In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

After serving four cold dishes, the appetizers began. Song Xiaoyi held a plate in each hand and said, "These are two appetizers: Song Family Steamed Egg Custard and Prince Zhou's Mixed Garden Flower Seedlings."

"This second appetizer comes from the 'Emergency Relief Materia Medica,' and it was prepared by Zhou Dingwang, the fifth son of Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, who was famous for his love of food. The cold dishes and appetizers are now served. You teachers can start eating. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare the hot dishes."

"Zhu'er, please help pour wine for all the teachers. This wine also comes from the Ming Dynasty. Let me keep you in suspense for a moment and let you all try it and see what kind of wine it is."

"Oh? It seems there's something special about this wine? Miss Pearl, come on, fill this up first."

When I say it originated in the Ming Dynasty, it truly did. From the recipe to the wine jar, this calamus wine originated in the Ming Dynasty, so it's not an exaggeration.

After leaving a riddle, Song Xiaoyi smiled, pushed the empty food cart quickly to the kitchen, and started preparing hot dishes.

In the lobby, the atmosphere was lively, and the discussion among the curators and experts gradually grew louder.

First of all, the complete set of blue and white porcelain tableware is pleasing to the eye. Secondly, the four cold dishes and two appetizers are all dishes passed down from the Ming Dynasty. They seem simple, but after Mr. Wu's introduction, everyone was eager to try them.

Even the wine jar looks very old; the wine is dispensed using a bamboo shovel, which really whets the appetite.

"Is this medicinal wine?" In fact, as soon as the jar was opened, everyone could smell it. "It smells like calamus! This must be calamus wine!"

"Calamus wine? What's the story behind it?"

According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, calamus wine treats thirty-six types of wind-related ailments and twelve types of numbness, improves blood circulation, treats bone weakness, and enhances hearing and vision with prolonged use. This was a royal wine from the Ming Dynasty!

"It smells different from baijiu! And it's the Dragon Boat Festival, drinking calamus wine is really a perfect match."

"Alright, all poured! Let's all taste it and see what this legendary Ming Dynasty imperial wine tastes like..."

In the kitchen, Song Xiaoyi poured three portions of the first hot soup, "White Jade Lamb Soup," which was simmering on the stew pot, into large blue-and-white porcelain soup bowls. Then, she turned off the heat of the steamer that had been steaming over medium heat on the other side and loaded the three portions of "Ancient Steamed Yellow Clams" onto a food cart and pushed it to the front of the restaurant.

"Xiao Yi is here, just in time! Your calamus wine tastes very authentic! Is it also a secret brew of your Song family?"

Song Family Secret Brew? Song Family Secret Brew is beer, okay? Song Xiaoyi smiled but didn't answer.

However, in this modern era, it's acceptable to mistake the calamus wine of the Ming Dynasty for "Song Family Secret Brew," since Song Xiaoyi is quite shameless.

"Dear teachers, whether this calamus wine can actually be considered a secret brew of the Song family is something I can't say for sure. My grandfather simply researched and experimented with the recipe in the Ming Dynasty health book 'Zunsheng Bajian' step by step, and the finished wine has been stored in this old house for several years."

"The longer the wine is stored, the better it tastes; no wonder!"

"Dear teachers, the Song Family White Jade Lamb Soup and the Ancient Method Steamed Yellow Clams are both dishes that come from our ancestral book, 'Zhuyu Mountain House Miscellaneous Records.' Please enjoy them."

Back in the kitchen, there are six hot dishes. The "Songfu Fire-Roasted Pig" is a semi-finished product that only needs to be roasted on the spot. While the "Songfu Fire-Roasted Pig" is roasting over a low flame, the "Songfu Sugar-coated Pork Belly" and "Songfu Salt-fried Beef" are pan-fried over a low flame. They are also pre-made.

The "Song Family Spicy Braised Crucian Carp" stewing in the large stove is ready to be served, and the "Song Family Roasted Duck" in the oven is also basically ready. The only dish that needs to be stir-fried over high heat on the spot is the "Song Family Fried Shrimp".

After all six hot dishes were prepared and plated, Song Xiaoyi took three empty plates, a well-knife, and a well-knife and pushed the food cart back to the front of the room.

