Su Jinrong decided to order food. He had no intention of picking up the menu and just sat there waiting for Su Liancheng to be ready.
Su Liancheng also made some arrangements outside the door, tidied his clothes, made all preparations, and took a deep breath before stepping into the room.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Fujinglou is pleased to welcome you. Today, our main dishes are from the Red Mansion Banquet. Do you want to start ordering now?"
After hearing what Su Liancheng said, Su Jinrong said calmly: "Well, let's order some food."
Su Liancheng immediately took out the menu and prepared to hand it to everyone to see.
But Su Jinrong spoke first: "A bad letter."
As soon as Su Jinrong opened his mouth, Su Liancheng's rhythm was instantly disrupted, but he still made quick adjustments. He handed the menu to everyone first, and then quickly started recording.
"Since it's a dish for the Red Mansion Banquet, I'll give you a portion of Rouge Goose Breast and a Roast Chicken with Chestnuts."
Rouge goose breast is on the menu, but chestnut roast chicken is not among the Red Mansion dishes on the menu. However, Fujinglou does have such a dish, but the preparation method may be slightly different.
Su Liancheng hesitated for a moment, but still said seriously: "Old sir, I'm really sorry, the chestnut roast chicken in our Fujinglou may not be the same as the one in the Red Mansion Banquet."
Su Jinrong did not blame him, but nodded: "Okay, let's do it according to your way."
Su Liancheng thought for a moment and said, "I will ask the chef for you. If they can use the Red Mansion recipe, we will serve it to you. If not, please forgive me."
Su Jinrong did not expect that Su Liancheng would reply to him like this.
But Feng Yifan nodded to show his satisfaction with Su Liancheng's answer.
This is indeed a top restaurant, a compromise that a close receptionist should make.
Su Jinrong nodded and said, "Okay, sure."
Next, Su Jinrong ordered a few more dishes.
After a few simple and common dishes, Su Jinrong ordered a highlight dish for today's visit: "Well, I want a 'Crispy Pork and Pork Flower Recipe'."
When Su Liancheng heard the name of this dish, he was stunned.
"What? What dish are you talking about? This dish doesn't seem to be on our menu."
This dish was one that Su Liancheng had never even heard of.
So he subconsciously said that this dish was not on the menu.
Su Jinrong smiled and said, "I know it's not on your menu, but I heard that you hired a new chef who once learned cooking at Su Ji. Since he is a chef from Su Ji, he should know this dish. Tell your chef, I think he should be able to make it."
Su Liancheng was really a little surprised. From the moment Su Jinrong said the name of the dish, he knew very well that this dish must be a unique dish from Su’s restaurant.
But he was surprised that he had never heard his parents mention such a dish.
Feng Yifan was a little surprised when he first heard the name of the dish.
Of course, after looking at his father-in-law's expression, he probably understood his father-in-law's intention, which was to test Sun Mingxing on purpose. Let's see if this senior brother has forgotten the dishes of Su Ji back then.
After listening to Su Jinrong's words, Su Liancheng hesitated for a moment and could only say respectfully: "Okay, old sir, I will ask the chef for you first. If the chef agrees, we will arrange it for you, but if the chef is unwilling to do it, please forgive me, old sir."
Su Jinrong was not polite and said directly: "Well, if the chef doesn't want to do it, let him come to see me."
Su Liancheng finally understood this time that his uncle was obviously trying to pick a fight with his senior brother on purpose.
Su Liancheng was naturally not qualified to participate in such a small matter of the older generation, so he could only nod and agree: "Well, okay, I will tell the chef, do you need any other dishes, old sir?"
Su Jinrong said, "Well, let's have a dessert at the end for my little grandchildren."
When Feng Ruoruo heard that grandpa ordered dessert, she turned her head and asked her mother in a low voice: "Mom, can I talk?"
Of course, Su Jinrong heard this and said, "Ruoruo, do you want any dessert? You can tell me and I'll have the kitchen make it for you."
Seeing that her grandfather agreed with her, Feng Ruoruo said to Su Liancheng, "Uncle, please let me and my sister and brother use your kitchen. You must make delicious snacks. If they are not delicious, Ruoruo will not like them."
Su Liancheng asked: "What kind of snack would Ruoruo like?"
Feng Ruoruo thought about it and said, "Ruoruo, you don't know, there are so many great chefs in your kitchen, they can cook it, it must be delicious."
