Chapter 516: A Dish Everyone Overlooked
"Mr. Zhao, and the two chefs from Bright Court Pavilion, would you like to try some as well?"
Qi Han took out three portions of Crab Stuffed with Orange and warmly invited them.
After all, it was only proper to return the favor. He had just tasted their Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin, so naturally he should let them try his Crab Stuffed with Orange as well.
"Then I shall give it a try." Zhao Yangfan forced out a smile as he accepted the Crab Stuffed with Orange handed over by Qi Han.
But his mood was anything but pleasant.
Although he had long expected Bright Court Pavilion to likely lose the fruit round, Zhao Yangfan had still held onto a few lingering fantasies.
For example, perhaps their dish was not actually that far behind Han Shi's.
Perhaps Crab Stuffed with Orange required a very long cooking time, allowing the situation from the previous round to repeat itself.
Perhaps Qi Han had made a mistake and failed to prepare the dish properly.
Yet all of these "perhaps" completely shattered the moment Zhao Yangfan personally witnessed the judges' openly satisfied expressions after tasting the dish.
There was no luck involved this time.
The Bright Court Pavilion was going to lose this round.
Carefully examining the Crab Stuffed with Orange before him, even Zhao Yangfan had to admit that the landscape carving sculpted onto the orange was extraordinarily exquisite. Even within the imperial palace, one would struggle to find such vivid and lifelike craftsmanship.
Although appearance was not the most important aspect of a dish, a beautiful presentation naturally made people feel more favorably toward it.
Clearly, Crab Stuffed with Orange had achieved exactly that.
Scooping up a spoonful of Crab Stuffed with Orange and tasting it lightly, Zhao Yangfan could not help but sigh.
This Crab Stuffed with Orange truly was unbelievably delicious, it's perhaps even better than what Chef Song had described.
As the manager of Bright Court Pavilion, Zhao Yangfan might not understand cooking itself, but his appreciation for fine cuisine was absolutely beyond question.
It wasn't as though he had never tasted their own lotus-fragrant fruit-flavored fish before. The difference between the two dishes was indeed enormous.
Forget it.
They could only rely on the third round to recover the situation.
He still had great confidence in Chef Jin's Emerald Jade Dew.
At noon, Chef Jin had prepared the dish once already, and Zhao Yangfan had personally tasted it.
At the very least, Emerald Jade Dew was absolutely on the same level as this Crab Stuffed with Orange.
He simply did not believe that Qi Han could produce another vegetable dish comparable to Crab Stuffed with Orange in the third round.
Zhao Yangfan was feeling increasingly confident, yet he failed to notice that Chef Song's expression had suddenly changed slightly.
Chef Song suddenly remembered something.
There seemed to be one detail he had forgotten to tell Zhao Yangfan and the other two chefs.
Han Shi also had another dish that appeared to use fruit as part of its preparation.
That dish was called Ginkgo Biloba Dish.
As one of the three most expensive dishes in Han Shi, Chef Song had naturally paid attention to it. He had even carefully studied the dish's description.
Main ingredients: crystal sugar and ginkgo nuts.
On Earth, the ginkgo tree was known as a living fossil.
But on the Douluo Continent, no such plant existed.
Thus, in Chef Song's eyes, this ingredient was something completely unheard of.
Since the dish appeared to primarily feature a pine tree sculpture carved from crystal sugar, and because he did not understand the ingredient itself, Chef Song had subconsciously ignored the dish. When selecting the three dishes Han Shi was most likely to use in the culinary showdown, he had not considered it at all.
After tasting Han Shi's dishes, Chef Song had become extremely worried about the showdown, and the matter of Ginkgo Biloba Dish had naturally slipped completely from his mind.
But at this very moment, while eating the Crab Stuffed with Orange, he suddenly recalled the issue and realized a terrifying fact.
Chef Song truly had never heard of ginkgo nuts before.
But "apricot" was a kind of fruit, and this ingredient's name even contained the character for "fruit," so it was only natural to assume it was some kind of fruit as well.
And if it was a fruit, then this Ginkgo Biloba Dish could also qualify as a dish for the second round of the competition.
