Free Web NovelChapter 506: Chapter 418: Forbidden Pineapple Pizza, Can’t Let Anyone See
Even though this place is a formal restaurant, because it’s a buffet, the drinks are also self-service.
If it were à la carte, you could pay two euros to get a large paper cup, drink as much as you want, entirely self-serve.
Sergy looked back over his shoulder, initially planning to eat with his girlfriend, but considering she was busy now, he decided not to disturb her.
So he ran to get himself half a cup of ice, filled his paper cup with cola, and smiling, he found a random seat outside, eagerly taking two pizza boxes out of the paper bag to open.
The freshly baked pizzas were steaming hot, with cheese on the surface still bubbling.
A rich aroma rushed out, completely devoid of the familiar tomato scent one might expect, instead carrying a strong beef aroma.
When he saw the head chef preparing them earlier, he was somewhat surprised that among these four pizza flavors, there wasn’t a trace of tomato. Could they taste good?
He himself had no concept of Great Xia food, simply trusting in Su’s choice.
He took a sip of cold cola to wet his throat, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the four flavors, unable to decide which one to try first.
"This yellow one should be a durian and pineapple combo, right?"
"That should be the sweet pizza, I’ll save it for later as a dessert, better start with the savory one!"
Without much hesitation, Sergy quickly came to a conclusion, resealing the box of fruit pizza for warmth, and stacking the beef pizza box on top, to use the heat from the beef pizza to further slow the cooling of the pizza below.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a slice with the most meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
The thickness of this Great Xia pizza was similar to a Napoli pizza, offering a noticeable chewiness and wheat aroma from the crust.
This thought just popped into his mind when he felt his tongue begin to tingle slightly, as if a spicy, numbing current was coursing from his tongue to the rest of his mouth.
"?!"
He paused for a moment, looking at the bite in his hand with surprise, never expecting it to taste like this.
The spiciness was bearable, but what was this numbing sensation?
The cheese on the pizza surface was ample, even pulling away in long strings revealed a thick layer of white cheese still clinging to the crust.
Underneath the cheese, on the surface of the crust, was a clearly visible layer of deep brown sauce.
It was likely this sauce that was responsible for the unique flavor.
Accustomed to the sweet and sour tomato sauce pizzas, experiencing such an unusual flavor made his curiosity grow, prompting him to take another big bite.
While chewing, he glanced around.
The three groups of customers who bought pizza before him had already finished most of their food, and their faces were filled with the same surprise and shock as his own.
What shocked him the most was that these diners were now holding the yellow fruit pizza!
The scenario he expected, where people would take a couple of bites and toss it, did not happen—instead, they were all smiling as if eating a normal pizza.
Especially those few women, they were smiling so happily!
Don’t they find it smelly?
This unusual situation piqued his curiosity even more.
Wasn’t pineapple pizza supposed to be terrible? Why were they so happy eating it?
Could they be from North America?
As he pondered this, the pizza in his hand had unknowingly reached its end.
Taking a bite, the salty and slightly sandy texture instantly replaced the previous spiciness, and the exquisite balance between the two flavors instantly drew back his attention. freёweɓnovel.com
"What is this stuff again??"
Sergy curiously licked the orange-red crust, and sure enough, there was that distinctly sandy texture again.
Though he didn’t know what sauce this was made from, its texture was truly unique—savory with a fresh taste, perfectly accompanying the pizza crust, like eating a slice of toast smeared with salty butter.
"This chicken has a nice taste too, it’s tender and juicy, perfectly seasoned, and combined with mushroom slices and vegetables, provides a good balance to the spiciness."
He had never had such a juicy pizza before, and even felt unsatisfied eating just one slice at a time, folding the remaining two pieces of salted egg yolk roast chicken pizza in half and taking large bites.
After eating three slices, Sergy picked up his cola and gulped down half a cup.
"Burp~~~~~~"
"Ha ah!"
"Ah, refreshing!!"
Looking at the remaining half pizza, he could see through the thick layer of cheese on top, hidden below were grains of beef.
If he remembered correctly, this half was supposed to be beef sauce?
Anyway, it was definitely not what he imagined, so Sergy didn’t hesitate at all, stacking all three slices of pizza together and pressing them down hard, forcing the cheese to ooze out from all sides, and then taking a big bite with his wide-open mouth.
The minced beef sauce had blended entirely with the cheese, and with the added thickness, a burst of hot liquid exploded in his mouth with every bite.
As expected.
The beef sauce wasn’t the Italian-style bolognese I imagined it to be. It lacked the smoky flavor of sausage, as well as the aromatic spices of chili powder and cumin. It seemed to be the pure essence of beef, with some seasoning added—probably soy sauce or something else.
