Chapter 69: I Give a Poor Rating to… Everything!
Translator: OnGoingWhy Editor: Vermillion
“Eh… How could he declare it in such a righteous manner even though he’s here to cause trouble? It truly fits Owner Bu’s personality.”
Xiao Xiaolong and the others were all dumbfounded. They clearly did not understand the reason for Bu Fang to find fault at the Immortal Phoenix Restaurant.
“Owner Bu… do you have a grudge against the Immortal Phoenix Restaurant?” Xiao Yanyu’s pleasant voice rang out as she softly asked. Evidently, it was not just Xiao Xiaolong, even someone as intelligent as her could not understand it.
Bu Fang looked toward Xiao Yanyu and his eyes met her bright eyes. “Do I need a reason to find fault with others? I came because I feel like doing it.”
“Fine… This reply is impeccable. It was a reply fitting for Owner Bu.” Xiao Yanyu thought.
Everyone stopped talking and quietly waited for the dishes to arrive. The general area was very noisy and various odors were drifting in the air. The aroma of poor quality wine and the strange smell of food mixed together and created an unbearable stench.
Even Xiao Xiaolong’s eyes were noticeably showing disdain. The Immortal Phoenix Restaurant might be well-known through the imperial city, but the hygiene within the general area was indeed terrible. The main reason was the high volume of customers, which made it difficult to upkeep the hygiene.
“Your dish is being served!” A voice rang out as a waiter with a white towel hanging on his shoulder carried a dish while slowly approaching.
“Guests, here is your dish, the Red Braised Lion’s Head!” The waiter was smiling as he placed a steaming Red Braised Lion’s Head on Bu Fang’s table.
The color of the Red Braised Lion’s Head dipped in red sauce was gorgeous. It exuded fragrance as steam rose from the dish and dispersed in front of their eyes.
“This Red Braised Lion’s Head looks pretty good!” Xiao Xiaolong nodded and said after glancing at the dish.
He picked up his chopsticks and aligned them by lightly tapping them against the table before picking up one of the Lion’s Head soaked in red sauce.
Bu Fang expressionlessly picked up his chopsticks as well. He picked up one of the Lion’s Head and moved it into his bowl. He first used his chopsticks to poke the Lion’s Head to feel its hardness, then moved it closer to his nose and sniffed.
One after another, Ouyang Xiaoyi and Xiao Yanyu took a bite of this Red Braised Lion’s Head as well. The taste was pretty good, since it was one of the top ten signature dishes of Immortal Phoenix Restaurant’s general area. Even though it could not be compared to Bu Fang’s dishes, it was still pretty good when compared to ordinary dishes.
Ouyang Xiaoyi’s pretty face became rosy as she satisfiedly finished her Lion’s Head within a few bites.
Xiao Xiaolong smacked his lips and drank a mouthful of water. He picked up another Lion’s Head and ate it. A plate of Red Braised Lion’s Head only had five meatballs and he ate two of them by himself.
“Owner Bu, you should try this as well. The taste of this Lion’s Head is quite good. The chef of Immortal Phoenix Restaurant still has some skills,” Xiao Xiaolong said to Bu Fang as he chewed the Lion’s Head.
Bu Fang did not reply as he took a small bite. As the sauce entered his mouth, there was a slight astringent taste. After chewing a few times, Bu Fang swallowed and expressionlessly placed his chopsticks down. He did not continue eating.
Bu Fang’s actions caused Xiao Yanyu and the others to give him strange looks.
“The sauce of this Red Braised Lion’s Head is too salty. Clearly, too much salt was added. Furthermore, the sugar within the sauce did not completely dissolve, so it was slightly astringent when I tasted it. Moreover, Lion’s Head, also known as Four Happiness Meatballs, is made by precisely kneading seventy percent of the lean meat and thirty percent of fatty meat into a meatball. In addition, the lean meat must be manually minced into fine bits and the fatty meat must not be too greasy. From the fact that the shredded meat are still sticking together, you can tell that the lean meat used in this dish was clearly not minced into fine bits. The fatty meat used is also too greasy, which affects the taste. I give a poor rating.”
Bu Fang lightly exhaled and simply said. As Xiao Xiaolong and the others speechlessly stared at him, he spoke a lot of words and criticized the dish of Red Braised Lion’s Head to the point where it sounded completely worthless.
Xiao Xiaolong was flabbergasted as his chopsticks fell from his hands and onto the table. After hearing Bu Fang’s assessment, the Lion’s Head did not seem as delicious when he took another look at it. He had no idea that the meatballs had that many flaws.
