The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Hu Quan is an expert in antique appraisal and he’s already 60 years old. A friend came from another region and wanted to try the local specialties, and they had their eye on the lamb spine pot at Four Seas Banquet.

”I’ve heard there is a place called Four Seas Banquet here, and their lamb spine pot is particularly authentic. I’ve always wanted to try it. How about we just decide on that for this time?”

As soon as the group of friends heard this, they quickly stopped him.

What local specialty is Four Seas Banquet’s lamb spine pot?

You can find this anywhere!

How can it represent our local specialty!

Hu Quan was quick to stop it too!

”Why go to Four Seas Banquet! If you want to eat local specialties, you should go to Qianlima, the authentic traditional brand around here!”

This friend was also a gourmand, and had previously heard people say that the lamb spine pot at Four Seas Banquet in Bei’an was a marvel, and had been thinking about it for a long time.

Now that the opportunity was rare, he was determined to try it.

The group argued back and forth.

Finally, Hu Quan decided, ”Let’s do this, we’ll go to Qianlima for lunch, and if it’s not good, we’ll head over to Four Seas Banquet for dinner! How about that!”

So, the group went to Qianlima, and a few local friends ordered a few of the restaurant’s classic specialty dishes.

When six dishes cooked by Fu Yu were served, the visiting friend looked at them and immediately got a big appetite.

They were all gourmands, with wide knowledge, and somewhat understood the business.

Just looking at the plating technique, they knew the chef’s skills were no joke.

And then they tasted the flavors.

Authentic!

These seafood dishes were common on dining tables, but they tasted better at this restaurant!

The braised sea cucumber, the shine of it, just inviting!

The cooked abalone, that texture, so tender!

Original-flavored Jiaodong seafood, one bite, and you could immediately taste the unique clear, fresh, crispy, and refreshing flavors!

”The skill of the chef in the kitchen is indeed remarkable!”

Having received the recognition of his old friend, the elderly gentlemen present were all happy.

Hu Quan laughed and said, ”Of course, this chef’s skills are very authentic!”

After finishing, he looked at the nearby waiter and casually asked, ”Hey! How many years has Chef Zhao been working here, has it been twenty years?”

It was a coincidence that the waiter responsible for the private room that day was a newcomer.

As a few elderly gentlemen were talking, she just happened to be there serving tea.

No one had specifically instructed her, and she didn’t have much experience.

Suddenly hearing these words, she casually replied, ”I’m not sure, but I think Chef Zhao is on leave, and today it’s Chef Fu cooking!”

Hu Quan was taken aback, surprised, ”Chef Fu?”

The new waiter nodded: ”Yes, his name is Fu Yu, also a master in the kitchen!”

The waiter left after serving the tea.

Instead, the few frequent elderly patrons casually discussed it.

”When did the kitchen get a new chef?”

”Did you taste any difference?”

The friends tasted each dish again carefully, shaking their heads: ”Can’t tell, it tastes the same! It’s just that flavor!”

The dishes were delicious, so no one cared why there was a sudden change of chef.

No one cared why they had initially requested Chef Zhao to cook, only to have someone else end up cooking.

After all, they were here to eat; as long as it tasted good and felt right, that was fine!

The elderly gentlemen enjoyed their meal together warmly, agreeing to dine together again when they had time.

As it happened, the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and the elderly gentlemen’s families were all well-off, usually too lazy to organize at home, so they directly booked tables at restaurants.

The families didn’t particularly discuss it, they all coincidentally chose to book their tables at Qianlima.

Mainly also because Qianlima had events for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the food was indeed good.

So on that day, the front hall of Qianlima received several calls booking tables for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

When the menu orders came in, Yao Shi happened to just arrive back.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but pause.

A total of five orders.

All ordering the restaurant’s specialty dishes.

The same note on all: Serve as usual, all must be classic flavors!

Upon seeing this, it was evident these were the guests from last time with Elder Hu.

It seemed they were used to the taste, and for the festival, they specifically chose Qianlima for their family feast.

But... the most baffling for Yao Shi was the neat chef name on the order list.

Why were they all marked as Fu Yu, not a single one ordered by Zhao Meng?

What was going on?

Yao Shi was perplexed as to why this group of customers all ordered Fu Yu.

And how did they know about Fu Yu?

Could it be Zhao Meng contacted the customers, intending to hand them over to Fu Yu?

But there’s no need for that!

Then why?

...

The next afternoon.

Fu Yu just finished the current order when he received the banquet menu ordered by Yang Zhifang.

A total of fifteen dishes, one soup, with the main dish being seafood noodles.

All were specialty signature dishes of the restaurant.

Including the six old-flavor dishes that Elder Hu and his group ordered last time, exactly the same.

Fu Yu carefully checked the order list and began the preparation work ahead of time.

Items like braised duck, old broth, and various side dishes could be directly brought over from the kitchen.

As for the seafood noodles, the dough section had them ready-made, to be packed and stretched on site.

A wide range of ingredients was prepared.

Yao Shi sent two assistants to help Fu Yu load the car.

Procurement officer Xu Wei drove Fu Yu to Yang Zhifang’s house.

Yang Zhifang got the news and went downstairs early to greet them.

Elder Yang’s flight arrived home at five o’clock, and the banquet was set for six o’clock.

Fu Yu had three hours to cook.

The time was ample, and the dishes were not difficult.

Originally it was a relaxed task, but after Yang Zhifang answered a phone call, the carefully arranged preparations were disrupted.

Elder Yang was already 75 years old, and although his health was fairly robust, at his age, his children couldn’t help but worry about him living alone.

This time, he was coming from his eldest daughter’s home to stay a few days at Yang Zhifang, his youngest son’s place.

The call Yang Zhifang received was from his eldest sister.

Eldest Sister Yang advised over the phone: ”I just called the airport, and they said the flight is not delayed and should arrive on time. You better go early so Dad won’t have to wait!”

An elder sister is like a mother.

Yang Zhifang always respected his eldest sister, and promptly replied, ”Okay, I’ll head out in a bit to get there early.”

Eldest Sister Yang also asked: ”I heard from your wife, you’re planning a welcome feast for Dad?”

Yang Zhifang laughed: ”Yes, hasn’t Dad been craving Qianlima’s food? I’ve brought their chefs here this time to make a meal properly for Dad.”

Eldest Sister Yang laughed too, not forgetting to remind him: ”By the way, Dad just recovered from a cold, it’s best not to eat spicy food. Pay attention when you’re ordering!”

After all, the elder gentleman was getting on in years. Time waits for no one, and though he looked hearty, his health was not as it once was.

You can’t ignore these dietary cautions.

Yang Zhifang was dumbfounded.

He didn’t know that his father couldn’t eat spicy food!

This time, his order consisted entirely of Qianlima’s specialties, considering that his father had always liked strong flavors, he specially chose spicy stir-fries.

What to do now?