My Restaurant's Guests are All Abnormal

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Curry Pork Chop Rice

After another monotonous yet productive day, Chen Ze returned to his restaurant, weary but thrilled. Just watching Li Shufu’s awkwardness in class was enough to energize Chen Ze.

"I’m damn near chopping my hands off cutting vegetables." Chen Ze massaged his own hands. The culinary school he had enrolled in was quite unique – he used the vegetables he cut in the morning to cook his lunch and then he’d eat it himself, which was a form of self-sufficiency to some extent.

"Time to open for business... wait, let me check the recipe for thin-skinned buns first." Chen Ze pulled out his phone to search on Baidu, took a screenshot of the recipe, and saved it, before he proceeded to unlock the front door of the restaurant.

"Let’s see... what do I need for thin-skinned buns..." As he looked at the screenshot he had taken, Chen Ze searched through his kitchen, uncertain if he still had the required ingredients on hand.

Flour... Check. Lamb? Looks like I need to buy some more tomorrow, and the fat can come from lamb tails... I’ve got white pepper and cumin, too, so it seems I can start making this dish tomorrow." Chen Ze nodded in satisfaction and slipped the note listing the ingredients he needed into his jacket pocket.

Although he was planning to make thin-skinned buns tomorrow, Chen Ze did not intend to be idle today. He was going to make a dish that he had learned from a classmate at the culinary school.

"Lucky for me, I also like curry a lot, otherwise I might not have the ingredients ready." Chen Ze took out curry powder and onions from a kitchen cabinet, intending to make curry pork cutlet rice today.

"Manager~" Betty arrived right on time, Chen Ze had just opened up and wasn’t at it for long when he heard Betty’s voice.

"Yeah, Betty, good evening. You go ahead and clean the tables for now, I’m cooking," Chen Ze replied without turning around as he was slicing pork cutlets.

Curry pork cutlet rice was not unfamiliar to Chen Ze. Whether it was from the anime he watched in the past or the curry dishes he had tasted, curry pork cutlet rice was something he really enjoyed.

He hadn’t planned on making it, but coincidentally, a classmate at school knew how to prepare this dish. Chen Ze had swapped his own braised pork rice for his classmate’s curry pork cutlet rice at noon and learned how to make it from him.

The pork cutlets had to be quickly slashed several times without cutting through them completely. Chen Ze’s knife skills had improved lately. Although he was not yet at the level of a master chef, making normal home-cooked dishes was well within his capabilities.

After sprinkling some salt and black pepper, Chen Ze washed his hands again before using his hands to rub the pork cutlets with the seasoning evenly.

"Let’s marinate for a while," Chen Ze glanced at his phone and set an alarm for half an hour.

Chen Ze marinated an additional fifty pork cutlets, believing that curry pork cutlet rice would surely win over many diners, so it was good to prepare extra.

"Dear guests, welcome to Dream Restaurant!" Betty’s voice filled the restaurant. Chen Ze looked out to see a new customer.

"A succubus? The Imon Restaurant?" The person was clad in armor and held a large sword in their hand. Chen Ze noticed the gemstones on the hilt of the sword, large and numerous, making the sword seem more like a decorative piece.

"May I help you with something to eat?" Betty had heard the customer’s query but paid it no mind, as it was clear the patron was a human, and humans usually react with a bit of shock upon seeing her.

The swordsman took off his helmet, revealing a middle-aged face. He seemed to be expecting something, but neither Betty nor Chen Ze had any reaction.

"What do you have here?" the swordsman asked calmly as he sat down on a chair.

"Here’s the menu. If you’re not sure what to eat, you might want to try the Manager’s Special Recommendation," Betty expertly handed over the menu to the swordsman before her.

"Then let’s start with the Manager’s Special Recommendation," the swordsman flipped through the menu casually, not recognizing a single dish listed.

"Alright," Betty put down a pot of lemon water and also a hot towel, which Chen Ze had specifically instructed her to do just now.

Then she went to the kitchen to inform Chen Ze of the customer’s order. Chen Ze nodded his head, tied on his headband, and decided that today’s special would be curry pork cutlet rice.

"Flour... egg wash... breadcrumbs..." Chen Ze recited the sequence in his mind a few times, then dipped the seasoned pork cutlets in the mixture accordingly.

"Okay, time to fry them," Chen Ze placed the prepared pork cutlets into the hot oil, then turned to start making the curry base.

Following a classmate’s advice, Chen Ze cut carrots and potatoes into chunks, added onions, and tossed them into the pot. After stir-frying until they were sixty percent done, he poured in water.

"Should I add three curry cubes? That should be enough," Chen Ze recalled his classmate’s advice that for a thicker sauce, more curry cubes were preferred.

As the curry sauce began to simmer slowly, Chen Ze turned back to remove the fried pork cutlets and placed them on oil-absorbent paper, not wanting to turn off his customers with greasiness after just a few bites.

With the curry cubes dissolving into the water, a rich curry fragrance started wafting from the kitchen. Betty sniffed the air, a pleasant aroma, countless times better than the fruit pasta she had eaten before.

"Damn Manager, always picking on me. I’m going to have this for my staff meal today too," Betty rubbed her stomach, feeling hungry despite having eaten only a slice of white bread and a Chernow sausage the night before. frёewebnoѵēl.com

William couldn’t help but swallow his saliva as well; the scent was delightful. He had never encountered such an aroma, not even in the Royal Palace, where he had never eaten anything similar.

"Deep mastery in magic," William glanced at the floor beneath his feet, sensing a powerful Magic Circle there. It was also because of this sensation that he had refrained from taking immediate action.

Soon, Betty came out with a plate covered in yellow sauce, a glass filled with a white liquid, and what appeared to be a pastry.

"Please enjoy. This is today’s Manager’s Special Recommendation: curry pork cutlet rice, Paluda, and mango mousse," Betty laid down the three dishes, then headed back to the kitchen. She had just persuaded Chen Ze to make her a serving of the curry pork cutlet rice for her staff meal.

William swallowed hard, the food placed before him intensifying the mouthwatering aroma.

"Curry... pork cutlet rice?" William muttered the name he’d never heard before, then speared a piece of pork cutlet drenched in curry sauce with his fork.

With a single bite into the pork cutlet, William experienced an unprecedented sensation. Unlike anything he’d had in the Royal Palace, this dish was both unique and delicious.

William blinked, and in an instant, a piece of pork cutlet disappeared; he felt as though he had only taken one bite.

Fortunately, there was still plenty left in the bowl.