Bai Xiaoxiao could no longer be bothered about his earlier doubts on the shrimp as he directly reached for the meat with his chopsticks.
“The shell comes off so easily?” Bai Xiaoxiao looked at the meat that was still whole on his chopsticks in astonishment.
“You will be even more astonished after trying it,” said Wang Xiang.
Wang Xiang’s plate was already completely empty. He was staring at the remaining shrimps solemnly and it was unknown what he currently had in mind.
“Um,” Bai Xiaoxiao nodded and stuffed the meat into his mouth.
The moment the meat entered his mouth, he shut his eyes.
Mantis shrimps that had the shell removed in advance before being stir-fried should have lost some of their natural flavor. Many people ate seafood for the “sea” flavor, and that was also why the seafood of coastal cities would usually be cooked with comparatively simpler methods such as steaming.
Although Bai Xiaoxiao was not from a coastal city, as someone who specialized in the seafood business, he was also aware of that. Thus, when he found out the shell had been removed beforehand, he was slightly disappointed.
However, when he tasted the meat, it was extremely rich in flavor.
Bai Xiaoxiao slightly chewed on the meat, causing the copious amount of juice to burst out and flooded his mouth, filling his mouth with a delicious aroma.
The meat was tender, soft, and slightly chewy. When one chewed on it, juice would burst out the meat, creating an eruption of the “sea” flavor.
Generally, mantis shrimps would be cleaned to the point there was no fishy smell on it, yet every bite of this mantis shrimp gave one a feeling of standing right by the sea, as if one could smell the breeze of the ocean in the air.
It was a fresh and fishy smell, also an incomparably delicious taste. With one bite, it was obvious how fresh the mantis shrimp was.
“Hiss, it is slightly spicy as well.” Toward the end, Bai Xiaoxiao could feel a slight trace of spiciness spreading within his mouth.
The spiciness stimulated his tongue, making him to instinctively swallow. And just like that, he finished his mantis shrimp.
The lingering flavor in his mouth was so perfect he couldn’t help but to focus his gaze on the remaining shrimps on the table.
“The spiciness was hidden inside. How did he do that?” Bai Xiaoxiao wondered.
That’s right. The Bell Pepper Prawn made by Yuan Zhou was spicy yet the natural flavor of the mantis shrimp was not overshadowed at all. Instead, it helped showcase the flavor of the mantis shrimp, the flavor of the “sea”.
“This shrimp is not bad. I will start grading after trying more,” said Zhou Shijie seriously before gesturing at the assistant to serve him another shrimp.
“Yes, the chairman is right. We have to be prudent and try more. One more for me as well,” agreed Wang Xiang seriously as he pushed his plate forward, waiting to be served.
They couldn’t be blamed for being in such a rush. After all, Yuan Zhou had only prepared six mantis shrimps in total. In short, not all of them would get to eat two.
As Zhang Yan had some misgivings due to his identity, he did not have the chance to say more before Bai Xiaoxiao who did not share his misgivings spoke.
“Hold on. Chairman Zhou can try more, but I doubt Head Chef Wang needs to try anymore. After all, you already have a deep understanding on seafood,” said Bai Xiaoxiao. “I should be the one to try more instead since I don’t specialize in seafood and can only grade fairly after trying more.”
He could no longer be bothered about shame.
Bai Xiaoxiao might be shameless but Wang Xiang was not to be underestimated as well.
“Yes, it is exactly due to my deep understanding of seafood that I need to be more prudent. I have to be fair towards both parties,” said Wang Xiang. Before the assistant could walk away with the plate, he reached out toward the plate by himself.
“Hoho,” Bai Xiaoxiao glared at the shameless Wang Xiang before giving up and proceed to wait for the next dish instead.
There were too many people here. Bai Xiaoxiao did not mind being shameless in front of the people he knew, but in front of so many reporters, he decided to hold back. Of course, he had already set his sights on the next dish.
Meanwhile, Wang Xiang started eating as if there was nobody here. The attractive part of mantis shrimps were the fact that they were crispy, tender, and juicy at the same time.
And this dish prepared by Yuan Zhou also had the signature spiciness of Sichuan Cuisine without spoiling the original flavor of the shrimp. Wang Xiang couldn’t help but to think that this was how a Sichuan Cuisine seafood should be.
Due to his curiosity about Yuan Zhou’s shell removal method, Wang Xiang used one of his hands to eat as well, causing his fingers to be filled with the sauce. After finishing the shrimp, he stealthily licked his fingers clean.
As this was a match, he still had to watch his image. Bai Xiaoxiao was rendered speechless. There was no need to behave like this even if it was delicious, right?
