novelraw Chapter 284 196: Phones Eat First, Show Off and That's It
Chapter 284 196: Phones Eat First, Show Off and That's It
Each chicken fillet was originally as long as a finger, and after cutting, it was about the length of a thumb, just enough to taste.
Don't be fooled by the low unit price of his chicken fillet; in fact, the cost is even lower.
Frozen chicken breast sells for 4-5 euros per kilogram, but fresh chicken breast like his is much more expensive, averaging around 7-8 euros.
This is due to the rise in meat prices in recent years, which was nearly half cheaper a few years ago.
A single chicken breast weighs just over three hundred grams, which costs just over 2 euros, and when divided into three portions, the cost is about eighty cents per hundred grams.
A small portion costs just forty cents.
Something that costs forty cents is sold for five euros, making a twelve-fold profit. Why be stingy about giving out samples?
This isn't even the most profitable item at his stall. The most profitable is actually the Soka.
Chickpeas are a common ingredient abroad, and while they aren't as cheap as flour, their cost is almost negligible.
The most expensive beef was actually free, thanks to the half cow sent over by Chef Nagishiro Sho the day before yesterday.
Even after so many people had two dinners, they only managed to consume over twenty pounds of meat, including various internal organs and the cow's head, leaving a hefty amount of beef brisket, tenderloin, and some leg meat, with more than tens of pounds remaining.
So he thought of grinding them into mince, adding them into pancakes as beef and scallion filling, which would definitely be delicious.
When he was a child, his mom often made him scallion pancakes in the morning, which were made by adding a lot of fresh green onions into a batter of flour, egg, and water.
The process and recipe for Soka are almost identical to the egg and scallion pancakes he remembers, just a bit thicker. Adding some beef enhances the flavor, preventing every bite from being just pancake without any substantial taste.
As for the cost, it's probably just the price of some scallions, with the total cost per pancake being only a dime or two?
While Lin Chen was busy taking orders non-stop, the diners in line finally noticed Chef Marchello and Chef Nagishiro Sho.
Even though the three stalls didn't have signs, they had names.
For example, Lin Chen's stall was branded with the name of the Radison Hotel Restaurant.
Both Chef Marchello and Chef Nagishiro Sho naturally also had the names of their own restaurants displayed.
"Thick Gift Crab, God's Kiss? Could it be the Michelin restaurant in Paris??"
"That's Chef Marchello!!"
"Oh my god, no wonder he seems so familiar—it's him!"
"A Michelin Chef personally cooking food? This hotel organizer is impressive."
"Damn! This place is also comparable to a Michelin restaurant. My friend recommended it to me, but I've never had the time to visit!"
"What?! What's it called again? Let me search it… turns out it is! A Japanese creative restaurant comparable to one Michelin star!"
"Isn't this guy the head chef himself?"
"Look at his skin tone and facial features, he's obviously Asian, must be the head chef himself!"
"I'm going to faint!! I can't believe a simple kite festival could invite two Michelin chefs, so does that mean Chef Lin is also at Michelin level?"
The diners, recognizing the origins of the two stalls, surged forward and split from one line into three, surrounding the three stalls until they were impenetrable.
Upon seeing the food sold at the stalls, some diners made peculiar expressions.
"Is this… candied hawthorn?"
"Strange, isn't candied hawthorn food from Great Xia? I've had it in Paris."
"That fish-shaped thing is food from Sakura, a red bean cake, and it's quite delicious."
"I saw Sakura Chef making crêpes at the stall over there!"
"The food sold by these three is really strange, it feels like they're mixing sales?"
"I get it! Maybe this is a challenge deliberately made by the three chefs? Each making food from each other's country?"
"Seems like that's the idea, whatever, as long as it's delicious!"
"Could I please get two skewers of strawberries, one skewer of green grapes, and also two of these red bean fish cakes!"
Amidst the noisy shouting, Lin Chen slightly turned his head and finally saw the food that Chef Marchello had hesitated to reveal.
"It's actually… meat sauce fries?"
That's right, not a fancy snack, but even in this food festival, there were two or three other stalls selling meat sauce fries.
"No wonder I didn't smell anything earlier, turns out it was covered by similar aromas."
These are meat sauce fries made by a three-star Michelin chef, which couldn't even be compared with those from other stalls and might even directly affect their business.
Just judging from the appearance, it seemed like ordinary meat sauce fries with a layer of specially blended cheese sauce on top.
His nose twitched, even three meters away he could faintly smell the tomato aroma drifting through the air.
"Meat sauce made with tomatoes and beef? Looks like they've made changes to the seasoning, and the color of that cheese sauce is quite unusual, even a bit dark red, interesting."
On one side, they are making the most common meat sauce fries, and on the other, likewise the most common croquettes, but both have undergone creative modifications.
