Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 289 - 201: Such Ruthless Tactics at Such a Young Age!

They arrived fairly late, not really interested in the opening ceremony, and only joined the crowd after the girl group started dancing.

After watching for over half an hour, they felt incredibly hungry, so they headed to the food area to grab a bite. They quickly noticed that the line on the left seemed much shorter than the one on the right, so they happily queued there, only to discover that it was their favorite meat sauce fries.

Originally, both of them thought today was a day blessed by Lady Luck. While others were foolishly waiting in line and starving, the two of them were happily feasting.

But now it seems... were they the fools?

Obviously, these seemingly delicious and exquisite foods must be from the stalls with the longest lines.

Cam secretly slowed down his chewing pace, pretending to look around idly while sneaking peeks at other people’s tables.

It was fine until he really looked closely. Oh wow, those long, thin things that looked like fried chicken fillets came in seven different sprinkle colors!

Doesn’t that mean there are seven different chicken fillet flavors?

He thought back hard but couldn’t recall any place offering so many chicken fillet flavors.

At most, during marination, they might add some smoked paprika, garlic powder, or yogurt. After frying, they’re mostly dipped in ketchup or Thai sweet chili sauce.

The way they sprinkled seasoning powder on top instead of dipping or brushing on sauce was quite rare.

Next to it were fist-sized balls, with octopus tentacles clearly visible peeking out. Judging by the shape and distribution, it seemed like a whole octopus was used.

Then at the edge of the table, a few little ones were holding candied fruits, munching away. The juicy red strawberries made crunchy sounds as they chewed, with translucent candy shells shattering onto the table. It made him want to rush over, pick them up, and see what they tasted like.

"Hey!"

A buddy suddenly poked the back of his hand, "Look over there. Why do their meat sauce fries look different from ours?"

"What? Where... oh, shit, I see it!"

Next to those fish-shaped pies, there was a box filled with fries, almost overflowing like a volcano.

The color of the fries alone was different from the ones in front of him, looking like sweet potato fries. The meat sauce on top was more vibrant, and there was a noticeable yellow-white cheese sauce flowing down the fries.

If the meat sauce fries in front of him were worth eight euros, those would be valued at over twenty euros just by appearance!

Suddenly, he lost interest in the mediocre meat sauce fries in front of him.

The meat sauce was scarce, the cheese even less, and the fries were mostly over-fried, with a soggy, limp texture.

Richard was just about to shove a gigantic octopus ball into his mouth when he felt a gaze coming from the side, seemingly staring intently at him.

He turned his head in confusion, only to see the guy at the next table quickly turn away, taking a big bite of the hot dog in his hand while still stirring the fries in front of him with a fork.

Richard blinked and stuffed the octopus ball into his mouth, biting down. He savored the sensation of the octopus head bursting open with sauce in his mouth, sparking an idea.

Meat sauce fries?

Something occurred to him, and he pulled the box of meat sauce fries nearby closer, feeling the intense gaze from the next table again.

So that’s it!

He smirked slightly, showing a hint of mischief.

"Hey guys, you must try this octopus ball. It really has a whole octopus inside! The head’s full of juice and bursts open in your mouth—it’s incredible!"

"The sauces on top mixed together help cut the grease, with a sweet and sour tang that really whets your appetite."

While loudly describing the experience, he quickly stuffed the remaining octopus ball into his mouth and grabbed his fork to plunge into the pile of meat sauce and cheese sauce.

"Quick, Miss Marian, take a video while the cheese still pulls!"

He didn’t need to say it; Marian had already planned on capturing the moment. This was meat sauce cheese fries made by a Michelin three-star chef—it had to be special!

Richard vigorously twisted the fork left and right in the sea of meat sauce and cheese, then slowly lifted it.

Seven or eight sweet potato fries were lifted, along with cheese wrapped in burgundy meat sauce, gradually stretching.

It wasn’t just the pullable mozzarella; there was also orange cheddar and semi-melted cheese sauce, slowly dripping down.

The sticky cheese sauce formed long strings before breaking mid-air, leaving the pure white mozzarella still hanging on.

To foreigners, the word "cheese" naturally possesses immense allure, especially cheese in meat sauce fries. The wonderful flavor combining with tomato meat sauce is highly addictive after just one try.

These fries evidently perfectly combined both, generously topped. Even from a meter away, Cam could clearly see the dense, crumbled meat in the sauce.

"Gulp"

It wasn’t just him; his buddy opposite was also drooling at Richard’s enticing display.