The overall taste was also a blend of salty and sweet, roughly fifty-fifty, sweeter than the previous flavor, but with a rich, buttery beef aroma.
The addition of bell peppers perfectly balanced this greasiness. Paired with small wine-flavored sausages encased in the dough at the edges and baked to a brownish surface, one bite was pure enjoyment.
"Not bad, not bad, this flavor is really good too. Especially the sausage, it’s sweet, and surprisingly there’s a faint wine flavor. Interesting."
After two types of pizza, Sergy licked the wheat flour off the corners of his mouth, feeling a deceptively stimulated appetite.
He now even suspected that these Great Xia pizzas were deliberately made so small to leave people unsatisfied, sparking an urge to eat more.
Despite being a homebody who loves gaming, he hasn’t missed any trendy topics online. He’s quite aware of the small commercial tricks used by businesses.
Especially high-end hotels or Michelin restaurants are the masters of this art, giving you just a taste of each dish.
It may look exquisite, but in reality, you pay a lot only to end up hungry. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
In his opinion, it surely doesn’t match the cost-effectiveness of fast food—cheap, plentiful, and filling.
"Fortunately, these two pizzas aren’t expensive; they’re just at a normal price, considered cheap for a high-end hotel."
"But if the dishes are sold so cheap, can the staff’s wages and benefits be high?"
He scratched his head, unable to comprehend.
Could it be that Su went to learn the craft?
That doesn’t seem right either. If learning a craft, she should be applying for the kitchen, not as a server.
Could she be gaining experience in the service industry?
Puzzled, he decided to stop thinking about it and focused his attention on the still somewhat warm pizza box below.
"Fruit pizza... can it really taste good?"
Opening the box, Sergy gazed at the yellow pizza inside, exuding a sweet fruit aroma, and fell into silence.
He had previously heard that only people in the United States ate fruit pizza and hadn’t expected Great Xia People to enjoy it too.
If even people from a culinary giant choose to eat fruit pizza, does that mean it tastes pretty good?
He genuinely wanted to try it but feared that if word got out about him eating fruit pizza, he would totally lose face in front of acquaintances.
Feeling guilty, he looked around, knowing that meeting someone familiar here was unlikely, yet still couldn’t help but feel anxious.
After thinking it over, he set the empty pizza box on the right, standing the lid up, then turned the pizza box in front of him and stood its lid up too to block views from both sides.
Glancing left and right again, he suddenly noticed there were others like him, sneaking around eating with a guilty expression.
He had somehow missed noticing them before!
As he saw the person, they saw him too.
They both froze, awkwardly chuckled, and buried their heads again.
Everyone else is eating, so what’s wrong with me trying a few bites?
I don’t really like it, just curious about the taste!
It’s just a taste!
It’s no big deal~
After self-hypnotizing several times, he finally gathered the courage, initially reaching for a slice of pineapple-topped pizza with chicken.
It must also have a salty sweet taste, unlike the other half that looks purely sweet. He planned to start with this to get used to it.
If it wasn’t tasty, he wouldn’t need to eat the remaining half, just pack it up to take back for Su.
Staring deeply at the golden pineapple chunks, he realized that the roasted pineapple had completely changed texture, becoming slightly translucent, and its rich, refreshing sweet aroma continuously drifted into his nostrils.
Thinking carefully, grilled pineapple is indeed quite popular in the barbecue world, often made into pineapple salsa paired with pan-seared salmon or other meats in restaurants.
So, placing it on pizza and along with meat, the taste shouldn’t be too off, right?
After preparing himself mentally, he didn’t hesitate any longer, opened his mouth wide, aiming at the pointed tip of the pizza and taking a big bite.
"Pshhh"
The warm pineapple chunks burst with juice instantly, filling his mouth with sweet and sour flavor and fragrance.
The flavor of Orléans chicken marinade was immensely amplified, even more so than when it was on the previous pizza.
The roasted pineapple’s sweet aroma was stronger, highlighting the savory chicken flavor even more.
Plus, the marinade on this chicken also had a tinge of sweetness, complementing and blending with each other, making it taste completely harmonious in the mouth.
Honestly speaking, he had tried Hawaiian pizza before; he nearly threw up after just one bite.
He wasn’t sure if it was the problem with that store or the pizza, but the taste was very strange—pineapple chunks with sweet and sour tomato sauce, and smoky ham slices—ingredients clashing and hindering each other’s flavors.
But the pizza in his hand had none of those issues; it even made him want to have another taste.
