The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

The two old men were chatting enthusiastically in the back.

With nothing better to do, Yu Han listened intently to the lively conversation.

When he heard that Qianlima had a chef named Fu who was highly skilled, he became interested as well.

It didn’t take long for a staff member with the menu to come and attend to Yu Han.

As he followed them to the ordering area, the two old men were also brought over by the staff.

Yu Han followed the staff, gazing at the various seafood in front of him.

The staff member eagerly handed over a menu: ”Sir, you can order from the menu. Our restaurant has a full range of seafood with a rich variety of flavors and cooking methods. If you have anything you want to eat, or any specific preference, I can also make some recommendations for you.”

Yu Han nodded and got straight to the point: ”I’m from out of town and just want to try your restaurant’s specialties. I checked online beforehand and have a general idea.”

So he came with a reputation in mind.

The staff member understood and emphasized several recently popular dishes while introducing the menu.

Yu Han looked through a few of the restaurant’s specialties, noting that the images matched the online reviews almost exactly.

He picked out the dishes that interested him, asking questions while placing his order.

”This spicy crayfish, I heard it’s a special recipe of your restaurant?”

The staff member quickly explained: ”Yes, this dish is very popular in our restaurant. The taste is fresh and spicy, nowhere else has it.”

Yu Han nodded with interest: ”Alright, let’s start with this one.”

He flipped through the menu again: ”Isn’t your restaurant mainly focused on seafood? How did this modified ’Big Harvest Hot Pot’ become a specialty?”

The staff member was articulate, having made the same recommendations to customers day after day.

When it comes to the dishes in the restaurant, besides the chefs, the staff knows them best.

Upon hearing the question, the staff member engaged in an eloquent explanation: ”This ’Big Harvest Hot Pot’ is an innovative and modified dish from our chefs. It is completely different from the original in terms of both cooking method and flavor. It is now a best-seller in our restaurant, very popular among customers.”

Yu Han looked at the creative presentation in the picture and decided: ”Add this one too.”

”Oh, by the way, I heard your barbecue is quite good too? Add a grilled eel.”

”I’m eating alone, three dishes are enough. As for the staple, a seafood porridge, I heard it’s also your specialty?”

The staff member readily agreed, preparing to place the order when the tall and short old men were also brought over by the staff to select seafood.

”This side is all seafood, you can choose according to your preference. Each type of seafood has various cooking methods and flavors...”

The staff member was equally enthusiastic, helping customers place their orders.

The short old man first looked at the various fresh seafood, then pointed at the eel, interrupting the staff member: ”Can you make wine-braised eel?”

The staff member was momentarily stunned, then nodded quickly: ”Yes! Wine-braised longfin is one of our classic dishes, very authentic.”

The short old man continued: ”Alright, one wine-braised longfin and another fresh mushroom squid egg... Oh, and crucian carp, let’s have the wine lees crucian carp too!”

Yu Han was taken aback.

These dish names don’t seem to be among the specialties recommended online.

But they do sound quite nice.

Thinking this, Yu Han gestured to his attending staff member, while he seriously listened to the two old men ordering.

The staff member placed the order one by one, then smiled: ”Sir, you’re an expert! You’re ordering all our classic specialty dishes.”

The short old man said: ”Ah, as you get older, you just want to eat something nostalgic. These are what were popular when we were young, and they taste especially good!”

”A fish, you must braise it in wine to get the flavor!”

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and asked: ”Oh, Dr. Xiao also recommended a nourishing seafood dish to me.”

He turned to ask the staff member: ”Can you make the ’Fortune Braised Eel Glue’ here?”

The staff member was puzzled.

’Fortune Braised Eel Glue’?

How come I haven’t heard of this dish?

The staff member didn’t answer immediately but quickly searched the ordering device.

Yu Han was quite interested and quietly asked his own staff member: ”So, does your restaurant not have this dish?”

The staff member was slightly puzzled. Being new this year, she wasn’t very familiar with dishes not frequently ordered by customers.

”I, I’ll check and see. This dish probably isn’t a recent best-seller in our restaurant.”

Yu Han raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze to the two old men beside him.

At this moment, the tall old man laughed suddenly: ”You’re still the one who knows how to order! You’re picking all their classic dishes.”

The short old man chuckled: ”I just happened to remember. Actually, I haven’t ordered these dishes in years. I used to come with family and eat what’s currently popular.”

The tall old man also felt somewhat nostalgic: ”In terms of being authentic and flavorful, no matter what, you still have to eat the old-style dishes. Those modified or innovative dishes are just a new spin on the old formula and actually spoil the classic flavors of the old dishes!”

The short old man nodded repeatedly: ”Exactly! Just as I thought of it today, we can savor it well.”

The tall old man quickly added: ”Then for the staple, let’s get millet crab.”

He said, looking at the staff member: ”This millet crab dish, can it still be made?”

The staff member was busy searching the ordering device and upon hearing this, looked up: ”Ah? Oh, I’ll check right away.”

The tall old man glanced over and said: ”No need to rush. If your restaurant’s chef hasn’t changed in recent years, then they should be able to make this dish.”

The staff member happened to locate the ’Fortune Braised Eel Glue’ dish, sighing in relief, and quickly asked: ”I found it. You also mentioned wanting to order millet crab, right?”

She quickly searched again.

And it went much smoother this time; the millet crab almost popped up immediately after typing ’millet’.

The staff member was delighted and quickly said: ”Found it! Do you need to order anything else?”

Logically, four dishes and one staple would be enough for two people.

Sure enough, the two old men nodded, expressing that these selections would be sufficient.

The staff member placed the order, while the two old men continued chatting with smiles.

The short old man looked at his old friend, smiling and said: ”Among us old guys, truthfully, you’re the one who knows how to eat! Had you not ordered that millet crab, I wouldn’t have even thought of it.”

The tall old man waved his hand: ”Ah, being young was better. Back then, you could eat whatever you wanted. So many delicacies from all over the country; you could taste them wherever you went. Not anymore. Now, with age, family is strict, can’t eat this, can’t eat that.”

The short old man immediately resonated, sighing: ”Isn’t that the truth! Fortunately, it’s just the two of us today, let’s have a good meal.”

Yu Han turned slightly, quietly asking the staff member next to him: ”The dishes they ordered, aren’t they missing from the menu?”

Speaking of their menu, the staff member hurriedly explained: ”Indeed, they’re not there. Our restaurant’s menu was just updated this year, adding some popular innovative dishes and removing some old-style dishes.”

No wonder.

But to be able to order dishes not even on the menu.

These two old men are not ordinary!

As for their identities, let’s not speculate for now.

But they are very familiar with Qianlima’s specialties.

Most likely longtime patrons of the restaurant.

Yu Han came to the restaurant this time intending to try their special secret dishes.

Most of what he ordered were those modified and innovative dishes.

But what the two old men said earlier, those dishes are about the classic original taste. The so-called modifications are simply finding new ways on the basis of classic flavors.

In the end, it never strays far from its origin.