“No name?”
“This…”
Wang Peng turned to look at Xue Zhebin and found that he looked just like the waitersmiling, but not saying anything. Wang Peng felt like he was being looked down upon. They were treating him like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
“That’s not right. How can this restaurant register without a name? Are you keeping the restaurant’s name a secret from customers as part of some kind of strategy?”
Wang Peng felt even more defeated. As one of the creators of Quanmin Reviews, he had gone to many restaurants and seen many unique ones, too.
However, this was his first time experiencing something as strange as this.
Normally, even low-key private kitchens would have names. Some would take their house number to be their names and come up with things like ‘Kitchen Number 45’ or ‘Restaurant Number 78’.
No matter how low-profile a restaurant tried to be, it had to have a name. Otherwise, nobody would know how to describe the restaurant they were eating at. That would be unnecessarily troublesome.
What’s more, not having a name would hinder the restaurant from becoming known and reputable. Unless the restaurant’s boss did not care about fame nor had extreme confidence in his own restaurant, he would not make this move.
Xue Zhebin saw the confusion in Wang Peng’s eyes and felt extremely content. A strange sense of superiority filled his heart.
“Stop thinking so much-just eat. The food’s getting cold,” rushed Xue Zhebin.
Wang Peng nodded. He would cast these questions aside for now. He whipped out his cell phone to take pictures.
The waiter was just about to tell Wang Peng not to, but Xue Zhebin spoke first. He pointed at the sign on the dining table and said, “You cannot take pictures.”
Wang Peng was confused. The private kitchen was not big, but there were so many rules!
Wang Peng had heard of restaurants not allowing pictures to be taken, but they were extremely rare. What’s more, most of them were overseas.
It felt almost inhumane for local restaurants not to allow their customers to take photos. It had almost become customary for people here to take photos of their food before eating. If they weren’t allowed to take photos, how could they show off to others?
They spent a ton of money on the food but were not allowed to take photos and show off to their friends. Wouldn’t that be as good as not coming here at all? Of course, they could not enforce a ‘no photographs’ rule. If a customer insisted on taking his cell phone out to snap a photograph, the waiter could not possibly destroy one’s phone. They could only remind one not to do so politely. If one insisted, there was nothing they could do.
Then again, it would already affect the customer’s dining experience to have a waiter walk up and remind them not to take photographs. Most waiters would not do something that stupid.
What’s more, if customers took more beautiful photographs of the delicious food, it might draw more people to the restaurant. It was akin to publicizing the restaurant for free. Why wouldn’t the restaurant want that?
Thus, from any angle, it seemed extremely outrageous that a restaurant would forbid customers from taking photographs.
Wang Peng was puzzled. “What’s the meaning of this? The food looks so good, but I’m not allowed to take photos? Isn’t that a waste?”
He looked at the food in front of him. Every single dish looked colorful and perfectly-presented. It physically hurt him not to be able to take photographs of them to show off to others.
The grin on Xue Zhebin spread even wider. Wang Peng’s confusion fed his sense of superiority. Thus, he decided to explain on the waiter’s behalf.
“This is the amazing thing about this restaurant. The restaurant’s boss thinks that taking photographs would distract one from the food’s taste.
“If you keep thinking about how to get the best angle and lighting, you would not be able to focus on enjoying the smells and tastes of the food in front of you. You would miss on out many details about the food. “Put your phone down. Only then would you be able to focus on talking to your friends and tasting the delicacies. You would enjoy a relaxing time over all.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I know you’re busy at work, but having a meal wouldn’t hinder your work too much. Keep your phone.”
Wang Peng still felt sorry, but Xue Zhebin had already spoken. He would be considered a wet blanket if he insisted on taking photographs of the food. Thus, Wang Peng kept his phone and dug in.
Tomahawk Steak, Matsutake, and caviar… these were not cheap. This meal alone cost over ten thousand yuan.
What’s more, Xue Zhebin had not ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu. His main intention was to check out if the dishes which needed to be pre-ordered would turn out to be a scam.
Wang Peng tried the dishes one by one, paying attention to the subtle flavors.
“Indeed, these are no ordinary dishes.”
As a manager of a consumer review site, Wang Peng had tasted many delicacies before. After all, this was all part of his job.
How a dish tasted depended on the ingredients used, the chef’s skills, the dining environment and atmosphere, and the diner’s mood. Among these, the most important was the ingredients used.
After trying each dish, Wang Peng could tell that the ingredients were high-quality and worth every cent.
Of course, these ingredients were not the best of the best. This was because many precious foreign ingredients were put up for auction in their place of origin. Only a limited number of such ingredients would be produced, and they could thus only be sent to a small number of surrounding areas. There was no way they could send such ingredients to China.
Still, it was obvious that this nameless restaurant was making use of the best kind of ingredients obtainable in China.
Xue Zhebin watched Wang Peng’s expression. “How’s the taste?”
