Different from the steaks that Feng Yifan ordered at noon in the hotel restaurant, the dishes that Rodney presented to Feng Yifan and his friends at night were a series of river fish dishes.
For example, the first appetizer served was a fried and baked shortbread filled with river fish roe.
Feng Ruoruo and Yang Xiaoxi were both surprised to see the small dishes placed on a somewhat large plate.
"Oh, this is so small, won't you be full like this?"
"Yes, it's too little. I can't eat enough."
Feng Yifan smiled and explained to the girls: "This is called an appetizer. It is an appetizer. After eating it, your taste buds will be opened and you can start to taste the following dishes. It is not meant to make you full with just one dish. This is also the rule of eating Western food."
Feng Ruoruo pouted and said, "Western food is not good. There are so few dishes. It's not good at all."
Yang Xiaoxi also said: "Yes, every time Father Feng cooks, there will be a lot of food, so we can eat a lot."
Yang Zhiyi said to Feng Yifan, "Look, it's because you usually feed the children too well and too much, so now these two little girls are picky eaters."
At this time, Rodney, who was standing next to him, said, "Please taste it. You can eat this dish directly with your hands."
As he spoke, he scooped a little bit of sauce from the small dish in his hand and poured it on the shortbread.
“It will be more delicious if eaten together like this.”
Feng Yifan translated for everyone, and Feng Ruoruo and Yang Xiaoxi were immediately curious. Because usually when the two little girls eat at home, their family members don't allow them to eat with their hands, but today, although the dish is small, they can actually eat with their hands, and the little girls immediately became interested.
Feng Yifan also asked everyone to pinch it with their hands and taste it.
So everyone just pinched it with their hands and put it directly into their mouths to taste.
After eating it, Feng Yifan gave a serious evaluation: "Well, this should be derived from the shortbread appetizer I designed before, right? But this time you changed the filling to river fish roe, which is quite novel. You also added some lemon and basil in it, which has a unique taste."
After eating it, Yang Zhiyi said: "This is quite delicious. I really want to eat more now."
Feng Ruoruo followed up and said, "Dad, this one isn't enough to fill you up. It's delicious. Can I have another one?"
Yang Xiaoxi couldn't help but say, "Dad Feng, I want to eat another one too."
Feng Yifan smiled and replied: "We can't eat anymore. We have to eat other dishes next."
Then, the second appetizer came. The portion was a bit larger, but this dish was still a bit special. It didn’t look like a dish, but rather a bit like a dessert.
Feng Ruoruo was surprised when she saw this and asked, "Dad, we haven't eaten enough yet, why are we serving snacks now?"
Rodney introduced, "This is the second appetizer, and it's the appetizer designed by Chef Feng."
Feng Yifan is quite familiar with this dish. It is not a dessert, but an appetizer soup. Use a spoon to knock open the top layer that looks like a dessert, and there will be a very delicious seafood soup inside.
So Feng Yifan also used a spoon to help his daughter crack it open, and the broken part instantly fell into the soup below.
Then after blending with the soup, it exudes a very sweet flavor.
However, when Feng Yifan smelled it, he immediately discovered the difference.
Originally, Feng Yifan used sea crabs to make the soup for this appetizer, so it did not have a strong flavor and was a relatively light soup. The shell cover on top was made of crab roe mixed with cream, which was shaped in the oven and then crushed and mixed into the soup to increase the aroma of the crab soup.
But now, Rodney was obviously well prepared. He did not use sea crabs, but river shrimps.
He also replaced the crab roe that was supposed to be used to decorate the top with shrimp roe.
Rodney said calmly, "I have improved it and used river shrimp to adapt to the local environment. Please taste this "Milk-flavored River Shrimp Soup."
Feng Yifan was also a little impressed that Rodney was indeed a creative chef who knew how to make use of ingredients.
It is no wonder that after Feng Yifan left, Rodney was still able to support Perovence, allowing the restaurant to retain its three stars and remain the first choice restaurant for royal state banquets.
Feng Ruoruo and Yang Xiaoxi smelled the fragrance and were also very surprised.
“It smells so good.”
“It smells really good.”
