The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 217 Challenge

Jiang Yan ordered more than a dozen classic Cantonese dishes that required a high level of skill, which made the waiter's eyes widen and he couldn't help but remind him.

"Guest, are you alone? I'm afraid you won't be able to finish all this food."

Hearing the shop assistant's reminder, Jiang Yan waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry, just go for it, I have a big appetite."

With his natural talent for food, this amount of food was nothing more than a small snack for Jiang Yan.

Of course, through these dishes, he could also get a general idea of ​​Chef Xu's skill level and see just how much this local master chef really knew.

Before long, dishes were served one after another, filling the table to the brim, and each dish was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.

Jiang Yan picked up a piece of poached chicken.

The chicken skin is a translucent honey yellow, like amber, with a warm, oily sheen. When you gently poke it with chopsticks, the chicken skin will puff up slightly with just the right amount of elasticity.

The chicken jelly under the skin is translucent, like solidified crystal, with a clear luster.

Dip it in a little finely ground ginger and scallion paste, and put it in your mouth.

The chicken jelly melts in your mouth, carrying the unique rich aroma of chicken oil, without any greasiness.

Next comes the chicken. With a slight chew, the juices burst on your tongue, carrying the unique sweetness of chicken.

Jiang Yan chewed twice, his expression shifting slightly.

It was a little short.

If the water used to simmer the chicken is slightly hotter and the simmering time is a few seconds longer, this slight difference causes the chicken meat fibers to tighten slightly, resulting in a loss of the ultimate "tender to the bone, melt-in-your-mouth" texture and an extra, almost imperceptible, toughness.

Next up is braised pigeon.

The freshly served pigeon was still sizzling with oil, and its skin was a uniform caramel-gold color, like it was coated with a layer of translucent glaze.

Gently pry it open with chopsticks, and the skin immediately cracks open, releasing a rich juice that flows down the cut, carrying the unique freshness of pigeon, as well as the complex aroma of star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves from the marinade.

When you put it in your mouth, the outer skin is so crispy that it crumbles with a single bite, and the aroma of oil fills your mouth without being greasy at all. The pigeon meat inside is so tender that you can almost squeeze water out of it, and every bite is full of juice.

However, Jiang Yan still noticed a slight flaw.

When marinating the pigeon, I used a little too much salt, which masked the natural sweetness of the pigeon meat.

The oil temperature was a bit too low during the first frying, and the second frying time was two seconds longer, which resulted in the pigeon skin not being crispy for long enough and feeling slightly soft after eating.

The pigeon breast was slightly charred due to uneven cooking, but the fishy smell inside wasn't completely removed, leaving a very faint fishy odor.

Next, Jiang Yan tasted the stir-fried beef noodles, a dish that tested the skills of Cantonese chefs.

Each strand of the translucent white rice noodle is evenly coated with a dark brown sauce, with none sticking together or breaking. Tender red beef slices with charred edges are interspersed with bright green chives and tender white bean sprouts.

I took a gentle sniff, and the unique "wok aroma" immediately filled my nostrils. The caramelized fragrance of soy sauce, the fresh aroma of beef, the aroma of rice noodles, and the sweetness of vegetables blended perfectly together. Just smelling it made my mouth water.

Picking up a piece with chopsticks and putting it in my mouth, the rice noodles are smooth and chewy, not sticky at all, and have no raw starch taste. The beef is as tender as tofu, but with just the right amount of caramelized aroma. The bean sprouts and chives are crisp and refreshing, which perfectly cuts through the greasiness.

The taste was indeed not bad, but perhaps it was too rushed and not cooked long enough. The inside was not flavorful enough. One bite, and it was salty on the outside and bland on the inside. It lacked the most crucial element of "perfect harmony".

Next up is the pork soup with night-blooming cereus.

The soup is a clear, amber color with no oil on the surface. When you take a sip, you first taste the sweetness of the night-blooming cereus, followed by the rich flavor of pork bones and the lingering sweetness of jujubes. The soup is thick but not greasy, clear but not bland.

The umami flavor of the pork bone marrow is fully extracted during stewing, and the night-blooming cereus flowers are stewed until soft and tender, melting in your mouth, demonstrating the skill of the stew maker.

Jiang Yan nodded; this dish was indeed very good.

As he ate each dish, Jiang Yan finished the entire table, leaving not even a scrap of rice at the bottom of the clay pot.

The surrounding diners were stunned.

Jiang Yan had by then thoroughly understood Xu Hui's skills.

This Chef Xu is indeed a Cantonese chef with solid skills, and can be considered a top-notch chef in the local area.

