Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

The sound of a pleasant explanation echoed in their ears, and the diners’ eyes were glued to the notice board, looking at the dense small characters and licking their lips.

Especially for the guests who have enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant, their hearts were in utter conflict at this moment.

The original intention of coming here was to taste the Chinese cuisine made by Chef Lin, after all, that was what the restaurant was famous for.

But after tasting the Western dishes, they discovered that those were quite delicious too, and they didn’t want to give up either side.

It’s a rare holiday, and they’ve already come here and managed to squeeze into a spot. If they left with regrets, they might close their eyes every night afterward in regret, wouldn’t they?

After thinking briefly, the people at the front of the queue unanimously chose the most expensive option, an all-you-can-eat package.

Although it’s more expensive than choosing a single option, it’s not that much more expensive, only just ten euros more, but the range of dishes doubled, from about a dozen to around forty.

Even if they only tasted a bite of each dish, combined it would surely amount to two or three full plates.

At this thought, they couldn’t help but start swallowing in anticipation.

"By the way, I remember the restaurant’s policy used to be a weekly menu change. Has the policy changed now, or is it still the same as before?"

Some astute guests caught on to the key point, and hearing this, Dais replied with a smile, "Yes, this guest has a very good memory. It seems it’s not your first time dining at our restaurant, is it?"

"Starting today, the restaurant will operate under a brand new menu mode."

"Focusing on each season, we will introduce seasonal dishes suitable for the current quarter, and we will use the quantity consumed and customer reactions to rotate menu items accordingly."

"This means the current menu will be maintained until autumn. The bestselling dishes will remain, and those with average sales will be replaced next week. We will also add a voting page on our official website, so dishes with high demand that were removed will be reintroduced."

Since she had introduced the mode of Western cuisine, Dais decided to take it one step further and tell everyone about the policy regarding Chinese cuisine as well.

"The situation over at the food cart has also changed. It’s likely that the next day’s menu will be determined by the chefs’ mood on the day, but there may be instances where the same series of dishes are sold continuously, like the buns sold this morning."

"We know many guests might not have had their fill, so the subsequent breakfast items will predominantly lean towards Great Xia’s local side, focusing on items like buns, dumplings, wontons, and noodles, though the flavor will change daily."

"As for lunch, it will be a buffet mode like today for a short period, with chefs preparing dishes live and guests choosing as needed. The menu will be updated periodically, based on the suppliers’ ingredient lists as reference standards."

"Additionally, the chefs are considering whether to add a dinner session, but doing so will certainly require additional manpower and proper training, or else the three chefs won’t be able to handle working from morning ’til late night."

"Oh, and the restaurant has added retail cabinets as well..."

Dais spoke a little quickly because there was less than a minute left until eleven o’clock, needing to quickly finish the introduction to serve the food, lest the guests wait too long.

"If you’re interested in the specifics, you can visit the homepage of Radisson Hotel’s website, where we’ve added a detailed page about the restaurant’s situation for you to browse at your leisure."

"So..." She raised her hand to glance at the watch on her wrist, and her other hand slowly reached for the buckle on the barrier in front of her, "Next, please enjoy the delicious food to your heart’s content!"

Even though she already mentioned that the menu on both sides wouldn’t undergo much change, the diners, whose interest had been piqued, were still reluctant to miss out on any side of the cuisine.

Unless they were staying here for more than two or three days, otherwise, who knows when they could taste these dishes again?

"Could I get the ticket for the most expensive option, please!"

"I also want the most expensive option, hurry, hurry, I’m starving, absolutely starving!"

"Is there a time limit for dining? Two hours? So we can eat until closing, right?"

Dais was a bit taken aback as she processed thirty-some full ticket customers in a row.

It’s merely a change of menu, yet the guests’ reactions were so different; it really shows that the core of a restaurant lies in its dishes.

"Everyone, please don’t rush. Since the restaurant doesn’t currently offer dinner, we’ve intentionally extended lunch service until three o’clock in the afternoon, providing a total of four hours of dining, striving to ensure everyone gets to eat."

"Guests who have already eaten their fill can stroll along the beach wearing their wristbands to digest, leaving the spot for guests who haven’t eaten yet. The wristbands record the time, allowing reentry during dining hours."

