Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Precautions Needed for Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet

However, among the three new dishes, the Jin’ling Grass had to be treated carefully. He did not have any assistants; therefore, Yuan Zhou had to finish all the necessary work by himself. Of course, Yuan Zhou also enjoyed the entire process.

When the system provided Yuan Zhou with unparalleled culinary skills, it also gave him the mindset of pursuing perfection.

Now, Yuan Zhou couldn’t bear to use any imperfect methods of preparing the ingredients anymore. Besides, the Jin’ling Grass needed even more careful preparation, as the slightest bruising would affect the subtle taste of the dish.

If Yuan Zhou had lived during the ancient times, he would probably be Zhu Geliang (a loyal and capable minister of a kingdom during ancient times), one who always saw to everything himself and, in the end, died from fatigue. Fortunately, he was merely a chef, more specifically, a chef in his own restaurant, who had flexible hours and was free from any risk of dying from fatigue.

The Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet was even more troublesome to deal with. Therefore, Yuan Zhou carried out the Egg Fried Rice and Jin’ling Grass first, letting Mu Xiaoyun carry them to Ling Hong.

“These are the dishes you ordered. Help yourself, please,” Mu Xiaoyun said after she served the dishes to them.

“These are truly three plates of verdant and refreshing grass…” the good-looking Ji Lian who liked rock music said with exaggerated words.

“Boss Yuan, are these three plates of grass?” the man called Octopus had a rather straightforward character, thus he asked directly.

“I believe it’s some kind of wild vegetable.” With a sharp contrast between his appearance and his character, the muscle man Tank revealed an interested expression on his face.

On the other side, Yuan Zhou was placing the chicken feet into the pressure cooker before stewing it with high heat. After covering the cooker carefully, he turned around and responded.

“It’s not grass, it’s a kind of wild vegetable,” Yuan Zhou answered in an affirmative tone.

“Boss Yuan, it looks like you added nothing to the dish. Don’t tell me you didn’t cook it and just served it to us like that?” Octopus still wasn’t moved even in the face of Jin’ling Grass which had a great outward appearance.

It appeared so verdant, without any traces of being fried or having flavourings added to the dish. Apart from the small fish painted on the white bottom of the plate, there wasn’t even any juice left on it at all. That made Octopus convinced that the dish was raw.

Uncooked wild vegetables were never an option to him as they usually had a special flavor. He could barely eat cooked wild vegetables if flavorings were added but for the uncooked ones, he had never thought of eating them.

“I know you don’t eat uncooked vegetables at other places. But don’t you understand this is the restaurant of Boss Yuan?” Ling Hong uttered directly.

Basically, they all believed that the dish was raw. Originally, Yuan Zhou was very careful and meticulous while preparing the ingredients of the Jin’ling Grass. When he stir-fried it, however, the speed was rather fast. Those several people can’t possibly keep their eyes on Yuan Zhou cooking all along.

“It’s not uncooked. I have already stir-fried it,” Yuan Zhou told them in due time at the side.

“Really?” Octopus showed a suspicious look. Judged from its appearance, the Jin’ling Grass really seemed like some wild vegetables that were processed and then directly served to them, no matter how great it looked.

Yuan Zhou didn’t explain anymore, only signaling that they would understand once they ate it.

Tank, who was seated by the side, reached out his chopsticks to pick two pieces up and then put them into his mouth directly.

Immediately, a refreshing and smooth taste filled his mouth. The instant he bit down, the characteristic fragrance of the artemisia selengensis was blended along with the taste and flavor. Tank didn’t even tell Octopus that the dish was indeed cooked before he started gobbling it down.

“It looks the taste is fantastic.” Being of quick eyes and deft hands, Ji Lian likewise joined them in eating.

“Try it, Octopus.” Ling Hong was not content to lag behind, hence also picked up his chopsticks to begin eating.

Octopus looked around himself from left to right, finding that the several people were all immersed in the bliss of the Jin’ling Grass. Thinking of the ever-wondrous culinary skills of Yuan Zhou, he felt that the dish deserved a try even if it was uncooked. Therefore, he no longer held back and just started to eat it. Of course, he merely picked up one piece of artemisia selengensis, tentatively.

