A Bite of Douluo Continent

If it is a type of fruit, then this Ginkgo biloba dish could also be used as a dish in the second round of the competition.

The price of a dish, to a certain extent, determines its quality.

The Ginkgo Biloba, priced at 100 Gold Soul Coins, is clearly superior to the Crab-Stuffed Orange, which costs 40 Gold Soul Coins.

In other words, Qi Han shouldn't have brought out Crab-Stuffed Oranges to win; he should have brought out Ginkgo Nuts with Poetry and Etiquette instead.

Did he not want to win and deliberately throw the game?

No, no one would deliberately throw a food competition, especially after losing the first round.

So the only possible truth is... ginkgo nuts are not fruits.

It's a vegetable!

broken!

Chef Song suddenly found that the Ginkgo biloba he was eating no longer tasted good.

It's over, Barbie Q.

...

"The taste of this crab-stuffed orange is truly exceptional." Ye Ansheng reluctantly finished the last spoonful of crab-stuffed orange. If he didn't have to be mindful of his manners in front of so many people, he would have loved to eat the orange peel as well. "Now I'm even more looking forward to having dinner at Hanshi Restaurant tonight."

“Brother An Sheng won’t be disappointed.” Wu Henian smiled mysteriously. “This crab-stuffed orange is already very delicious, but it only costs forty gold soul coins at Hanshi Festival.”

"But?" Ye Ansheng's eyes widened. "Brother Henian, that's not fair of you. As far as I know, neither Tianxingzhai nor Mingtingque combined have any dishes priced at forty gold soul coins... although I do think that price is indeed worth it."

“Brother Ansheng, you are unaware of this.” Wu Henian shook his head. “During the Cold Food Festival, the dishes are not cheap. However, in my opinion, these expensive dishes are worth the price. The lowest price for these dishes is one silver soul coin, while the highest is a full one hundred gold soul coins. The difference is huge. If we really want to compare, the crab-stuffed orange for forty gold soul coins can probably only be considered mid-range.”

"This is considered mid-range?" Ye Ansheng clicked his tongue. "Since you're free, why don't you tell me about the dish during the Cold Food Festival that's more expensive than crab-stuffed orange?"

“Very well.” Wu Henian chuckled. “Among the dishes served during the Cold Food Festival, there are two particularly special fish dishes. One is called Squirrel Mandarin Fish, which is shaped like a gold ingot and has an excellent appearance. The other is called Chopped Chili Fish Head, which is made by covering the fish head with pickled chili peppers and cooking it. It is spicy and refreshing.”

"The prices for these two dishes are 52 gold soul coins and 60 gold soul coins respectively."

"Fish dishes?" Ye Ansheng's eyes lit up. "Mingdu is located inland, so fish dishes are relatively rare. I happen to really like eating fish, so I'll have to try some tonight."

"That's not all." Wu Henian smiled. "During the Cold Food Festival, there's a kind of wine called 'Blazing Flames in the Cup.' Just a small barrel of it costs sixty-six gold soul coins. I didn't even get to try it yesterday. Shall we go and try it together today?"

"Such expensive wine?" Ye Ansheng grinned. "I have to try it."

"Besides that, there are three dishes worth one hundred gold soul coins each." Wu Henian smiled. "I think these three dishes are probably the most delicious dishes of the Cold Food Festival."

"So many?" Ye Ansheng's eyes showed a hint of surprise. "What are these three dishes?"

"The first dish is called Dongpo Pork Knuckle, made with the foreleg of a century-old soul beast pig," Wu Henian smiled. "As for the second dish, it's called Poetry and Etiquette Silver..."

Seeing Wu Henian suddenly fall silent, Ye Ansheng asked curiously, "Silver what?"

Wu Henian's expression was strange. Instead of answering, he asked, "Brother Ansheng, you've traveled all over the country, have you ever heard of ginkgo fruit?"

"Never heard of it." Ye Ansheng shook his head. "It sounds like a fruit. Could it be a silver apricot?"

"Heh..." Wu Hesing breathed a sigh of relief, and a bright smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"Brother Ansheng."

"What's wrong, Brother Henian?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I suddenly felt..."

"Hanshi is destined to win this competition in the food industry."

Chapter 517 Is Mapo Tofu a Vegetable? (Seeking monthly votes and recommendations)

After the judges had finished their crab-stuffed oranges, the dishes for Ming Ting Que finally arrived.

Upon emerging from the kitchen and realizing the situation, Chef Hong of Ming Ting Que's expression turned grim.

His dish was already inferior to Crab Stuffed Orange, and now that it was finished later than Crab Stuffed Orange's, there was even less chance of him winning.

After tasting the crab-stuffed orange, the last shred of hope in his heart vanished.

Chef Song was right; compared to this dish, his lotus-scented fruit-flavored fish was far inferior.

Meanwhile, Qi Han began to savor the second dish of Ming Ting Que.

The presentation of this Lotus-Flavored Fruit Fish is quite exquisite. Lotus petals are laid at the bottom of the dish, and a whole fish is placed on top. The surface of the fish is slightly golden, and a rich aroma wafts out. In addition to the aroma of the fish itself, there is also a fruity and lotus fragrance that is blended into it.

Fish meat is inherently low in fat, so its flavor differs from that of animal products. It is not greasy and has a unique fresh fish flavor. This fresh fish flavor, combined with the refreshing aroma of fruit and lotus, becomes even more vibrant, giving the overall sense of olfactory harmony.

There was no fruit on the surface of the dish, but after observing for a while, Qi Han quickly discovered the clue. He gently cut open the belly of the fish with a knife, and the thoroughly stewed and soft fruit juice slowly flowed out from the fish's belly.

