Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

"What is this? Is it a pie?"

"It looks a bit like a pie, but the shape is different."

"I think I’ve eaten something similar in a convenience store, curry beef stuffing, but that was puff pastry, seems like Indu’s food. This should be Great Xia’s, right?"

"You guys haven’t had baozi before? No way, aren’t they sold in many supermarkets? In the area specifically for frozen foods, you’ll find frozen dumplings, and food that looks similar to this right next to them."

"I’ve never seen them, which supermarket has them? There are only a few supermarkets around here."

"Just... uh, oh right, I forgot I’m here on vacation. Anyway, there are some in Paris, and there’s a store specialized in selling these, doing quite well."

"Boss, when can we eat?"

As soon as eating was mentioned, the diners’ enthusiasm for discussion suddenly dissipated. They eagerly stared at the stacks of steamers piled up like small mountains, and the neatly arranged white steamed buns inside.

Lin Chen glanced at his watch, "The restaurant opens at seven, so don’t worry, it’ll be quick. I’ll start steaming them soon to ensure they’re ready by seven."

"Besides baozi, we also have thin-skinned wontons and special hand-pressed lemon tea. Interested diners can register at the front desk, then come and place an order to get a ticket number, and find a seat."

"We’ll call out your number, you can pick it up yourself, or we can deliver it to the table."

"The restaurant inside sells a buffet, and our food truck is a la carte, so choose what to buy accordingly."

Diners registered by Helena at the front desk will wear a red paper wristband to differentiate if they’ve registered or not.

This technique was suggested by Lucas, saying it was inspired by Great Xia bathhouses.

It’s undeniably effective; just a glance can tell if a guest has registered, avoiding unnecessary hassle.

Most of these guests have been here once or twice, so they’re considered regulars, sharing a tacit understanding.

Good stuff shouldn’t go out!

"Let’s go register."

"Don’t bother the staff, register first then queue up to get your ticket number."

"This way is much more convenient, unlike last week where we had to queue ourselves and could barely move."

Registration doesn’t need to wait until seven, it can be done in advance, which also reduces some crowd.

As registration began here, guests from the hotel kept walking over.

This week, no extra notification was needed from the hotel; guests naturally and promptly came downstairs.

Within just ten minutes, the restaurant’s front desk registered over fifty diners, and the size of the queue hardly decreased; it even slightly increased.

Gradually, a rich flour aroma wafted from the steamers, and diners inhaled deeply, sighing with delight.

"Smells so good~"

"How can it smell this good? The baozi from the supermarket doesn’t have this aroma."

"It’s like the flour scent from a pizza place; just smelling it, you know it’s going to be delicious."

Not only the diners waiting for the restaurant to open, even many local residents attracted by the commotion had their appetites stirred by the aroma.

"Has anyone who’s eaten this baozi talked about what it actually tastes like?"

"You have to stay at a hotel just to eat this? That’s ridiculous; to spend a few euros on food, I don’t need to specifically book a room. Only a fool would do that."

"Isn’t that just a type of bread? What’s the difference from eating toast and meatballs?"

Most who came so early for the spectacle were older folks from nearby, who don’t often use the internet. They heard from others about the head chef’s skills, and came over because they were idle.

They didn’t expect there would be an admission requirement to eat at the restaurant, feeling a bit upset.

It was frustrating to only see but not eat.

Hearing a few complaints, hotel guests glanced at them. Seeing those without red bands, they realized the situation and stayed silent, patiently waiting for the baozi to come out.

As the minutes passed, the wheat aroma in the air intensified, with faint hints of meat and onion scents.

Lin Chen raised his wrist to check the time, seeing it was about right, nodded to Lucas, signaling him to start preparing the wonton base.

Lucas swiftly took a stack of takeaway boxes, arranged them on the counter, and added various seasonings to each.

Since the two stood inside the truck, higher than the tourists outside, no one could see what he put in the bowls, knowing only that there were many kinds.

Beside Lucas, Elsa carefully memorized his every step and the amount of each seasoning added, as she’ll be handling it later when Lucas works on his lemon tea.

That’s a physical task, not suitable for girls.

It’s not that they can’t do it, but not for long. Only boys’ strength can last for pounding hundreds of cups.

Hands together, Lucas scooped up a bunch of small wontons, and tossed them into boiling water, without worrying about quantity. There’s a way when dishing them out.

"Once the wontons float up, you can ladle the soup, with one and a half spoonfuls to dissolve the seasonings, then scoop the small wontons in till the bowl’s about eighty percent full, around this groove edge."