Su Liancheng's smile froze for a moment, but he continued smiling and said, "Okay."
But in his heart, Su Liancheng was really depressed, thinking: You two, grandparents and grandchildren, came here deliberately to cause trouble today, right
Grandpa ordered a dish he had never heard of, and his granddaughter didn't even say the name of the dish, leaving it to the chef in the kitchen to cook it.
Su Liancheng complained helplessly in his heart, but he still had to keep a smile on his face and asked another question.
"So, other guests, do you need anything else?"
Su Ruoxi handed back the menu and shook her head to indicate that she didn't need it.
When it was Feng Yifan's turn, Su Liancheng became nervous again, fearing that Feng Yifan would cause him and the kitchen staff some more problems.
Sure enough, Feng Yifan asked, "Do you have any drinks?"
When Feng Ruoruo heard what her father said, the little girl said, "Dad, you can't drink."
Feng Yifan smiled and said to his daughter: "It's okay, we'll just drink a little bit, I promise we won't drink too much, okay?"
Feng Ruoruo pouted and looked unhappy. Then her mother hugged her and whispered something in her ear. The little girl finally nodded and agreed: "Okay, but you are not allowed to drink too much."
Feng Yifan nodded and agreed: "Okay, I promise not to drink too much."
Su Liancheng then replied: "We have all kinds of wine here, including white wine, yellow wine, and red wine. I wonder what kind of wine you need, sir?"
Feng Yifan then asked: "Do you have any recommendations?"
Su Liancheng was stunned for a moment, but soon realized that this was also a test.
When guests are dining, some may ask for recommendations for drinks. In this case, it is necessary to make appropriate drink recommendations based on the dishes ordered by the guests, and the drinks must be compatible with the dishes ordered.
Su Liancheng thought for a moment and said, "Based on the dishes you ordered today, I recommend you try our Jiafan wine, which is a type of rice wine that we specially purchase at Fujinglou. It has a mellow taste and is suitable for pairing with the dishes you ordered today."
Then Su Liancheng gave a relatively detailed introduction to the categories of wine, some of the characteristics of Jiafan wine, and the types of Jiafan wine purchased by Fujinglou.
After listening, Feng Yifan smiled and nodded: "Okay, then add more rice and a pot."
Su Liancheng nodded: "Okay, let me confirm the menu with you one last time."
After confirming that everything was correct, Su Liancheng backed out of the room.
The moment he walked out of the room, Su Liancheng was relieved, and he immediately felt that his clothes on the back were soaked with sweat. It was the first time that he felt so nervous when facing such a scene, and he didn't dare to be careless at all.
Some waiters nearby saw Su Liancheng breathing heavily and quietly wiping the sweat off his face, so some of them came over to ask about his well-being.
"Manager Su, are you okay?"
Su Liancheng looked at the waiter who came over to ask, shook his head and said, "It's okay, go and do your thing, pay attention to your attitude towards the guests, remember that our Fujinglou is a first-class restaurant, all services must keep up, and never contradict the guests."
The waiter quickly agreed and turned to leave.
Su Liancheng took the menu, walked quickly through the restaurant hall, and went straight into the kitchen.
When he arrived at the kitchen, Su Liancheng found Sun Mingxing, handed him the menu, and whispered, "Uncle Nine, my uncle ordered a dish that is not on the menu. He said you know how to make it. It is an old dish of Su Ji, and he asked you to make it for him to try."
Sun Mingxing glanced at the menu and instantly saw the dish.
"Crispy Pork and Pork Flower Recipe".
After seeing this, Sun Mingxing smiled bitterly: "Su Jinrong, Su Jinrong, I didn't expect you to order this dish. This really embarrasses me."
Hearing what Sun Mingxing said, Su Liancheng couldn't help but ask: "Uncle Master, is there really such a dish?"
Sun Mingxing nodded: "Of course there is, this is a dish that has been on the menu of the state banquet. It was your grandfather, my master's best dish."
Su Liancheng was a little surprised: "It's true?"
Sun Mingxing continued, "This dish has another name, called 'Hua Fang Kou Su'."
Su Liancheng still had never heard of this name.
Sun Mingxing recalled and explained: "The Huafang is to use the best pork belly from four sides and cook it according to the Huofang method, but the inside of the Huofang needs to be hollowed out, that is, the top layer of the pork belly is not broken, the inside is hollowed out, and then the crispy meat is stuffed into it, and finally the surface is cut into flower cuts like cherry meat.