Seeing the fruit pulp that was so soft it was almost liquid, with only a few fruit pieces vaguely visible, Qi Han's face showed a hint of eagerness. He picked up a piece of fish with his fork, dipped it in the pulp a few times, and then put it in his mouth to chew.

The fish in this dish was handled exceptionally well. The golden-brown skin had a slightly crispy and chewy texture, while the fish meat inside was tender and juicy, without any dryness. The fruit syrup had a sweet and sour flavor that Qi Han had never tasted before; it was probably some kind of fruit native to the Sun Moon Continent.

Overall, it was a very tasty dish, but unfortunately, after just one bite, Qi Han noticed a very obvious problem with it.

The natural freshness and deliciousness of the fish tend to be masked by the sweet and sour taste of the fruit syrup.

For a dish, the overall harmony and unity of flavor and texture is very important, and this dish has not achieved this well. The main ingredient of Lotus Fragrance Fruit Flavored Fish should be fish, so the flavor and texture of the fish should be the absolute protagonist in this dish.

However, the addition of fruit puree to this dish felt somewhat deliberate, causing the flavor to mask the taste of the fish itself. This is a classic case of the fruit puree overpowering the fish. Although the overall taste was indeed very good, it was clearly inferior to the crab-stuffed orange dish, which perfectly blended the orange and crab flavors.

Clearly, Hanshi's victory in the second round of the food competition is a foregone conclusion.

After finishing the entire lotus-scented fruit-flavored fish, Qi Han had already reached a conclusion.

The judges' final vote after tasting the lotus-flavored fish confirmed this.

Hanshi won the second round with an overwhelming advantage of 42 votes to 7 votes.

After two rounds of food competition, the judges have fully realized the strength of Hanshi.

Hanshi narrowly lost by one vote in the first round, but crushed the competition by a huge margin in the second round. Hanshi's strength may even be superior to Mingtingque's.

Now that both sides have won one round each, the final third round is the most crucial.

I wonder what kind of dishes both sides will bring this time?

Many people know Chef Jin from Mingtingque. The theme of the third round is vegetables, and Chef Jin happens to be the most skilled vegetable chef in the entire Mingdu. His ability is beyond doubt.

I wonder what kind of vegetables Hanshi will bring out, and whether they can compete with Chef Jin's dishes.

Amidst the tense and expectant gazes of everyone, Qi Han and Chef Jin from Ming Tingque entered the kitchen, and the kitchen doors on both sides slowly closed in the next moment.

From the judges' panel, Wu Henian nervously watched the tightly closed gates of the Cold Food Festival.

So, the dish Qi Han is going to bring out this time should be the Ginkgo Biloba with Poetry and Etiquette, right?

If this dish is served, Hanshi has a very high chance of winning, and if Hanshi wins the third round, it will be the ultimate winner of this food competition.

He had long disliked Ming Tingque. Although he had failed to defeat Ming Tingque, Wu Henian felt relieved to see Ming Tingque defeated by Hanshi.

Chef Song, standing in the viewing area, clenched his fists silently.

He didn't dare tell Zhao Yangfan his guess, but he couldn't help himself and secretly pulled Chef Jin aside to tell him that the Cold Food Festival might feature an unexpected dish.

Hopefully, Chef Kim can perform exceptionally well and create a dish that can beat Shi Li Ginkgo's.

Otherwise, Ming Tingque would be in danger this time.

...

Qi Han was completely unaware that outside the kitchen, two guys were caught in their own different emotions as they guessed that he was going to take out the Ginkgo biloba.

If he knew, he would probably burst out laughing.

Who told you I was going to use the Ginkgo biloba?

Qi Han already knew that ginkgo trees did not exist in the Douluo Continent.

Therefore, if Qi Han insists that ginkgo is a vegetable, no one can refute it, and it is barely acceptable.

The problem is that ginkgo nuts are not vegetables at all; they are a type of dried fruit.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Qi Han never considered using the Ginkgo biloba to complete the third round.

The dish he originally planned to serve was Mapo Tofu.

Is tofu considered a vegetable?

It can actually be calculated, because vegetables in a broad sense refer to edible herbaceous plants and fungi.

Tofu is made from soybeans, which belong to the legume family. It can be classified as either a grain or a vegetable, depending on how it is cooked.

If you treat it as a staple food, then it is grain; if you treat it as a side dish, then it is vegetable.

So Mapo Tofu is a vegetable, is that a problem?

no problem.

Although it's a bit of a stretch, it's at least more convincing than the Ginkgo biloba.

Unfortunately, this plan had to be abandoned after a narrow defeat in the first round.

Mapo tofu is delicious, but that doesn't guarantee victory in the third round.

To win, Qi Han needs to unleash an even more formidable secret weapon.

He does possess such weapons.

Among the three-star dishes, Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth, Wensi Tofu, and Dinghu Vegetarian Dishes are all dishes that absolutely meet the requirements; any one of them would be a winner.

The only problem is that the three-star dishes all have unusual phenomena and various magical special effects. Once these phenomena appear or these special effects are spread, they will inevitably cause some unnecessary trouble.

Even if Qi Han loses this food competition, he can gradually increase his popularity by challenging other restaurants. It just takes more time. But if he wins the competition with a three-star recipe, the trouble that follows will not be something that can be solved by spending more time.

So he had to think of another way.

The cooking process of crab-stuffed oranges involves a full twenty minutes of steaming time. As an excellent time management master, how could Qi Han possibly let those twenty minutes go to waste?

In those twenty minutes, he did one thing.

"Ruyi, add some... oh no, serve the food!"

The twelfth chapter of this book