Chinatown in San Francisco is an east-west street. Ye Chui and his group entered from the west entrance, and Chen's Restaurant happened to be on the west street of Chinatown. Tang Shanshan brought the three of them to the front of the restaurant soon.
Chen's Restaurant does not look outstanding from the outside. It is not luxurious, grand, or has a small facade, but it is clean and tidy. The restaurant is divided into two floors. There are more than a dozen dining tables in the hall below, and there are private rooms upstairs. Several waiters are busy inside and outside.
It was noon at this moment, and the restaurant was crowded with customers, and business was booming.
After Ye Chui, Han Yuyan, Li Xiuyun and Tang Shanshan walked into the restaurant, a waiter immediately came up to greet them and asked them to sit down at an empty seat. The waiter spoke in Cantonese, which was not very clear. After Tang Shanshan said a few words to him, she turned to look at Ye Chui and said, "She asked what you want to eat? Oh, here is the menu."
Tang Shanshan took the menu from the waiter and handed it to Ye Chui.
Opening the menu, there are not many dishes in this restaurant. They are written in traditional Chinese and also have English introductions. Most of these dishes are tofu-based. The signature dish is naturally Chen’s tofu. However, there are two types of Chen’s tofu here. The ordinary Chen’s tofu is made by the restaurant’s head chef, and the special Chen’s tofu is made by the restaurant’s proprietress herself, and the price is doubled.
Tang Shanshan obviously knew this place very well. She introduced it with a smile, "If you want to eat Chen's tofu, it's best to eat the Chen's tofu made by the boss lady herself. This boss lady is known as the tofu beauty. The craftsmanship is inherited from her family. Although she is only a four-star chef and can't cook other dishes, she has been practicing Chen's tofu since she was a child. Even the head chef of Chen's Restaurant, the eight-star chef, can't compare to this dish. Of course, if you want to eat Chen's tofu made by the boss lady herself, the price will definitely be a little higher, but it is definitely worth it."
"Then I want to eat the Chen family tofu made by the proprietress herself." Ye Chui said to Tang Shanshan with a smile, and he was somewhat interested in this tofu beauty.
Tang Shanshan explained everything to the waiter, and Ye Chui ordered a few other dishes, and the waiter went down to prepare them.
"Master, this restaurant doesn't look that great." Han Yuyan looked around and said to Ye Chui. In China, all high-end restaurants are exquisitely decorated. It is rare to find a restaurant with a rustic atmosphere like the Chen's Restaurant.
"The star rating of a hotel has high requirements for decoration, but the most important thing is the quality of the dishes." Ye Chui said with a smile, "Looking at the appearance of the hotel, it should be a decades-old restaurant."
"Boss, you are absolutely right." Tang Shanshan automatically took over the conversation. She called Ye Chui "Boss" in a particularly crisp voice, "This store has been open for fifty years. It has been like this since the beginning. It has been passed down for three generations and has never moved to a new location."
"Haha, is this shop a family heirloom?" Ye Chui thought of something and asked Tang Shanshan.
Tang Shanshan nodded: "Of course Chen's Restaurant is opened by the Chen family."
Han Yuyan asked curiously: "Master, why are you asking this?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the ancestor of this Chen's restaurant should be the creator of Mapo Tofu." After a pause, Ye Chui continued, "Mapo Tofu appeared a hundred years ago, during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. There was a restaurant in Chengdu called Chen Xingsheng Fanpu. The owner was Chen Xingsheng and his wife, Liu. Because Liu had pockmarks on her face, she was called Chen Mapo. The restaurant's business was not very popular, so Liu made a dish of braised tofu. Unexpectedly, this dish became popular and even spread all over the country. This dish was also called Chen Mapo Tofu at the beginning. If I'm not mistaken, this Chen's Tofu should have been opened by the descendants of Chen Xingsheng. It is very appropriate to change the name to Chen's Tofu."
Mapo Tofu is a famous Sichuan dish that is also popular in China. Although minced beef is used in this dish, it is essentially a vegetarian dish. Without the seasoning of minced beef, the taste is still outstanding. However, the taste of this dish popular in China is not very authentic. Ye Chui guessed that the inheritance of the recipe of this dish must have encountered some changes during the vegetarian movement. Ye Chui knew the origin of Mapo Tofu very well. After making some reasonable speculations, he could probably guess that the authentic method of making Mapo Tofu was spread to Chinatown during the vegetarian movement.
The Chen family originally opened this Chen’s Restaurant.
After hearing Ye Chui's story, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun didn't think much of it, but Tang Shanshan was stunned: "You are so amazing, you actually know so many things."
Han Yuyan was particularly proud: "Of course, how dare you come here to challenge if you don't have any skills?"
Tang Shanshan was confused at once and thought, does sightseeing require any skills
Since she couldn't figure it out, she stopped thinking about it for the time being. This girl was a broad-minded person. Her eyes swept across the faces of Ye Chui and the other two, and the smiles on her faces were indescribably bright. In her eyes, these three people were already fat sheep.
With 500 yuan a day as a tour guide, you can really make a lot of money...
And you can have a lot of delicious meals with them. I will introduce them to several other big restaurants in Chinatown later. Wow, I have a good time these days...
The girl was dreaming about delicious food, and her eyes had turned into crescent shapes due to her smile.
It didn't take long before the dishes were served one after another.
Braised tofu, homemade fried tofu, cabbage stewed tofu, mushroom tofu meatballs...
Since the main dish of this restaurant is Mapo Tofu, most of the dishes in the restaurant are tofu-related.
