The Gourmet Customizer

"Perfunctory." Su Chen thought for a moment before summing it up with that single word. "It’s just very perfunctory."

"When you’re cooking chicken, the last thing you want to do is blanch it. Blanching just washes away all the chicken’s natural flavor."

Everyone hung on Su Chen’s words, especially the staff from Delicious. They always listened intently whenever Boss Su shared his insights; they found it fascinating.

’It gave them the satisfying feeling of having mastered a new skill!’

When the topic turned to professional techniques, Liu Ahbao couldn’t resist chiming in. After all, with his knowledge of Lu Cuisine, he had some standing to comment. "So, Boss Su, when you make stir-fried chicken, do you slowly heat the water and then pull the chicken out quickly before it gets too hot?"

This was what Liu Ahbao admired most about Su Chen.

He could always think of some simple trick to replace a time-consuming, laborious process. But the methods he used were a real test of a chef’s skill... and their smarts!

Most people would never think of it, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

Even with that technique for cooking the chicken in warm water, Liu Ahbao had messed up several times under Su Chen’s guidance before he finally got the hang of it.

Su Chen nodded. "Correct. There’s the home-style way, and then there’s the restaurant way."

"With this dish... since you can’t blanch the chicken, the breast meat should have been soaked in cold water for about an hour beforehand. Instead, this chef tried to solve the problem by just using cooking wine. On top of that, the final quick-frying stage was so short that the alcohol from the cooking wine couldn’t fully evaporate, and so..."

Cooking wine has its place—it should be added to the sauce to cut any off-flavors, not used directly on the chicken.

The waitress outside the door heard every single word of Su Chen’s critique.

’Damn it, they’re really here to cause trouble!’

The waitress hurried to a corner and relayed Su Chen’s words to Wang Peixing, word for word.

"Find out more!"

Wang Peixing gave the order, then pinched his chin, lost in thought. ’Aren’t they being a little too picky?’

’Isn’t using cooking wine to remove those off-flavors standard procedure in a restaurant?’

’It’s been made this way ever since I learned the recipe!’

After Su Chen finished speaking, everyone tasted a bite, and then no one touched the dish again.

Bai Xiaobo said, putting on an expert air, "The first bite seems pretty good, but after you swallow, you can tell something’s just... off."

He Shuting pursed her lips and nodded. "The boss is absolutely right!"

Su Chen rolled his eyes, speechless.

’Is she really sucking up at a time like this?’

Only Zhang Li silently lowered her head, wanting to eat another piece but feeling too embarrassed.

’But it’s actually really good...’

’Why is everyone saying it’s bad...?’

If she were to say that out loud, Sister Shengnan would surely tell her, "You haven’t been at Delicious long enough. Wait until you’ve eaten the boss’s cooking for a month, then you’ll get it."

For the second dish, Su Chen turned his attention to the Braised Four Treasures, a dish he was also quite interested in.

’If someone were to custom-order a Lu Cuisine meal in the future, this dish would be an absolute showstopper!’

Su Chen picked up a piece of duck foot to look at it. "Duck feet, duck wings, duck tongues, and duck kidneys—these are the four treasures."

Upon closer inspection, the edge of the duck foot was a little mushy. Su Chen smiled faintly and placed it back on the plate.

"The chef was a bit rushed with this one."

"How so?" Shang Mingke looked at Su Chen with great interest. He was finding this more and more interesting.

’If he could, Shang Mingke would drop everything for the next few days and just take Su Chen out eating!’

’Whenever Boss Su finally gives a restaurant a good review, he’ll know he’s found a real gem for future meals.’

Su Chen didn’t even want to taste it. Just by looking at it, the dish already failed to meet his most basic culinary standards.

"’The Four Treasures are cooked using a braise-reduction technique.’ Seeing everyone’s confusion, Su Chen elaborated. ’It’s a technique where you slowly reduce the sauce over low heat, forcing all that flavor into the ingredients. But the heat has to be kept very low. Because these Four Treasures are braised after being cooked, a little too much heat and the ingredients will fall apart.’"

Su Chen pointed at the duck foot with his chopsticks. "It’s been boiled to mush, so the texture is ruined. What flavor does a duck foot have on its own? You eat it for the texture and the seasoning, right? If the texture is gone, there’s no point to the dish."

Liu Ahbao felt another wave of understanding wash over him. "I hated this technique when I was learning Lu Cuisine. Braising from raw is one thing, but controlling the heat for braising pre-cooked ingredients is absolute torture. You have to watch it constantly, unable to step away for even a second."

Su Chen nodded. "That’s why I said the chef was in a rush. He tossed out the most important part in the process."

The waitress at the door scurried away and quickly reported again.

"Keep watching! And keep reporting!"

Wang Peixing ground out the words through clenched teeth.

Just as the waitress started to head back, she ran right into the group from the private room as they were leaving. She froze, completely stunned.

’They’re... leaving?’

She heard the young man in the center of the group say, "This place’s food is nothing special. I know a better spot. Let’s head over there!"

And the mature, distinguished-looking man beside him asked, "Oh? Boss Su, you know your way around the Capital City as well? Where are you thinking of?"

The young man grinned. "I’m taking you all for some stir-fried dough drops."

’Stir-fried dough drops?’

Shang Mingke had been in the Capital City for a few years and had heard of them, but he wasn’t particularly interested in that kind of snack-like pasta dish, so he’d never tried it.

Liu Shengnan asked out of the blue, "Is it like our stir-fried crumbled dough?"

Su Chen shook his head. "No, they’re different. You’ll see once you taste it."

With that, Su Chen led the group out of Cuihua Building.

Frankly, Su Chen was somewhat disappointed by the tasting, but he also understood.

Take, for example, the "source of umami," one of the signature skills of Lu Cuisine—a professional technique that other culinary schools lack.

According to famous cookbooks, in the past, many Lu Cuisine restaurants would prepare a savory broth in advance, and many would even close for the day when they ran out of their master stock.

Even if they had all the ingredients, and even if customers insisted, they would absolutely not make a dish without using the master stock.

Restaurants today just can’t manage that. Instead, they just toss in a handful of MSG and chicken powder, and everything’s there. The average person can’t taste the difference anyway.

On the way, Shang Mingke asked Su Chen with some curiosity, "You didn’t even try several of the dishes. Did you decide Cuihua Building wasn’t worth your time?"

Su Chen sighed. "It’s just that... they’re a Michelin restaurant, they serve traditional cuisine, they’re a legacy brand... and for the prices they charge, this is how they cook. It just doesn’t feel right."

After a pause, Su Chen added, "Of course, what they’re doing isn’t wrong. It’s business, after all. You can only say that we have different philosophies."

Before long, following Su Chen’s directions, the car stopped under an overpass. Shang Mingke was a bit unsure of where they were.

There were few people and cars around, and even the light from the streetlamps was faint. Looking around, there wasn’t a single restaurant in sight.

Su Chen just pointed to the side of the road, at the edge of the shadows under the bridge, where a three-wheeled cart could be vaguely seen.

Behind the cart stood a heavyset woman, wearing a headscarf, who glanced around from time to time.

"This is...?" This was the first time Shang Mingke realized people actually set up stalls in a place like this within the Capital City.

Su Chen grinned, repeating his usual line.

"You’ll see once you taste it!"