He took a bite. The taste lingered. Liang Yin followed Qin Zhou’s lead and soaked the pastry in the soup. She took a bite. It was indeed delicious. The other appetizer was Hungarian cheese, also very tasty. Just like that, she finished both appetizers in no time.
The waiter stood to one side. When he saw Qin Zhou raise his hand, he immediately came over and cleared away the plates. However, he was surprised to see that Liang Yin had eaten every last bit of the appetizers.
Qin Zhou glanced over and saw Liang Yin’s puzzled expression. He immediately explained, “Here, almost no one will clean out all their appetizers.”
“Er… because it’s delicious!”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s nothing. It’s just that most people have more picky taste buds. Besides, they’re afraid that if they were to eat too much before the main dish, they won’t be able to enjoy and finish the main course afterwards.”
“Wasn’t that the main course?”
“The main course hasn’t been served yet. Usually, they serve only one course at a time. They will clear the appetizers before serving the next course.”
“I see…” New knowledge. Liang Yin said with a grin, “It’s delicious. If you hadn’t given me this treat, I wouldn’t have known that there was such delicious western food around.”
“This Michelin restaurant is considerably original, and serves pretty good food.”
Qin Zhou was rather selective about his food. A restaurant that passed his taste test would most definitely be a decent one.
Immediately after, the waiter started serving up the main course. The soothing music in the restaurant gradually calmed Liang Yin’s nervous mood.
Parmesan cheese soufflé, Bayern poached eggs… It wasn’t until the Burgundy escargot was served that Liang Yin started to look distressed.
“This is…”
“Escargot, Burgundy escargot. It’s delicious.”
“They’re snails. Can they be eaten?”
“These snails are specially bred. The meat is fat and tender.”
Liang Yin looked at the escargots. An image appeared in her mind, of a rainy day and little snails with two antennae squirming along the wet ground, leaving their sticky trail behind.
It felt… impossible to eat. She hesitated. Qin Zhou knew she was afraid to eat it. Those who were not used to French food might be a little daunted by escargots.
“Actually, close your eyes and ignore what it’s made of. Try a bite.”
Perhaps it was because of his encouragement and Liang Yin didn’t want to disappoint him, she actually closed her eyes and bit down.
If she forced herself to forget that it was a “snail”, the fat and tender texture and sweet juice were indeed delicious. But when the image of the snail returned, it was really difficult to swallow the food. However, for the sake of giving face to Qin Zhou, Liang Yin ate the escargots. Except that she looked obviously conflicted as she tried to finish the course.
Qin Zhou could not suppress his laughter. After all, to her, there was essentially no difference between eating a snail and eating an earthworm.
“Is it good?”
“Not bad, but…”
“Put it aside if you’re not used to it.”
“It’s fine. It would be a waste not to eat it!” Liang Yin closed her eyes again and took a bite.
She had even eaten silkworms. Escargots were nothing! It was just a mouthful of protein!
After pushing the thought of snails out of her mind for the time being, Liang Yin no longer had any reservations. She finished the three escargots and wiped the corner of her lips with a napkin.
“Actually, once you can ignore the fact that these are snails, this dish is quite delicious!”
Qin Zhou grinned and held up the dry red wine. “Cheers!”
Liang Yin raised her goblet as well. The cups clinked. She took a sip of the champagne in her glass. It was sweet and fragrant, and she couldn’t detect any obvious taste of alcohol.