Then, everyone tasted the apology soup.
When Feng Yifan tasted it, he found it to be very elegant, with a light milky aroma, paired with the sweetness of fresh shrimps, and also a hint of sourness.
But this time, what surprised Feng Yifan was that Rodney actually added rice vinegar and a little ginger juice to it.
This can be said to be a very bold attempt.
But if you really taste it carefully, you will find that this special combination is actually very reasonable, because for most people who eat shrimp in China, it is necessary to pair it with rice vinegar and ginger rice.
In this soup, rice vinegar and ginger juice are made into small beads.
It will burst when you bite it while drinking the soup.
Then add that flavor to the soup in your mouth.
The rice vinegar and ginger juice will quickly dissolve the sweetness of the shrimp soup, and the slightly sour and spicy stimulation will make diners more appetite for the next food.
Shi Jiahui was already somewhat shocked after eating the two appetizers.
She couldn't help but think that if it were her, she might not have come up with such an idea.
Feng Yifan remained calm and said with a smile: "Your soup is great, but it's a pity that you didn't add ginger juice. Rice vinegar can be added, but not everyone can tolerate the spiciness of ginger juice. Similarly, although rice vinegar neutralizes some of the deliciousness of the shrimp soup, this shrimp soup is still too delicious."
Feng Yifan's words made Rodney stunned at first, but then he immediately understood.
This is an appetizer. If it is too delicious, it will cause the following dishes to lose their luster.
Rodney took the advice seriously: "Okay, thank you, Chef."
Finally it was the main course. The first main course was a dish with a stronger flavor. In fact, it was not originally served like this. Perhaps it was because Rodney realized the problem, so he made some adjustments to the position of the dishes.
The first dish that came up was a replacement of the previous fish cake with a pork belly filling that is very Chinese in style.
Looking at the small pieces of meat covered in rich sauce on the plate, Feng Yifan couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect that you, Rodney, actually know how to make braised pork."
Shi Jiahui couldn't help laughing when she saw it.
Braised pork in brown sauce is a very famous Shanghai dish.
Everyone knows "thick oil and red sauce".
But in reality, when it comes to actually doing it, many people may not be able to do it authentically.
Feng Yifan gently cut it open with a knife and immediately saw the filling inside.
Sure enough, Rodney still followed some Western methods and processed the pork belly to create a complex flavor, so there were fillers inside the pork belly, such as some diced abalone and even some diced mushrooms.
This piece of meat is very much to the taste of Feng Ruoruo, Yang Xiaoxi, Yang Zhiyi and Shi Tao.
Yang Zhiyi and Shi Tao praised the dish highly, saying they had no idea pork belly could be so delicious.
Feng Ruoruo and Yang Xiaoxi like it too.
"Oh, this meat looks like what my dad made. It's delicious."
"Yeah, it's delicious, just as delicious as what Father Feng makes."
After Feng Yifan and Shi Jiahui finished eating, they both felt a little regretful at the same time, so they looked at each other but did not comment directly.
But the two of them didn't say anything, which made Rodney and the two old men, Lu Xihu and Quan Chengping, a little anxious.
Seeing that Feng Yifan didn't want to speak first, Shi Jiahui said, "You imitated the method of braised pork, but you don't know how to stir-fry the sugar color. The taste is still a bit sweet. You have to control the sweetness. Too much sweetness will take away some of the other flavors."
After Shi Jiahui finished speaking, Feng Yifan finally spoke.
"Rodney, you did a great job on this dish. I think you can take it to the Perovence main restaurant and use it as a main dish.
However, since you are putting it in China, as a Chinese, I still want to make some suggestions. I think you can add some bamboo shoots in addition to mushrooms, preferably fresh and crisp bamboo shoots, and then simmer them for a while to remove the earthy smell, then stir-fry the fillings and finally stuff them in. "
Rodney was a little surprised when he heard that, and at the same time, he found it a little difficult to tell what the taste was like.
Feng Yifan smiled and said: "Adding fresh bamboo shoots will increase the taste. It will add a little chewiness to the soft and glutinous taste that melts in the mouth. At the same time, the bamboo shoots can better neutralize the excess sweetness of your seasoning."
