Chapter 886 - 618: Astonished
"Mr. Lu Rui'an, we have arrived."
After finding a place to park the car, Xia Liang led Lu Rui'an towards Dapiyuan.
"This..."
Standing in front of the street, Lu Rui'an looked incredulously at the snack street before him. He had seen crowds before, but such scenes generally occurred during large-scale parades in the Eagle Country.
Yet here was a snack street with such a scene, which he found unbelievable.
Everyone's face was adorned with smiles, the pedestrians rubbing shoulders with each other, some children riding on their fathers' shoulders, holding a meat sandwich, tearing off a piece to feed their father...
The surrounding shops were lined up, each with foods that Lu Rui'an had never seen before, and even from a distance, he seemed to be able to smell the aroma of these delicacies.
Everything was so harmonious, making it hard for Lu Rui'an to believe that such a scene could appear in the Dragon Country. He had visited so many countries and never encountered something like this.
"Mr. Lu Rui'an, this is the famous Dapiyuan snack street in Qingyun. You can find almost all the food of Qingyun here."
Seeing the shocked little foreigner, Xia Liang said with a smile.
"Mr. Xia Liang, are you saying this whole street is full of food?"
Lu Rui'an was still a bit skeptical because, at a glance, he couldn't see the end of the street.
He couldn't believe that an entire street could consist of food. After all, he had previously boasted about trying all the food in the Dragon Country in three days, but now, looking at this street, he was dumbfounded.
Even if he were a pig, he couldn't possibly eat all the food on this street in three days.
"Mr. Lu Rui'an, everyone has different tastes, so the definition of gourmet varies. Whether it's truly gourmet depends on your own tasting experience."
Xia Liang didn't explain much, knowing that even if he did, the other party wouldn't believe it. Only tasting it firsthand would be the most convincing.
"What should we eat first?"
Lu Rui'an looked at the street in bewilderment. Before coming, he was worried that the food in the Dragon Country wouldn't be enough for him to eat for three days, but now with a street full of food appearing in front of him, looking at the surrounding shops, he found himself unable to choose.
"Let's try the mutton soup first."
Xia Liang glanced around. Many shops were crowded, except for the mutton soup shop, which had slightly fewer people.
It wasn't that mutton soup was unattractive; it was mainly because it was not yet ten o'clock, and many people hadn't digested their breakfast, so naturally, they wouldn't go for it.
Lu Rui'an dumbly nodded and followed Xia Liang to the front of a mutton soup shop.
Although there were fewer people in this shop compared to others, it was still somewhat crowded. The two of them stood in line for half an hour before finally getting a table.
"Mr. Lu Rui'an, mutton soup is a dish that uses mutton brisket as the main ingredient. It evolved from 'yangxun' in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, was called 'mutton xun' during the Qin and Han dynasties, and was known as 'shan zhu yang' during the Tang and Song dynasties."
"The mutton soup from Dali, Pucheng, and Chengcheng counties is the most famous, especially Chengcheng's, which is the most authentic and has the longest history. In January 2016, it was included in the fifth batch of the intangible cultural heritage list."
"The name 'mutton soup' came about because many vendors didn't have enough space to put mutton on the chopping board, so they had to place it in a basin. When customers arrived, they would see the mutton and freshly cut and cook it, which naturally formed the practice of mutton soup."
"..."
While waiting at the table, Xia Liang began explaining the history of mutton soup to Lu Rui'an.
Hearing that it was an intangible cultural heritage, Lu Rui'an also became curious, his gaze turning to the customers at the next table. The aroma wafting over made his throat involuntarily swallow in anticipation.
Soon after, the waiter brought two servings of mutton soup to their table.
"Mr. Xia Liang, why is there pizza, and this pizza seems a bit different."
Looking at the food in front of him, Lu Rui'an asked curiously.
Xia Liang glanced over and was speechless. It wasn't pizza; it was just two baked buns.
"Mr. Lu Rui'an, this isn't pizza, but baked buns. In fact, your foreign pizza evolved from baked buns."
"To eat mutton soup, you pair it with two crescent-shaped buns. One puts the intermingled fatty and lean mutton into the crescent bun, and the other can be soaked in the mutton soup."
"You can then pair it with cilantro, sugared garlic, pickled vegetables, or spicy sauce. The seasoned chili oil needs to be splashed with mutton fat..."
As Xia Liang spoke, he also demonstrated how to eat it for Lu Rui'an. For someone who had spent several years in Chang'an, it all came naturally.
"Mr. Lu Rui'an, give it a try."
Saying this, Xia Liang handed the crescent bun stuffed with mutton to Lu Rui'an, who took it unceremoniously and began eating.
"Hmm? This taste..."
With one bite of the crescent bun, Lu Rui'an's heart was suddenly moved.
The crescent bun was crispy and delicious, the wheat fragrance mixed with the flavor of mutton, giving him a whole new experience, as if bubbles were popping in his mouth.
Combined with the small dishes Xia Liang had put into the crescent bun earlier, especially the chili, the flavor of the mutton was greatly enhanced.
"How does it taste?"
Xia Liang asked with a smile.
"Mr. Xia Liang, this taste is amazing!"
Lu Rui'an's face lit up with excitement, as if he wanted to swallow his own tongue.
"Try a sip of the soup."
Lu Rui'an nodded, took another sip of the soup, and immediately let out a satisfied sound, drawing curious glances from those around them.
"Mr. Xia Liang, this mutton is rich but not greasy, and even the soup is so delightful, especially when paired with this crescent bun. It's better than anything I've had in a five-star restaurant before."
Lu Rui'an felt incredulous, thinking that such flavorful food, if overseas, would at least be a signature dish in a five-star restaurant and would be shockingly expensive.
But here in the Dragon Country, he could casually enjoy it at a roadside stall, and it was very affordable. At least when he checked the prices earlier, he felt the price didn't match the deliciousness.
"Mr. Lu Rui'an, even within each mutton soup shop, there are some flavor differences. There's no fixed taste; just this one dish can have dozens or even hundreds of different flavors."
Xia Liang chuckled.
In the Dragon Country, the same gourmet food can have countless flavors. Different flavors attract different customers, and this is the fundamental reason why each vendor can stand firm.
"A single dish has dozens of flavors?"
Lu Rui'an was amazed. He came to taste different cuisines, but now he realized that three days might not be enough to try all the flavors of mutton soup.
With thousands of years of cultural heritage, when it comes to pleasing the palate, the Dragon Country is second to none.
Like the little foreigner's country, America, which only has a history of a couple of hundred years, naturally struggles to comprehend the millennia of cultural evolution in the Dragon Country.