Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 106: The Pomelo Feast - Be careful when you're out and about! (Bonus Chapter for 3K Views)

"Mei Shi Yan Restaurant, Guangzhou-Shenzhen District"

The bald cook (Gao Yonghao) looked at Xia Ming with a simple, honest smile.

"Magic Chef, oh no, Natsume, we meet again~"

Xia Ming blinked at Gao Yonghao, then turned to look at the graduate student (Qu Yuyu) at the banquet.

"So, he's here to compete too?"

The graduate student at the banquet (Qu Yuyu) smiled.

"Sigh, if I weren't too old and my level wasn't too high, I definitely wouldn't have missed this kind of competition."

The bald cook (Gao Yonghao) standing to the side smacked his lips upon hearing Xia Ming's words.

"Brother Xia, although there is indeed a significant gap between us, it's still fine to come and experience the atmosphere and learn from the experience~"

"I'm at least a 'Level 3' chef from the West, which is far superior to some students from certain schools."

Xia Ming knew, of course, that the bald cook (Gao Yonghao) was slightly better than the average chef.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been resurrected several times during "One Meal to Fame".

The problem is, after seeing Qian Youdao, he didn't think the bald cook had much of a chance.

Keep in mind that the competition registration fee alone costs several hundred yuan, and the accommodation here is even more shockingly expensive.

Oh, I forgot, this guy is a rich kid.
Curious about why the bald cook (Gao Yonghao) had come, Xia Ming turned his attention to today's banquet.

According to Qu Yuyu, a graduate student in banquet management, this is a unique theme that the restaurant will be launching this month.

【Pomelo Feast】

Xia Ming picked up the menu next to him and glanced at it, finding it to be extremely exquisite.

The menu itself was sprinkled with grapefruit juice or grapefruit-scented perfume, giving it an overall grapefruit-scented aroma.

Eleven dishes from top to bottom.

It includes "tea to accompany meals", "pre-meal", "soup", "appetizer", "main course", "breath tea", "staple food", "vegetables" and "dessert".

Essentially, it's a modification of Chinese cuisine onto the culinary logic of Western cuisine.

The names are also closer to the modern Chinese style, such as the tea served with meals called "Pomelo Fragrance Refreshing the Moon" and the dessert served before meals called "Snow Pomelo Top".

Xia Ming suddenly felt like he was back in the Blood Blade Sect's kitchen, where the "naming" process often took place.

His area of ​​expertise also includes learning how to give an exceptional name to a rather ordinary dish.

This brings us to the master chef's creation of Night Moon Beast Brew.
Another dish Xia Ming often makes is "Bone Pride and Bloodstained Sky". It sounds impressive, but it's actually just Soul River Fish stewed with blood.
Just as he was reminiscing, the banquet began.

One dish after another was brought over from the side, and Qu Yuyu waved her hand, indicating that Xia Ming could begin to taste them one by one.

Now that the form has been filled out, Xia Ming will naturally taste the items in order.

The first course is "Pomelo Fragrance Refreshing the Moon".

There's not much to say about this; it's just a fruit tea with grapefruit flavor.

The initial taste is slightly sour and appetizing, with the aroma of pomelo blending well with the tea, creating a layered flavor profile. However, Xia Ming noticed a slight bitterness in the aftertaste, perhaps due to the wrong type of pomelo.

Looking inside, Xia Ming noticed that the grapefruit peel in the cup of tea hadn't been properly removed.

After being steeped in tea, this bitter taste would rise up, and he felt that this was probably not Qu Yuyu's original intention.

"Qu Yuyu, did I not remove the grapefruit peel completely from this cup of tea?"

Qu Yuyu was taken aback when she heard this, then took it to look and found that it was indeed true.

Realizing what was happening, she rushed to the kitchen. Theoretically, she was supposed to cook this meal herself, but the owner heard that her friend, who had become famous overnight, was coming.

Let her rest for a while, and let others take care of the banquet.

Qu Yuyu had a lot of confidence in the team, but he didn't expect them to give him such a big surprise right from the start.

Although Xia Ming felt that mistakes were inevitable, he really shouldn't have made such a simple mistake.

I asked Gao Yonghao, who was standing next to me, and found that there was none in his drink.

"There are still flaws in the quality control."

Xia Ming raised an eyebrow. If this were in the Nine Provinces Continent, this disciple would probably have to wait for several months before the tea was served.

After a while, Qu Yuyu returned and said that it was indeed just a mistake.

I also got Xia Ming a different cup.

"This tastes just right," Xia Ming nodded after drinking it.

Since he hadn't paid, and it wasn't his business what other people's kitchens were doing, he didn't ask any more questions after Qu Yuyu said it was fine.

It turned out to be just a minor incident caused by a mistake.

Neither the "Youbing Soup" nor the main dishes "Roasted Eight Hundred Miles" and "Swimming Fish" contained this level of error.

Of course, there are still some parts where the flavors don't quite match.

The "Yubing Geng" served as the first soup was too bland, which diluted the flavor of the preceding "Xueyou Qiongding" and reduced diners' expectations for the subsequent dishes.

The "Fish and Fish" dish, served as a main course, is a wonderful blend of pomelo and fish.

However, it clashed slightly with the flavor of another main dish, "Roasted Eight Hundred Miles".

This wasn't due to the ingredients; it was simply a mistake in the use of spices. After listening to Xia Ming's explanation, Qu Yuyu understood, because "Zhi Babaili" was actually a grilled veal steak, which had appeared on other menus before.