"After that, ladle some pickled veggies over it."

Having only made it once before, Lucas assumed a strict teacher’s posture, carefully instructing each step several times, watching her prepare a few bowls of base ingredients, before confidently turning aside to start pounding lemon wedges.

"Dong, dong, dong—"

The sound of a plastic stick hitting ice and lemon slices continuously piqued the curiosity of the diners.

It didn’t look like a drink was being made, but rather like someone was venting some emotions.

"The lemon slices are cut so big??"

"Wow, and they’re being pounded for juice, wouldn’t that be very bitter?"

"What variety of lemon is this? The color is so pale, I don’t think I’ve seen it in supermarkets."

"That jelly! I tried it last week; it’s made by rubbing seeds from natural plants in cheesecloth, and it tastes quite good."

"Yes, yes, I’ve tried it too, mixed with a variety of fruits, right? And brown sugar syrup."

Originally worried that the lemon tea would be too bitter, some of the diners relaxed when they saw ice jelly being added to the cups.

As long as the sweetness is enough, it can dilute the bitterness of the lemon peel.

Besides, the bitterness of lemon peel requires time to slowly infuse. At worst, they just need to drink it quickly; it’s not a big problem.

"Are customers numbered 1 to 5 here?"

Dais glanced at her watch and raised a megaphone to shout loudly.

As soon as she finished speaking, five arms were raised in unison in the crowd, whether nearby or already seated, all with excited faces gathering around again.

"Here, here!"

"Coming, coming!"

The other diners also conscientiously made way for them, as it’s a numbered system; only when others’ food is served will it be their turn, so there’s no need to make things difficult for themselves.

Besides, they could take a close look at what others receive, getting a better idea for themselves.

"Customer 1, lemon tea one cup, four beef buns, one bowl of small wontons without chili!"

"Customer 2, five beef buns, one bowl of small wontons, mildly spicy."

"Customer 3..."

As Dais called out the orders, Lin Chen finally lifted the long-sealed steamer lid, allowing billowing steam to rise and drift out the window.

A much richer aroma of flour than before enveloped the crowd.

For a moment, almost all the diners couldn’t help but swallow secretly.

Each of the three noted their serving quantities and delivered the food individually, with Dais placing it on plates to hand over to the customers.

Lin Chen deftly picked different quantities of buns from the steamer onto five plates, removed the empty steamer, and continued making buns.

On the surface, his serving process appeared the simplest, merely plucking them out, but in reality, he was under the most pressure.

It only took ten-odd seconds to dish out five plates of buns, but making two or three steamer’s worth took several minutes.

If they hadn’t started preparing more than an hour in advance, they would likely not be able to keep up with the orders after the first few numbers.

The five waiting diners could hardly wait and, without Dais lifting a finger, took their fill of steaming buns directly from the food truck window according to their orders.

"There’s soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce on the side; you can mix them or have them separately. Just prepare the dipping sauce to your taste, and you can also enjoy it plain,"

"Please take a seat, and I’ll bring over the wontons and lemon tea once they’re ready."

They thought the same, holding plates of buns while needing to prepare dipping sauces and take chopsticks. They truly had their arms full.

"Ma’am, do you have any recommended ways to mix these condiments?"

"The recommendation is half soy sauce and half vinegar, one spoonful of chili if you like it spicy. If not, you can reduce or omit it. If you like it sour, add more vinegar, but it’s not advised to add too much soy sauce."

This chili oil was freshly made that morning.

Unlike the purely aromatic Mountain City chili oil used earlier, this one leans more towards fragrant and spicy, with the ground dried chilies fried to a slight crisp, not much oil used, intended specifically for dipping sauces or soupy dishes.

As long as it’s diluted with liquid, it fully releases the aroma and spiciness of the chili oil.

Of course, to cater to foreign tastes, the spiciness level of this chili oil has been deliberately reduced, so with just one spoonful, it’s at most mildly spicy.

Pairing it with Chen’s vinegar or soy sauce covers most of the spiciness, leaving only the pure aroma.

Even so, if someone finds it spicy, there’s ice lemon tea to back them up, so there’s really no worry.

None of the diners hesitated much, following Dais’s recommendations when mixing soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil, as this seemed the safest option.

"Small wontons are ready~"

Just as they settled down, Elsa’s youthful voice called out from the food truck.

She was seen scooping a ladle full of boiling soup over a packed box.

The pure white lard instantly melted, blending with the various seasonings at the bottom of the bowl, unleashing a rich, thick aroma of lard.