The people brought by Zhuang Daozhong still surprised Feng Yifan and his family.
Among the visitors, two are well-known scholars of the Dream of the Red Chamber, and two are heavyweights in the domestic culinary world.
One is the president of the Chinese Culinary Association, and the other is the president of the Chinese Food Promotion and Research Association.
Faced with the presence of so many big names, not to mention Su Jinrong, even Feng Yifan was a little surprised.
Su Jinrong struggled to get up and wanted to take the initiative to greet the two heavyweights in the culinary world.
President Zhuo of the Chinese Food Promotion and Research Association quickly supported Su Jinrong and said, "Old Su, you don't have to stand up. You still have to take care of yourself. After all, I am half a student of your father. I can't accept your courtesy like this."
President Cai of the Culinary Association nearby also said, "That's right. Today, President Zhuo and I are of the same generation as you, Jinrong. President Zhuo and I are also half-disciples of Mr. Quan Sheng. We are all juniors of Mr. Zhuang."
When Zhuang Daozhong heard this, he immediately laughed: "Old Cai, you make me feel like you are taking advantage of your age."
Chairman Cai smiled and said, "Mr. Zhuang, please don't be so modest. Here, Chairman Zhuo and I are really juniors. You were Mr. Quan Sheng's former assistant. We all know this. Moreover, you are one of the few masters who have experienced many state banquets."
Zhuang Daozhong smiled and shook his head and said, "I can't do it now. Compared with Yifan, I can clearly feel the power of the big river's back waves."
Feng Yifan didn't expect that these words would turn to himself.
He also quickly stood up and said, "Master uncle, please don't say that. I am a junior and I still need to learn a lot from the elders, especially the Red Mansion Banquet and Red Mansion cuisine. I also need to discuss and learn more from the two Red Mansion scholars."
The two scholars of the Dream of the Red Chamber looked at each other in bewilderment. They realized only after arriving here today that they could only be considered juniors.
Whether in terms of age or some qualifications, the two scholars of Redology are indeed a little later.
Seeing so many people present, Su Ruoxi couldn't help but ask, "Master Uncle, why don't you sit here and I'll take the children to the next room. Otherwise, will so many children here disturb you?"
Zhuang Daozhong immediately said, "No, no, Ruoxi, you just sit here. It's okay for these children to listen. It can improve their knowledge. Maybe one of these children will be able to inherit the legacy of us old men in the future."
Zhuang Daozhong's words were immediately recognized by President Cai and President Zhuo.
President Zhuo said: "Yes, nowadays, most young people prefer foreign things and don't understand many of our own things, which leads to the loss of our own culture. Especially now, even food is promoted in the West. They always think that Western food is more high-end and children should listen more to it."
President Cai nodded and said, "That's right. In recent years, Western catering has been highly promoted, which has led many people in China to regard Western restaurants as more upscale. But in fact, our own Chinese cuisine is also very upscale, and each dish is rich in cultural connotations."
Naturally, everyone agrees with the views of the two presidents, especially the two scholars who study the Dream of the Red Chamber.
One of the younger ones said: "It is true. If you have carefully read Dream of the Red Chamber, you will find that every dish in the Red Chamber Banquet is very exquisite. Not only is the cooking process responsible and extravagant, but there is also a lot of cultural connotation hidden in it."
The older researcher also said: "Yes, our own cuisine is also very advanced, and we are more cultured."
Because a stranger came in, the children fell silent and didn't dare to talk casually like before.
Among the children, Han Wenwen was relatively calm and composed.
Yue Qihao tried his best to sit upright, as if he was in a school class.
Ning Guang became even more nervous and lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Among the children, Feng Ruoruo may be the only one who is bolder.
Firstly, it was because she often ran around and played among the shops of all sizes on the ancient street when she was a child. Secondly, it was because her grandpa, parents, and great-grandfather Zhuang were also there, which gave Feng Ruoruo some confidence.
Feng Yifan talked with everyone about a lot of things in food culture, especially about the dishes in the Red Mansion Banquet.
This is the strong point of the two Dream of the Red Chamber scholars, and they immediately began to speak eloquently.
Although the two scholars are not very old, they are considered to be relatively well-known experts among the scholars studying the Dream of the Red Chamber in China, and they both specialize in the research of the Dream of the Red Chamber Banquet.
