diskusbooks Chapter 159 State Banquet Matsutake and Jade Wine Chicken
Chapter 159 State Banquet Matsutake and Jade Wine Chicken
*Smack!*
A crisp popping sound suddenly rang out in the kitchen center of the first "Extreme Flavor Space" store.
With a flick of his wrist, Zhou Benchang skillfully and arrogantly tossed a snow-white hand towel, made of fine silk and embroidered with auspicious beast patterns, onto the marble island.
"Start a fire!! Use dry kindling!! Turn the fans up to full speed!!"
With a loud shout, the middle-aged man took a half-step forward. His meticulously combed hair, thickly styled with mousse, gleamed under the spotlight.
Beside him stood four men, all over thirty, dressed in snow-white uniforms, standing neatly in a fan shape.
All of them were Zhou Benchang's personal disciples.
These four individuals are usually highly sought-after executive chefs in various five-star hotels and private clubs in the south of the city, earning staggering annual salaries.
But at this moment, in front of this dignified middle-aged man, they all hunched over, not daring to even breathe loudly.
In their hands, they held fresh matsutake mushrooms soaked in Shaoxing wine, a scallop broth that had been prepared since the night before and simmered for most of the night, and a bowl of premium clear oil in an old jade bowl.
"boom--!!"
On the iron stove, two rows of dark blue flames shot up half a meter high the moment the power was turned up to full.
Zhou Benchang steadily picked up the custom-made handmade broadsword with his right hand.
The cold light shone so brightly under the cold spotlights that it made people dizzy.
With a sudden flick of his wrist, the alloy cutting board was soon filled with a dense, rhythmic "swish, swish, swish" sound of meat being sliced, like raindrops pattering on banana leaves.
The frequency was so fast that only a silver afterimage could be seen. In an instant, the entire kitchen was filled with this extremely terrifying sound of knife work!
"Listen up!! You bunch of good-for-nothings! State banquets are all about 'exquisite food and meticulous preparation'!!"
As Zhou Benchang wielded his knife with lightning speed, his body swaying slightly in rhythm with the blade, he sliced the entire piece of premium free-range chicken breast, delivered in advance from the North District cold storage, into thin, almost transparent strips of meat, all the while glancing sideways at his apprentice beside him.
A calm, middle-aged voice leisurely and methodically assigned instructions:
"Xiao Chen, it's time. Pour the finest clear oil from the old jade bowl!"
Xiao Li, don't just stand there! Pour the prepared dried scallop broth into the pot of the purple clay teapot, and watch the heat!
Thirdly, slice the matsutake mushrooms diagonally into 3/4-inch thick slices. Make sure the slices are exactly the right thickness, not even a fraction off!
"Yes!! Master!!"
The four apprentices shouted in unison in response.
For a moment, the kitchen was bustling with people.
The movements of everyone—scooping soup, controlling the fire, and passing ingredients—were seamlessly coordinated, with not a single unnecessary movement.
Like a precision instrument programmed with perfect code and operating at its peak.
"Splash—!!"
The moment Zhou Benchang casually tossed the silky white shredded free-range chicken, mixed with fresh matsutake mushrooms, into the bubbling, oily scallop broth.
That pot of "State Banquet Matsutake and Jade Liquid Chicken," prepared using a secret recipe over eight years, created a magnificent feast for the eyes and ears within the alloy floor-to-ceiling windows!
Zhou Benchang picked up the heavy, openwork silver spoon with one hand and steadily spun it three full circles in the center of the pot.
As the steam rises, the clear, bright yellow, and grease-free premium broth simmers in the pot like a pool of boiling amber, radiating a dazzling golden light.
Each shredded chicken unfolds tenderly in the broth, the melting aroma of matsutake mushrooms enveloping the elegant and understated umami of dried scallops, instantly transforming into wisps of white, complex steam.
The white vapor, flowing from the fully-operated modern ventilation vents in the lobby, shot wildly outwards onto the long street.
"My goodness... everyone come and see!! That chef is doing juggling!! This is so high-class!!"
"That knife skill, I've never even dreamed of seeing it in my entire life!! The meat was cut into strips as thin as cotton thread, you could probably thread a needle with it if it fell on the ground!"
This is divine skill! It truly is divine skill!
Outside the alloy floor-to-ceiling windows, more than two hundred extras hired by Su Ang as part of the "atmosphere team" were diligently and frantically leading the crowd, clapping and shouting their approval at the top of their lungs.
Some people even took out glitter and fireworks from their bags and threw them into the sky, creating a frenzied wave of celebrity worship on the street.
The ordinary people who had originally gathered outside to watch the spectacle were immediately captivated by Zhou Benchang's meticulous and elaborate cooking process, and the aroma of high-grade oils wafting from the vents, exuding ultimate elegance and wealth. Their eyes lit up, and exclamations of amazement rose and fell.
This grand and magnificent spectacle instantly became the most dazzling flashlight on the long street.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the long line of a hundred people in front of "Human Fireworks".
Many casual diners who had just returned their memberships from the restaurant next door, though still clutching their queue numbers tightly, couldn't help but look over the muddy water and hesitate, their eyes darting towards Zhou Benchang's brightly lit dining hall.
"Hey buddy, did you see that? That middle-aged man over there, I heard he really is a top-tier master invited from the inner palace of Beijing."
"Look at their cooking process, they use old jade bowls and purple clay teapots, and even their four apprentices are the head chefs of big hotels."
"We...we're in this long queue of a hundred people, and who knows how long it will be before we get to eat Boss Chen's loach? Maybe...maybe we should go back and try that state banquet chicken soup?"
The situation began to subtly ease at that very second.
"Yes, even if the loach is authentic, it can't compare to that kind of deliciousness."
That's free-range chicken served at state banquets, and it's selling for 9.9 yuan. You might not even be able to find a place to eat it again.
"Not taking advantage of this would be a sin against heaven!"
The two white-collar workers, whose stomachs were growling with hunger, exchanged glances. Their obsession with Chen Feng's culinary skills was ultimately somewhat shaken by the national-level chef's reputation and the enthusiastic hype generated by the extras outside.
Ultimately, the money is theirs, and they have the right to do what they want.
And one's mouth is on one's own body!
A few seconds later, the seven or eight hesitant young diners in the last row, somewhat embarrassed, put their queue number plates on the stone table at the entrance of Renjian Yanhuo, turned around briskly, and ran towards Zhou Benchang's brightly lit alloy hall, stepping on the colorful ribbons scattered on the ground.
All of this was witnessed by Su Ang inside the carriage, finally allowing his tense nerves to relax a little.
Behind the glasses, a morbid, twisted, arrogant sneer crept onto his lips once again.