As a rich second-generation heir, Xue Zhebin had eaten a lot of good food in his lifetime. He could distinguish good-quality food from bad-quality ones, but he was no professional. He was still a far cry from Wang Peng. Wang Peng nodded, satisfied. “Not bad. I think it’s even better than what we ate the last time.
“Take the caviar for example. Thirty percent of the caviar in the world is produced by our country. Of 26 three-Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, 21 of them serve premium caviar produced in China.
“Our country’s farmed caviar is easily comparable to wild caviar. I’ve been to restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai as well. The ingredients that they use are similar. Yet, for some reason, the caviar served here tastes even better.
“Could it be the psychological effect of the cutlery and dining environment here?”
Xue Zhebin thought about the change he noticed in the private room and said, “Speaking of which, they did newly decorate the private room. From the decorations to the dining table and cutlery, everything looks different compared to the last time I visited.”
He turned to face the waiter beside him. “Why did you change all of these things?”
The waiter smiled and answered, “Our boss thinks that the environment is a crucial aspect of one’s dining experience.
“In ancient times, when learned men drank wine, they used different cups for different wines. There were also many complicated and detailed procedures. These were not just customary. Instead, appropriate cups can bring out the special characteristics of different wines. They can also work to create special atmospheres.”
Wang Peng was speechless. He silently nodded and commented, “Particular.”
If he had heard this somewhere else, Wang Peng would have scoffed. He would also have thought this was fussy and meaningless.
Changing the decorations, dining table, and cutlery in the room based on dishes served would just be superficial at best. If the dishes themselves turned out to be badly done, all these things would be pointless.
However, what would come after having good-quality ingredients and excellent chefs?
They were using top-notch ingredients in this restaurant. The chefs who worked here were also the cream of the crop. Compared to other high-end restaurants, this one would not be inferior… but also not particularly superior.
Then, what would leave the deepest impression in the hearts of customers would be the minute details.
vere
Among these were the special dining environment, meticulous service, appropriate cutlery, and the like. What’s more, people were not allowed to take photographs in this restaurant. Everyone would focus on the food in front of them. Subconsciously, this would create the illusion that food here was more delicious than elsewhere.
This meant that even if two restaurants served identical dishes, customers would still have differing impressions of them both!
“How much does this meal cost?” Wang Peng asked.
Xue Zhebin smiled. “Thirteen thousand yuan.”
Wang Peng could not help but feel moved. “It’s quite worth it.”
Walking out of Ming Yun Private Kitchen, Wang Peng felt like he did not want the experience to end. Although he had been ‘stabbed’ by Xue Zhebin today and he had spent more than ten thousand yuan on a meal, he thought that it was all worth it.
If not for Xue Zhebin’s recommendation, Wang Peng would not have known that such a high-end restaurant existed in Jingzhou.
It was not just a question of delicious food.
The restaurant was hidden and low-profile. The place was decorated in a classy manner. The service was meticulous. In addition, they were not allowed to take photographs. Obviously, this place had what it took to be pretentious.
This restaurant was perfectly suited for hosting business meals.
It was expensive, but Wang Peng could look more stylish. What’s more, his business partners would get to enjoy good food and feel highly-regarded. It would all be worth it!
What’s more, Wang Peng had taken a look at the food’s prices on the receipt and found that they were within an acceptable range. High-class food was expensive to begin with. In addition to expenses for professional chefs, a good location, special dining tables and cutlery, and waiters… It was kind of them to set prices like these!
Wang Peng only felt sorry that he did not manage to get the contact details of the restaurant’s boss.
When he was settling the bill, the branch manager with a surname ‘Lin’ politely approached them, asking for feedback. He wanted to know whether there was anything he could improve on for the restaurant. Wang Peng took the chance to ask for the boss’ contact details, hoping to rope him in as a partner of Quanmin Reviews. However, Branch Manager Lin turned him down.
Strictly speaking, it was not Branch Manager Lin who turned him down. Branch Manager Lin had just turned down the request on behalf of the restaurant’s boss. He gave Wang Peng his own contact number, but not the boss’.
Branch Manager Lin also turned down the invitation to work with Quanmin Reviews on behalf of his boss. He did not even want to expose the name of the restaurant.
Wang Peng thought it inappropriate to push him. After all, from the restaurant’s location and advertising strategy, Wang Peng could tell that the boss behind the scenes was low-profile. It was fitting that he was not willing to share his contact details.
Thus, Wang Peng only took down Branch Manager Lin’s contact details. This way, he would be able to make reservations if he wanted to bring his business partners here in the future.
He was just sorry that he could not rope this restaurant in on behalf of Quanmin Reviews.
However… just because they were not partners, did it mean that Quanmin Reviews could not display this restaurant on its site?
Of course not.
Quanmin Reviews had an ‘add store’ function. Users were allowed to add information about stores they visited on their own.
Of course, they had to fill in the store’s name as well. He would need his employees to help him with this.
Wang Peng noted the location of the restaurant and then called his technical staff. “There is a high-end restaurant at this location. Update our website. I’ll personally write a review later on.
“There’s no name; just leave it blank.”
