As night falls, the lights on the old street light up one after another, illuminating the entire old street.
The old street began to be crowded with people, some of whom were residents from nearby areas, some were people who came from all over the city, and some were tourists who came to Huaicheng for travel.
Among these old street, the most eye-catching one is the entrance of Tonight's Su Ji Restaurant.
When people walk near the entrance of Su Ji Restaurant, they can see a long queue waiting.
In front of Su Ji’s not-so-big storefront, there was a row of diners waiting for a seat.
As soon as a few tables leave the restaurant, people who were queuing outside will come in immediately and fill the tables that have just been cleared, and then the seats in the queue outside will also be occupied.
At this time, three little girls would come out of the restaurant, holding a small tray in their hands.
On the tray were paper cups of tea and plates of snacks.
Feng Ruoruo led the team and came to the person who had just sat down in line, and held the tray in her hand in front of the other person.
"Please wait a moment. There are many customers in the restaurant today. Dad and Mom are very busy, so please drink some water and have a snack first."
The little girl's words surprised the diners who had just sat down in line.
The female diners among them will instantly develop a maternal love for the little girl.
"Oh, it's really cute, thank you."
Pick up a cup of tea and then pick up a piece of dessert to taste it.
Yang Xiaoxi next to him immediately said, "The dim sum is made by Father Feng, and it's delicious."
Chen Yaofei continued, "But don't eat too much. Leave some space for Father Feng's food later. Father Feng's food tastes better."
Hearing what the three little girls said, the people waiting in line suddenly became happy.
Women, in particular, love the three little girls even more and some even want to hug these three little cuties.
“It’s really so cute.”
"Yes, yes, I really want to hug them."
"I never realized before that Su Ji actually has three little cuties like this."
"No wonder Su Ji's business is so good, it turns out it's because of these three little cuties."
"Hahaha, I'm willing to wait in line for as long as it takes to have three little cuties delivering snacks."
Because the three little girls were holding trays, although many people wanted to hug them, it was really inconvenient, so some diners took out their mobile phones to take pictures.
Soon, photos of three little girls holding trays serving tea and snacks to diners in line appeared in the diners' different circles of friends.
As the photos in the circle of friends spread, more people began to be curious about this restaurant.
"Wow, where is this restaurant?"
"Is this the Su Ji? Why are there so many people queuing?"
"Are these three little girls from the boss's family? They are so cute."
"Hahaha, they're distributing tea and snacks. That's really interesting."
"No, I have to go eat too."
"Yes, yes, yes, we have to go to Su Ji to eat, even if we have to wait in line."
"Let's make an appointment, the destination is Huaicheng Ancient Street, Su Ji Restaurant."
"Put one order together, put one order together."
…
As the news spread through the circle of friends, more and more people began to rush to Laojie and Su Ji.
Feng Ruoruo and her two good friends distributed tea and snacks to the grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters who were queuing outside, and then quickly ran back to the restaurant to deliver the menu to her father in the kitchen.
Feng Yifan is also very busy in the kitchen. Fortunately, Lin Ruifeng can now barely keep up with the pace.
So with the help of his apprentice, Feng Yifan was not too flustered.
For each dish, Lin Ruifeng was doing the cutting and matching, while Feng Yifan was doing the cooking. With the master and apprentice taking turns to work together, the efficiency of serving the dishes was naturally much faster.
As the dishes were served table by table, the diners outside were busy taking photos.
Then when you taste it again, you will naturally praise it.
The four plates of stir-fried soft-fried pork and the braised saddle bridge were served first. The contestants who came here specially to learn also gathered together to taste these two dishes.
As soon as they took a bite, each contestant instantly tasted a different flavor.
For diners who come to Su Ji for dinner, they may just think that these two dishes are delicious and suit their taste, or they may not suit their taste.
But for the chefs who are preparing to participate in the Fujinglou cooking competition, it is natural for them to taste different flavors from these two dishes.
The first is the fried soft eel, which is very smooth and tender when eaten. Although it has gone through the four steps of "blanching, cutting, blanching and frying", the eel meat is still very tender.
After putting it in your mouth, the eel meat that seems to be able to be picked up intact will suddenly loosen up in your mouth.
But at the same time, the taste of the tender and smooth eel meat is not lost at all.