Steaming first and then stewing makes the pork belly soft and sticky, and the pork belly juice is eaten on the surface of the crispy meat, and the dish is complete. "
Su Liancheng thought carefully and asked: "This crispy meat is also meat, and the fire square outside is also meat, isn't this meat stuffed with meat?"
Sun Mingxing smiled and shook his head: "No, the difficulty of this dish is that you have to scoop out some of the pork belly from the bottom to make crispy meat, a unique Su Ji method of making crispy meat, and then stuff it in so that the pork belly remains intact."
This time Su Liancheng understood that this dish was essentially made with a piece of pork belly.
In other words, a piece of pork belly is given two different cooking methods and flavors on the inside and outside.
Thinking about it carefully, Su Liancheng couldn't help but sigh that such a dish was really a bit magical. No wonder his grandfather had included this dish in the state banquet.
The same piece of pork belly is cooked in two different ways and then combined into one dish.
It is indeed a strange combination.
Su Liancheng looked at his uncle seriously and asked, "So, uncle, can you do it today?"
Sun Mingxing smiled bitterly and said, "If I say I can't do it, will Su Jinrong kick me out?"
Su Liancheng quickly said: "That can't happen, you are still the head chef of Fujinglou."
Sun Mingxing thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. Since Jinrong has already ordered this dish, I'll make it today. Do you have pork belly prepared at Fujinglou?"
Su Liancheng immediately said, "Of course we have this, and our pork is all carefully selected high-quality short-legged pigs."
Sun Mingxing nodded: "Okay, let's start preparing."
Su Liancheng is still very much looking forward to Sun Mingxing.
Sun Mingxing walked into the kitchen and immediately began to assign tasks. He handed over the other dishes on the menu to Zhang Fenglin, and carefully explained to Zhang Fenglin how to make them, how to make minor improvements to some dishes, etc.
After listening to Sun Mingxing's instructions, Zhang Fenglin also gained a new understanding of Sun Mingxing's cooking skills.
Before, Zhang Fenglin would wonder if Sun Mingxing really had that ability
But now, after listening to Sun Mingxing's comments on some adjustments to the dishes, Zhang Fenglin felt that Sun Mingxing was worthy of being the apprentice of the state banquet master who had once followed Su Ji.
After Zhang Fenglin took note of it carefully, he immediately brought the chefs from the kitchen to start preparing other dishes for the private room.
As for Sun Mingxing, he personally selected a piece of pork belly, the kind with very beautiful three layers, and personally trimmed it into a square shape. Then, with very exquisite knife skills, he hollowed out a depression in the middle.
At the same time, in the private room, Su Jinrong was also explaining the dish to Feng Yifan and Shi Jiahui.
"This dish is very demanding on knife skills. When taking out the lean meat from the middle of the pork belly, you can't take out too much fat, otherwise it will damage the whole piece of pork belly when you cut it. In addition, the meat should be well-cut when you take it out."
Listening to Su Jinrong's explanation, Shi Jiahui was really surprised and felt that such a dish was really not simple.
"The meat should be taken out in strands so that it can be marinated directly. There are also some requirements for marinating. Because the fire square part is sweet, the marinated crispy meat should be salty. However, because the outside needs to be coated with starch, it cannot be too salty, so you need to pay attention to the seasoning."
Hearing this, Feng Yifan couldn't help but say, "In that case, we can actually use our Su Zao Tang to marinate it in advance, and then fry it in batter."
Su Jinrong laughed: "Hahaha, Yifan, you are right. The key to this dish is indeed the Su Zao soup. It's just that the Su Zao soup was lost later, so your grandfather used seasoning and pickling instead. But your grandfather also said that if you want to really make it taste good, you must use Su Zao soup."
During this period, Shi Jiahui also heard about Su Zaotang.
Especially a few days ago, she tasted the dishes made by Feng Yifan Su Zaotang with her own mouth, which really amazed her.
"I never thought that Su Ji's ancestors could create such a good stew."
Su Jinrong couldn't help but sigh: "Yes, the wisdom of our ancestors is often what we must strive to catch up with, but those seemingly simple things are also the accumulation of many years of research by our ancestors."
Everyone in the private room agreed with this point.
As they were chatting, the door of the private room opened and Zhuang Daozhong led a few people into the room.