Chapter 206: You're Told to Open a Restaurant, But You Operate at 3 AM

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

The food at Hong'an Restaurant costs quite a bit more than at other places.

Just now, while flipping through the menu, Lu Feng had already noticed this.

But it's understandable — Hong'an Restaurant is in the center of Jiang City; this is a prime location.

The rent alone for this several-hundred-square-meter storefront is no small figure every month.

On top of that, there's the restaurant's luxurious renovation, plus the labor costs for the waiters and chefs.

All the miscellaneous expenses added together get apportioned into the dishes.

Still, the area is full of high-end office buildings and big shopping malls; the people who come here to spend money aren't short on cash.

Some people come to high-spending places like this precisely for the environment and service.

Thinking it over, this seems to be the first time I've ever spent my own money eating something this expensive all by myself.

But as the saying goes, expensive doesn't necessarily mean good.

"The beef is a bit tough; the stir-fry time should be shorter — high heat, quick stir-fry for thirty seconds is enough; that way the texture will be more fresh and tender."

"Too much chili was added; the spiciness is a bit heavy, covering up the pork's flavor — half would've been enough."

"The softshell turtle soup tastes alright, but the water used for the broth is too ordinary; if mountain spring water were used instead, the umami could be elevated another level."

"The chicken has a bit of a gamey smell; blanching wasn't thorough enough — after the water boils it needs to cook for three minutes."

With every dish he tasted, Lu Feng would mutter a critique to himself.

He only ate a few bites of each dish before stopping; more than half of the food remained on the plates.

What the waiter said just now was indeed true — the portions of these dishes really aren't small.

But with prices this high, if every dish were gone in a bite or two, that would also be hard to justify.

After all, this is Jiangcheng, not Mo Du.

These signature dishes all have shortcomings to some degree.

It's not that Lu Feng is picky; it's just that the System's God of Cooking skill buff makes his five senses far keener than an ordinary person's.

Accustomed to eating the perfect flavors of his own cooking, his palate has become demanding.

If ordinary people were to sample these dishes, they might well find the flavors very good.

But Lu Feng's taste buds have long been spoiled; even the slightest flawed flavor gets magnified many times over in his mouth.

He had already tasted through all the signature dishes that had been served; he put down his chopsticks, not intending to continue sampling.

Now only the Signature Braised Pork was left — who knew if the flavor would be any better.

A wave of meat fragrance suddenly wafted over; it smelled richer and more mellow than the aromas of those signature dishes just now.

The waiter carried a white porcelain plate over and set the braised pork in the center of the table.

"Hello, this is our shop's Signature Braised Pork, personally made by our shop's newly hired State Banquet Chef Disciple Cheng Fan, Head Chef. Enjoy your meal."

Lu Feng's gaze fell on the braised pork in the plate.

The large white porcelain plate was a size bigger than the dinner plates used in his own shop, making the braised pork in the center of the plate look all the more exquisite.

Four mahjong-tile-sized pieces of meat were neatly arranged in the center of the plate; jujube-red sauce coated the meat, glistening with oil under the lights.

Green scallions were sprinkled on the meat, and underneath lay two pieces of blanched, soft and tender napa cabbage leaves.

The three colors — red, white, and green — paired together, a feast for the eyes.

This Cheng Fan does have some plating skill.

"Looks pretty good."

Lu Feng nodded secretly, muttering to himself.

Just now, after entering the restaurant, all the way here, Lu Feng saw that almost every table had a plate of braised pork set on it.

Looks like Cheng Fan's braised pork is indeed very popular at Hong'an Restaurant.

Lu Feng picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of braised pork, brought it to his mouth, and took a bite.

After savoring it carefully, he set down the chopsticks in his hand; a conclusion quickly formed in his mind.

The flavor of this braised pork falls far short of what I make myself.

Lu Feng's taste sensitivity now rivals that of a professional foodie/gourmet.

With just one bite, he discovered the problems with this plate of braised pork.

Cheng Fan still hasn't mastered the heat control when reducing the sauce at the end; the sauce appears not thick enough.

The sauce hasn't penetrated into the meat pieces; the outside tastes very rich.

But the lean meat inside, though not tough to eat, has a somewhat bland flavor.

Additionally, the braised pork's own meat flavor is covered up quite a bit by overly heavy spice flavors.

But this point is also closely related to the quality of the ingredients themselves.

The Algae Flower Fragrant Pig Lu Feng uses for braised pork naturally carries a faint grass-and-wood fragrance.

It has almost no gamy smell, so it doesn't need excessive spices to suppress the odor, and won't steal the pork's own flavor.

But not every restaurant can afford the top-tier ingredients Lu Feng buys from the System Mall.

Fairly speaking, this braised pork placed in an ordinary restaurant would absolutely count as top-grade quality.

But if Lu Feng were to evaluate it, he could only say the flavor is passable.

After finishing one piece of braised pork, Lu Feng put down his chopsticks, feeling his stomach was already a bit full.

Although the taste of this meal tonight did not satisfy him, he did not say much more.

He had originally come today to complete the mission and fill his stomach by the way; he was not a professional Food Critic.

【Ding! Congratulations Host on completing the Sign-in Task! Reward Recipe: Full-Level Lion's Head Technique.】

Recalling the system's Ti Wake in his mind, a cool sensation immediately surged into his brain.

With the mission successfully completed, Lu Feng breathed a sigh of Relief.

But immediately he looked at the many dishes still left on the Table, and once again felt a headache coming on.

From now on, he might as well obediently eat the things he made himself.

He had ordered six dishes, eating only a few bites of each; now there were still many dishes left on the Table, yet he was already full.

"If I had known, I would have listened to the Waiter and ordered a few fewer dishes."

He had established a rule in his own Shop/Store not to waste food, so of course he could not waste food in someone else's Fan Dian either.

On this Blue Star, who knows how many people cannot get enough to eat; wasting food is not a good habit.

Of course, Lu Feng was absolutely not stingy with money.

Lu Feng picked up the Tissue on the Table and wiped his mouth, then waved at the Waiter not far away and calmly Shouted.

"Waiter, the bill."

After hearing this, the Waiter immediately hurried over.

Her gaze swept across the Table, seeing that Lu Feng's Table full of dishes was basically untouched, and she couldn't help but be Stunned.

This Customer had ordered six dishes; although it was a bit much for One Person to eat.

But every dish looked like only a few bites had been taken, and even the signature Red Braised Pork had only been eaten one piece.

You have to know, since this Red Braised Pork was launched in the Shop Inside, it almost sold out instantly.

Many Customers even felt one Portion of Red Braised Pork was Not Enough, ordering two or three Portions at once.

But this Customer before them actually only ate one piece and then stopped eating?

Did he feel the Taste/Flavor did not suit his palate?

The Waiter quickly put away the surprise on her face and restored her standard Smile.

She handed over the just-printed Consume list and said in a calm voice.

"Sir, hello. You Consumed a total of 1568 yuan. Li Boss said hello, and after the discount it is 1254 yuan. Will you pay by card or Cash?"

Lu Feng took the list, his gaze falling on the amount at the bottom, and he couldn't help but silently gasp in his heart.

A meal costing over a thousand; Hong'an Restaurant's prices were much more expensive than his own Shop.