I have to say that this kind of taste is really very comfortable to eat.
Regardless of how it tastes, the smooth and tender texture of the meat makes people feel very comfortable when eating it.
Then it has a simple salty and fresh taste, coupled with a slightly strong pepper flavor, which makes people's tongue tremble.
After tasting it for a long time, Qi Deqiang exclaimed: "It's delicious, really delicious."
After this sigh, Qi Deqiang turned around and walked to Su Jinrong, bowed to Su Jinrong in the wheelchair and said, "Grandpa Su, I, Qi Deqiang, admire your Su family very much. Goodbye."
After saying that, Qi Deqiang didn't stop and turned around and walked out of Su Ji.
Su Jinrong looked at Qi Deqiang walking out and nodded secretly, thinking that Qi Deqiang might have a big breakthrough.
After Qi Deqiang left, other contestants who had tasted Feng Yifan's two dishes left one after another.
Of course, there were also some contestants who did not leave immediately, but gathered together to discuss.
"It doesn't seem difficult to stir-fry the eel. It just involves separating the eel's back and belly, and trying to keep the eel's back intact. The seasoning during cooking is also relatively simple."
"Yeah, I also think that frying soft-shelled buns is not difficult, but it is more difficult to cook a big saddle bridge."
"I really didn't expect that Chef Feng would remove the eel bones when cooking the Ma'anqiao here."
"Yes, this way the middle bone is removed and the eel can be kept intact during cooking. It's really an amazing technique. I feel that this dish is more difficult than stir-frying soft-shelled eel."
"And the seasoning for the braised saddle bridge is also more complicated than the stir-fried soft pocket."
"Yeah, then I'll study stir-fried soft-shelled pork more when I get back. After all, it's just a choice between two dishes."
"Hahaha, you wimp, if you think it's too difficult you won't choose it?"
"I'll choose Da Shao Ma'an Bridge. It's a challenge only when it's difficult."
…
The few contestants who stayed behind got together for a discussion. They also talked about their respective feelings about the two dishes and expressed their own thoughts.
Zhang Fenglin, who was sitting at the table next to Su Jinrong, heard the discussion of the few people who did not leave, and could not help but sigh to Su Jinrong in a low voice.
"It's because I have too little experience. If I tell others what I think, I might end up helping others."
Su Jinrong smiled and said, "Cooking skills depend on the individual, not the cooking. The more similar, the better."
As soon as Su Jinrong finished speaking, Lin Ruifeng brought the dishes for Zhang Fenglin's table.
Zhang Xueping saw the dishes on the table and exclaimed, "Wow, they are so beautiful, just like the dishes in the video."
Zhang Fenglin smiled as he heard his son's exclamation and said, "Chinese cuisine emphasizes color, aroma and taste. So for a truly high-quality dish, simply being delicious is not enough. It also needs to look good. This good-looking is not only about the presentation of the dish, but also about the choice of container used. These are very particular."
Xue Huan listened to her husband giving her son a lesson and couldn't help but smile and said, "Okay, you two stop talking and eat quickly."
After hearing what his mother said, Zhang Xueping was not anxious at all: "Mom, don't be anxious, listen to my dad. I think listening to my dad is more interesting than eating directly."
Xue Huan was also at a loss for words: "You kid, you were in a hurry to eat just now, but now you are not in a hurry anymore?"
Zhang Fenglin then said a few more words and introduced to his son some of the dishes that Lin Ruifeng had served.
"This is a famous cold dish in our Su Province, called 'Crystal Braised Pork'."
Zhang Xueping immediately said, "Dad, I know this. I've heard about it."
Zhang Fenglin held his son down and continued, "Don't worry, this dish is indeed very common. Almost all big hotels and restaurants have it. There are even factories that specialize in mass production. But many people may not understand the details of this dish."
At this point, Zhang Fenglin picked up a piece with chopsticks and introduced it to his son.
"Look, the layers of lean meat in this piece look a bit like glasses, don't they? This is a type of braised meat, called 'glasses braised meat'."
Zhang Xueping listened very attentively, even more seriously than he usually listened at school.
Then comparing the appearance of the braised meat and listening to his father’s introduction, the big boy will feel that it is very vivid.
After listening to his father's introduction, Zhang Xueping asked curiously, "Dad, are there several kinds of braised pork?"