The waitress who served the dishes stood aside with a smile, and then spoke in English. After all, she was a hotel waitress, and ordinary residents in Chinatown did not understand English. As hotel waitresses, they had to receive tourists from all over the world, so English was a must. She said, "The tofu here is all homemade, made from the best soybeans. The tofu tastes absolutely great, and the dishes made from it are all ancestral dishes of the Chen family. Almost everyone who travels to Chinatown must try the tofu dishes in our Chen's restaurant to make the trip worthwhile. However, you may have to wait a while for the Mapo Tofu cooked by the boss lady herself."
Han Yuyan was looking at the dishes on the table. When he heard her say that, he immediately asked curiously in English: "Do many people order the mapo tofu made by your boss lady?"
"That's not the case." The waiter was obviously a gossiper, and he lowered his voice to gossip, "Our boss lady is arguing with her brother. She is very angry now, so she has to work slowly."
"So that's how it is." Han Yuyan replied as he picked up a piece of braised tofu with chopsticks and put it in front of him to look at it. Braising is a technique in Sichuan cuisine, which uses rock sugar or soy sauce to burn the dishes to create a deep red color that whets one's appetite.
The braised tofu here is also very delicious, at least the color and aroma deserve a 10.
Han Yuyan took a look at it, then put the tofu into his mouth and tasted it carefully.
The waitress saw that the guests had already started eating, so she smiled and left without staying any longer. Chen's tofu was well-known, and even gourmets would be very satisfied with the dishes. She was still very confident in her own dishes...
Fortunately, she took the initiative to withdraw, otherwise she might be unhappy if she heard what Han Yuyan said next:
"This tofu doesn't seem to be as delicious as the one made by Senior Brother. The tofu is too soft and the taste is not good at all." Han Yuyan commented.
Tang Shanshan, who did not consider herself an outsider at all, picked up her chopsticks before Han Yuyan and picked up a tofu ball for herself. Just as she put it into her mouth, she heard Han Yuyan's words and hurriedly swallowed the tofu ball while saying, "This tofu is famous far and wide, and it is the most delicious tofu in all Chinatown."
"It feels so-so." Han Yuyan looked at Ye Chui, "Master, what do you think?"
Ye Chui was also using chopsticks to pick up a piece of home-cooked fried tofu. He looked at it for a moment and put it into his mouth. Then he tasted several other dishes one by one. After a moment, he smiled and said, "I can give these dishes a score of 9, which is about the same level as Xiao Du's. As for Dayu, you said that the taste is not as good as Xiao Du's. It's mainly because the tofu used is southern tofu, which is different from the northern tofu we usually eat."
"Southern tofu? Northern tofu?" Han Yuyan was stunned.
Ye Chui nodded and said, "Tofu is classified into various types. They are made in different ways, such as southern tofu, northern tofu, old tofu, tender tofu, flat tofu, original tofu, and water tofu. The tofu we usually use is northern tofu, which has less water content and a harder texture. The coagulant used is mainly brine. The tofu here is southern tofu, and the coagulant used is gypsum powder, which has a higher water content and a softer texture."
After a pause, Ye Chui continued, "Tofu of different textures has different flavors when used to make different dishes, but some tofu dishes have higher requirements on the type of tofu. Mapo tofu is more suitable to be made with southern tofu. I think the tofu here is southern tofu for this reason. But if braised tofu is also made with southern tofu, the taste will be greatly compromised."
"So that's how it is." Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun both nodded.
Tang Shanshan was stunned: "You know so much, do you work in a hotel?"
Ye Chui smiled and glanced at Tang Shanshan: "Yes, so I know more about these. Of course, the saying of southern tofu and northern tofu is based on the region of China. There may not be such a saying here."
"I also work in a restaurant, but I didn't know much about these things. It turns out there are so many differences among tofu. I've learned a lot today." Tang Shanshan said with a smile, but her mouth was not idle at all, she kept stuffing various dishes into her mouth, eating them very sweetly.
Ye Chui tasted the dishes again. He could tell the quality of each dish with just one bite. Not long after, the waiter came out with a plate of fiery red tofu and placed it on Ye Chui's table. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. This is Chen's tofu made by the proprietress herself. It is one of the top ten representative dishes of Chinatown. You are welcome to taste it."
"Wow, I finally have the chance to eat the famous Chen's tofu!" Tang Shanshan cheered and was about to pick up some tofu with her chopsticks, but then she thought of something else and looked at Ye Chui awkwardly, "Boss, you go first, please."
Ye Chui smiled indifferently and looked at the plate of Mapo Tofu. The dish looked bright red, with red, white and green matching each other. Although the tofu was made of the softer southern tofu, it was in good shape and not rotten. From the appearance, this dish was already very outstanding, which whetted Ye Chui's appetite.
He picked up a piece of tofu and put it into his mouth, savoring it carefully.
Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun both looked at Ye Chui nervously. They came to challenge the other family, and the first dish they wanted to challenge was Chen's tofu. Naturally, they were very concerned about what Ye Chu thought of this dish.
"Master, how is this dish?" Han Yuyan saw Ye Chui eating it, so he asked hurriedly, his eyes full of anxiety.
"This dish tastes good, but..." Ye Chui suddenly frowned.
"But what?" Even Tang Shanshan became curious.
"Mapo Tofu is a dish that requires eight secrets: numbing, spicy, tangy, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, and lively. All eight characteristics are indispensable and are the key to the success of this dish. This dish has seven of the eight characteristics, but... it lacks the most important one."
Ye Chui commented in confusion: "It seems that they forgot to put peppercorns in this Mapo Tofu?" (~^~)