Chapter 325: Li Li’s Counterattack
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
"What's the matter?" Wu Zhou and others beside him asked in unison.
"You'll know that after you eat it. Try." Yuan Zhou signaled them to eat first.
"That's right. You'll understand after you eat it." Wu Hai looked at them expectantly.
"Should I try first or you go first?" Wu Zhou looked toward Zhuang Xinmu and then said with an inquiring manner.
"You first." Zhuang Xinmu said directly.
"Thanks, honey." Wu Zhou snatched Zhuang Xinmu's hand up and said with a moved tone.
"What an unexpected method of showing off your intimacy," Zhao Yingjun suddenly said loudly.
"Not to me. Only you feel it to be unexpected. My wife is also very nice." Manager Shi indicated that he wasn't single and hence didn't mind it.
"Try now." He actually cared more about that and hence urged.
Actually, both Zhao Yingjun and Manager Shi had their own meatballs. But, they still wanted to watch Wu Zhou eat first.
It was also a fun to enjoy the delicacies.
"Alright." Wu Zhou picked up the meatball and stuffed it into his mouth without any hesitation.
When he picked it up, he found the layer wrapping the meatball was soft and it became softer after he stuffed it into the mouth.
"What a strange feeling!" Wu Zhou took a bite. A sweet and sour taste was emitted before the taste of the meatball arrived.
"Strange?" Manage Shi became even more curious.
In less than a minute, however, Wu Zhou let out a "hum" and then chewed it energetically. It seemed the meatball became more delicious.
"Looks nice. Let's have a taste, too." Manager Shi turned the head and said to Zhao Yingjun.
"Um. Let's try." Zhao Yingjun was also interested in that now.
The two of them seemed to be quite interested in this mechanism and hence started various experiments.
When they watched it carefully, they found several small doors were under the tall lotus-like plate with a thick base and concealed in the pillar, which made them difficult to be found.
The plate used to load the Swedish Meatballs was quite special, just like the copper hotpot stove in former times. At the upper part was a smooth disc. On the disc, the meatballs were place in a circle, the peacock tail was at the side and the mashed potatoes that made into the body and head of the peacock were in the central part.
At the lower part was a pillar-like thing that was connected to the plate below. The pillar was carved with beautiful decorative patterns. It was these patterns that concealed those small doors.
It was originally thought that the plate was specially used as a foil to emphasize the beauty of the peacock. After all, only such a tall plate could give people a feeling that the peacock was about to fly. However, it seemed to be designed like that for the sake of this mechanism now.
Manager Shi poked the place where the meatballs rolled out with the chopsticks mischievously and there came a sound of "Pa Pa".
"Can't it be poked open? It seems to be opened from the outside." Manager Shi muttered to himself and studied it with great interest.
After that, he used the chopsticks to push the exquisite small doors outward, but still nothing happened.
"So interesting!" After experimenting for quite a few times, Manager Shi found that the meatball wouldn't roll out unless someone pulled out the peacock tail first. Nor would the doors below open if people ate the meatballs first.
Such a mechanism was quite ingenious.
Manager Shi and Zhao Yingjun were enthusiastically studying the mechanism like the kids. The miraculous texture of the meatballs that fell down had immediately stimulated their enthusiasm on studying.
Wu Zhou, nevertheless, gave the last meatball to his girlfriend.
"Come on. Mu Mu, eat the meatball. It's super delicious and you would absolutely like it." Wu Zhou picked the meatball up and moved it to the mouth of Zhuang Xinmu.
"It's a guarantee that Boss Yuan's craftsmanship is fine. But a dish made from cream..." Zhuang Xinmu was a little hesitant in her heart.
She felt that the texture of the dish made from cream was odd. Even thinking of the smooth and greasy feeling as well as the sweet and salty taste made her unable to accept it.
"This is cooked by Boss Yuan." Wu Zhou said firmly.
"Yeah, you are right. Let me have a taste." On thinking about Yuan Zhou's culinary craftsmanship, Zhuang Xinmu swallowed it up in one gulp without any hesitation.
