Chapter 242 - Al Dente

With confidence, Wang Ming replied. "Gastrique is a reduction or caramelised sugar and vinegar you can infuse it into anything, but it's mostly used for sauces."

"That's correct! One point to Wang Ming, but I'm curious Mr. Wang how did you know the answer? I was sure that only Mr. Cheng would be the one to answer this question."

Angela's question reminded Wang Ming of the past. He had learnt so much from one western chef he had talked with a lot the man is like an unofficial teacher to him. Before, when he was younger, whenever he had spare time, Wang Ming would always go to a small French local restaurant and learn from Chef Peter, who was also the owner. This went on for many years until his father's situation happened. He had tried to visit Chef Peter, after, but he had moved away, presumably back to his home country. 

Wang Ming had forgotten most things he had learnt from Chef Peter, as he had learnt so much from the man for over 7 years. But after getting the artifact, Wang Ming could recall everything again, including what a Gastrique is. He felt confident that if they ask anything related to western cuisine, he would have an answer for it. 

"I once knew a western chef who owned a small local restaurant close to me. He taught me a lot. I owe much of my success to him. Even though I didn't learn about Traditional Chinese cooking from him, he taught me a lot about western cuisine and how to incorporate it into traditional cooking. Chef Peter, if you're watching this show today, wherever you might be, I hope you are proud of me!"

"I see. Well, I hope Chef Peter is proud of you today! Now, next question."

"What are firm tofu made from?"

The next question made the other participants feel more at ease. They were all afraid that all the questions would be about western cuisine or just hard questions. Everyone here knew the answer to this question, but the one to answer the question was none other than Wang Ming, since no one on the stage could press the button faster than him. Seeing his button light up, Wang Ming answered with a grin. "Soy beans!"

"What are the four common types of Jiaozi?" (1)

"Boiled, steamed, Pan-fried, and lastly Soup."

"Name one more type of Jiaozi that he didn't mention."

"Egg dumpling." (3)

"In a hot pot dish, should you cook the meat first or the vegetables?"

"It depends, but in most cases you should cook the meat first, then the vegetables. As the meat takes the longest to cook, but if the meat doesn't take long to cook, then the vegetables go first. This can also change if the meat or vegetables are frozen. "

"How should you grip your knife?"

"Grip it comfortably, with three fingers on the hilt, then use your ring finger and thumb to grip the heel of the knife. This gives you the best control and stability." (2)

"In the manual Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages, written by Hu Sihui in 1330 a famous inspector for the imperial kitchen. A famous Chinese dish got mentioned what's its name?" 

This question made most of the people there scratch their heads. Wang Ming had answered correctly 9 questions in a row already. None believed that he could answer a hard question like that. Even Cheng Kecheng felt confident that there would only be two persons in this room that know the answer except for the MC's, that's himself and Zhang Hou.

Few chefs would know the answer to a question like that, unless you are an experienced chef and have done a lot of research. But yet again Cheng Kecheng faced disappointment, Wang Ming pressed the button before him. Cheng Kecheng finally got the chance to show off. He could answer a head-scratching question right. But Wang Ming got ahead of him. Though he didn't think that Wang Ming knew the answer, he only thought that Wang Ming wanted to show off.

"Peking Duck!" Cheng Kecheng's mouth dropped. The only thought in his mind was if Wang Ming was cheating or not. He couldn't fathom how Wang Ming could know the answer. He felt convinced that Zhang Hou somehow helped Wang Ming or bribed someone to give him the questions beforehand.

Wang Ming's memory could be regarded as a cheat, but since it's not a foreign interference, no one could catch Wang Ming in cheating.

"Congratulations Wang Ming for 10 questions. Maybe he isn't the dark horse of the competition but the forerunner of this competition? He has showed everybody here and at home that he has expert knowledge. It doesn't look like anyone can keep up with him."

After praising Wang Ming, Angela kept asking questions. Wang Ming easily answered everyone. He didn't know if he was just lucky or that the quiz was easy, but Wang Ming had an answer for every question. The other participants got impatient, none of them had answered a question yet. They all looked stupid compared to Wang Ming. 

After the 25th question right in a row, Wang Ming stopped answering, leaving room for everyone else to answer. The favorites then rapidly came up on top. Soon Cheng Kecheng had 15 questions right trailed right behind was Tan Ai with 12 and Mao Qingling with 7.

Seeing Wang Ming standing there without pressing his button made the people supporting him at home annoyed. They all wanted him to win and slam dunk everyone there. Though the ones who felt it, the most are the ones that betted on him. 

They were all cheering and feeling elated that Wang Ming was doing so well, but seeing him suddenly shutdown like that made them feel scared. Even though most of them hadn't bet a lot of money, many of them could win a lot of money as just with 100 yuan you could win 12300. 

The one who was most happy of them all was Mao Qingling. Seeing Wang Ming not being able to answer a single more question made her feel elated. She wanted to jump around in joy. She had to at least get in a better position than Wang Ming. 

This situation kept ongoing until Cheng Kecheng had 27 questions correct, Tan Ai with 24 and Mao Qingling with 23. Not only that, most of the other chefs had gotten around 10 questions each. After the first person failed an answer, the other chefs became less afraid of making a mistake. 

The ones supporting Wang Ming got more and more worried, by each question he skipped after skipping close to two hundred questions most of them lost their hope for Wang Ming. They didn't know what to think anymore. Had Wang Ming only been depending on luck?

Some questions that got asked were easy ones, questions they at home could answer. What irked them the most is that Wang Ming still had a smile on his face, like he didn't care about the situation and the competition. They could only consider themselves unlucky for betting on Wang Ming.

Cheng Kecheng had a big, c.o.c.ky smile on his face. It seems like either Zhang Hou's cheating method couldn't help Wang Ming anymore or he had just been lucky. But it didn't matter to him. The most important thing is that he's the one winning this round. Even though his pride was hit earlier, he couldn't do anything as his hands just couldn't react as fast as Wang Ming's, even when he tried to predict when he could press the button. 

Beating Wang Ming would almost be the same as beating Zhang Hou. Even though it isn't exactly the same, it still felt amazing defeating his representative. He would with no doubt rub it in Zhang Hou's face whenever he meets him after this.

Lang Lin, Fu Ya and Zhang Hou didn't know what was happening. They felt so proud of Wang Ming earlier, yet now it seemed like he knew nothing. They still all believed in him, but it was hard to bear the nasty comments Mao Qingling and her friends would throw out.

Mao Qingling would disconnect her microphone for just a few seconds every time she got one question right and throw a nasty comment towards Wang Ming. She had even put up her 'friends' to sit beside Lang Lin and to throw remarks at them.

To support Wang Ming, Lang Lin and Fu Ya, asked the production crew for a white cardboard and for two markers, one black and red. Writing on Wang Ming's name with big letters they also drew a lot of hearts on it colored by Ming Ming. To counteract all the hate, they all waved the cardboards to support Wang Ming, even Zhang Hou who's a dignified elder joined in on their antics.

"Next question, while cooking vegetables and especially pasta, what does the phrase 'Al dente' mean?"

(1) Jiaozi is a type of dumpling but the dough is very thin

(2) The heel of the knife is where the knife and hilt connect, or the bottom part of the metal.

(3) It's called Egg Dumpling as Jiaozi is a type of dumpling.