To a certain extent, a dish's price reflected its quality.
The Ginkgo Biloba Dish, priced at one hundred gold coins, was clearly of a higher level than the Crab Stuffed with Orange, which cost only forty gold coins.
In other words, if Qi Han truly wanted to win, he should not have brought out Crab Stuffed with Orange.
He should have used Ginkgo Biloba Dish instead.
Was he deliberately holding back?
No, impossible.
No one would intentionally go easy during a culinary showdown, especially not after already losing the first round.
Which meant the truth could only be…
Ginkgo nuts were not fruit.
They were vegetables!
Oh no!
Suddenly, the Crab Stuffed with Orange in Chef Song's mouth no longer tasted delicious at all.
It was over.
They were completely doomed.
…
"The flavor of this Crab Stuffed with Orange truly is unparalleled." Ye Ansheng reluctantly finished the last spoonful of Crab Stuffed with Orange. If he weren't concerned about maintaining proper decorum in front of so many people, he would have wanted to eat the orange peel as well. "I'm now even more looking forward to dining at Han Shi tonight."
"Brother Ansheng won't be disappointed." Wu Henian smiled mysteriously. "This Crab Stuffed with Orange is already extremely delicious, yet at Han Shi, it only sells for forty gold coins."
"Only?" Ye Ansheng widened his eyes. "Brother Henian, that's not very honest of you. As far as I know, even combined, Heavenly Star Palace and Bright Court Pavilion don't have a single dish priced at forty gold coins… Though I do admit this dish is absolutely worth the price."
"You don't know the full story, Brother Ansheng." Wu Henian shook his head. "The dishes at Han Shi are generally quite expensive, but from what I've seen so far, every one of them is worth its cost. Their prices range from as low as one silver coin to as high as one hundred gold coins—a huge difference. If we're being serious, the forty-gold-coin Crab Stuffed with Orange can probably only be considered mid-tier."
"This is only mid-tier?" Ye Ansheng clicked his tongue in amazement. "Since we have nothing better to do, why don't you tell me about the dishes at Han Shi that are even more expensive than Crab Stuffed with Orange?"
"Gladly." Wu Henian chuckled. "Han Shi has two fish dishes that are especially distinctive. One is called Squirrel-Shaped Mandarin Fish, shaped like a gold ingot with excellent presentation. The other is called Spicy Fish Head with Chopped Peppers, where the fish head is covered in pickled chili peppers and cooked, giving it a spicy and refreshing flavor."
"These two dishes are priced at fifty-two gold coins and sixty gold coins respectively."
"Fish dishes?" Ye Ansheng's eyes lit up. "Mingdu City is inland, so fish dishes are relatively uncommon. I just happen to love fish, so I'll definitely have to try them tonight."
"That's not all." Wu Henian smiled. "Han Shi also has a type of alcohol called Blazing Cup. Just one small barrel costs sixty-six gold coins. I didn't get to try it yesterday, so how about we go together today?"
"Alcohol that expensive?" Ye Ansheng bared his teeth slightly. "Then I absolutely have to try it."
"Besides that, there are also three dishes worth one hundred gold coins each." Wu Henian smiled faintly. "I suspect these three dishes are probably the finest cuisine Han Shi has to offer."
"So many?" Surprise appeared in Ye Ansheng's eyes. "What are these three dishes?"
"The first is called Dongpo Pork Knuckle, made using the front knuckle of a hundred-year spirit beast pig." Wu Henian smiled. "As for the second, it's called Ginkgo Bil…"
Seeing Wu Henian suddenly fall silent, Ye Ansheng asked curiously,
"Bil what?"
Wu Henian's expression turned strange. Instead of answering, he asked back,
"Brother Ansheng, you've traveled far and wide. Have you ever heard of ginkgo nuts?"
"No." Ye Ansheng shook his head. "It sounds like some kind of fruit. Could it be a silver-colored apricot?"
"Heh…" Wu Henian slowly exhaled, and a bright smile suddenly appeared on his face.
"Brother Ansheng."
"What is it, Brother Henian?"
"Nothing much. It's just that I suddenly feel that Han Shi has already won this culinary showdown."
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