novelraw Chapter 288 - 200 All Bought from the Food Court, Why Are Their Dishes Different from Ours?
Chapter 288 - 200 All Bought from the Food Court, Why Are Their Dishes Different from Ours?
Ever since she found out that the neighboring stall was run by the esteemed Chef Lin, Lisa’s eyes hadn’t left it, and she completely lost interest in Richard.
When she saw Chef Lin throw large batches of flour-coated chicken fillets into the oil for frying before making a phone call, she started gulping, knowing that there were definitely several pieces of chicken fillet for her in that pot.
The most surprising part was, she never thought her mommy worked at the same restaurant as Chef Lin!
Anyway, it’s not far, so she’ll come every weekend to visit mommy!
"Alright, let me take over."
Lin Chen quickly hung up the call, returned to the fryer, put on his gloves, and just as he did, the timer went ’beep beep beep.’
Skillfully, he scooped out the golden, crispy chicken fillets, placed them on a draining rack to let the oil drip, and swiftly grabbed a new batch to put into the pot.
The oil pot, which was supposed to be on medium-low heat for warming, was turned on high by him the entire time.
Raw chicken fillets lowered into the pot would cause the oil temperature to drop, and during the reheating process, the coating would gradually change from pale yellow to golden yellow. At this point, you’d scoop them out and lower a new batch, repeating the cycle with no worries of over-frying.
"Hey cutie, what flavor do you like?"
Dais, smiling sweetly, pointed to some sampler plates in front: "If you don’t like spicy, you can try these, there’s tomato, plum, cheese, cumin, and seaweed."
The customers at the front of the line, seeing Lisa, a pretty and cute little girl who looked like a Barbie doll, didn’t mind letting her cut in line, all waving her over.
"Come over and try, it’s okay."
"Don’t be scared, sweetheart~"
Being almost a middle school graduate, Lisa wasn’t that tall but wasn’t shy either, especially with her daddy and mommy present. She boldly stepped forward a couple of steps, sweetly thanking the uncles and aunties.
As she got closer, the aroma of the chicken strips on the tray at the stand became even stronger, especially the tomato and seaweed flavors.
The tray that should have been full now contained about only 1/5 of its capacity, and through the different colored powders, it was easy to tell which flavors were which. Only the spicy and hot flavors were placed separately on a tray on the side to avoid any mishaps.
Curious, Lisa picked up a toothpick and jabbed a small piece of tomato-flavored chicken fillet, almost devoured by the customers, showing it was evidently the best-flavored one.
"Crunch"
After a slight crunch, the meat inside was incredibly tender, complemented by the sweet and sour flavor of the tomato powder, making her eyes light up instantly.
It’s completely different from the imagined tomato flavor, also completely different from those tomato-flavored snacks like chips in the supermarket.
The tomato flavor in those supermarket snacks tastes very cheap, with an overwhelming artificial taste. But this chicken fillet’s seasoning powder was different; it was as if numerous tomatoes were juiced and concentrated, showcasing the sweet aroma of tomatoes to the fullest.
Most importantly, the sourness was well controlled, only mildly sour, with most being a salty-sweet taste, a flavor even a baby who couldn’t walk yet could accept.
After swallowing a small chicken fillet, she couldn’t control herself as her mouth flooded with saliva, and she quickly grabbed a piece coated with seaweed powder to try it out.
She’s eaten a lot of seaweed snacks and quite liked the taste, but seaweed-flavored seasoning powder on fried chicken fillets was something she had never heard of before.
As she brought it to her nose for a sniff, indeed she smelled a strong seaweed fragrance, its unique oceanic salty aroma matching the taste in her memory.
The chicken fillet entered her mouth, and before she had a chance to bite down, the moment her tongue touched the seaweed powder, it felt as if waves of the ocean came crashing down, immersing her entirely underwater.
This seaweed flavor was stronger than any she had tasted before, with just the right amount of saltiness; even eaten alone, they wouldn’t overwhelm with saltiness, focusing primarily on the seaweed’s essence.
Weirdly enough, it paired surprisingly well with the crispy and tender chicken.
Then she proceeded to try each of the remaining flavors, even the spicy and hot ones.
Despite her face turning red from the spiciness and sweating profusely, she couldn’t extinguish the sparkle of excitement in her eyes.
"Please give me one of each, thank you!"
With a burning sensation still lingering in her mouth and her lips trembling uncontrollably, she could clearly feel saliva continuously flowing down.
As for spicy, to her, it was indeed a bit spicy, but still bearably so. Rather, she found the tingling sensation on her tongue and lips more intriguing.
The taste seemed somewhat familiar, as if she had tasted it before in a lunch Richard brought, a flavor that was novel at first bite and soon became addictively interesting.
