Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

In just a few minutes, over twenty people gathered around the food truck.

Most of the people hanging around at this time are guests waiting to have lunch.

Although it’s not time yet, waiting on the beach is definitely more comfortable than waiting in a hotel.

Once this group moved towards the food truck, it immediately caught the attention of more tourists, who got up one by one and walked over.

This was exactly what Lin Chen had in mind.

He couldn’t be bothered to shout himself hoarse; his reputation had already spread, and as long as he draws a crowd initially, the rest doesn’t require much of his attention.

"I heard they’re selling mala tang at noon, right?"

"What exactly is mala tang? The pictures online just look like a bowl of cooked vegetables."

"I haven’t had it either, but I heard there’s a place in Paris that sells it, and it’s very popular, with long lines every day, so it must be quite good."

"The guy who delivered an hour ago was eating this; I saw the chef make it with my own eyes. It really looked delicious, but it wasn’t soupy; it was served dry mixed."

"There’s a dry mixed version??"

Lin Chen glanced at the gathered diners; many were familiar faces, the same ones watching him eat next to Boss Magna earlier that morning.

"Elsa, it’s your turn now."

"Okay, chef!"

Elsa gave an ’OK’ sign, eagerly took down the small blackboard hanging up there, and began to write furiously, detailing the ordering instructions for mala tang.

[1. Choose your favorite ingredients, with meat and vegetables in separate baskets.]

[2. Choose your preferred flavor: bone broth (non-spicy), mala (spicy), tomato (vegetarian), dry mixed (spicy).]

[3. Weigh and pay.]

[4. Patiently wait to enjoy your delicious meal.]

At the end, she drew a smiling face, which she did nearly every day, and the regulars were accustomed to seeing it.

"You have to choose your own ingredients?"

"Hey, interesting! I’ve never seen cooking done this way before."

"I’ve never seen this weigh-and-pay method either. How is this weight calculated?"

"Different prices for meat and vegetables, with prices calculated per 100 grams."

The diners nodded, understanding somewhat, without overthinking; the prices here were always reasonable and cheaper than many restaurants, so there was no worry about it being expensive.

"Can we order now?"

Dais and Lucas were busy setting out the ingredients on the table, filling it up completely; some even needed plastic stools to extend space for more.

To help customers identify them, some ingredients had little labels thoughtfully placed, all hand-written by Lucas.

"Beef balls, tendon balls, cartilage balls, stuffed fish balls, crab meat sticks, mushroom pork balls, bamboo shoots, dry tofu, frozen tofu, tofu skin, fried tofu skin..."

Out of everything, only the beef balls were the most common, but even they looked distinctly different from the ones people knew.

Western beef balls are simply made by mixing ground beef and forming it into balls, where even when cooked, the minced meat’s texture is visible.

But the beef balls piled like a mountain in the basket had a smooth surface, lacking visible meat texture, resembling luncheon meat instead.

While the diners marveled at the array of novel ingredients on the table, Wilson appeared on the dot from the hotel entrance.

Coming half an hour early for each meal had become his habit; he’d rather arrive early than wait behind a crowd.

From a distance, he saw the dense crowd at the food truck, and his expression changed.

What’s going on?!

Isn’t lunch supposed to start at eleven? It’s only ten-thirty!

He even checked the time to make sure everything was correct.

Could it be his phone is broken?

"Oh, what a coincidence, Mr. Wilson, are you also here to queue for lunch?"

He’d just sprinted a few steps before stopping at the back of the crowd, catching sight of a familiar figure dashing over from the corner of his eye.

"Oh, it’s Miss Su, quite the coincidence. But why are you here, have you also checked out?"

It was he who mentioned the unconditional sampling offer to new guests, knowing that the opportunity comes only once.

Now seeing her here implied she had also opened a hotel room.

The hotel rooms today had nearly doubled in price; unless someone was a tourist, no one would deliberately spend so much for a room just to eat something good.

Su smiled lightly, answering, "That’s right, I have a friend visiting, and they haven’t arrived yet. I was worried there wouldn’t be a room, so I got a room for her and decided to buy some food too."

"That’s it then."

Wilson nodded, not giving it much other thought.

Their matters didn’t concern him in the slightest; he was merely engaging in polite chit-chat out of acquaintance.

As he turned his head back, his sharp senses immediately picked up on three figures sitting under the parasol nearby.

"Hmm?"

Those three backs seemed very familiar, yet he couldn’t quite recall where he’d seen them before.

The key was that their behavior was noticeably unusual.

At this time, anyone around here is surely lining up for the food from the food truck.