Therefore, in such a situation, the two scholars can be said to have a lot of room to play.
When talking about the most famous eggplant fish in the Red Mansion dish, both of them have different opinions.
The young scholar said: "I think the method of cooking dried eggplant may not be as Wang Xifeng said in the book. After all, Wang Xifeng was a lady from a wealthy family. It is hard to say whether she really cooked such a dish. Maybe she just heard about it and her retelling was not complete."
An older scholar has a different view: "Perhaps Wang Xifeng's retelling does have some omissions, but that doesn't mean there will be much difference in the practice. I think the basic practice should be correct."
The obvious difference in their views naturally led to a debate between them.
Seeing the two scholars arguing without paying attention to the people around them, everyone present looked at each other in confusion and smiled bitterly.
While the two were arguing, Feng Ruoruo suddenly couldn't help but mutter, "Huh, my dad's cooking is delicious."
Originally, Feng Ruoruo's muttering would not be noticed amid the argument between the two scholars.
But when Feng Ruoruo was speaking, the two scholars seemed to feel that it was wrong to argue like this, so they stopped at the same time, causing the room to be quiet for a moment.
In this way, Feng Ruoruo's voice stood out in the entire room.
Instantly everyone's eyes were focused on the little girl.
Feng Ruoruo, like a child who had done something wrong, quickly got down from her seat and quickly ran behind her father to hide herself from everyone.
It seemed that as long as I hid behind my father and didn't let anyone see me, then no one would hear what I said just now.
The two scholars hesitated for a moment, then looked at Feng Yifan and asked, "Chef Feng, so you made dried eggplant?"
Feng Yifan pulled his daughter out from behind, hugged her and said, "Well, I made some attempts and improved the recipe a little bit. The result may be different from the one in the book, and the recipe may be different from the one in the book, but the taste should be pretty good."
Feng Ruoruo sat in her father's arms, and suddenly she felt like she had a backer, and she spoke again with confidence.
“My dad’s cooking is delicious.”
Zhuang Daozhong smiled and asked the little girl: "Did Ruoruo eat what Dad made?"
Seeing that it was Grandpa Zhuang who asked the question, Feng Ruoruo said boldly: "Yes, Dad made it for us. I, Grandpa, Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, as well as Sister Wenwen and Brother Haohao have all eaten it. Dad's cooking is delicious. It's made by that Qieqie."
Han Wenwen also said at this time: "Well, it's really delicious. Uncle Yifan made the eggplant fish in the book."
Yue Qihao was stunned at first, and when Han Wenwen pushed him, he quickly said, "Yes, it's delicious."
After getting confirmation, Zhuang Daozhong and the others became even more curious.
Zhuang Daozhong continued to ask Feng Yifan: "Yifan, I'm really curious, how did you make the eggplant fish? You said your method is different from the book, so how do you make it?"
Feng Yifan did not hide it, but answered directly: "I use the eight-treasure chili sauce method to make it."
Then, Feng Yifan explained his approach in detail.
After hearing the practice, Zhuang Daozhong and others fell into deep thought.
The two scholars who studied the Dream of the Red Chamber frowned a little bit at Feng Yifan's approach, as if they felt that his approach did not follow the practices recorded in the original book.
But Zhuang Daozhong and the two presidents obviously considered it from a culinary perspective and thought that Feng Yifan's cooking was somewhat amazing.
Because according to the original method, not to mention the very complicated process, it uses chicken soup to steam and dry nine times. It is still unknown whether the flavor of the chicken soup can be truly steamed into the eggplant.
Therefore, for such a dish, many people have tried to recreate it according to the records in the book Dream of Red Mansions, but in the end it was always a little lacking in heat.
But now Feng Yifan uses the Eight Treasure Chili Sauce method.
He first boiled the eggplant to allow the flavor to penetrate into the eggplant, and then air-dried the eggplant.
This may seem like a more modern process, but it may also be a more flavorful approach.
Zhuang Daozhong thought carefully for a moment, then looked up at Feng Yifan and asked, "Yifan, did you bring back that eggplant fish? Can we have a taste?"
Feng Yifan said a little embarrassedly: "Uncle Master, I really didn't bring it back."