This meatball made by Yuan Zhou was a little bit larger than a girl's mouth. Therefore, the meatball directly filled her mouth after she ate it. With her cheeks bulging, she looked extraordinarily lovable. Even Wu Zhou couldn't help staring at his girlfriend and laughing foolishly.
Nonetheless, Zhuang Xinmu just felt astonished and then started to chew hard.
The more she chewed, the more fragrant it became. She was then immersed in the enjoyment of the delicacy. Suddenly, Zhuang Xinmu gave Wu Zhou a stern look, which made him puzzled while he was watching his girlfriend's manner of eating.
But Zhuang Xinmu felt that she was in the right. The meatball was so tasty, but there was only this single one left.
Yes, Zhuang Xinmu had gotten used to the taste and furthermore, liked it very much.
It had a rather alluring sweet and sour taste once it entered into her mouth. After biting it open, there was thick gravy. In an instant, the sweet and sour taste penetrated the meatball. When she bit the meatball open again, both the gravy and the scorched shell had a hint of sourness.
However, it was quite inconspicuous. This was because the outside sour and sweet taste had totally melted into this dish.
That way, it neutralized the thick texture of the meatball. The sour taste stimulated the deeper delicacy of the meat while the sweetness increased the layers of the taste, like the emperor and ministers that worked perfectly together for one common goal.
"It's soooo tasty. Look, there's none left now." Once she finished, Zhuang Xinmu said to Wu Zhou.
"See? I already told you that you would definitely like the taste. First sweet and sour and then the super delicious meatball." Wu Zhou first said complacently. When he saw she was still very angry, however, he immediately coaxed her.
"I haven't ordered mine just now. I'm going to order another serving for you. Ok?" Wu Zhou said smilingly.
"Humph. Just this once." Zhuang Xinmu first felt a heartache over the price and then she said firmly.
She comforted herself in the heart hard that just a single extravagance was not a problem. It was mainly because the meatball was quite satisfactory to her.
It was not only full of exotic flavor and texture, but was also too tasty for her to refuse it.
"Boss Yuan, one more serving, please. Could you tell us what it is now?" Wu Zhou was still very curious.
"Cranberry. It's the jam of cranberry." Manager Shi was fond of eating and having fun. After he finished the meal, he wiped his mouth and said elegantly.
"Jam?" Zhuang Xinmu indicated that she was so surprised.
"That's right. It's the jam. The indispensable thing to eat with the meatball is the cranberry jam. I was thinking just now why Boss Yuan hadn't served it. It turns out that it needed to be found by ourselves. A really interesting experience." Manager Shi looked at the empty plate in front of him contentedly.
"The meat unexpectedly could be eaten along with the jam. I reckon only Boss Yuan could make it." Zhuang Xinmu said with lingering fear.
What a joke! If the dish had been cooked by others and then they told her it was the meat matched with jam, she would never eat it. It was understandable to use the juice for seasoning. But what the hell was with the jam?
The exotic dish was really ingenious.
"You are right. The jam and meatballs are definitely a perfect match in Boss Yuan's hands." While eating the smashed potatoes, Wu Zhou sighed with emotion.
"As long as you like it." Yuan Zhou carried the meatballs to them and said solemnly after a nod.
Seeing them commend the plate designed by him, Yuan Zhou was quite happy in his heart but nevertheless stayed calm on the surface. Since he had been used to acting cool and aloof, he still kept indifferent.
So here was a question. If he could just serve a can of jam, why did he make it so complicated?
Of course, no one had realized the matter until then. After all, they were still immersed in the delight of the new dish.
At the other side, an important matter was determined by Li Li.
"I will cook the Swedish Meatball personally in the evening." Li Li turned the head and said to Liu Ruoyu beside him.
It was just a new dish. He'd rather fight against Yuan Zhou face to face. Even if his craftsmanship couldn't equal Yuan Zhou's, with the environment of his restaurant and service, not mentioning surpassing it, he could at least put up a decent fight!