But those three are just sitting there leisurely, playing on their phones, like they’re waiting for something.

Could they be waiting for the restaurant to open?

That’s possible too.

Wilson shook his head, feeling a bit speechless at his own over-sensitivity.

After retiring from the military, he still couldn’t shake off these old habits, which really affected his life.

Luckily, the diners in front had finished choosing their favorite ingredients, handed them over to Lin Chen, and moved aside to pay and wait, making the line move forward several spots.

In addition to the six portions being cooked, the counter could hold about ten more baskets. As long as the diners behind picked their desired ingredients and flavors, handed the baskets over, they could go find a seat.

When the food was ready, someone would naturally announce it over a speaker, and just by raising their hand, it would be delivered to their seat, which was quite convenient.

The line moved faster than expected, and before long, it was Wilson and Su’s turn to choose ingredients.

The small blackboard hung on the food truck behind the table full of dishes, so you could see it by looking up.

"Use plastic baskets for vegetables, metal bowls for meat?"

Wilson glanced at the dazzling array of ingredients on the table, his gaze pausing on the name tags ever so slightly.

Every ingredient was piled high in its basket, but from the missing parts, it seemed quite evenly distributed.

It’s as if everyone agreed to take a little of each to try.

With so many different ingredients, picking one or two of each was already a lot, especially those meatballs which were quite hefty; picking two of each would roughly amount to a hundred or two hundred grams.

Add some other ingredients, and it would easily go over three hundred.

For someone with a normal appetite, this was more than enough, very filling.

If it’s really not enough, add a pack of instant noodles, definitely perfect.

Instant noodles are not commonly seen in Western supermarkets, usually just the small clear chicken broth kind served on planes, only enough to stave off hunger a little.

Ever since tasting the deliciousness of instant noodle cuisine here at Lin Chen’s, most diners would choose a block whenever they saw the noodle cakes, cheap, delicious, and filling.

He certainly wouldn’t pass this up, but he didn’t grab it first, fearing it would get crushed at the bottom, planning to get a block after selecting everything else.

"Should these meatballs be in a plastic basket or a metal bowl?"

"Please use a metal bowl, thank you~"

"Tsk, eating vegetarian is troublesome."

Despite his complaints, he cooperatively picked up several metal bowls and placed them in the basket, promptly going to grab various meatballs.

He’s a pure carnivore, certainly wouldn’t consider vegetables if he could fill up on meat, eating meat every meal, every day.

The sticky rice balls he had in the morning without any meat already made him feel quite irritated, but fortunately, the flavor was aromatic enough for him, someone who dislikes vegetarian food, to finish it all up.

Lunch must be a meat feast!

Su, standing beside him, was slightly troubled.

Why was the situation different from what she imagined?

Choosing ingredients meant that the portions each person chose would differ, not dictated by servings.

Did it mean she had to pick enough food for four people to eat?

That might be a bit too much...

Her eyes twinkled as she quickly thought of a solution.

After all, she needed to exploit this situation tactfully, couldn’t make it too obvious. These veggies certainly couldn’t be chosen as per four servings, but two servings were definitely manageable, just enough for each person to have a taste.

After all, no one said buying food here meant you had to get full, being able to eat this way was good enough, she’d lower her expectations.

"Hmm?"

Wilson had just filled his basket.

The basket was heavy with assorted meatballs, roughly estimating over five hundred grams in weight, and adding two pieces of noodle cakes should be enough to fill him up.

Just as he reached for the instant noodles, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Su’s basket was piled even higher than his.

"The two of us are eating, so I’m taking more."

Noticing his gaze, Su quickly explained to avoid any slip-up.

Wilson nodded; if it was for two people, it made sense, maybe their friend had a bigger appetite, which was normal too.

"Please make it spicy, but not too spicy, just a bit."

"Alright, one mildly spicy."

Elsa smiled as she took the basket he handed over, pulled a small clip and paper from her apron pocket, clipped it onto the basket, and wrote "mildly spicy" and "number 26."

"Sir, your number is 26, please keep it safe."

Taking the plastic number tag, Wilson just glanced at the number, confirmed it was correct, then stuffed it into his pocket and began to look around for a seat.

When it was Su’s turn, Elsa saw the basket in front of her overflowing with food, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.

"My friends will come later, I want to buy more to share, is that alright?"

She anxiously watched Elsa’s youthful face, like that of a young girl, but somehow held the power over her fate, making her feel uneasy.

"It’s alright, we don’t limit purchases, as long as you don’t waste it. What flavor would you like, Ma’am?"