The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

The lamb spine hotpot at Four Seas Banquet is almost a household name in Bei’an.

It’s affordable, authentic in taste, and made with genuine ingredients, without tricking customers.

It’s said that the owner of Four Seas Banquet is a Hui, and their family places great importance on tradition.

So all the food in the restaurant is pure beef and lamb.

Customers are also not allowed to bring in pork products.

Fu Yu had heard Zhao Meng mention casually that a few days ago, there was a very sensational incident at Four Seas Banquet.

A customer came to dine at Four Seas Banquet, and because they weren’t familiar with the restaurant’s conditions, they casually brought in a pork bun, and refused to listen to advice, unabashedly ate the bun in the lobby.

The waitstaff didn’t dare to really confront the customer, so the owner rushed over and started arguing with the customer.

The situation escalated so much that even the police were called.

Four Seas Banquet closed for half a month because of this incident.

This became a widely discussed topic during that period.

When mentioning Four Seas Banquet, some said the owner was too domineering, others said cultural traditions should be respected, and some said the customer was unreasonable and that if they’d listened, none of this would have happened.

However, regardless of what happened, everyone who heard about it knew that the owner of Four Seas Banquet is a Hui who values tradition greatly.

Since they value tradition, the lamb spine hotpot they serve must be the real deal, using genuine lamb and beef.

For most consumers, as long as it’s delicious and trustworthy, that’s what matters.

So after this incident, when Four Seas Banquet reopened after adjustments, business was even better than before.

There’s no real competition in Four Seas Banquet’s kitchen.

It’s assembly line-like work.

The only job for the chefs is marinating and stewing the lamb spine.

Luo Rang’s position at Four Seas Banquet is clearly higher than Zhao Meng’s at Qianlima.

Even though he’s nominally a head chef, in practice, he’s no different than the main chef.

Upon entering, the host, having heard that Luo Rang was entertaining guests, quickly led Fu Yu and the others to a deluxe private room on the second floor.

It was dining time, and business was booming at Four Seas Banquet, with all tables in the open hall fully occupied and diners waiting with number tags in the waiting area.

Fu Yu’s family followed Luo Rang, blatantly cutting through the line to get to the back door.

Mr. and Mrs. Fu felt a bit awkward, taking advantage of the stairs to put some distance between themselves and Luo Rang.

Mrs. Fu whispered, ”Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”

Fu Yu was taken aback before realizing.

He quickly explained in a low voice: ”Most restaurants reserve a couple of private rooms for VIP guests or family use, so it’s not really cutting in line.”

Mrs. Fu then relaxed.

Mr. Fu chuckled softly, saying, ”I have to admit, knowing the right people gets things done, this restaurant is indeed bustling, look at all the customers, you hardly see this in our area!”

Mrs. Fu laughed, ”That’s right, and it’s all thanks to our son.”

Once in the private room and seated, Luo Rang looked at Fu Yu’s family and asked, ”Aunty and Uncle, can you handle spicy food?”

Fu Yu quickly replied, ”My mom and I can handle spicy food, but my dad can’t, he can’t take any spice.”

Luo Rang laughed, ”Perfect, let’s order a dual-flavored hotpot, with both spicy and clear broth, each has its own unique taste.”

The waiter brought over the menu, and Mr. and Mrs. Fu politely ordered a couple of their favorite usual dishes, refusing to order more.

Luo Rang cheerily said, ”Today is about trying the restaurant’s specialties, leave the rest to me, I know the menu inside out.”

No one else objected.

Luo Rang ordered a variety of dishes to cook with the lamb spine and finally didn’t forget to order a separate portion of grilled lamb spine.

Luo Rang handed the menu to the waiter, and after they left, he smiled at Fu Yu.

”Our Master Sun has long wanted to meet you! He’s a good-natured big brother, straightforward, and no fuss, plus his junior is the grill chef at the Red House, they’ve been there for over a decade.”

Fu Yu’s eyes lit up, quickly saying, ”Isn’t it easy to meet me? With the kitchen so busy, when I get some free time, Chef Luo, could you arrange a meeting with Master Sun? I’ll treat him to a meal.”

Luo Rang liked Fu Yu’s straightforwardness and laughed, ”I haven’t been to the kitchen today yet, how about I take you for a tour?”

Fu Yu hesitated, ”Is that convenient?”

Luo Rang chuckled, ”There’s nothing inconvenient, except for our secret marinade, even the broth is pre-cooked, no worries about outsiders seeing it.”

Fu Yu smiled, ”Sure, I’d love to see what your kitchen is like.”

Four Seas Banquet’s kitchen is completely different from Qianlima’s.

Because it focuses primarily on hotpots, the large simmering pots for broth take up a third of the kitchen space.

Fu Yu followed Luo Rang to the grilling area, when suddenly someone rushed over from behind.

The dish runner saw Luo Rang, quickly greeted him, ”Chef Luo.”

Luo Rang nodded, signaling her to continue her work.

The dish runner quickly entered the grilling area and, somewhat anxiously, said, ”Master Sun! A customer wants a refund, says our kitchen’s original-flavor lamb spine isn’t authentic!”

Master Sun’s face changed, ”What? The lamb spine isn’t authentic?”

Master Sun is in his early fifties and has been working at Four Seas Banquet for twelve years. Before that, he used to do whole lamb roasts, and was introduced here by someone.

Ever since Four Seas Banquet started offering grilled lamb spine, he’s been in charge of grilling it.

Throughout these years, he’s encountered all kinds of customers, yet none have ever said that the lamb spine he grills isn’t authentic!

It’s really funny!

Master Sun is extremely confident in his grilling technique, so upon initially hearing this, the first thought that crossed his mind was that someone was causing trouble!

The restaurant has encountered such situations before, but usually, it’s the hot dishes that have issues.

In a big place, you see all sorts of people; some would throw their own bugs into the pot to scam the restaurant, some wrapped hair around bones, and once the most bizarre, claimed the broth didn’t taste authentic and wasn’t made with quality ingredients.

That incident enraged the owner so much that they simply recorded a video of the kitchen making the broth. The ingredients were all measured, and apart from a few essential ones, they weren’t afraid of anyone watching.

The video was uploaded online, and soon any doubts about the authenticity of their ingredients disappeared.

Piles of pure white beef tallow were thrown into large frying pots for the broth, nothing like the gutter oil they claimed!

The restaurant doesn’t dare claim much, but when it comes to ingredients and materials, they’ve always had nothing to hide.

The lamb spine he grills uses the freshest bones, bought daily by the buyer directly from the slaughterhouse, with ingredients carefully selected, the grilling method unchanged for over ten years.

And now someone says his grilled lamb spine isn’t authentic?

Ridiculous!