Chapter 279 - 279 278 Unconventional Western Cuisine

Words : 1950 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

279: Chapter 278: Unconventional Western Cuisine 279: Chapter 278: Unconventional Western Cuisine Face-slapping in style! What’s face-slapping in style? Liu Hun had been waiting for these very words from Wang Dahai. He stood up and said to Wang Dahai, “Get ready, we’re cooking live. All the customers will be the judges.” Wang Dahai felt he couldn’t win against Liu Hun, but when it came to the art of cooking, he was convinced this was his chance to trample Liu Hun’s face thoroughly. He himself was an outstanding graduate of the New Eastern cooking school, so what was there to fear?! Soon, the spacious center of the Western restaurant was set up with ingredients and kitchenware. The customers all gathered around, stretching their necks like geese, as if the Western meal had turned into a lively open-air forum — everyone had both something to eat and a spectacle to watch! “Kid, this is you asking for a face slap, not my fault! How do you want to compete?” Wang Dahai asked Liu Hun, determined to leave Liu Hun’s face in the dust today. “You choose three dishes and I’ll cook the same ones, with the customers as judges. But the first dish must be Coquilles Saint-Jacques, because yours is simply too nasty. I must teach you on the spot,” Liu Hun told Wang Dahai. He didn’t even deign to look squarely at him, busying himself with ingredients, as if Wang Dahai was some kindergarten child, barely worth his attention! “Fine! The first dish will be Coquilles Saint-Jacques! We’ll see who’s swaggering then!” declared Wang Dahai as he started cooking. Was Liu Hun able to cook Western food? Clearly not, let alone cook — he hadn’t even seen it done before! But he had cooked homestyle food at home in the past, so he knew the steps of cooking. As for the scallops, he’d figure something out. Watching both parties get started, Bai Lingfei observed silently in her heart. First, she laid her eyes on Wang Dahai. She watched his method of preparing scallops: using a small knife to crack the shells open, slicing alongside the muscle and shell to remove the side, then discarding the shell and innards and rinsing with water. His technique for handling scallops was flawless, Bai Lingfei thought in her heart, hoping deep down for Wang Dahai to slip up. But from seasoning with salt and a fragrant splash of wine to the perfect blend of cheese and garlic paste, Wang Dahai did everything with finesse. No issues at all — she couldn’t understand how such standardized and proficient cooking could turn out so unpalatable. Turning her gaze to Liu Hun, she was in for a shock. From the method of preparing the scallops to adding seasonings and side ingredients, he was completely an outsider. Too much salt made the taste dry, not enough pepper couldn’t bring out the flavour, and worst of all... she didn’t know if Liu Hun intended to drown the scallops in fragrance, with the overbearing amount of it he was adding. “Oh my! I thought I had encountered some kind of cooking sage today! But look at that guy handle those scallops, he’s totally an amateur! What Wang Dahai made might taste bad, but at least it still looks like scallops. What this guy is making, God knows what that is!” “Tsck, tsck! He was just challenging Wang Dahai earlier. I bet he will be slapping his own face soon!” “I definitely won’t eat what he’s cooking! If you guys do, remember to tell me what kind of soul-destroying taste it is!” “...” The outcome was already clear! These four words crossed Bai Lingfei’s mind. She didn’t even need to listen to the surrounding chatter; she was hoping for Liu Hun to excel, but now, she was utterly disappointed. She didn’t know whether she would need to leave the restaurant with Liu Hun later or if they would be ridiculed. Both had finished their Coquilles Saint-Jacques at almost the same time, a dozen each, and twelve customers were selected for the judgment. Free food naturally attracted volunteers, and quickly twelve people came forward. Bai Lingfei hid to the side, not daring to face the outcome. “Please judge for yourselves, this is my, Wang Dahai, creation! Chef Wang’s masterpiece! The most authentic French dish, Coquilles Saint-Jacques! Bon appétit!” Wang Dahai said to the twelve customers, casting a disdainful glance at Liu Hun. Customers came forward one by one, each picking up a scallop and popping it into their mouths. As soon as they tasted it, someone commented, “Not bad... much better than the dish we ordered before.” “Hmm, it’s passable, probably deserves about seventy points.” “I think it’s okay, I’ve never been to France, so I don’t know what the authentic taste is.” All twelve customers felt Wang Dahai’s Coquilles Saint-Jacques were decent, certainly much better than the previous ones served at the table. They roughly gave a score of seventy out of a hundred. When it came time to taste Liu Hun’s scallops, the previously eager hands were nowhere to be seen... everyone seemed as if they were about to try poison, waiting for someone else to make the first move. Eventually, a still-hungry chubby kid stepped up and slowly reached out to grab one. He looked around, noticing almost everyone’s eyes were on him. He found it strange but didn’t think too much of it, and just opened his mouth to take a bite. “Mmm... Mmmmm!” After chewing twice, the kid’s eyes bulged, and he began to thrash around like someone was choking him, mumbling and hopping up and down in alarm. The people around were startled for a few seconds before someone suddenly shouted, “He’s... he’s