Zhang Fenglin nodded: "Yes, there are four types of lean meat according to their appearance."
Zhang Fenglin was just about to continue introducing his son when suddenly a little head popped out from the side and shouted.
"Ruoruo knows. Dad told Ruoruo that the four types are: glasses, jade belt hooks, triangular edges, and lamp sticks."
Feng Ruoruo's sudden interruption also surprised Zhang Xueping.
But after saying this, Feng Ruoruo quickly ran back to her grandfather.
Zhang Xueping then looked at his father, wanting to confirm whether what the little girl said was true
Zhang Fenglin smiled at Feng Ruoruo who was hiding beside her grandfather and said, "Why should you be shy? You are right. It is these four types. Ruoruo is really amazing."
After hearing what his father said, Zhang Xueping looked at the little girl in surprise and said, "She is right."
Zhang Fenglin said to his son, "Yes, Ruoruo is right, there are four kinds of braised pork."
Then, Zhang Fenglin said, "Among them, the tiandeng stick is the most difficult to obtain because it is a thin bone at the end of the pig's trotter that is connected to the meat. Therefore, there are only a few pieces of this kind in a batch of meat dishes."
Zhang Xueping listened with great interest and had no desire to eat at all.
Then Zhang Fenglin introduced several other dishes to his son.
For one of the dishes, I picked up the蛭衣蛭 cucumber and showed it to my son to show him how to cut it.
Seeing the fine knife skills, Zhang Xueping was also amazed and asked, "Dad, can you do this?"
Zhang Fenglin was asked this by his son, and said with a little pride: "Of course, this kind of straw raincoat knife technique can be considered a basic skill. Knife skills are the foundation of a chef."
Zhang Xueping's eyes lit up when he heard his father's answer, and he looked at his father with admiration.
Seeing his son's eyes, Zhang Fenglin was still very proud, and felt secretly happy that he had shown a little bit of strength in front of his son.
Next, Lin Ruifeng served dishes to Zhang Fenglin's table one after another.
Zhang Fenglin also showed off his knowledge and explained each dish to his son.
From his father's explanation, Zhang Xueping felt that every dish was very special, and he was full of admiration for his father.
Su Jinrong sat on the side, watching the father and son's explanation with a smile on his face, thinking it was very good.
Of course, in addition to explaining, Zhang Fenglin also focused on tasting each of Feng Yifan's dishes.
Zhang Fenglin especially focused on tasting the two dishes, stir-fried soft pocket and braised Ma'anqiao, and even tasted the soup with a spoon.
I really took it very seriously and analyzed every cooking step of Feng Yifan in my mind.
When Su Jinrong saw it, he reached out and patted Zhang Fenglin and whispered to him, "Don't imitate. You need to have your own things."
After listening to Su Jinrong's words, Zhang Fenglin fell into deep thought.
Then Zhang Fenglin seemed to understand, looked at Su Jinrong and nodded seriously: "I understand, Master. I won't imitate. I will integrate my own things and do it."
Su Jinrong nodded with satisfaction: "Well, don't get lost."
In Su Jinrong's opinion, for Zhang Fenglin, he cannot be like most of the contestants who just want to imitate Feng Yifan's cooking process and then try hard to restore the taste of Feng Yifan's two dishes.
Zhang Fenglin should have some ideas of his own and integrate Feng Yifan's methods into his own cooking.
In this way, Zhang Fenglin can truly try to break through himself.
The contestants gradually left, and the diners who had been queuing outside came in one after another, sat down and ordered their dishes. Perhaps because they had been waiting in line for too long, some diners were a little impatient.
Zhang Fenglin ate slowly with his wife, son and apprentice.
Zhang Xueping ate while listening to his father's introduction, which made him feel that today's meal was really delicious. And inadvertently, the relationship between the father and son seemed to have become much closer.
When Zhang Fenglin and his group had almost finished their meal, a figure walked in from outside the restaurant, walked directly to Su Jinrong, and said with a smile: "Old Su, your Su Ji's business is really good today."
As soon as he finished speaking, the person who was speaking saw the people at the next table and his expression was stunned for a moment.
The next moment, Zhang Fenglin suddenly stood up and turned around, facing the old man who came in. He shouted with a slight tremor: "Dad."