Gourmet Style Beast Taming - Chapter 262
Chapter 262: Feedback
Translator: 549690339
“Hello, here is your crab roe fried rice order.”
With a smile, Qin Lang handed a plate of crab roe fried rice to the customer at the front of the queue, a touch of nervousness and anticipation flitting across his face.
He didn’t immediately ask Dan Bao to prepare the order for the next customer, but patiently waited for this customer to finish eating before asking with a faint smile, “How does it taste?”
The reason he was so attentive was that this customer was the first one of the third evening service.
The dish this customer was tasting was the crab roe fried rice that Qin Lang had tweaked according to the advice of Ms. Ye Cangqing during his downtime.
Aside from himself, the customer before him was the very first taster.
Even though he had reached the level of Special Class 1 chef in his previous life, Qin Lang still maintained a humble and cautious attitude towards his own innovations.
The feedback from the customer at hand was, therefore, very important to him.
The customer with the crab roe fried rice was Ma Pai, an office worker with a keen interest in delicious food.
Having a strong interest in the Leaping Fish Banquet but being bound by work during the day, he could only keep updated about the banquet while at his workplace.
Such anticipation was like an itch in his heart that he could not scratch, distracting him so much that he was almost reprimanded by his boss.
So, the moment he got off work, Ma Pai rushed to the pier. After queuing for more than an hour, he was finally able to board the first boat for the third evening service.
It was not as though he had been idling all day. Even though he had never personally attended the Leaping Fish Banquet, Ma Pai already had a target dish in mind.
That was a dish called crab roe fried rice, cooked by a Spirit Chef named Qin Lang.
Thanks to the detailed article written by Jiang Qianyi about Qin Lang, who had been crowned first in the Youth Group, his popularity and discussion rate online skyrocketed within a day.
This surge in popularity experienced another surge when he remained in first place even after the second round, his score dangerously close to that of the champion in the All-age Group.
Such a dark horse who had shaken the foundation of the competition could not be foreign to Ma Pai.
Through discussions and reviews from customers who had tasted Qin Lang’s dishes, Ma Pai, who had yet to try any of them himself, could already imagine how delicious they would be.
Ma Pai loved eating crab, but unlike other crab lovers, he only loved crab roe and crab paste.
It was not that he didn’t enjoy crab meat, it was simply because he wasn’t well- versed in opening up a crab, which could be a bit of a hassle.
As a result, he was instantly interested in the dish, which combined crab roe, crab paste, and crab meat cooked together.
At this moment, he swallowed his saliva as he stared at the delicacy before him.
He had been waiting for this the entire day and he could finally taste it.
As for the unusual courtesy shown by Qin Lang at this moment, as a new customer, he didn’t notice it at all. He still assumed that the Spirit Chef was always this courteous, and didn’t think too much about it.
After greedily savoring the rich aroma of crab in the air, Ma Pai unhesitatingly brought the crab roe fried rice to his mouth.
He had a big mouth, and the exquisite little bowl was emptied in just one mouthful.
With every chew, his eyes bulged and an expression of joy and contentment spread across his face.
The delicious and strong flavor of the crab roe and crab paste filled his mouth the instant he tasted it, with the fine texture of the crab meat clearly identifiable but not a hint of it getting stuck in his teeth. With a tiny bit of force, it melted in his mouth.
As he continued to chew, the rice mixed perfectly with it all, and the astonishment he felt became increasingly profound.
What made Ma Pai even more excited was the spicy aroma that could be felt throughout the tasting process.
The spicy aroma blended perfectly with the fresh taste of crab, complementing each other without diluting any flavors. Instead, it intensified the taste, leaving his taste buds thoroughly satisfied.
Wait – spicy aroma?
A look of confusion came over Ma Pai’s face.
He had read quite a few reviews and descriptions about this crab roe fried rice dish. Although these reviews came from different perspectives, the content was pretty much the same.
He was certain that none of these write-ups mentioned any spicy aroma in the crab roe fried rice.
Such a distinct flavor and none of the reviewers had pointed it out?
That gave Ma Pai the feeling that he too could be a good food reviewer.
“How does it taste?”
Ma Pai was still considering this question when Qin Lang’s query caught his attention.
The taste?
Did that even need asking?
“I really like its taste!” Ma Pai responded without hesitation before straightening up slightly and adding, “I think the hint of spiciness is simply the icing on the cake!”
That was something the other food reviewers did not mention.
Nobody else mentioned it, and only he did.
The feeling of superiority made Ma Pai feel quite content.
A hint of relief flashed across Qin Lang’s face. He was about to explain how the crab roe fried rice was modified for the third evening service, but someone beat him to it.
“Is there something wrong with your taste buds?” Yan Chao, who was standing not far behind Ma Pai, couldn’t help but retort upon hearing Ma Pai’s evaluation.
No one else could claim he had tasted the crab roe fried rice as much as Yan Chao. He staked his reputation that there were not many people in the place who had tasted the dish as often as he had.
After all, even before the Leaping Fish Banquet had started, he had been trying the dish from Qin Lang’s stall for ten consecutive days!
So, Yan Chao was certain there was definitely no spicy aroma present in the crab roe fried rice. The fresh taste of the crab, in fact, came with a slight sweetness.
The guy who’d given the previous evaluation was simply talking nonsense!
As an old customer, Yan Chao had noticed something was off the moment Qin Lang handed the crab roe fried rice to Ma Pai.
His Boss Qin was usually not so considerate towards his customers. Seeing Qin Lang delay serving the other customers to wait for Ma Pai to taste the food, Yan Chao concluded that Boss Qin was giving Ma Pai special treatment.
Therefore, he wrongfully thought Ma Pai must be an influential foodie.
The evaluation Ma Pai gave, however, was completely unexpected.
“I’ve eaten crab roe fried rice so many times, and not once did I taste any spiciness.” Yan Chao tilted his head slightly, “Even before the Leaping Fish Banquet, I had already tasted Boss Qin’s cooking many times!”
The latter part of Yan Chao’s statement made his argument much more convincing.
The other customers who did not know the truth were now looking at the first reviewer, Ma Pai, in a strange way.
“Hmph! That must be because your taste buds are faulty,” Ma Pai shot back, straightening his back even more. “The spicy aroma is so obvious, how could you not taste it?”
“You…”
Ma Pai’s words, in Yan Chao’s opinion, were nothing but stubbornness. But before he could come up with a retort, Qin Lang stepped in.
“Um, both of you, please stop arguing.” Qin Lang wore an odd expression, having not expected such a controversy to arise.
“Boss Qin, you tell us! Who’s right?” Ma Pai couldn’t help but ask.
Yan Chao too, looked over.
The details of the dish were most familiar to Qin Lang, who thus had the most authority to judge.
“Actually…” With a helpless shrug, Qin Lang said, “Both of you are right.”
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