Chapter 2378
Chapter 2378: Mamy Restaurant Is So-So?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Yes, that fish looked too plain and ordinary. However, that did not stop the customers from being strongly impacted by its visuals and taste.
Fish was rarely steamed. Chefs would often want to use various spices with strong tastes to cover the fishy smell.
However, one had to admit that steaming helped to retain this large yellow croaker’s appearance. Its gleaming golden scales had a glow of their own, making the fish the brightest star on the table.
“Spring onions and fish.” Beate quickly noted down.
Of course, he did not think that the steamed large yellow croaker would only have this one ingredient. Chefs would usually remove the ingredients and spices affecting the overall appearance of the dish before adding some pretty garnish that might have nothing to do with the entire cooking process.
Beate picked up his chopsticks and gently used them to slice the fish open. The golden scales fell to the sides of the fish, revealing the tender, white meat underneath.
He first picked up a piece of meat from the upper part of the fish’s body. The meat was covered by the scales and was not submerged in the gravy so it should be the simplest, purest taste of the fish. That would best display a chef’s standard.
The moment the fish entered his mouth, Beate could taste its tenderness and freshness at the tip of his tongue. It also had a hint of savory fragrance. It was a really pure and natural taste that one would fall deeply into.
There was no hint of fishiness and this shocked Beate!
One had to know that other than the faint savory fragrance, Beate did not even taste any spice or seasoning. It was the taste of the large yellow croaker itself!
Beate was 100 percent sure that this was a salt-water fish and such fish did not exist on land.
Steaming the fish would bring out its taste the best and the perfect control over the fire made the meat tender and chewy, making it irresistible.
After that, he took a piece of meat from the tail area. It was just covered by the gravy so it should be the part that was the most flavorful.
The meat was still as fresh but after being submerged in the gravy, it carried along the fragrance of the sauce which infused perfectly with the taste of the fish to bring out a new flavor.
Beate could not tell what sauce it was. It did not have a strong taste but it had a unique fragrance that complemented the steamed fish perfectly.
Beate raised his eyebrows but could not help but close his eyes. Other than the fragrance of the sauce, he seemed to be able to detect a few other seasonings and ingredients in the gravy. The taste of these ingredients was so light that they seemed to only play a small supporting role, yet that was the cherry on top of the cake which made the flavor of the steamed large yellow croaker go up to the next level.
However, he could not seem to find the correct seasoning and ingredients from among the ones he knew of.
He took one bite after another yet his eyebrows were tightly knitted together. His hairdo was also ruffled by him. What a distressing delicacy.
He had no idea what made it so delicious...
However, he was not the only one with such a reaction. The middle-aged man sitting beside him was hissing while eating the spicy grilled fish. His eyes were red and he looked at the grilled fish with frustration. He had already finished half the fish and his lips were all swollen, yet he still had not figured out how this spicy grilled fish was done.
Beate’s steamed large yellow croaker was left with only the bones in no time at all. He stared at the plate silently for a while before proceeding to drink the gravy.
After that, he finished the gravy and fell silent again.
After a while, he looked at the eggplant with garlic sauce, finished two bowls of rice, and left after footing the bill.
“I’m so full...”
When he walked out of Mamy Restaurant, Beate rubbed his tummy. This was actually the best meal he had had for a long while.
“Here!” Alva stuck his head out from a horse-drawn carriage parked at the side as he waved to Beate.
Beate looked around and quickly walked towards the horse-drawn carriage after making sure that no one took notice of them.
The horse-drawn carriage left Mamy Restaurant. Alva looked at Beate, who was sitting in front of him, excitedly and asked, “Have you learned it?”
Beate wanted to shake his head but after seeing Alva’s curious gaze, he changed his mind and nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s great! Go make one when you return. If the taste is good, we’ll have a new product to launch tomorrow!” Alva said agitatedly.
“I’m afraid that won’t do.” Beate shook his head.
“Why not?” Alva’s smile disappeared. “You’re lying?”
“To make the steamed large yellow croaker, you have to first find a stable supply for the large yellow croaker. The core of this dish is the large yellow croaker. You can’t do it with other fishes,” Beate said.
Alva smiled. “It’s just a fish. If he can buy it, we can too.”
“This should be a salt-water fish. Although there are seafood merchants in Chaos City, their supplies are not stable. Besides, I haven’t seen them carry this type of fish.
Alva frowned. However, he still dismissed it, saying, “Don’t worry about that. I will solve the fish problem. You go back and study how exactly this steamed large yellow croaker was made and try to replicate it perfectly.
“Alright.” Beate nodded without saying another word.
If Alva really could find the large yellow croaker, he would be confident to make such a delicious steamed large yellow croaker.
This fish tastes good by simply just steaming it!
Even if he could not replicate Mag’s recipe accurately, as long as he could make a gravy that tasted similar and control the fire, he should be able to come up with a decent steamed large yellow croaker.
If Alva can’t find the fish, that would be even better. There would not be a steamed large yellow croaker without a large yellow croaker.
And that way it would not be his fault
***
“There are more and more chefs coming over to the restaurant to eat recently. There are also more restaurants in Aden Square with the same menu as us. Boss, aren’t you going to do anything about it?” Miya complained at night after work.
“Yeah, I even heard someone say that the braised chicken was so-so yesterday on the streets. That person said that the meat was dry and hard, and that it did not live up to its reputation. She even said that Mamy Restaurant is so-so.” Babla chimed in. “But she went to the small, dark restaurant at the roadside. They called it ‘braised chicken and rice’ but we are the ones who get the bad review. How infuriating!”
“The worst part was that I saw a new restaurant opened by the road called ‘Mami Restaurant’. Isn’t that swindling?!”
The ladies spoke one after another about what they saw and heard recently, expressing their dissatisfaction.
However, Mag smiled and said, “There’s no need to be troubled by that. At least for now, it seems that the food and beverages industry in Chaos City is doing well. It is not as boring as it was before, selling only one kind of food.
“Most industries start from imitating before they can develop rapidly. I am actually very happy to share the methods and recipes with them.”