In contrast, his fried chicken fillet seemed plain and ordinary, with the only advantage being that these foreigners had never tasted this version before.
While he was preparing the second batch of chicken fillets, the first few customers in line had already tried all seven flavors, their faces full of excitement.
"Delicious, so delicious! I never thought that the weirdest sounding flavors, plum and tomato, could be so tasty!"
"The cheese powder flavor is also nice, with a strong cheese flavor, and this spicy one is amazing, my lips are still trembling."
"I've decided, I'm changing my two large portions to four small ones, with spicy, tomato, cheese, and cumin flavors."
"You can do that?? Genius, bro. I'll have four small portions too, please give me tomato, plum, cheese, and seaweed!"
"Sure, please wait a moment."
Beads of sweat appeared on Dais's smooth forehead, as she never expected these cunning customers would think of ordering four small portions, each with a different flavor.
As a result, her workload would double, but there was nothing she could do since it was a reasonable request.
Seeing her predicament, Lin Chen didn't say anything either. He silently picked up a small paper bag, stuffed the chicken fillet in, sprinkled a layer of seasoning powder, and continued stuffing before sprinkling another layer.
Observing his actions, Dais's eyes lit up, and she gave him a grateful look.
Initially, she thought each flavor had to be measured separately and then mixed with seasonings in the bowl before packing, but she realized you could do it this way!
If it's just filling the bag and seasoning directly inside, the workload would be greatly reduced.
With the chicken fillet in the oil still needing half a minute before being done, Lin Chen didn't stay idle; he helped with packing and portioning, putting half the amount of chicken fillets in each bag for Dais and Elsa to season.
The customer who first received four small bags of chicken fillets couldn't help but swallow again, lured by the enticing aroma of the seasoning powder.
Having lived a lifetime, he never thought fried chicken fillets could have so many flavors.
His first reaction wasn't to eat but to take photos and immediately send them to the group.
"Hey! Guys, look at this, fried chicken fillets made by a Michelin Chef!"
"See these four toppings on top? Guess what flavors they are?"
Someone quickly chimed in the group.
"Four kinds? Aren't the two red ones the same, just chili powder, right? Can't guess the white and brown-green ones, is it curry powder?"
"Fried chicken fillets by a Michelin Chef? Where is it? I haven't heard about it."
"How could they be the same, forget it, I know you can't guess. To be honest, even I didn't believe chicken fillets could have so many flavors before tasting them myself."
The man proudly took a close-up of each flavor of the chicken fillet.
"This one is spicy, do you know what 'numbing' is? It's a special spice from Great Xia, which gives a numbing sensation to your lips, tongue, and mouth after eating, super fascinating."
"This red one is tomato flavor, sweet and sour, way tastier than the chips seasoning sold in supermarkets."
"The white one is cheese powder, salty and sweet, really addictive, never tasted anything like it."
"The last one, which is sort of green, is cumin powder, I personally find it quite good, a bit of a Middle Eastern flavor."
"There are several other flavors I didn't pick, like the plum one, which tastes great, but a bit too sour for my liking."
The group fell silent for a few seconds, then several people sent a string of question marks.
"Tomato flavor??"
"Plum flavor???"
"The flavors sound odd, can they taste good?"
"Made by a Michelin Chef, it shouldn't taste bad, right?"
Seeing a series of question marks in the group, the man walked away with the chicken fillets, taking selfies and filming the bustling crowd behind him.
"Look at this crowd, now I'm going to line up at the God's Kiss Chef Marchello's stall, the chicken fillets will get cold, talk later~"
"What the heck!! What? The founder of God's Kiss, Chef Marchello, is over there with a stall too??"
"Hey, don't leave, you haven't told us the location yet!"
"How many days will they be there? Can I still make it if I go now?"
"Hey, where are you?? Little brother, hey! Come back!!!"
The man completely ignored the phone vibrating crazily in his pocket. At this moment, his attention was entirely captured by the four bags of chicken fillets in his hand.
As he held them, he could feel the heat constantly escaping, accompanied by the rich aroma of fried food and the sweet and sour fragrance of tomato powder.
Despite having four flavors, the tomato scent was the strongest, constantly breaking through the plastic bag's barrier straight into his nose.
Eagerly, he picked up a tiny bamboo skewer, pierced a chicken fillet covered in tomato-red powder, clearly feeling the crispness as the skewer broke through the fillet's crisp shell.
But when he put it into his mouth, there was none of the imagined crispness; instead, it was mainly tender, as if it were merely covered in a deceptive crispy shell. The coating was so thin it was almost nonexistent, biting into it was a mouthful of pure meat.
The tender chicken was full of savory juices, continually flowing as he chewed, paired with the incredibly appetizing tangy tomato powder, uncontrollably pulling his mouth corners upwards in a wide grin.