The Gourmet Customizer

SS Level: Stomach Memory Stick.

In the days that followed, Su Chen made a point to observe the reactions of his employees and the old men when they ate the large meat buns and quick-fried noodles.

The reason SS Level dishes were rated as a "stomach memory stick" wasn’t necessarily because they were that much tastier than S Level dishes.

To the average person, the difference wasn’t so stark that you could tell with a single bite.

SS Level cuisine had one most obvious and prominent feature: it was flawless!

Every SS Level dish felt as if it were a work of nature. The texture, the flavor, the synergy between ingredients—it all gave one the feeling that this was how the dish was always meant to be.

That was why... people who tasted an SS Level dish would subconsciously eat more and more. They would just keep eating, finding it impossible to get enough. And that was why the system rated it as a "stomach memory stick."

It was a straight-up storage upgrade for your stomach!

At that moment, all eyes fell on Cui Yufen—the elder who had brought twenty disciples to stand up for her youngest apprentice, the female champion known as the Iron Chef of Chinese Cuisine!

She took a thin pancake and wrapped up a piece of the golden, crispy pork knuckle, then added a small piece of large scallion—a Lu Province specialty—dipped in some sweet bean sauce.

She rolled the pancake, then folded the bottom. It was a bit like eating Peking duck.

"Yufen, are your teeth up to it? If not, I can taste it for you. Just one more bite, and I’m sure I’ll know exactly what’s wrong."

Cui Yufen shot a scornful glance at Lu Yongliang beside her. "That won’t be necessary."

’This old codger has gotten hooked,’ she thought. ’I ask him for a little help, and he just keeps shamelessly eating. Isn’t he just making me lose face?’

Cui Yufen was quite annoyed. Holding the pork knuckle wrap, she cautiously put about a third of it into her mouth.

Truth be told, her teeth hadn’t been what they used to be in recent years.

She had been trying her best to avoid things like heavy meats, thick pancakes, and large scallions. It was agony to run into a scallion you couldn’t bite through.

And if she came across meat that was even a little bit tough, one bite would get it stuck in the gaps between her teeth, taking a good while to fix.

If Shi Qi hadn’t been so disappointing, she really wouldn’t have been willing to eat such a heavy dish.

CRUNCH~

With a single bite, the coating on the pork knuckle shattered through the pancake, making an incredibly pleasant, crisp sound.

She took another bite.

Huh?

Cui Yufen’s expression remained impassive, but the speed of her chewing unconsciously quickened.

’Where’s the meat?’

With every chew, she couldn’t feel the texture of the meat. Instead, the pancake and the crispy outer layer were bursting with meaty flavor!

After a few more chews, she finally felt the texture of the meat.

’This... is completely different from what I imagined.’

Slightly puzzled, Cui Yufen took another bite, finishing the second third of the wrap.

This time, the sensation was even clearer. It wasn’t that there was no meat; rather, as she chewed, the pork knuckle inside had already melted into juice, which was then perfectly absorbed by the crispy coating and the pancake!

The subtle, meaty texture on the finish came from the remaining lean parts of the pork knuckle, but even that only provided a hint of meatiness before dissolving in her mouth.

’Brilliant!’

Cui Yufen had started learning from her master in the kitchen as a teenager. After fifty-some years of practicing Lu Cuisine, she couldn’t say for sure how many famous dishes she could make, but the number of famous dishes she had tasted was beyond what most people could imagine.

She had tasted this dish, Braised and Fried Pork Knuckle, prepared by everyone from National Banquet Chefs down to new apprentices. She had tried every conceivable version, and all the finished products were fundamentally the same.

Except for the one she was tasting right now.

In all her years, this was truly a first!

"This pork knuckle..." Cui Yufen looked at Su Chen. "This wasn’t made with the traditional method, was it?"

She was certain that if it were made with the traditional method, the pork knuckle could not possibly have this texture, and it definitely wouldn’t have this flavor.

The most prominent flavor was the fragrance of the meat, the unique aroma of the pork knuckle. The flavor of the seasonings, by contrast, lingered on the finish, which was another thing that amazed her.

Su Chen said, "This Braised and Fried Pork Knuckle was made with the traditional method. Perhaps..." He looked over at Shi Qi. "Perhaps the method you all use now is the one that’s not traditional."

HISS!

Every chef present drew in a sharp breath.

’He called his method traditional? And he dares to say ours isn’t?’

’If even the technique Master Cui possesses can’t be called traditional, then what in the world is?’

Shi Qi was completely baffled. "Boss Su, then how do you perform this ’traditional method’ of yours?"

Su Chen gave Shi Qi a playful look, merely chuckling without saying a word.

After he’d spoken, it took Shi Qi a moment of stunned silence to realize his mistake. "My apologies..."

Who just comes right out and asks for the recipe of someone’s signature dish?

Whether to reveal it or not is entirely up to the creator’s discretion; it’s not something you can just ask for.

Cui Yufen ate another three or four pieces in quick succession, not stopping until only scraps of the pork knuckle were left on the plate.

’Didn’t I come here for a culinary showdown? How did I end up just eating?’

’Sigh... It’s all Shi Qi’s fault for his unrefined skills! I guess I’ll have to pull out my trump card next!’

Cui Yufen wiped the grease from her lips. "Although the pastry for the first course was nothing special, I must admit, Boss Su, the standard of these two dishes is very high, far above my apprentice’s. I wonder what you have for us next?"

Before Su Chen could open his mouth, He Shuting complained irritably, "This is all your fault! All the food should have been served by now, but you just had to make the boss come out. Now look, there’s nothing left!"