Free Web NovelChapter 1132: Chapter 459: Isn’t Using an Iron Hammer for Candied Chestnuts Reasonable? Junior Brother, You Need to Showcase Some High-End Dishes! [Monthly Ticket Request]
Afraid the chef at that restaurant would come at them with a cleaver.
"Teacher Xie, are we really going to post this video without cutting anything? Won’t we be offending people way too hard?"
Xie Baomin smiled:
"They charge over a hundred for a plate of Meatballs, and the quality isn’t even as good as cheap meatballs; they can rip consumers off without any scruples, so of course I can curse them out... If it was just lack of skill I’d let it go, but this is clearly an attitude problem. They need to be scolded awake."
Since he put it that way, Xiao Jia didn’t say anything more.
After finishing the edit, he logged into Xie Baomin’s account and selected upload.
The title was full-on provocative:
"Old-brand Huaiyang restaurant, you kidding me or what? A hundred-plus for a portion of Braised Meatballs, and it’s not even as good as the hotpot meatballs from the neighborhood supermarket!"
This was very much Old Xie’s style.
He had the background and the skills anyway; what he wanted most was for some executive chef or head chef from these places to be unable to swallow the insult and call him out by name.
If that really happened, he’d wake up laughing from his dreams.
He really, really wanted a friendly skills match with peers.
The chefs at the Fishing Platform were all too familiar, and he couldn’t bring himself to go hard on other acquaintances, so he could only pin his hopes on these restaurant-review trips.
Once the video was uploaded, he watched it once on his phone, and after confirming there were no issues, he turned to Dai Jianli, who had also just come back from a review, and said:
"In a blink it’s already past four in the afternoon. Come on, let’s go mooch dinner at my junior brother’s place. He’s taking wedding photos tomorrow, see if he needs our help with anything."
They couldn’t help with much else, but helping him get access to some scenic spots was no problem.
For example, the Royal garden at the Fishing Platform that’s great for photos, plus the Imperial Palace, Yanjing Hotel and a series of other spots dripping with imperial vibes—all perfect for wedding shoots.
The two drove to Yingchun Street.
They walked into the shop just in time for dinner.
Tonight’s staff meal at the shop was Pickled Pork, braised eggplant, Shrimp Sauce stir-fried water spinach, plus rice and Boiled Meatball Soup—just looking at it made you hungry.
"Hey, perfect timing!"
Acting like he was at home, Dai Jianli washed his hands at the kitchen door, then grabbed a bowl and started serving himself rice:
"I went to review a super internet-famous restaurant today, you even have to pay scalpers just to get in line. Inside it’s all done up super pretty, super classy. Then the dishes came out and you realize, it’s great for photos, but actually eating there? Forget it."
After that kind of torture, seeing tonight’s dishes at the shop made Old Dai instantly ravenous.
All three dishes, meat and veg alike, were perfect with rice.
After stepping on a landmine while reviewing, what you want most is exactly this kind of solid meal to really fill your stomach; otherwise you feel itchy and irritated all over the whole day.
When a top-level chef runs into a disaster of a dish, it’s genuine physical discomfort.
He picked up a piece of the braised pork, put it in his mouth, and exclaimed:
"The meat’s braised really well, full of flavor. A lot of people don’t even know the difference between Pickled Pork and Pickled Pork made as Braised Pork Belly. Actually, braised meat is Braised Pork Belly made with pickled greens, and the pressed pork is classic steamed pork—the difference is huge... Who made this? Little Wei?"
Wei Qian said:
"Not me, Zhu Yong did."
"Nice, nice. You’re not limiting yourself to just seafood anymore—keep it up, don’t get cocky."
Zhu Yong quickly answered:
"Yes, Head Chef Dai, I’ll keep working hard."
Right now he was very glad he’d left the Fishing Platform, not just because he’d found a violent girlfriend, but more importantly because he’d come to understand how diverse Chinese cuisine really is.
If he’d stayed in Building Fifteen, odds were he’d be cooking seafood dishes his whole life.