"Alright, it’ll be ready soon~"
Dais had already quickly bagged the chicken fillets while she was tasting, and after she ordered, Dais simply sprinkled some seasoning powder, and it was done.
Elsa was right beside her, making takoyaki, holding a plastic container with fresh octopus placed on semi-solid batter, creating a visually striking appearance.
The three rows of molds were in different stages.
One row was fully formed, with sizzling golden balls on the surface.
One row was the just placed octopus, a half-finished product.
The last row was just covered with batter, with no ingredients added yet.
If we really have to say, she was actually the busiest one, constantly having to watch over the progress of the takoyaki, unlike Lin Chen and Lucas, who could just wait quietly at some stages after the operation.
"How many takoyaki would you like? Freshly made, savory-sweet teriyaki sauce paired with big octopus, and chewy mochi cheese, it’s really delicious~"
Having finished packing the chicken fillets, Dais pointed at the gradually browning takoyaki in the mold and recommended it to Lisa with a smile.
Lisa stared intently at those rows of octopus balls, swallowed, and turned to look at her dad and mom, holding up five fingers.
"Five, please. One for me, two for daddy, and two for mommy! And five pieces of that Soka, too, thank you~"
"Alright, please wait a moment~"
Dais felt her heart melt, never expecting that Helena had secretly hidden such an adorable daughter!
She suddenly missed her three kids a bit.
Other people’s husbands knew to take their kids out to play or visit their partners; why didn’t her husband come?
What use is he!
Richard had originally decided not to pursue Lisa anymore, but when the girl appeared in front of him, he felt a restless urge inside, reluctant to give up the hard-won closeness.
He’s currently the boy in the class who’s closest to Lisa. With a little more effort, he could successfully confess, but he’s stuck at this crucial step.
The problem is, wanting to pursue Lisa means giving up some of Chef Lin’s delicious dishes. How is that any different from cutting a piece off his body!?
But now, the situation is different.
Just now, his mom told him that Lisa’s mom is a colleague working with Chef Lin.
Doesn’t that mean Lisa will come to Dieppe to visit her mom and eat some meals cooked by Chef Lin every week?
Coincidentally, his family also decided to come here every week to eat, so the timing matches perfectly!
Thinking about discussing and enjoying what delicious dishes he’ll get to eat over the weekend with Lisa in the future, then sneaking off to the seaside town that’s a holiday resort with her to have meals together.
This feeling more and more resembles a date legendary date!
"Hehe... hehe..."
Marian didn’t even have to ask; she knew from the foolish grin on her son’s face what he was thinking, shaking her head helplessly.
As long as Chef Lin is here, she definitely has to bring him along for meals every weekend. As for other things, let him go his own way.
He’s a big boy who’s going to be an adult in a few years; she can’t control too much.
The dining area is outside the food zone, set up on a vast clifftop lawn, with picnic tables and chairs stretching endlessly, largely filled with people already.
Many out-of-town tourists, attracted by the kite festival’s fame, had never heard of Lin Chen’s reputation or known there were two Michelin Chefs mixed inside.
After getting tired of watching performances outside, they casually found a nearby stall to buy some food to fill their stomachs, just like they usually would.
But soon enough, as diners buying chicken fillets exited the food zone one after another, these tourists began to sense something was off.
"Why does every table have fried chicken fillets? Are they really that good? How come I didn’t see them being sold just now?"
"Could it be one of those stalls with the longest lines?"
"Maybe it is, the lines are so long that by the time it’s your turn, you’d be starving."
"Look at that big ball in their box; it looks really good, with a lot of sauce. It should taste great. Wow, there’s actually a whole small octopus inside?!"
"What’s that cake the person beside them is eating? Could it be Soka? I feel like I’m smelling chickpea fragrance."
"Isn’t there no meat in Soka though?"
The number of curious tourists in the dining area grew, and they also noticed many people holding candied strawberries, crunching into them, with sugary bits threatening to drive them mad with craving.
There were also red bean-filled Taiyaki, potato croquettes full of meat filling, various fruits coated in white sugar, delicately made chocolate banana ice cream crêpes, and extremely well-stuffed meat sauce fries...
Compared to these foods, the plain hot dog in their hands suddenly lost its appeal.
Cam was wolfing down a big box of meat sauce fries with his good buddy, occasionally taking a big bite of the hot dog in his hand, with a satisfying smile on his face, thoroughly enjoying the sour pickles and yellow mustard inside.
While eating, a faint pleasant aroma reached his nose. Turning his head, he saw a couple with five kids, each carrying several bags, arriving at the empty table nearby.
While he was in a daze, his good buddy noticed this scene too.
When all the food was laid out on the table, the exquisitely enticing dishes appeared before the two, leaving them gaping in shock.
"Bro, are my eyes playing tricks? Why is the food they bought completely different from ours?"
"Did we hit a fake food stall?"