"Come on, teachers, please step aside for a moment. Now, let's serve the hot dishes: Song Family Roasted Pork, Song Family Spicy Braised Crucian Carp, Song Family Sugar-coated Pork Belly, Song Family Salt-fried Beef, and Song Family Fried Shrimp. You can find detailed descriptions of these dishes in our ancestral book, 'Miscellaneous Writings from Zhuyu Mountain House'."

After serving five hot dishes, Song Xiaoyi set up the cutting board and began to show off his knife skills. Seeing Song Xiaoyi set up the cutting board on the spot, the experts nearby knew that the chef was about to unleash his fancy skills.

With a flash of silver light, the duck bones, already flattened on the cutting board, separated with a snap. In just over ten seconds, a "Songfu Roasted Duck" was dismantled, its slices as thin as cicada wings, neatly arranged on a blue-and-white porcelain plate, and handed to Zhu'er to serve.

After two such incidents, all three portions of "Songfu Roasted Duck" were dismantled.

"Dear teachers, this is Songfu Roasted Duck. I've made some improvements, please enjoy."

Several experts watching the performance even applauded.

"Oh! Old Vine, you really went to great lengths. This trip was worthwhile."

"But you've gone too far with this organization. What are we supposed to do when the next batch goes to Shanxi?"

Hahaha~~

"Let's enjoy the food first. We can discuss the issue of hurting the next generation when we get back."

"That makes sense, since we're already here..."

"Indeed, now that we're seated, how can we not enjoy this fine cuisine?"

"..."

Two appetizers, four cold dishes, six hot dishes, one steamed dish, and one soup have already been served in the front of the room. That should be enough to keep us entertained for a while.

When it was time to prepare the special dishes "Song Family Braised Pufferfish" and "Song Family Shrimp Tofu", Song Xiaoyi was more skilled at cooking pufferfish, but it needed to be stewed for a long time. While the pufferfish was stewing, he could take the time to prepare the sauce and "Song Family Shrimp Tofu".

About twenty minutes later, Pearl went to the kitchen and told them that the hot dishes in the front room had been almost eaten.

"Okay, Zhu'er, help me push the cart." After saying that, Song Xiaoyi put the large flat-bottomed pot with thirty-two pufferfish stewed on the food cart, took the matching number of celadon plates and placed them on the third shelf of the cart, and took two new pairs of chopsticks. Together with Zhu'er, they pushed the cart to the front hall.

"Dear teachers, the main dishes of the Song family banquet were known as the Song family special dishes in the Ming Dynasty: Song family braised pufferfish and Song family shrimp tofu. In modern terms, the Song family braised pufferfish was a dish for guests, with one pufferfish per guest."

Upon hearing the name "Song Family Special Dish," everyone was intrigued but put down their chopsticks to wait.

Song Xiaoyi took out a small celadon plate from the lower level of the dining car, served the first serving of Song Family-style cooked pufferfish, poured the gravy over it, picked up the pufferfish skin with chopsticks, and slowly put it into his mouth while everyone held their breath and watched. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed it directly. Then he calmly ate the pufferfish meat until he finished the whole pufferfish and drank half a small plate of gravy.

After everything was finished and the celadon plate was set down, Song Xiaoyi spoke, "Xiaoyi will serve the pufferfish first. Zhuer will serve the dishes to all the teachers in a moment, but please wait three minutes before eating."

Song Xiaoyi took a celadon plate, filled it with pufferfish, poured the braising sauce over it, and handed it to Zhu'er. Zhu'er started serving the pufferfish from the main table.

Puzzled, the crowd stopped their whispering and looked at each other in bewilderment.

After all thirty dishes were served, the last one was given to Zhu'er. The expert to the left of Old Wu at the main table remarked, "The Song family of Jinling truly has an exquisite palate; I'm impressed!"

"Old Tan, do you know why?"

"Pufferfish can be highly poisonous if not handled properly. Therefore, the chefs at the Song family must taste the pufferfish in public. If the chef shows no signs of poisoning within three to five minutes, it proves that the pufferfish he has prepared is safe and reliable, and customers can eat it with peace of mind. I also learned this from an old book."