After being included in the main course this time, she did not change the recipe.

However, "Fish Swimming with Fish" is a new dish, and when it was made, only the taste was taken into account, without considering the aroma, which ultimately led to a slight deviation.

Then, the final dessert, "Pomelo Painting," also had a similar problem.

As a finishing course, its sweetness was so intense that it overpowered the main course.
Xia Ming described what he ate, which made Gao Yonghao, who was sitting next to him, look a bit simple-minded. He had originally planned to say something, but after tasting it for a while, he finally thought it was just okay.

Looking at Qu Yuyu, who was listening and taking notes, and then at Xia Ming, who was getting straight to the point and speaking concisely.

Gao Yonghao suddenly felt that perhaps he had been too hasty in coming to participate in this competition.
"This is a real headache. If I were in charge of this banquet, I would have been a sure thing. I didn't know there were so many tricks involved."

"I can understand the clash of aromas, but what about the 'emotion' of ingredients and the 'breathing curve'? Is that some kind of secret technique?"

He silently memorized Xia Ming's words, intending to go back and check if he had such a problem.

And so, what should have been a meal that took an hour to finish took an extra half hour.

Because Xia Ming didn't spend any money, he was able to answer most of the questions Qu Yuyu asked afterward.

It just uses fewer technical terms and has more strange descriptions.

Qu Yuyu still has that sentence stuck in her mind.
“Food has life and breath; I call it ‘vitality.’ This vitality doesn’t completely dissipate with death; rather, some remains in the body.”

"Just like this dish, 'Roasted Eight Hundred Miles,' to keep the inside moist, you need to pay more attention to this part during preparation."

Xia Ming didn't elaborate further, but Qu Yuyu remembered the word "vitality".

As for Gao Yonghao on the other side, his admiration for Xia Ming grew even stronger.

After finishing his meal, Xia Ming took a taxi and left "Mei Shi Yan Restaurant" to return to his booked hotel.

As soon as I got downstairs at the hotel, I heard a young man's voice.

"Wait, wasn't the room rate 180 a few days ago? Why is it 450 today when I extend my stay? Are you taking advantage of me because I'm young and easy to bully?!"

Xia Ming looked in the direction of the sound and found a boy with black hair, a young and clean-cut appearance, not very tall, and who looked more like a high school student.

Of particular note is a knife case next to him, with a symbol that looks somewhat like a flame painted on it.

The receptionist told the boy with great regret.

"I'm sorry, we are a chain hotel, and the prices are adjusted by higher authorities."

The boy was speechless.

"So this is how you adjusted the rates? How can you raise room rates like this! I'm going to report you for being a rip-off!"

The staff patiently explained again.

"Due to the upcoming 'New Chef Competition' in the area, hotel rooms are in high demand. The price adjustment is a decision made by higher authorities. If you are not satisfied, please find other accommodations. Thank you for your stay."

Upon hearing this, the boy's face showed a hint of anger.

"Where we live, there's no such thing as housing price adjustments. Big cities are just too unfair!"

Just as he was complaining, a young man dressed in black walked out of the corridor.

"Young man, you're wrong about that. They're running a business, so the prices are naturally set by the owner. It's fair and transparent, and it's not just targeting you. What's the point of bullying a receptionist like that?"

Xia Ming glanced to the side and found that the black-clad boy was about 20 years old. He was dressed like an assassin from an ancient Chinese game. He had an average appearance but a cold expression, and there was a small scar on his jawbone.

When the boy heard someone speak up to stop him, he turned around to argue with him. Just then, Xia Ming smelled a strange fragrance.

Looking back, I saw a girl dressed in revealing and alluring clothes, with slightly purple hair and long, narrow phoenix eyes, walking in from the front hall.

“Sun Hao, you’re wrong. This little brother has obviously never been to the Guangzhou-Shenzhen area before, so it’s normal that he doesn’t know much about the situation.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the boy, then looked down, pausing when she saw the knife box, her eyes seemingly deep in thought.

"The competition is approaching, it wouldn't be right to make him find a new spot. How about this, I seem to have a connection with this young man, and since the competition is about to start, I'll put the difference in room fees on my tab!"

As she spoke, the girl went to the front desk, handed over a VIP card, then moved closer to the boy and gently stroked his face.

"He's so fair and tender, he looks just like my little brother. Next time, if you encounter something like this, don't argue with the receptionist, they have it pretty tough too!"

The boy's perspective at that moment was perfectly positioned between the two mountains, and under the influence of the wonderful fragrance, his face instantly turned red.

The girl patted his face and neck lightly, smiled, and got up to retrieve her card.

"Alright, that's enough for now, cute little brother, see you next time~"

The boy watched the departing figure hesitate for a moment, seemingly wanting to go over and ask for her contact information, but ultimately he was too embarrassed to do so.

Sun Hao, who was standing to the side, snorted coldly at his appearance.

"Don't blame me for not warning you, don't get too close to her, or you won't even know how you died."

The boy got a little angry when he heard this.

"You're just spouting nonsense and can't do anything but talk nonsense. That young lady was clearly a very nice person!"

Sun Hao snorted coldly, said nothing more, shook his head, and left.

Xia Ming paused, then sniffed the air, and then revealed a playful smile.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. When you're out and about, you have to be careful in everything you do.

(End of this chapter)