He originally still had some appetite, but now, his desire to continue eating disappeared. He spat out the half-eaten Lion’s Head back into his bowl.
“Owner Bu… He really is here to cause trouble. The general area’s signature dish was actually criticized to such a miserable state. However, with his culinary skills, the rating should be quite accurate,” Xiao Xiaolong thought.
The second dish, a plate of Steamed Fish, was served. A fresh aroma was continuously exuding from the fish, along with a warm steam.
The appearance of the Steamed Fish was extremely well preserved. There were a few cuts made on the body of the fish. As the flesh of the fish became cooked after steaming, these cuts would be forced open and reveal the tender flesh inside. A light colored fish soup was resting within the plate and surrounding the Steamed Fish.
This time, none of the others touched their chopsticks. They were staring at Bu Fang as they waited for him to give a rating first.
Bu Fang nodded and picked up his chopsticks. He first used his chopsticks to lightly press down on the gills of the fish. A slight rebound force came from his chopsticks, causing Bu Fang to nod. He thought, “It looks like the control over the heat when cooking this Steamed Fish was done pretty well.”
He dipped the tip of his chopsticks into the fish soup and placed it into his mouth. There was a faint trace of salty fishiness, but just this little bit of fishiness caused Bu Fang’s expression to instantly become unpleasant.
“Ptui!” Bu Fang lightly spat while facing away from the table, then drank a mouthful of water to wash away the fishiness in his mouth.
“Even the basic fishiness of the fish was not removed. There’s no point in trying, the flesh of the fish definitely contains fishiness.” Bu Fang’s expression was extremely unpleasant and his tone was even slightly cold as he gave his assessment.
Xiao Xiaolong and the others were surprised once more. Bu Fang had already judged the dish as a failure before he even tasted the fish… Xiao Xiaolong did not blindly believe him and used his chopsticks to put a piece of fish into his mouth.
The taste was actually still pretty good. The fishiness that Bu Fang mentioned was present but not that strong. Even though it was still there, it was still tolerable.
“Culinary is particular about rigorousness. Any oversight or mistake will affect the taste of the food! Fishiness should not be present in the first place. Since it’s present, then it’s a failure,” Bu Fang mercilessly criticized.
Xiao Xiaolong and the others nodded without fully understanding his words. A few moments later, the waiter was serving a few other dishes. However, when he saw the mostly intact dishes on the table, he was slightly startled.
Some of the dishes were almost untouched while some were only slightly disturbed. However, as a whole, the dishes on the customer’s table were only tasted once and left unfinished.
This was something completely unbelievable at the Immortal Phoenix Restaurant. The food cooked by the chefs of the restaurant had subdued the stomachs on innumerous people!
As the waiter was bringing out the last dish for Bu Fang’s table, he informed elder sister Chun about the weird situation at the table and she was startled as well. She had a doubtful expression as she carried the final dish to Bu Fang’s table.
When Elder sister Chun arrived at the table and saw the table filled with practically untouched dishes, her pupils slightly constricted as she asked, “Oh my, young master Xiao, why aren’t you eating? Are the dishes not to your liking?”
Bu Fang’s mood was currently not good. The fact that he was unable to taste a good dish was naturally affecting his mood as well.
Xiao Xiaolong helplessly pointed at Bu Fang and said, “This young master Bu said that your dishes were cooked… too poorly, that they’re completely inedible.”
“What? Young master Xiao must be joking. Everyone in the imperial city knows how well the dishes from Immortal Phoenix Restaurant tastes like. Even though this is the general area, even the dishes here are comparable to the signature dishes of other big restaurants!” Elder sister Chun chuckled and waved her hand.
Her gaze landed on Bu Fang and her expression became unpleasant.
Bu Fang ignored her and used his chopsticks to eat the final dish.
After having a single bite, Bu Fang put down his chopsticks. He shook his head and simply said, “For this Stir-Fried Shrimps with Bamboo Shoot, the bamboo shoots chosen are overripe, and some of them are too bitter and difficult to chew. There’s a difference in quality in the shrimps used as well. Some of them are live prawns while the others are dead prawns. The difference between the taste is too strong. I give a poor rating.”
After hearing Bu Fang’s assessment, elder sister Chun went into a daze. Then, she was so exasperated that her chest began to heave. She thought, “This zombie face is really here to cause trouble! He actually dares to criticize the signature dish of the general area as worthless! Who is he to evaluate us like this?!”
Elder sister Chun massaged her bulging chest and coldly glanced at Bu Fang, saying, “Looks like you’re a chef as well? Since you’re a chef, you should understand… Who are you to evaluate the dishes of Immortal Phoenix Restaurant!”
