Chapter 153 Are you crazy?
La Ciotat is not without its entertainment options. There's a bar called Hull's Bar here, which has been around for over 70 years.
La Ciotat was originally a fishing village, and Hull's Bar is a true fisherman's bar: surrounded by square tables and wooden chairs, with a bar in the middle, an old jukebox and two billiard tables. People can drink and eat here.
The proprietress here is a pretty good cook, and the homemade fennel wine tastes even better. Xiao Peng really likes coming here.
Many people mistakenly believe that pastis is the same as absinthe. In fact, the two are very different. Absinthe is made from fennel, anise, and wormwood, while pastis is a blend of distilled spirits and anise oil. Absinthe is generally higher in alcohol, while pastis is a lower-alcohol liqueur.
"Madame Huppert!" Xiao Peng walked in with the twins and said, "One order of 'chop suey' and two crepes!"
Madame Huppert was the proprietress here. She was probably in her sixties, but dressed in a very Parisian style. She wore a blue canvas work jacket with a black and white floral shirt underneath, tight black pencil pants, ankle boots, light-colored lipstick, and her hair was casually tied in a ponytail. Although she was not young, she looked very charming. Seeing Xiao Peng, she smiled and said, "Your taste hasn't changed. Still want pepper?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Of course!"
The "offal" that Xiao Peng mentioned was not an insult, but a French beef dish. The beef is cooked, sliced, coated with flour, fried, and then added with lemon and cheese.
If you eat it in other restaurants, such a portion of chop suey would be about the size of a Orion pie, but here? It's as big as a human head!
After all, the original patrons here were fishermen, all hardy and capable eaters, so they couldn't afford to skimp on the portions! Although La Ciotat has seen a significant shift to fishermen, the generous portions of beef offal remain. This is Xiao Peng's absolute favorite; it's incredibly satisfying!
Crepes are a type of pancake, similar to the scallion pancakes popular in Shandong. They are both made by mixing flour and frying, but eggs, cheese, etc. are added to the flour.
In China, February 2nd is known as "Dragon Raising its Head" and in France, February 2nd is known as "Crêpe Day." (Please disregard the distinction between the lunar and solar calendars.)
The French eat crepes just like the Chinese eat tofu pudding, there are also "sweet party" and "salty party".
Those who love sweet things will roll chocolate sauce, jam, strawberries, sugar, ketchup and the like into crepes, while those who love salty things will roll cheese, ham, mushrooms, vegetables and the like into crepes to enjoy together.
Madame Huppert is an absolute "sweet lover". In addition to chocolate sauce, the crepes here are also topped with her homemade apple sauce, which tastes sour, sweet and delicious. Xiao Peng believes that the twins will love the crepes here.
Madame Huppert smiled and said, "Xiao, I like you to call me Anaïs. You haven't been here for a while. I heard you went out to sea?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Yes, I've been at sea for over a month enjoying the sea breeze. If you ask me what I miss most at sea, I would definitely answer without hesitation: the delicious food at Hull Bar!"
Madame Huppert smiled even more happily and poured Xiao Peng a glass of anise wine: "This is my treat! You are so sweet!"
Xiao Peng shrugged and said, "Just telling the truth."
"Anais! You're so biased!" an old man next to her said angrily, "I've been coming here all these years and you've never bought me a drink!"
Madame Huppert took out a box from the counter and said: "Come, Campbell, go to the villa area and blow for an hour, and I will buy you a drink."
Campbell curled his lips and said, "If I were 20 years younger, I would definitely go and play it!"
"Oh, Campbell is scared!" the people around him said.
Campbell blushed after hearing this: "Who's scared? Can't I go right now?" After he said that, he was about to go out with the box on the table.
Xiao Peng stopped him and said with a smile, "Madame Huppert, please buy Campbell a glass of anise wine and put it on my bill."
Campbell said, "I don't want to drink anise wine. I want to drink 'Green Elf'!"
Xiao Peng took the box from him and said, "Okay! I'll treat Campbell to a glass of 'Green Elf'."
'Green Elf' is another name for absinthe.
Early absinthe contained thujone, which caused it to turn green over time. It was also highly addictive and hallucinogenic, leading Van Gogh to reportedly cut off his ear after drinking too much absinthe. It's also said that excessive absinthe consumption can cause hallucinations like seeing "green sprites," and this, combined with the color of the drink, gave absinthe its nickname.
In fact, absinthe was originally transparent and colorless. In order to sell the wine, the boss soaked herbs in it to make it turn green and pretend that it was old wine. In fact, with current technology, it can be made into any color.
Xiao Peng took the box from Campbell and placed it in front of Lisa. "This is what you call the 'devil's breath'."
Madame Huppert came over with beef offal and crepes. After hearing Xiao Peng's words, she laughed and said, "Devil's Breath? That's an interesting nickname."
The "devil's breath" that Lisa mentioned is Xiao Peng's suona. Lisa's classmate is called Gemma Lambert, the daughter of André Lambert, the Lyon car dealer.
The reason why Xiao Peng is so popular in this bar is that his suona playing in the villa area has become a legend in La Ciotat.
Who says foreigners don't hate the rich? They hate the rich even more!
Almost all of the people living in the villa area on the hills of La Ciotat are not native La Ciotat residents, but are wealthy people who have bought houses here. The natives of La Ciotat are extremely dissatisfied with the people living in the villa area, but there is nothing they can do. After all, they can't afford to offend the rich!
Although Xiao Peng also lived in the villa area, his playing of the suona to disgust everyone was considered a "heroic feat" in the eyes of the natives of La Ciotat! Therefore, Xiao Peng became one of the most popular customers in the Hull Bar, and Xiao Peng also placed his suona there as a souvenir for them.
"Xiao, what are you going to do next?" asked Madame Huppert.
Xiao Peng said: "Study, study and study again. Am I going to pursue further studies?"
"Further studies?" asked Madame Huppert in confusion.
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "I have a lot of things to deal with during this period, so I can't go out to sea and have to stay in Marseille. I might as well study hard at the University of Aix-Marseille."
"You want to study too?" Claire asked curiously.
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "I plan to spend six months reading all the books in the Marseille Aix Library!"
“…Are you crazy?”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