been poisoned!” At that shout, several people rushed forward to restrain the chubby man; they pounded on his back and dug around before finally the little chubby guy “coughed!” and spat out the scallop in his mouth, then began gasping for air breathlessly. “Whoa! I’ve been a chef for so many years, seen it all, but I’ve never seen food nearly kill a person! Liu Hun, I’ve got to say, your cooking skills are high! Really high! All I want is money, but you, you’re taking lives!” Wang Dahai mocked Liu Hun endlessly, feeling so wonderfully smug inside. Bai Lingfei pressed her forehead and shook her head; she almost wanted to hide her face. Liu Hun had a smile on his face, not saying a word, just watching the little chubby guy and silently counting in his head, one... two... three! “What the hell are you doing! What are you people doing!” After the little chubby guy got his breath back, he started wailing at the people around him, his eyes like those of a wild beast robbed of its food. “How can you be so ungrateful? We were saving you!” The man who had rushed over first told the little chubby guy. The little chubby guy stared at the scallop on the floor, his eyes fiery, almost spitting flames, and said to the man, “You don’t know shit! This is a delicacy! A top-quality scallop! This is the best damn thing I’ve ever eaten in my life! I was savoring it! Relishing it! You damn fools, you went and dug it out of me! Regardless, I’m going to eat it again!” After the little chubby guy finished speaking, everyone around was so stunned they froze, “Delicacy!” “The best!” Could such words really be associated with the scallops made by Liu Hun? The little chubby guy didn’t care at all, moving like a human torpedo, he sprinted back to the dining table and woosh, he downed four scallops in seconds! A chubby man’s mouth is always the standard for certifying exquisite food, obviously, everyone around knew this, and they swarmed forward, devouring the food voraciously like they were eating the peaches of immortality, smacking their lips, howling with delight, praising, crying, and those who hadn’t gotten any started pulling on the little chubby guy, squabbling away. Wang Dahai was dumbfounded; those who weren’t chosen were dumbfounded, and Bai Lingfei, peeking through the fingers covering her eyes, looked on—dumbfounded! Liu Hun had hired some seriously professional actors! The praisers were one thing, but the middle-aged lady decked in gold and silver looked rich as could be; what hasn’t she eaten, to cry over a scallop? Bai Lingfei thought silently to herself, utterly refusing to believe a scallop could have that effect. Judging by Liu Hun’s techniques, it couldn’t be normal, let alone the current extravagance. “Perfect score! Perfect score! Perfect score! I’m putting my foot down! Anyone who doesn’t give a perfect score is going to have a problem with me! I have to be in the next round!” A sturdy man shouted excitedly all around him. Clearly, aside from those who didn’t get a taste, everyone gave perfect scores. Wang Dahai felt like his IQ had turned into an out-of-control elevator, plummeting from the sixtieth floor to the basement in seconds. He refused to believe Liu Hun could make a perfect-scorer scallop – he wouldn’t believe it even if it killed him! He deeply suspected there was a trick at play. “Good! Very good! Alright, Liu, this round you’ve just lucked out!” Wang Dahai pointed at Liu Hun with the spoon in his hand, inwardly thinking, “You sneaky bastard Liu Hun, how dare you hire actors on me! Just you wait!” Wang Dahai had just managed to steady his breathing when Liu Hun said, “This round we’ll make baked Camembert cheese, and I will choose the judges!” “Suit yourself!” Liu Hun replied to Wang Dahai very casually, his demeanor was that of a state banquet chef facing a street vendor cook. This time, Wang Dahai sneakily schemed a little, pulling in six casually dressed waiters from the restaurant to be judges, and even ostentatiously invited Bai Lingfei, to show he was giving Liu Hun an advantage. Bai Lingfei, unlike the first competition, didn’t even dare to look; this time, she was very proactive in stepping forward because she wanted to test and see whether Liu Hun truly had unique culinary skills or if he had indeed hired actors. If it turned out he had hired actors, her impression of Liu Hun would be completely ruined. This baked Camembert cheese was a very famous French dish; of course, Bai Lingfei also had her deep insights, so she chose to watch Wang Dahai cook first. Wang Dahai had been full of confidence when preparing the scallops, thinking Liu Hun was just a nobody with the fighting strength of five, so he hardly wanted to spare Liu Hun a second glance. However, after his recent defeat, he kept sneaking peeks at Liu Hun, and whenever he saw Liu Hun start to bake the whole cheese without any prep, he laughed. Sweet potatoes can be roasted like that, but cheese like this can only turn to charcoal! Bai Lingfei obviously saw Liu Hun’s amateur approach as well and nearly rolled her eyes and fainted. She was now seventy or eighty percent convinced that Liu Hun must have hired actors. The most exquisite part of making baked Camembert cheese is to add just a hint of lemon juice, which Bai Lingfei had only found out through much persistence and coaxing from a French chef. However, as expected, Wang Dahai hadn’t added anything; what shocked her jaw to drop was that Liu Hun did add something— and it was... erguotou (Chinese liquor)!

Chapter 279 - 279 278 Unconventional Western Cuisine

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