Upon hearing this news, the guests waiting further back all sighed in relief, and were quite satisfied with this new mode.

Normally, at a buffet restaurant, as soon as one leaves, it’s assumed that dining privileges are forfeited, though in most cases only those who are full would leave, which isn’t really a problem.

In a buffet restaurant, eating until full usually means eating until stuffed, not feeling hungry for at least four or five hours. For those with big appetites, one meal can last them twenty-four hours.

Even so, leaving early makes people feel like they’re losing out. After all, those who eat at buffets often have the urge to eat until they’ve got their money’s worth. If they’re full before the time’s up, isn’t that a loss?

This tiny adjustment the restaurant has made fulfills the guests’ psychology. Satisfied guests can take their wristbands outside to do as they please, and can return to eat anytime within two hours. This creates an illusion that they can get more for their money.

In reality, after feeling stuffed, as time passes, they’ll only feel more so because food takes time to move from the throat to the stomach. The food still making its way down will gradually settle, further filling the stomach’s space.

Once they leave the restaurant, almost no one returns to eat more. Being able to get another drink or something is already remarkable.

Just a small change satisfies diners’ mentality of getting a bargain and makes them willingly give up their seats to guests behind them without feeling like they’re being kicked out, thus earning the restaurant a good reputation. It’s like hitting three birds with one stone.

Extending the total dining time to four hours sounds like it would increase the workload for the kitchen, but it hasn’t increased much because the number of guests is ultimately limited, and the extra now are local residents.

Local residents usually mean other family members are at home, and dining together is likely. Coordinating their time is tricky, and aligning it with the restaurant’s meal times is another challenge.

Afternoon from one to three is typically a work hour, so not many people can leisurely enjoy a meal in the restaurant, meaning the kitchen’s busiest hours haven’t changed, remaining the first two hours.

As a swarm of wristband-wearing guests arrived, the open-air counters quickly became surrounded, with some curious ones even gathering around the stoves to watch the cooking process.

"You two, if you want more, better grab it now or shall we head inside to check out the dishes there?"

Wang Ziqin wiped the oil from his mouth and stood up first; if they didn’t get food now, they’d likely miss out.

"Are the dishes in the restaurant different from outside?"

The two hunters, head buried in their second bowl, suddenly looked up, faces full of surprise, "Why didn’t you say so earlier!"

"You never asked." Wang Ziqin shrugged, "The restaurant offers Western buffet, outside it’s Chinese, catering to different tastes."

"Since there’s still over an hour until our Head Chef finishes work, we might as well go inside and see if there’s anything interesting."

"Good idea, let’s go then."

"What about our spot if we leave? Won’t it be taken?"

Evidently persuaded, the two men stood, food boxes in hand, ready to go.

"Taken, then it’s taken. Even though I’m the boss, I can’t use my position to fight guests for seating, right? That’s embarrassing. We can find a spot on the beach or the hotel’s third-floor terrace."

"Right, we’re not that precious; we could even sit on the ground to eat. Let’s check out the food first."

As seasoned hunters, they knew the importance of eating quickly; the longer it dragged on, the worse it was. They sped up their eating and followed Wang Ziqin into the restaurant.

They had just stepped into the restaurant when John and Magna’s vehicles coincidentally turned into the street, clearly there to deliver goods.

The two exchanged a knowing glance with a smile, quickly parked, unloaded the car trunk’s contents, and wheeled them into the restaurant’s back door.

"Long time no see, what brings you here to grab a meal today?"

"Isn’t it obvious? All the hotel guests are here scrambling for food. There’s no one at the farm, so they need to finish eating before looking for entertainment."

The two delivered their goods to the kitchen’s cold storage, washed their hands sensibly, pulled out wristbands from their pockets, put them on, and confidently mingled with the diners.

These wristbands, specially made by Dais, were a different color from those of ordinary patrons. Of course, only they knew this small detail; diners were too busy grabbing food to bother with others.

As long as they wore wristbands, they’d be regarded as diners too.

Once they walked into the dining area, they spotted familiar faces right away.

"Damn, why is Rovena here too?"

"He must be like you; there’s no one at the dock, and doesn’t he come daily to get that garlic sauce? He practically eats here every day."

"Damn, I can’t even freeload every day, why can he?"

As John prepared to head over, his peripheral vision instinctively drifted to other familiar backs.