Chapter 56: Yuan Zhou’s Tongue
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
It wasn’t difficult to find the restaurant. It was located in a bustling region near the highway and was decorated exquisitely and magnificently. The two waitresses at the entrance were also both pretty girls.
“Welcome. Table for how many?” One of the waitresses came up and greeted Yuan Zhou.
“Just for one. The main hall is all right.”
As a private room had to be charged separately, Yuan Zhou made the intelligent choice and chose the main hall instead. He merely wanted to try the taste of the wild abalones from this restaurant.
“All right. This way please.” The waitress politely showed Yuan Zhou to a table for two next to the window. Although there was a good view, nevertheless, it was rather noisy as well.
“Thank you.” After thanking her politely, Yuan Zhou picked up the menu on the table and prepared to order dishes.
“You’re welcome. There’ll be another waitress to take your order.” The receptionist kept smiling politely all along. The delicate and elegant decorations of the interior also gave off a comfortable atmosphere. Overall, Yuan Zhou was quite satisfied.
“Nice to meet you, sir. What would you like to eat today?” another waitress with a pleasant appearance came up to him and asked in a melodious voice.
“Abalone au jus on Rice and Steamed Fresh Abalones, one serving for each. That’s it,” Yuan Zhou ordered two abalone dishes and then gave the menu back to the young girl.
“All right, sir. The abalone you order is the Canadian wild abalones that came by air today. Since the amount you ordered has reached the quota, you can’t order any more abalone dishes for today.” the waitress clearly stated the origins of the abalone and the limit one could order.
“Understood.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head.
“Your dishes will be served shortly. Please wait for a moment.” The waitress left after that. Yuan Zhou then took out his phone and started playing a single-player game, Star Destroyer. He played while waiting for his dishes.
For such a large professional restaurant, they would have at least 20 chefs in the kitchen, each with their own specialized job. Even if the main hall was full of customers, the dishes would still be served very quickly.
“Sir, here are your dishes, Abalone au jus on Rice and Steamed Fresh Abalones.” the girl with a melodious voice said while leading a waiter over to Yuan Zhou’s table.
“Thank you.” Yuan Zhou set aside his phone so that the girl could easily place the dishes in front of him.
The speed was yet fairly good for the two dishes. After serving Yuan Zhou the dishes, the waitress and the waiter continued to wait upon other customers.
One waitress would usually wait on several tables, only then would the main hall be orderly.
The small purplish red earthenware pot contained approximately a bowls worth of rice. The rice was molded into an inverted bowl-shape mound and covered in brown shiny abalone juice. The boiled broccoli and Shanghai green also formed a beautiful pattern around the rice. The abalones, on the other hand, were thinly sliced and immersed in sauce with some diced carrots as the side.
The dish looked pretty good based on its color, fragrance, and taste. Nevertheless, Yuan Zhou stroked his chin doubtfully.
“Zi”
He pulled the other dish, Steamed Fresh Abalones, close to him.
As the most distinct characteristic of this dish was its fresh taste, it was steamed without any flavorings, with only a few chopped green onions on the surface.
After scrutinizing it by poking around with his chopsticks, Yuan Zhou discovered that the abalones were quite cleanly processed. It contained only a tinge of fishy smell, along with the breath of the sea breeze. These abalones were, without a doubt, fresh.
There were only 4 abalones in the plate, all of them were large. Large abalones were necessary for this dish, hence that wasn’t a problem either. The abalones were cut into a rhombus shape, allowing them to absorb the sauce easily. Furthermore, it also enhanced the food visuals.
“Ai...” Yuan Zhou heaved a sigh. Only then did he pick up his spoon and start eating the Abalone au jus on Rice.
Yuan Zhou usually had meals slowly, especially there were only a few dishes. In the end, he only ate one-third of the Abalone au jus on Rice and half of an abalone for the other dish.
Even if it was the steamed bun from last time which had no specialties except for its fresh ingredients, Yuan Zhou still ate it up.
But for the abalones that were way more expensive than the steamed buns, he nevertheless left almost all of them untouched.
Negative feedback.
Twenty minutes later, Yuan Zhou stood up and went to the front desk to pay the bill.
After 5 minutes, Yuan Zhou returned to the entrance. He looked at the exquisitely decorated sign and couldn’t help shaking his head.
These successive actions on his seemingly rigid face gave off a cool atmosphere. However, the impression didn’t even last for three minutes.
“Wait. I seem to have forgotten something?” Yuan Zhou suddenly stood still, muttering to himself.
“Your phone sucks. Speak louder, otherwise I won’t be able to hear you clearly.” At that moment, a passerby walked passed him while speaking on his phone.
“Oh, yes. My phone.” Yuan Zhou stroked his chin. Then he prepared to return to the restaurant to retrieve his newly-bought cellphone.
Although Yuan Zhou had left, his table had yet not to be cleared as the dishes on his table had barely been touched. This was an almost impossible occurrence in the restaurant. Apart from the scrumptious taste, no one in their right mind would waste the Steamed Fresh Abalones dish worth ￥1998. Furthermore, the cellphone of the customer was still lying on the table.
On the opposite of Yuan Zhou’s table was a family of three. They appeared to be of the middle class. The man was dressed in a formal suit while the woman carried an LV handbag on her shoulder. The little girl seated beside them was also dressed cutely.
On their table were abalone dishes ordered by the three people. The strange thing was, only the formally dressed man ate one of them, leaving the rest untouched. At that moment, the man called a waitress over. “Miss, please call your manager over.”
The waitress happened to be the one with a clear and melodious voice. She looked at the dishes on the table with puzzlement. After finding nothing wrong, she said, “Sir, if you have any problems, I can also be of assistance.”
“Yong girl, I’m afraid you can’t. I would rather directly talk to your manager on duty.” the formally dressed man said to the waitress gently while smiling at her.
“Junhua, forget about it, ok?” the pretty woman beside him said softly while patting the man’s arm.
“Don’t worry. Let me handle this issue. They are actually lying by doing such things.” the man insisted.
When she saw his husband insist like that, the pretty woman spoke no more. As the waitress beside them didn’t actually know what had happened, she continued to ask, “Sir, is the taste of our dishes not to your liking?”
“It is indeed some problem with the dishes, but it isn’t because of the taste. Go and let your manager come.” the man said in a firmer tone this time, with some discontent as well.
Realizing she would not be able to handle this, the waitress with the melodious voice could only reply, “Please wait a moment. I’ll go call our manager on duty over.”
Then she went immediately to the manager's office with a sense of unease.
Soon, the manager on duty came up towards them. She was approximately 30 years old, dressed in a black business suit with her hair tied in a bun and had a stern expression
When she approached the man, she asked softly with a gentle smile, “Sir, what can I do for you?”
“Manager,” The man saw the name Liu Na shown on her badge. “Manager Liu, I just want to ask, where are the abalones today from?”
“Sir, the abalones we provide today come from the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Canada. They are all top-grade wild abalones.” Manager Liu calmly explained in detail.
“Huh, really? It’s wild. Are you sure?” Looking at Liu Na sharply, the man questioned her.
“Yes, definitely from the wild. Please be at ease, sir.” Liu Na firmly responded
The two of them exchanged words, then they started arguing in low voices, neither one giving way to the other. It was then when Yuan Zhou returned and passed by them. Liu Na had been irritated by the man’s stubbornness, thus she said directly, “The abalones we provide today are definitely wild abalones from Canada.”
At that moment, Yuan Zhou happened to hear Liu Na’s word. He then whispered disapprovingly, “Tastes of sand. Obviously, they are cultivated.”
He that talks much errs much. This is an eternally immutable truth.