After swallowing the single piece, the four friends all fell into the war over delicacies, competing their speed, precision and courage.

On the other side, the pressure cooker used could shorten the cooking time. Ten minutes later, Yuan Zhou returned to the kitchen. Once he uncovered the pressure cooker, an amazing scent swept past him.

“Wow, what an alluring fragrance of meat.” With his sharper eyes and defter hands, Ji Lian picked up the last piece of the artemisia selengensis. Then, with a simple sniff, he said happily in surprise.

“Indeed, it’s tempting.” Ling Hong loved to eat meat very much, hence agreed with Ji Lian

“I haven’t eaten any meat in a long while.” Octopus looked eagerly at Yuan Zhou and just waited for Yuan Zhou to serve the dish to them.

“Same. After eating here, I rarely drop by other places for food,” Ling Hong said, agreeing.

“Let’s just wait and then eat.” Tank appeared to be the calmest.

“This is the dish, Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet, for the four of you.” Yuan Zhou personally carried the tray up to them, along with four Herbal Tea Eggs.

“Don’t bother, Boss Yuan.” while saying that, Ji Lian directly reached out to grab the plates. The other three people started to follow as well when they saw that.

At that time, Yin Ya happened to enter the main hall.

“Where does this fragrance come from?’ Yin Ya twitched her exquisite nose and asked.

“A new dish. You haven’t been here in quite a while.” Yuan Zhou’s eyes brightened up when he saw Yin Ya. Then he said with his usual serious expression.

“Boss Yuan, your business is getting better and better. I have been outside queuing for almost 20 minutes,” Yin Ya smiled and sat down while saying that.

“No choice. Your dishes are way too expensive. As an ordinary employee, I can’t afford them.” Yin Ya joked with Yuan Zhou while smiling happily.

“I don’t think so. The dishes are merely of average price.”Yuan Zhou really felt that for this kind of ingredients, the price wasn’t expensive at all.

“Fine, your skills really do demand for this price.” Eventually, Yin Ya understood that Yuan Zhou didn’t get her implied meaning at all.

“Today is the day I get my salary. I would like to eat something tasty. What are they eating?” Yin Ya asked curiously.

“Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet, a new dish,” Yuan Zhou answered honestly.

“Looks like you have created many new dishes. I have got to take a look.” Yin Ya smiled and looked back at the menu.

A person’s conventional train of thought was to first notice what they wanted to see. For example, Yin Ya wanted to eat the Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet dish at that time, hence she would definitely notice this dish first under such circumstances.

Yin Ya’s face originally had an expression of delight; however, the smile dimmed instantly.

“Boss Yuan, what do you mean by the words behind the dish on the menu?” Yin Ya asked calmly.

“Exactly what it means. Girls cannot order this dish alone.” Yuan Zhou answered clearly.

Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet, 588 RMB /serving. (Males can order two servings every day and females can only order half a serving. This dish cannot be ordered alone for females.)

Such words to Yin Ya felt like discrimination against females.

“Why can’t I order it alone? There must be a reason.” Yin Ya asked with in a strong tone.

“You might as well get a companion and order the dish together for a try. You’ll know the reason after you taste it.” Thinking after a while, Yuan Zhou proposed a reliable suggestion.

“What if I insist on ordering it alone?” Yin Ya acted perversely, appearing rather seriously.

“No,” Yuan Zhou refused her with a firm manner.

She realized Yuan Zhou didn’t seem to be joking after checking his expression carefully, thus she could only give up. However, for the dish Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet, she would manage to eat it by all means today.

She took out her telephone and immediately called one of her colleagues, the short-haired girl who had been here once.

“Hi, Xiaochen. Come to the nameless restaurant for lunch. My treat,” Yin Ya said mildly.

The voice from the other end of the telephone was fairly low. Yuan Zhou could only hear some segments of “too many bonuses” and “so generous” while they were talking.

Seeing that Yin Ya really called another girl to come eat together, Yuan Zhou didn’t worry anymore. He just waited at the side with his arms folded across his chest.

Due to some problems with the ingredients, females were unable to eat the Melt-In-The-Mouth Chicken Feet dish…