So young, yet wielding such a tempting technique!

"So, shall we go?"

Cam couldn’t hold back any longer, giving a signal to his buddy, who nodded. They both stood up, grabbed the remaining box of meat sauce fries, ate most of the meat sauce and cheese, then threw it into the trash.

They ate the sausage and pickles from the half-eaten hot dog, leaving the remaining bun for the trash can.

"I’ve got to see how good Michelin Chef’s meat sauce fries taste!"

The two hurried back to the food area, finding it still packed with people, even more crowded than before.

This time the two of them wised up, first sneaking glances from the side to confirm the spot, then joined the line, not forgetting to ask the diners at the end of the line what they were lining up for.

"Over here? This is Chef Marchello’s stall, seems like they’re selling meat sauce fries, candied haws, and taiyaki. Next to it is the hotel’s restaurant with Chef Lin’s line. I’ve heard his skills are quite impressive, and further down is Sakura Chef’s stall, also Michelin level..."

After listening, the two found themselves in a dilemma again.

All three eateries seemed delicious, but unfortunately, there were only two of them, so they had to give up one because their stomach capacity was limited.

Unless the stalls stayed open until the evening, there might be a chance.

"Two Michelin chefs and a hotel chef, how to choose?"

"Why even think about it? It’s obviously got to be Michelin!"

"I agree."

The two quickly reached a consensus, standing one on each side, abandoning the line in the middle.

After they’d been in line for about ten minutes, reaching the middle section, the surrounding crowd suddenly erupted in cheers.

Cam was lining up at Sakura Chef’s stall on the right side, relatively close to the entrance, and could clearly see the commotion there.

A few girls already in casual wear with heavy makeup walked out of the crowd, their exquisite makeup and styling immediately making them stand out.

He recalled seeing their performance earlier and instantly recognized that this was one of the girl groups.

It’s said that the ones invited to perform here were quite famous groups from Kimchi Country with considerable international recognition.

Why would a girl group of that caliber personally come out to buy food?

Just as he wondered, a few beautiful girls came directly towards them, evidently targeting these three stalls.

"Great, we definitely chose right. Even celebrities come here to line up for food, the taste must be excellent!"

Recalling the dazzling assortment of food on the neighboring kid’s table just now, his mouth couldn’t help but start salivating uncontrollably.

Just as he swallowed, an incident occurred.

A man who looked like a manager rushed over and stopped the few girls, rattling off something non-stop, finally pointing towards the outside dining area, with a somewhat stern expression.

Helplessly, the girls turned around quietly, threaded through the crowd, and headed to the dining area to find a seat.

Soon after, he saw the manager take out his phone to make a call, while moving to stand at the back of the middle queue.

"?"

Cam’s expression changed slightly.

The middle?

Why choose the middle?

Isn’t the middle the hotel chef’s stall?

It’s not Michelin, shouldn’t the skills be considerably lesser?

Or was it purely because the middle stall sold something they wanted to eat, so they queued up in the middle?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, finally concluding that, otherwise, it made no sense!

Before he could settle down, the crowd outside cheered excitedly once again.

Another girl group broke through the crowd and entered the food area, and it was one that even he, who doesn’t follow K-pop much, could name.

"Ani, there are so many people in line. Which one should we queue up for?"

"What do you mean, which one? Of course we queue for all!"

Yuqi fully displayed her pure entertainer’s nature, scanning the nearby diners, quickly approaching a couple, and asked in fluent English.

"Excuse me, where did you queue for this chicken fillet?"

"Oh my god, Yuqi, it’s Yuqi! Yuqi talked to me!!"

The woman shouted excitedly, her face flushed red, pointing to the longest line in the middle, "That one, the middle one, the left one’s the Western chef, the right one’s the Japanese chef, but it seems like they’re mixed menu, there are three different dishes each."

Not only did she explain, but she even snatched the half-bitten taiyaki from her boyfriend’s mouth to show Yuqi, and handed over the bag she was holding.

"Ah~ I see, thanks, enjoy your meal!"

With the accurate info in hand, Yuqi decisively switched to line up in the middle, taking along Shuhua.

The remaining three members, including the manager, totaling four, could only choose another line.

Not only these three lines, they were also interested in the other stalls, dispatching two members to scout if they could grab some food to satisfy their hunger first.

Witnessing their actions, Cam felt his head swell, finding it hard to respond.

Why did both girl groups prioritize the middle line; what exactly was good about the food at the middle stall?

Surely it couldn’t be better than the dishes made by the Michelin chefs, right?