“Cough, cough.” Zhang Yan coughed before speaking, “Since the tasting of Little Boss Yuan’s dish is over, time to taste Chef Li’s dish.”
“Yes,” Bai Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement.
“Please go ahead, assistants,” said Wang Xiang as he placed his hands down, his mouth still filled with the aroma of the mantis shrimp. He was already planning to visit Yuan Zhou’s restaurant in the future to eat this dish.
It was clear he wasn’t paying attention to Zhou Shijie and Zhang Yan when they spoke earlier. Yuan Zhou’s restaurant never had seafood on the menu.
Let us observe a moment of silence for Wang Xiang.
Zhou Shijie nodded in agreement. Next, the assistants served four glasses of green tea and napkins to the judges. After rinsing their mouths and wiping their hands, they were given new plates before Chef Li’s dish was served.
After serving the shrimps, the assistants each stood beside a judge and took out the tools prepared beforehand.
It was obvious these tools were for the sake of shell removal. Yet all four judges frowned when they saw this.
But since Chef Li was standing rather far away, he did not notice their frowns. He was still busy feeling proud of how considerate he was.
For him, this action was very considerate. It was very difficult to remove the shell of mantis shrimps. Thus, he prepared specialized tools and had the assistants helping with the shell removal. The judges only needed to eat.
Thus, by the time the four assistants left, only completely naked mantis shrimps were left in the plates of the judges.
“This…” Even Bai Xiaoxiao who was biased towards the seafood alliance was speechless.
After all, from the image of these mantis shrimps to the action of helping them remove the shell, he did not know how he should comment about it.
“Try the taste,” said Zhou Shijie.
They started eating after Zhou Shijie said that.
As the judges were seated at the center, both Yuan Zhou and Chef Li could only observe some of their expressions and would not be able to hear anything they said.
“Why are the complexion of the judges looking rather bad?” asked Ao Pi as he had a pair of sharp eyes.
“Probably because Yuan Zhou’s dish is not good?” answered Chef Li after giving it some thought.
“True. That kid did not prepare any shell removal tools in advance. Clearly, the judges weren’t able to eat any intact shrimp meat and were only able to taste the flavor of the shell. Yes, his dish is incomparable to yours,” said Ao Pi.
“You can’t say that. The judges still look rather satisfied earlier. I reckon the shell must have tasted pretty decent,” said Chef Li humbly even though he was feeling smug inwardly.
“Haha, definitely. I did not see any of the judges removing the shell earlier,” said Ao Pi with a satisfied smile.
Evidently, Wang Xiang’s act of shell removal with his hand and act of licking his fingers had been hidden very well.
Finally, the judges finished Chef Li’s dish, their plates empty.
Seeing that, Chef Li was relieved while a smile surfaced on his face. He sent Yuan Zhou a glance.
However, Yuan Zhou was completely focused on looking ahead, not even bothered to look at Chef Li with the corner of his eyes.
“What are you being so proud of? Look at my plates, and look at your plates. This first round is mine,” thought Chef Li inwardly while maintaining a humble and gentle expression.
That’s right. From Chef Li’s perspective, Yuan Zhou’s plates still had whole mantis shrimps on them after the judges were done while his plates were completely empty. It was obvious his dish was more loved.
Little did Chef Li knew that this was merely an act on the judges part. When they found how easily they could remove the shell, after they were done eating, they put the shell together again. Thus, when looked from afar, it looked like they hadn’t eaten anything at all.
Lee Yanyi had a similar habit as well. After eating chewing gum, he would fold the wrapping paper neatly and placed it back where it was.
And thus, Chef Li had the first of his three greatest misconceptions in life here: assuming his own victory.
Of course, many people would have way more than three misconceptions in the course of their life. Presently, because of this misconception, Chef Li was feeling extremely smug. Yet he forced himself to look calm, and would look at Yuan Zhou every now and then.
“Even if you admit defeat now, you won’t be able to keep your exemplary restaurant pennant anymore,” thought Chef Li proudly.
After being defeated so publicly, Yuan Zhou would probably be too embarrassed to keep the title of the exemplary restaurant.
Finally, Yuan Zhou noticed the gazes Chef Li was throwing his way frequently. Of course, Yuan Zhou still did not bother turning his head and merely glanced sideways at Chef Li.
“Why is that Chef Li looking at me repeatedly? And his gaze feels so familiar…”
Finally, Yuan Zhou recalled that it was the same gaze Broth would have whenever he was asking for food.
That was an enthusiastic and eager gaze. So was Chef Li trying to surrender?
Yes, both of them were thinking about the other party’s surrender.
…
