paranoianovel Chapter 499 - 411: Official Launch of the 411, Hidden Surprises
Chapter 499 - 411: Official Launch of the 411, Hidden Surprises
Zhao Shun mentioned several products that can be found in almost every bakery in the country; they are also flavors that every Great Xia person has grown up with.
Coincidentally, we’ve made starch sausages and pork floss before, so making bread with similar flavors is quite reasonable, and there’s no need to worry that customers won’t accept it.
Compared to snacks or main courses, foreign customers might even have a higher acceptance of bread.
He remembered there were several Chinese bakeries in Paris with booming business, selling these flavored breads, and most of those lining up every day were foreigners.
"Okay, let’s settle on this for now. After lunch, make a list and place the order this morning. If we’re quick, we can get the goods tonight."
They communicated in Great Xia Language, which sounded like a book of heaven to the others.
Raphael stared at Zhao Shun for a few moments, then turned his head: "Lucas, what are they talking about? They couldn’t be discussing tomorrow’s menu, could they?"
"What the heck?"
Lucas, who was secretly swallowing saliva, was startled when he heard this, "How did you know?"
"Ha!" Raphael tilted his chin smugly, "I’ve managed over a hundred people under me over time. I can still read some subtle expressions."
"So what are you making tomorrow?"
Marchello immediately showed interest, and Nagishiro Sho also cast a glance over.
Although they haven’t decided exactly when to go back, they definitely can’t stay too long, especially since Raphael’s situation is more urgent.
"They said they’re going to make bread."
"???
"First it was sandwiches, then pizza, and now they won’t even leave bread alone. Is there anything the Great Xia People can’t innovate on?"
"Chinese bread... aren’t there some bakeries in Paris selling this? I think I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never gone in to buy and try some."
With nothing better to do, Lucas took out his phone, searched for a few keywords, and handed it over.
"Look, check out what the bakery development in Great Xia is like now. They basically introduce new items every quarter at an astonishingly fast pace."
The phone screen was filled with dazzling pictures of all sorts of fancy breads, many of which even looked familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time.
From the overall shapes of various bread, down to the ingredients, cuts, packaging, and dusting, everything greatly differed from their concept of bread.
"Wait, is this... a bagel?"
"They’re actually stuffing sausages into bagels?? And sprinkling crushed chili??"
"And what else? Damn, why are there so many flavors for bagels!"
"This yellow one is... pumpkin paste? This purple one must be taro paste with pork floss, right, and is this red one red bean? What’s this green one, matcha? Pistachio?"
"There’s also coffee, chocolate, blueberry cheese, black pepper cheese ham, curry chicken, kimchi tuna, white peach oolong cheese, black sesame walnut..."
The more they scrolled down, the more shocked they became.
To think that the Great Xia People could come up with so many flavors for bagels made these Western chefs feel like useless amateurs.
And considering those few desserts they had yesterday, no wonder people said the first round was just basic; they weren’t bragging, it really was the basics of the basics.
With this in mind, Marchello immediately dismissed the idea of going back soon, deciding to stay here a little longer.
After all, when it comes to research and development, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in your own kitchen. You could rely on imagination to mix and match in your mind.
If it comes to actually doing it, you could spare some time to borrow a kitchen space, especially since he owns shares in this restaurant anyway.
Raphael opened his mouth, obviously thinking the same thing as Marchello, but the problem was his kitchen back there... he couldn’t not find time to go back.
Damn it!
Only Nagishiro Sho remained as calm as ever, even when he saw the variety of baking product photos displayed on Lucas’s phone. At most, there was a flash of surprise in his eyes, and that was it.
When it comes to making bread and desserts, the Sakura People are also among the industry leaders, producing an endless variety of exquisite little treats, even if perhaps not as diverse in flavors as their neighbors.
However, he had already broadened his horizons and opened his mind, so when he went back, he’d surely come up with countless new ideas; there was nothing to be shocked about.
As he spent more time with the two head chefs, he instead felt a sense of "it’s just so-so" from the bottom of his heart.
While it’s true that Great Xia’s cuisine is diverse and abundant, Sakura cuisine isn’t something to be underestimated either.
At least in his opinion, when it comes to making broth, the western recipes can’t compare with the savory taste of their Japanese broth.
Although Sakura cuisine may not have a variety of categories, it wins in precision. Sakura chefs are most skilled in perfecting one craft, day after day and year after year.
Their philosophy is all about repetition and persistence, and over time, all the details will slowly unfold before your eyes.
He isn’t too impressed with how the West maintains their recipes unchanged for decades or even centuries, hardly innovating.