He would never have encountered the cooking philosophy and approach at Lin Ji’s Food, which draws on the strengths of all kinds of cuisines.
The shop’s dishes cover everything from east, west, north, and south; as long as it tastes good and sells, Lin Xu will put it on the menu right away, with zero concern for boundaries between cuisines.
Old Dai tasted all three dishes and sighed, "Why bother slaving away doing review trips? Might as well just come to Lin Ji to freeload dinner."
He looked at Xie Baomin and asked:
"How’d it go for you today, Old Xie? Find anything good?"
Xie Baomin picked up some tender water spinach with his chopsticks, dropped it into his bowl, shoveled it into his mouth with rice, and said while chewing:
"Don’t even mention it. I went to an old-brand Huaiyang place, and their Meatballs were so terrible it felt worse than pre-prepped food. They basically just used a meat grinder to churn out a pile of minced meat, then mixed in starch and turned it into meatballs."
"No way, that bad?"
Xie Baomin pulled out his phone, opened the video, and put it in front of Dai Jianli:
"See for yourself. After doing reviews this long, this really opened my eyes. You’re a Huaiyang restaurant selling Meatballs, and you make them this badly. No wonder Chinese cuisine is in decline—with teammates this pig-headed, how could things go well?"
Eating as he watched, Dai Jianli scrolled through with great interest.
When he finished, he glanced at the comments section and immediately grinned:
"Well now, this place is pretty bold—they actually came to your comments to challenge you."
Xie Baomin was just quietly talking with Lin Xu about which spots at the Fishing Platform had the best scenery. When he heard that, he was overjoyed:
"No way, I actually get something this good?"
Damn, he’d been waiting and waiting; was his wish finally coming true?
He put down his bowl and chopsticks, picked up his phone, and carefully read the top upvoted comment in the comment section:
"You nitpick everything like you’re looking for bones in an Egg—do you really think you’re the judge of the culinary world? If you’ve got the guts, go pick on your junior brother. The whole internet is hyping up how amazing Lin Xu’s cooking is, but his shop only serves home-style dishes, and all the recipes he posts online are just stuff you can make at home. Ask him to cook some high-end dishes like this; he might not even be as good as the place you’re trashing..."
As he read, the smile on Xie Baomin’s face slowly froze.
Lin Xu put down his chopsticks in surprise and asked curiously:
"What’s up?"
"This damn thing isn’t a challenge to me—it’s a challenge to you. Had me happy for nothing..."
Lin Xu took the phone, read through the comment and all the replies fanning the flames underneath, and looked puzzled:
"You’re the one nitpicking and looking for trouble. Why are they dragging me into it?"
Dai Jianli chuckled:
"They just wanted to argue back; they’re not actually stupid. With all the chefs in Beijing, go ask around—who dares to challenge Old Xie to a skills match?"
"Then why drag me into it?"
Lin Xu was speechless. If you can’t beat my senior, just admit it.
Dragging me in—have I been acting too easygoing these days or what?
Xie Baomin sighed regretfully and said to Lin Xu:
"But to be fair, junior brother, you really do cook too many home-style dishes. It gives people the impression you only know home cooking. And now you’re teaching people how to use an air fryer to make food—that makes you look even more like an amateur."
Oh really?
Lin Xu took a sip of soup from his bowl:
"So what do I do? Shoot a couple of high-end dishes?"
Xie Baomin slapped his thigh:
"Exactly. And not just shoot them—you need to explain the key points of the dishes too. Let viewers know how they should eat this kind of dish, how to taste it, how to judge it... What are you planning to make, junior brother?"
Lin Xu glanced at the comment again:
"Since this whole thing started because of Meatballs, I’ll do the signature Huaiyang dish—Braised Meatballs!"
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This Chapter is 5,300 words. End of the month, brothers, I’m begging for Monthly Tickets. Let’s set a small goal: if this month’s Monthly Tickets hit 4,000, I’ll pay back all the owed Chapters double. I mean it, no backsies!