After listening to this, Shi Jiahui thought about it seriously and felt that Feng Yifan's method seemed feasible.
Lu Xihu and Quan Chengping were standing nearby, feeling a bit like they were listening to a foreign language.
Although the two elderly people are experienced foodies, they still find it difficult to imagine the taste of the food without tasting it.
Rodney thought about it carefully and finally said, "Okay, I'll try."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Well, let's continue."
Next is the main course, a fish pie made from river fish.
However, it is made by splicing together the most tender meat of three kinds of river fish, slow-cooking at low temperature to retain the freshness of the fish, and then covering it with some vegetables to shape it.
After eating the braised pork with rich sauce, I felt refreshed when eating this fish cake.
Shi Jiahui couldn't help but sigh: "I have to admit that the chef of Perovence Restaurant is really amazing. He can make such delicious fish cakes using three kinds of river fish."
Others liked this dish just as much.
In fact, this dish, although prepared in Western style, but the overall taste is more in line with Chinese seasoning.
Feng Yifan could only say: "This dish may be your most successful one. It fully demonstrates the deliciousness of our local fish."
But Feng Yifan also raised a point at the end: "However, if you can replace the fish paste with fish jelly, it might be better."
Rodney's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Oh, Chef, you gave me a very good idea."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Moreover, you can also keep the fish fillets, roast them until they are charred, and then put them at the bottom. This way, you will have crispy fish skin, tender fish meat, delicious fish jelly, and finally crispy vegetables. This way, the dish will be perfect."
Rodney thought about it carefully and clapped his hands, "Perfect, really perfect, that is the most perfect three-fresh fish dish."
Lu Xigu and Quan Chengping were completely convinced. They had never thought that Feng Yifan could give an accurate evaluation of the dishes on the spot and even give direct suggestions for correction.
And Rodney, a three-star restaurant chef and a chef invited by the royal family, actually agreed.
Lu Xigu and Quan Chengping thought of the little girl who grew up in their eyes.
The two were very young at that time, probably about the same age as Shi Tao.
At that time, Lu Cuiling and Feng Ruoruo were about the same age.
It can be said that the two of them also grew up with a niece like Lu Cuiling, but what they didn't expect was that after they went abroad for a period of time, Lu Cuiling actually fell out with her family because of marriage problems after returning, and even chose to leave Jinling and transferred to Shanghai to work.
Lu Xigu once came to Shanghai to find Lu Cuiling, but his stubborn niece was unwilling to go back and submit.
For a long time, Lu Xigu secretly helped his niece.
Unfortunately, his strong-willed niece refused his help.
Later, of course, there was a very bad period. The factory of his niece and nephew-in-law went bankrupt, and then Lu Xigu lost all news of his niece and nephew-in-law.
After all these years, Lu Xihu and Quan Chengping still often think of Lu Cuiling.
The two old people were filled with worry. They were afraid that Lu Cuiling was not living well and that she might not be able to bear the pressure of life.
The two old people could never have imagined that they would reunite with Lu Cuiling's son and granddaughter in Shanghai many years later.
What the two old people could not have imagined was that Lu Cuiling’s son would be so outstanding.
Feng Yifan tasted each of the following dishes and gave his opinions, to which Rodney listened very humbly.
The two old men, Lu Xigu and Quan Chengping, as well as the guests on the yacht, are no longer the protagonists of tonight.
Because everyone's attention is focused on Feng Yifan, he is the real protagonist of tonight.
Everyone was watching Feng Yifan's evaluation of each of Rodney's dishes, and listening to his suggestions and ways to improve each of Rodney's localized designed dishes.
For each of the ten dishes, Feng Yifan gave reasonable suggestions and told Rodney how to improve it.
How to make the taste of the dishes more acceptable to domestic diners.
Shi Jiahui also listened very carefully and gained a lot from it. In her heart, she couldn't help but wonder, if Feng Yifan opened a store in Shanghai, would he not say anything tonight
The other chefs on the yacht tonight also gained something to varying degrees.
Among them, Chen Xu and Luo Yu watched everything quietly, and some subtle changes began to occur in their hearts.