He slammed the table and stood up.
Ding Lanlan said, "Every one of you says my brother is wrong. I want to ask you, how can you prove that the soup contains wild matsutake mushrooms and not Agaricus blazei?"
Yu Shan also said, "That's right. Everything requires evidence. Since my brother dared to say this isn't wild matsutake, he must have his reasons. He hasn't even finished speaking, and you're already rushing to denounce him. Who has such a low standard?"
Before the waitress could speak, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie stood up behind her.
He snorted coldly at the three of them, "Alright, since you say he has a reason, then tell me what reason he has to think this wild matsutake is Agaricus blazei."
"If he can prove today that the soup contains Agaricus blazei, all your meals today will be waived. I will compensate you ten times the cost of the meal as compensation and sincerely apologize to you. But if he can't explain it, please apologize to our private restaurant in front of all these people and work part-time as a waiter here for three days as punishment."
"Are you the boss here?" After hearing his words, I Shao Yuan cast a scrutinizing glance at him.
"Yes, I'm the owner of this private restaurant, Yu Zhen."
Yu Zhen's ancestor was an imperial chef, and the emperor at that time liked the food cooked by his ancestor very much.
Therefore, their family was awarded a plaque with the words "Imperial Kitchen".
This plaque was a great gift to the imperial chef at that time.
After all, at that time only the kitchen in the imperial palace could be called the imperial kitchen.
That plaque is still kept at home, and the one outside the gate was made separately.
Unfortunately, Yu Zhen did not inherit the craftsmanship from his ancestors.
The cooking skills are too ordinary.
Therefore, the successor to the imperial kitchen has always been his elder brother Yu Bang.
After his parents passed away, the imperial kitchen was handed over to his eldest brother.
However, two years ago, his eldest brother died in a car accident while out of town buying food ingredients.
As a last resort, he had to rush back from abroad with his wife and daughter to take over the ancestral family business.
After all, passing on this ancestral family business is the family motto of their Yu family.
When he first took over, Yu Zhen was so busy that he was dizzy. Fortunately, his elder brother had accepted a good apprentice at that time.
With the help of the eldest brother's good apprentice, the situation was finally stabilized.
Because he had business abroad, he could only temporarily hand over the management of the imperial kitchen to his eldest brother's apprentice.
After he finishes his overseas business, he will come back and concentrate on running the imperial kitchen.
Although he had been abroad for some time, his eldest brother's apprentice, Master Zhao, would always report to him about the affairs of the imperial kitchen.
For example, he knows all the ingredients, procurement channels and prices in the private restaurant.
During his absence, Master Zhao ran the private restaurant successfully and managed it in an orderly manner.
But, unexpectedly, he just came back from abroad yesterday.
I made an appointment with some friends from Blue City to have lunch at noon today.
Because I like the hustle and bustle, I didn't use the private room and sat directly in the hall, ready to eat and chat.
Unexpectedly, they encountered such a thing before they had even finished serving the dishes.
The young man in front of me actually said that their private restaurant uses Agaricus blazei as wild Matsutake.
If this matter gets out, their private restaurant will be closed down.
That's why aftershocks are so angry.
Hearing the middle-aged man in front of him say that he was the boss, I, Shao Yuan, looked at him.
Isn’t the owner of this store a descendant of the imperial chef?
That chef is him.
But ever since Shao Yuan came in, Yu Zhen has been sitting next to them. So, he's not the head chef?
Thinking of this, I, Shao Yuan, felt even worse.
I spent thousands of dollars on the relationship and it was all for nothing.
"The reason I say this soup contains Agaricus blazei instead of wild matsutake isn't just because the color is wrong. It's because this matsutake has a subtle almond flavor."
I, Shao Yuan, looked at Yu Zhen and said calmly, "Since you said you are the boss, then you are the descendant of the imperial chef. It is impossible that you can't even taste the flavor of almonds, right?"
“Almond?”
Yu Zhen was startled, then immediately went over, said sorry, picked up the soup spoon beside him, picked up a piece of matsutake from the casserole, and put it into his mouth.
He chewed it carefully.
Although he is not good at cooking, he inherited his good taste from his ancestors.
Therefore, you can distinguish some subtle flavors.
The flavor of matsutake is quite strong in the mouth, however.
But it was a little too strong, the fragrance was too strong, so strong that it was a little cloying.
If you chew it carefully, you can feel the smoothness with a hint of crispness.
He chewed it carefully again until all the matsutake mushrooms in his mouth were completely chewed up. Aftershock finally tasted a hint of almond flavor, so light that it was almost imperceptible.
In an instant, Yu Zhen was stunned.
Seeing him like this, Yu Zhen's friend asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Yu Zhen did not answer him, but immediately picked up another thicker piece of matsutake and carefully observed the color of the matsutake.
Then he put the matsutake mushroom back into his mouth.
The more he chewed, the uglier his expression became.
Finally, the sky was overcast.
Then he spat out the residue in his mouth.
Everyone looked shocked when they saw this scene.
After seeing this scene, what is there to not understand?
Yu Zhen forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart and bowed to the three of them, Shao Yuan and I.
"I'm very sorry, gentlemen. The soup does contain Agaricus blazei. This was a mistake on the part of our imperial kitchen. I'll have someone make you a new pot of soup immediately. If you would like anything else, please feel free to order. Your bill for today is waived. I'll offer my apologies to you later."
Everyone else was surprised. They were surprised that there was actually Agaricus blazei in the soup.
I, Shao Yuan, was also surprised. He was surprised that Yu Zhen was so frank.
Yu Zhen stared at Zhen Shao Yuan intently, "Sir, may I ask, which dish do you think has a problem?"
I, Shao Yuan, said, "I haven't eaten the other dishes yet."
"Then please give me your guidance." Yu Zhen bowed to Shao Yuan again.
Aftershock is very confident in his taste buds.
In fact, as early as when he was a child, his father had always noticed his excellent sense of taste and wanted to focus on training him.
Unfortunately, he has an excellent sense of taste but no outstanding culinary talent.
To be honest, if you don’t have an excellent sense of taste or are not a master chef, it is impossible to taste that there is Agaricus blazei in the soup.
Because this Agaricus blazei is so similar to wild Matsutake.
Both the appearance and the taste.
Faced with Yu Zhen's sincere attitude, I, Shao Yuan, felt a little embarrassed to refuse.
I picked up my chopsticks and tasted all the dishes.
Unexpectedly, I found another problem.
The dish called "Zui Xin Xiang Mandarin Fish" which costs two thousand yuan and claims to use wild mandarin fish, is not made with wild mandarin fish.
Wild mandarin fish need to compete in the natural environment, so they are relatively slender, with firm meat and low fat content.
Farmed mandarin fish, on the other hand, have more fat and are larger in size because they have ample feed and no competition.
The meat is relatively not that firm.
The mandarin fish in front of me, Shao Yuan, is indeed smaller in size, but its meat is still firm.
However, the fat content is significantly higher.
So when you take a bite, although the meat is firm, it has the elasticity that wild mandarin fish should have.
"This is not wild mandarin fish. This mandarin fish has too much fat and the meat is not as elastic as wild mandarin fish."
I, Shao Yuan, pointed it out directly.
Yu Zhen immediately picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth.
His brows were furrowed.
Indeed, the fish meat lacks the elasticity of wild mandarin fish when it enters the mouth.
Afterwards, I, Shao Yuan, tasted several other dishes.
There was nothing wrong with the other dishes, and they were quite fresh.
However, there was a problem with the two most expensive dishes.
One of them is the signature dish of the imperial kitchen.
This is a serious problem.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