Su Jinrong also said, "This time we came back, we mainly brought the children to play, and also to see Ruifeng. We didn't expect that you would bring President Cai, President Zhuo and two research experts to talk about Red Mansion cuisine, so we didn't bring any back."
Zhuang Daozhong smiled and responded: "It's okay, we'll go taste it after you return to Su Ji."
President Cai and President Zhuo also nodded in agreement.
The two scholars also expressed their desire to try the eggplant fish paste made by Feng Yifan.
Feng Yifan naturally agreed happily: "Okay, when we come back and Su Ji has finished decorating, I will invite everyone to come over. As the first batch of guests of Su Ji, I will definitely let everyone taste some of the dishes that my father and I have created recently."
After hearing this, Zhuang Daozhong and others were naturally looking forward to it.
"Okay, then we are looking forward to it."
"Yes, it is a great honor to be able to taste the dishes created by two generations of chefs at Su Ji."
"Yes, I look forward to Yifan being able to recreate the glory of Su Ji."
"Well, I'm also looking forward to Chef Feng's original eggplant fish."
“Looking forward to Chef Feng’s Red Mansion dishes.”
Feng Yifan put his daughter down and asked her to go back to her seat. Just at this time, the dishes were being served at Fujinglou.
After the first round of appetizers came, Feng Yifan stood up to pour wine for everyone and asked everyone to raise their glasses.
"We have prepared a little wine today. It is an honor for our whole family to have you here. Feng Yifan would like to toast to you all."
Zhuang Daozhong and others naturally raised their glasses, and then everyone drank the first glass together.
After drinking the first cup, Feng Yifan pointed to the cold dishes on the table and said, "Come on, everyone, eat some food and try the current dishes of Fujinglou to see if they can meet the preferences of all the gourmets."
At the same time, Feng Yifan turned to Su Ruoxi and said, "Wife, take the children to eat too."
Zhuang Daozhong heard this and said, "Yes, Ruoxi, you and the children can eat together. Don't be polite. Don't be shy just because we are here."
Su Ruoxi smiled and nodded: "Okay, uncle."
Next, everyone naturally started eating together.
The first people to get excited were two scholars studying the Dream of the Red Chamber because they had read "The Bad Duck Letter".
"Oh, this bad duck letter is really good."
"It's authentic. They specifically removed the outer skeleton, leaving only the tenderest part. This is something that many bad ducks don't do. What kind of family is that in Dream of the Red Chamber? How could they leave behind those side branches?"
Zhuang Daozhong smiled and said, "Hahaha, this dish was improved by Yifan, and he passed it on to the kitchen staff at Fujinglou."
The two presidents and the two scholars were a little surprised.
"So it was Chef Feng's work? No wonder."
"Sure enough, no wonder Mr. Zhuang has been praising you so much."
"I admire you. It seems that Chef Feng has a deep understanding of our culture."
"Yes, if you understand the spending habits of some big families in ancient times, you can think of making such a seemingly simple bad duck letter."
Feng Yifan received compliments one after another, but he remained calm and responded: "You are overpraising me. I just think that since we are going to replicate the dishes, we must respect the cultural background behind them. Moreover, as the leader of Huaicheng's catering industry, Fujinglou still needs to be exquisite enough."
Hearing this, Zhuang Daozhong and others agreed very much.
President Tsai said: "As the saying goes, one never tires of fine food, and Mr. Zhuang and I took the opportunity of selecting Chinese cuisine to visit many restaurants across the country, including some so-called local representative restaurants, but to be honest, we were a little disappointed."
President Zhuo continued, "Yes, I am very disappointed because too many restaurants do not pay attention to the word 'exquisite'."
Zhuang Daozhong said: "This is actually related to the uneven quality of chefs today. Those things that should have been done may have been ignored by many people now."
President Cai lamented, "It's just not good enough. If you don't learn well, you won't do well either."
After listening to what they said, Feng Yifan and his father-in-law looked at each other. They had already heard some clues. It seemed that they could vaguely guess the purpose of Zhuang Daozhong bringing these people here today.
They should be planning to let Feng Yifan come forward to carry out a series of standardized promotions to let more people understand the true essence of Chinese cuisine, especially what exquisite Chinese cuisine should look like.