Such chefs are either dull or lazy, and certainly can’t be considered chefs with a true passion for food.
As for the Michelin chef title, to be honest, he doesn’t particularly care for it.
It’s nice to have, but it’s not a big deal if not.
As long as the restaurant’s service and dish quality remain excellent and keep evolving, over time, his restaurant’s reputation won’t lose to those Michelin restaurants.
Jonathan didn’t know when he had joined in, eagerly staring at those uniquely presented pizzas, clearly wanting to taste them.
But even the head chefs hadn’t had much of a chance to eat, while three hungry customers were waiting over there, so he was too embarrassed to step forward and ask for a bite.
The third batch of pizza quickly came out, and this time, it was finally John’s turn to taste.
The three showed no sign of politeness at all. As soon as the pizza was cut and handed over, they grabbed it immediately, cleverly using a napkin in the palm of their hand to keep from burning themselves.
John and Magna were a bit better, having been eating Great Xia food frequently recently, their tastes had unconsciously started to change. The moment they had their first bite, smiles immediately spread across their faces.
Rovena, on the other hand, had never encountered durian before, only recognizing that this pizza emanated a peculiar odor when coming out of the oven.
But noticing that others ate it with no adverse reactions and even smiles, his curiosity was piqued.
Only after tasting it himself did he realize, it really was just the smell that was odd, and shockingly sweet upon eating, akin to eating a fruit-flavored cheesecake.
The nearby pineapple chicken pizza was also entirely different from Hawaiian pizza.
Hawaiian pizza merely places a few pineapple chunks on a ham pizza, with no real transformation underneath.
This pizza’s surface and edges were coated with a rich pineapple-flavored cheese sauce, plus the pineapple chunks’ natural sweet and sour fruit taste, making the whole pineapple flavor extremely intense.
Sweet and savory chicken chunks and juicy corn kernels balanced the flavors, avoiding the cloying effect of too much fruit-flavored pizza.
This combination of pineapple and chicken made him think of the pineapple beef burger, both essentially demonstrating the same stroke of genius.
"Hey, this pineapple pizza is way better than Hawaii. With this method, I wouldn’t think of it as a pizza at all, but more like a bread with fruit topping."
Although he isn’t Italian and doesn’t have such an obsession with pizza, having eaten it for years growing up, there’s still a fixed notion firmly lodged in his mind.
It’s not just tossing cheese and toppings on a dough that makes a pizza; only those fixed few can be called pizzas in his heart.
Lin Chen’s pizzas differ entirely from traditional pizzas in thickness, and, to him, don’t qualify as pizzas at all.
Since they’re not pizzas, the deep-rooted concept isn’t applicable, so purely judging by taste is his current mindset.
After sampling the sweet ones, he tried the savory ones, his eyes widening gradually as he stared at the sausage-crusted edge of the beef pizza, pointing at it with his finger, unable to conjure up any descriptors.
In the end, he could only give Lin Chen a thumbs up and continue shoveling mouthfuls in.
"Delicious, so delicious!"
"Even though it bears no resemblance to traditional pizza, it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s tasty!"
"This spicy-flavored pizza is so intriguing, a seasoning I’ve never tasted in my life, but what’s this crunchy circle besides it?"
"It’s salted duck egg yolk. Oh right, you weren’t here last night, how’s the taste? This type of egg is only found in Great Xia, other countries’ restaurants don’t serve it."
"That may not be the case."
Marchello closed his notebook, a slight smile on his lips, "You’ll definitely be able to taste them at my restaurant in the future. By then, all diners will know this salty duck egg comes from Great Xia; it might even become popular one day~"
"And century eggs," Nagishiro Sho added.
"Oh yes, that egg’s flavor was indeed good too, but why are the raw materials all duck eggs? No chicken eggs? Can other eggs be used?"
"I don’t know either," Lin Chen shrugged, "Let the question be left to you all for personal experimentations, who knows, it might unlock new ingredients."
Upon finishing the words, he checked ingredient stock levels again, nodding towards Su.
"Time to start accepting guests, currently only offering single-flavor and duo-combos. To boost serving efficiency, duo flavors will follow the combinations just tasted, sweet paired with sweet, savory paired with savory; don’t mix them up by mistake."
"Got it, Chef, I’ve noted it down."
Nodding while jotting down the lunch menu on the blackboard, Su followed Helena headed towards the restaurant entrance.
It’s her first time officially working with Helena, saying she isn’t nervous would be false.
Though it’s not yet opening hours on Helena’s side, there were guests who missed breakfast holding lunch tickets, initially received by her, so now she ought to take care of them.