The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

The kitchen of Qianlima Restaurant suddenly received an order from the front hall.

Ten dishes, one soup, and a main course.

The order ended up in Fu Yu’s hands, and when he took a look, he was dumbfounded.

The dishes ordered are...

”Chef Zhao! Look at this, something’s off with this order!”

Zhao Meng happened to be nearby, and upon hearing this, he quickly came over.

Fu Yu handed the order over.

”There are several dishes on this order that I’ve never seen before!”

Zhao Meng took it, glanced over it carefully, and his expression changed: ”Wow! This must be one of our regulars, these dishes are quite authentic!”

Curiously, Fu Yu asked, ”Chef Zhao, are these dishes not available in our restaurant either? Like the salt fish cakes, butterfly prawns with sea cucumber, and this imitation crab dish, they’re not even on the menu!”

Zhao Meng explained: ”These are old dishes from over ten years ago. Later, the restaurant found the ingredient costs too high, cooking was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and they didn’t sell for much, so gradually they were removed from the menu.”

”This must be an old customer, perhaps an elderly person reminiscing about the past, specifically coming to try some hometown dishes, or a young person returning to relive childhood memories.”

These dishes have been off the menu for nearly ten years, and the fact that they can still be ordered shows how deeply they’re remembered.

Moreover, the customer placing the order likely hasn’t dined at Qianlima for years, otherwise they wouldn’t order dishes that aren’t on the menu.

As Zhao Meng spoke, he took another careful look at the order.

When he saw the private room number, it suddenly made sense.

”Oh, it’s room 104, no wonder!”

Room 104 is specially reserved by Qianlima Restaurant for entertaining distinguished guests who prefer privacy.

Most likely, it’s some important leader or boss wanting to taste the old flavors on a whim.

Or perhaps they’re preparing to host an important figure returning to the area.

Fu Yu understood upon hearing this.

No wonder the front hall allowed the customer to order freely.

”We’ve accepted the order, let’s hurry and prepare the ingredients. It’s written here that the customer will be dining at 5:30 PM.”

It’s already 4:00 PM, leaving only one and a half hours.

Fu Yu agreed and listened to Zhao Meng instruct the kitchen hands to prepare the ingredients.

It’s not yet the peak time for dinner, so the kitchen wasn’t too busy.

The hot station began preparing the dishes.

A kitchen hand from the cold station came to report: ”Chef Zhao, our Chef Wang asked if we should make the salt fish cakes the old-fashioned way with cornmeal, plated with ten pieces?”

Zhao Meng nodded: ”Yes, make them the old-fashioned way. Tell Chef Wang that once it’s done, just bring the cakes over, we’ll handle the plating here.”

The kitchen hand agreed and ran off.

Fu Yu, overhearing, asked with interest: ”Chef Zhao, aren’t salt fish cakes made by blending minced fish with dough?”

Zhao Meng shook his head: ”No, it’s made by drying salted sea fish, frying it until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and eating it with cornmeal cakes, salty and tasty, with a very unique flavor.”

”Actually, this dish sold quite well back in the day. The older generation was accustomed to this taste, missing it if they went a few days without. The younger generation, however, isn’t very interested in such old-style dishes.”

Fu Yu nodded.

He wasn’t particularly fond of coarse grains.

A couple of fresh cornmeal cakes might be enjoyable, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to order it at a restaurant.

Plus, fried salted fish still has a bit of a fishy smell, which in his view, doesn’t compare to the savory taste of quick stir-fried dishes.

This order is quite a feast.

Zhao Meng took the order, and Fu Yu helped out with the preparations.

Since Fu Yu had been dominating the barbecue section, Gu Yunwu had subtly suggested, hoping the main chefs from the hot section could also start taking orders, rotating to assist Fu Yu during downtime. This way, they’d be ready to handle a station by themselves when moving to the newly renovated barbecue area.

Both the boss and Fu Yu were delighted with this proposal.

The barbecue work is actually just as busy as being the main cook in the hot station.

With smoke and flames, each takeout order was a big order, and commission-wise, one order here wasn’t that different from one at the hot station.

Moreover, the current barbecue area is very basic, with Fu Yu busy all day, feeling grimy and exhausted as if he was soaked in oil and water.

Being able to transition away seemed like a blessing to him.

As for competition for orders, Fu Yu wasn’t being boastful, but with his current level, he was definitely in the top tier in the kitchen at Qianlima.

While he hasn’t surpassed Yao Shi, he felt with effort, he could definitely outdo Zhao Meng and Gu Yunwu.

The system makes one blind, the system makes one confident!

Taking orders and cooking in the kitchen is a race against time!

Every minute and second is precious.

Completing an order earlier means taking on the next one sooner.

The speed of serving often increases the order rate in the front hall.

No one dares to relax in pursuit of hefty commission money!

The order listed ten dishes, but cooking-wise it was actually twelve dishes.

The bass, for instance, was cooked in three different styles, but they were grouped under one name.

That’s why Yao Shi, who revised the menu, was considered a genius at making money!

If a customer wanted one cooking style of the bass, they had to order all three, bringing extra revenue to the restaurant.

Qianlima’s selection of salted fish is quite comprehensive, and Zhao Meng chose salted bullseye fish.

Fu Yu had never made this dish, but after listening to Zhao Meng, he understood.

His pan-frying skills were already advanced, and frying salted bullseye fish was a piece of cake.

Fu Yu busied himself frying the salted fish while Zhao Meng tackled dishes he excelled at, such as spicy stir-fried fresh small seafood, seared conch slices, and spicy crayfish.

While cooking, Zhao Meng casually educated Fu Yu: ”Do you know why the salt fish cakes are made with salted bullseye fish?”

Fu Yu played along: ”Why?”

Zhao Meng explained: ”Bullseye fish have tender, flavorful meat and fewer bones, cooking evenly and quickly. Its bones are easy to remove, making it effortless to cut into fillets.”

”In terms of taste, it’s not too fishy, and paired with the sweet flavor of cornmeal cakes, it’s quite unique.”

”In our restaurant, to make the presentation look good, the fish and cakes are served separately. Traditionally, combining the salted fish and cakes in one dish is what you’d call authentic!”