As for minor flaws in each dish, that's actually quite normal.

After all, with so many dishes to make, it's impossible to perfect every single one.

Moreover, some of the dishes were most likely not even made by Chef Xu himself.

Jiang Yan put down his chopsticks and raised his hand to call over the shop assistant next to him.

"Could you please ask your head chef to come over? I have some questions about the cooking that I'd like to discuss with him in person."

The shop assistant looked troubled, but seeing that Jiang Yan was calm and composed and had finished all the dishes on the table, he didn't seem like someone who was there to cause trouble. So the shop assistant had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree, and then turned and walked to the kitchen.

The surrounding diners became interested and turned to look in their direction, whispering among themselves.

"Who is this young man? He ate a whole table of food and now he wants to hire a chef?"

"Are they here to cause trouble? Chef Xu has been cooking in this area for over twenty years, and no one has ever dared to come and complain!"

"Look at how young he is, how much cooking skill could he possibly know?"

Not long after, a middle-aged man came out with a shop assistant.

He was around forty years old, wearing a white chef's uniform with the cuffs rolled up high, revealing his strong, dark forearms. His hands were covered in soy sauce stains that couldn't be washed off from years of cooking. His face had a smoky look about him, and his eyes were as sharp as knives.

The visitor was none other than Xu Hui, the head chef of Xu's Restaurant.

Xu Hui walked up to Jiang Yan's desk, looked at Jiang Yan, and said in a lukewarm tone.

"I'm Xu Hui, the head chef of this restaurant. Sir, what can I do for you? Is there anything you're dissatisfied with about the food?"

"My name is Jiang Yan, and I am also a chef."

Jiang Yan stood up, introduced himself to Xu Hui, and then continued speaking very seriously.

"After tasting Chef Xu's dishes, I'm eager to learn from him and have a cooking competition."

Upon hearing this, Xu Hui couldn't help but frown.

He looked Jiang Yan up and down. He still had a youthful air about him. Even if he had been learning to cook since he was a child, he only had a little over ten years of experience. How much skill could he possibly have?

Although there aren't many young people who come to ask for advice, I have encountered them before. Some are there to ride on my fame, while others are there to cause trouble and grab attention.

If he wins, he will lose face; if he loses, he will lose the reputation he has built up. There is absolutely no benefit to him.

Therefore, Xu Hui immediately shook his head and refused with some impatience.

"Sorry, I'm not interested in that kind of thing."

"The kitchen is still busy. If the guests don't have anything else to do, I'll head back now."

Jiang Yan was neither surprised nor angry at Xu Hui's refusal, and simply spoke slowly.

"Chef Xu's poached chicken uses 120-day-old Qingyuan Ma chickens. The poaching technique of lifting and releasing the chicken three times is very standard, but the water temperature is a little too high and the time is a little too long, so the tenderness of the chicken meat is slightly lacking."

"The braised pigeon was made with Shiqi pigeons, and the marinade was precisely proportioned. However, the initial frying temperature was too low, and the second frying time was too long, resulting in the skin not being crispy enough and the fishy smell not being completely removed."

With each word Jiang Yan spoke, Xu Hui's expression grew increasingly grim.

He was aware of some of the details, but since the taste was similar, he didn't pay much attention to them.

However, through Jiang Yan's words, Xu Hui also understood that Jiang Yan's cooking skills were definitely not bad, and only in this way could he taste these flaws.

The surrounding diners fell silent, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Yan, their faces filled with shock.

They had been eating at Xu's Restaurant for over a decade and thought the food was absolutely delicious. They had never heard anyone mention these problems before, but looking at Xu Hui's expression, they knew that Jiang Yan was absolutely right.

Xu Hui's breathing became rapid, and his previous impatience vanished, replaced by a deep sense of gravity.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw Jiang Yan raise his hand and take out a piece of meat the size of his palm.

The moment it was taken out, the air in the entire restaurant seemed to freeze.

The flesh is as translucent as the finest gemstone, with textures resembling the facets of a natural gemstone, radiating a warm luster.

The snowflake-like fat was evenly distributed like white crystal, perfect to the extreme.

At the same time, an indescribable aroma of meat exploded like a tidal wave, filling the entire restaurant. It wasn't the greasy, fishy smell of meat, but rather an exquisite aroma that was sweet, mellow, and delicious, making one's very being tremble.

Everyone around, whether diners, staff, or even apprentices who had run out of the kitchen, couldn't help but swallow hard, their eyes glued to the piece of meat in Jiang Yan's hand, forgetting even to breathe.

>