The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Everyone was taken aback by what they heard.

So when you eat roast duck here, the restaurant gives you an extra serving of red marinade?

Even Yin Dongchen noticed this detail for the first time.

Thinking back carefully, it seemed that whenever he came here to eat roast duck, there would always be a bowl of red marinade brought to the table.

A client sitting next to President Jiang, as if recalling something, turned and asked, ”Hey! Old Jiang, isn’t that right? How come I remember that when I usually eat roast duck, the restaurant doesn’t give me any red marinade?”

President Jiang chuckled at the words and said, ”That’s what I’m saying! Although we haven’t tasted the roast duck from this music restaurant yet, just looking at these details, it’s indeed quite authentic.”

”I’m telling you! You can mostly tell if the duck is well roasted by its appearance. But to know if the marinade tastes right, you just have to try it yourself.”

”For this kind of duck roasted in a bright furnace, water must be injected inside the duck cavity. Roasting on the outside while boiling inside, once the duck meat is cooked, the broth inside becomes fresh and savory. Then, while it’s still hot, you pour in the rice wine and honey marinade, add caramel, rice vinegar, sea salt...”

As he spoke, President Jiang looked at the young chef who was focusing on slicing the duck and continued saying, ”When you get down to it, adding a drop of soy sauce isn’t much of a skill; bringing out a genuine red broth marinade is what’s authentic!”

The others found it interesting and praised him, ”Old Jiang, you really have a knack for food appreciation!”

Someone else teased, ”Seriously, why don’t you consider changing careers? Like becoming a food vlogger or something? With your expertise, you’re sure to make it big!”

Everyone was amused and laughed.

President Jiang also chuckled, but then his attention was drawn to the skilled slicing technique of the young chef.

While working, the young chef appeared focused, and his hand movements with the knife were smooth and quick.

In the blink of an eye, a plate of duck breast skin was sliced and brought to the table.

This plate was for sampling and only had a few pieces.

Everyone at the table eagerly tasted it while it was still hot.

With one bite, it was crispy, aromatic, and delicious.

Indeed, the duck was well roasted, with duck fat that melted in the mouth, rich yet not greasy.

Just as the duck skin was finished, the duck meat was already sliced and brought to the table.

Before anyone could reach for their chopsticks, they noticed that every piece of duck meat in this dish had skin attached, was thin but unbroken, and uniform in size.

Upon tasting it directly, the meat was tender, with a rich flavor, fatty but not greasy.

Various condiments were available to suit personal taste preferences.

The music restaurant offered three main ways to enjoy it.

The first: use chopsticks to pick up a bit of sweet bean sauce, spread it on a lotus leaf pancake, place 5 slices of roast duck on it, add a few strips of green onion, cucumber, or radish, and wrap the lotus leaf pancake—this is the most common way to eat it.

The second: minced garlic with soy sauce, optionally paired with radish strips, etc. The garlic reduces greasiness, and when the roast duck is dipped in garlic and soy sauce, it adds a touch of spiciness amidst the savory flavor, making it more unique.

The third: some customers who don’t like onions or garlic prefer to dip the crispy duck skin in fine sugar to eat.

President Jiang picked the first way of eating and made himself a roast duck roll.

This method, paired with cucumber and green onion strips, is especially refreshing and cuts through the grease.

And when the duck meat slices were served, Fu Yu could gracefully bow out.

Yin Dongchen looked at the customers quietly tasting their food and asked, ”How is it? Does it taste alright?”

Everyone was full of praise.

”It’s great! Really great! This duck is delicious!”

”I’ve eaten roast duck at Quanjude before, and there’s really no difference with this!”

President Jiang nodded, ”It’s indeed well-made! Especially this chef’s slicing skills, amazing! Just the way the duck meat is sliced is incredible!”

The group chatted as they ate, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

At this moment, a server knocked on the door and brought in a serving of fresh duck soup to the table.

The main ingredient of this fresh duck soup was the leftover duck carcass, minus the duck tail.

In winter, cabbage and tofu are usually added, but in summer, it’s wax gourd slices.

The duck carcass from the roast duck is used to make a broth, which is already an excellent stock, boasting a fresh and slightly sweet flavor, with a unique character.

After drinking a bowl of this duck soup and finishing most of the duck meat, another server brought out the restaurant’s special millet porridge.

This millet porridge is specifically prepared to go with the roast duck.

It’s made with barley rice and red beans.

This millet porridge has an attractive color, is smooth and refreshing. After eating the roast duck, drinking a small bowl of this special millet porridge brings an indescribable sense of comfort.

President Jiang was thoroughly satisfied, turned to Yin Dongchen, and sincerely praised, ”President Yin, I’m really satisfied with this meal! If not for your introduction, I wouldn’t have known that the music restaurant’s roast duck is so authentic! Next time, I’ll definitely come again to taste it!”

Yin Dongchen couldn’t help but smile broadly, finally feeling at ease.

In the private room, the atmosphere was harmonious as everyone toasted to each other.

Fu Yu, under Yao Shi’s guidance, had just finished cooking two special dishes when he suddenly heard an electronic notification tone:

[Ding! NPC Boss Yao Shi’s task: Successfully complete an on-site roasted duck slicing and receive customer approval has been accomplished, earning a reward: the freedom to choose one of Yao Shi’s personal skills to learn]

Fu Yu raised an eyebrow.

Oh, it seems the customers at the previous table were satisfied.

With this, his task was considered fully completed.

He gets to freely choose one of Yao Shi’s personal skills to learn.

He had to carefully choose.

Fu Yu instinctively looked at Yao Shi, standing by his side, and saw a bright [!] above his head.

[A chef with 24 years of experience. Status: Striving for development, boldly moving forward, excellent culinary skills, favorability: 55]

It actually surpassed 50, allowing access to detailed attributes!

Fu Yu multitasked by stirring oil while checking Yao Shi’s attribute information.

[Name: Yao Shi]

[Profession: Chef]

[Level: lv45: 800/1000 (Senior Technician)]

[Professional Skills:

Chop: Advanced: 480/500

Fry: Advanced: 460/500

Sauté: Advanced: 470/500

Cook: Advanced: 490/500

...

This array of advanced skills dazzled Fu Yu, leaving him both hungry and envious.

No wonder Yao Shi is such an impressive chef!

Previously, he only knew Yao Shi’s skills were better than Zhao Meng’s.

Now, he could clearly see Yao Shi was four levels above Zhao Meng!

The level speaks for itself!

How could there not be a gap?

With so many advanced personal skills, he could choose freely to learn.

Fu Yu was simply overjoyed.

Among these, there are many culinary methods he commonly used, but their level was only at the beginner stage.

Choosing well would make it his soon-to-be acquired new skill.

In Fu Yu’s eyes, Yao Shi had become a walking skill library.

And now, the doors of the skill library were open, just waiting for him to choose freely.

The feeling was simply fantastic!

But there were a bit too many options.

If someone had some kind of choice paralysis, they would probably be going crazy by now.