Wang Fan was already preparing the last dish for today.

Northern people usually eat a bowl of longevity noodles when celebrating a birthday, where the entire bowl contains a long strand of noodles that must be eaten in one bite, symbolizing longevity, health, safety, and happiness.

Lanzhou noodles are very famous and delicious, but in fact, Suzhou noodles are also very distinctive. However, there are few opportunities to eat them outside Suzhou, and Wang Fan didn't miss a chance to frequent local noodle shops with Zhuo Qianqian when he was there.

Today, he planned to use the style of Suzhou noodles to make the final bowl of longevity noodles.

Suzhou noodles emphasize three hot elements: hot soup, hot noodles, and a hot bowl. Only when all three are hot can the noodles have the best texture when eaten. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

With generous broth, firm noodles, and heavy toppings, the cooking time for the noodles shouldn't be long. This way, the noodles stay firm and distinct when served, not mushy or overcooked.

In Suzhou, Wang Fan once had a bowl of noodles costing 58 yuan, even at a small street restaurant, not in a high-end hotel, yet he felt it was worth every penny.

There was no other way; the boss was just too generous!

His noodles were served "crossing the bridge," which means they came with eel shreds in dark soy sauce, tender braised meat that melts in your mouth, large chunks of fried fish, and finally, a dish of hand-peeled shrimp, using the fresh, fragrant, and tender shrimp to thoroughly conquer the diners' taste buds.

Some people also like to add some shredded ginger soaked in vinegar, not only to balance the richness but also to enhance the freshness and enrich the taste. Wang Fan felt he could add it too.

However, whether to eat it or not would be up to the diners, he couldn't control that.

This time, he drove his RV to Xiamen, and while eating wasn't an issue, he mainly collected many ingredients and seasonings from several provinces.

Mandarins from Huainan are mandarins, while those grown in Huaibei are trifoliate oranges; the same applies to peppers of the same variety, which differ when grown in different provinces and on different lands, and this indeed cannot be replaced.

The most important thing is his pot of broth.

This broth is the soul of noodle soup. With his broth, even soaked belt would taste good, let alone his entirely handmade noodles, which were kneaded, rested, and braided three times.

The noodles are absolutely chewy.

However, the ingredients were limited, and some dishes required a lot of skill, so he just picked ones he could make.

While other ingredients were unavailable, there were some fresh river shrimps, so he didn't hold back and was preparing to end with what is called the "Hermès of noodles" - the three shrimp noodles.

The so-called "three shrimp" refers to the shrimp roe, shrimp brain, and shrimp meat from the river shrimp, which are the three most essential parts of the shrimp.

In the legends of Suzhou, there's also a six shrimp noodle dish, but it's probably lost to history, and Wang Fan hasn't seen it anyway.

It takes a pound of live shrimp to peel enough for a serving of three shrimp noodles, and the market price for such river shrimp is usually about 70 yuan, so charging 150 yuan for a bowl of noodles is not really expensive.

The size of river shrimp is nothing compared to Boston lobsters and is much smaller even compared to ordinary sea shrimp, but fortunately, Wang Fan's patience was good, and he had plenty of time.

After all, the key to noodles is that people wait for noodles, not the other way around. Once they've almost finished the other dishes, giving the birthday star a bowl of longevity noodles is just perfect.

Given how much Shen Dad had eaten today, Wang Fan reckoned that if he made it by the pound, it would burst him, so he only planned to make a third of it.

He estimated that three ounces of shrimp were peeled, then collected the shrimp heads to prepare them for cooking.

However, even these three ounces of shrimp took Wang Fan several minutes, making him suspect that the lost six shrimp noodles involved two key factors: cost and effort.

The two factors of being lost—it either costs money or is labor-intensive.

And for six shrimp noodles, it's probably both costly and labor-intensive!

After all, making a bowl of noodles with seven or eight pounds of river shrimp would not only be extravagantly luxurious, but the entire shrimp processing would really take a toll on the chef.

Among the steps in making the three shrimp noodles, stir-frying the shrimp roe is probably the most time-consuming one. An average person would take at least an hour, but only someone like Wang Fan, who has absolute control over the heat, dares to use high heat, thereby shortening the time to 20 minutes.

Wang Fan was no stranger to making shrimp oil from fried shrimp heads, and although this time he used river shrimp, the process was more or less the same.

He quickly stir-fried the shrimp meat to a 70-80% doneness, so they were tender, pink, and bouncy—absolutely the best texture.

Stir-frying the shrimp brain, bringing out the aroma, then adding the shrimp meat, after 10 seconds, pouring in the shrimp roe, mixing well, and serving immediately.

A long strand of alkali noodles had already been cooked in the broth, and the bowl soaked in hot water was taken out. The noodles were lifted out and placed in the bowl, with the stir-fried shrimp not directly poured in but served separately, a practice known as "crossing the bridge" in culinary jargon.

However, he drizzled some shrimp oil over the noodles and stirred it evenly to effectively prevent sticking.

Taking a deep breath, the fragrant smell continuously wafted in his nose; even Wang Fan wanted to taste it himself.

But there would be plenty of opportunities in the future, so missing this one bite wasn't a big deal.

...

In the dining room, Shen Dad, his family of three, and Aunt Wu were all incredibly synchronized in their behavior—they were all lounging like Ge You.

The four of them slouched crookedly in the massive chairs, each gently rubbing their bellies with their hands.

The dining table, adorned with large bowls and small plates, could only be described as utterly empty, with not even a bit of sauce left, and even half of the ginger from the duck stew had been eaten.

Shen Dad exhaled contentedly and said, "This meal is the best I've ever had in my life. Boss Wang's culinary skills are higher than that of any international center."

Shen Teng leaned against the chair, looking as if he was ready to ascend to heaven. After starving all day and then overeating, that kind of sour pleasure isn't something the average person would want to experience.

But even so, he didn't regret it one bit. Dying under the peony flower would still be romantic, and being stuffed to death by gourmet food is undoubtedly one of life's great pleasures.

Shen Mom, showing signs of having less in and more out, though always mindful of her figure, almost exploded her stomach today.

There was no helping it; the dishes were so irresistible that it was impossible to stop eating, especially the final dish of stewed chick with mountain delicacies, which directly hit the core of her taste buds.

Aunt Wu wasn't much better off; she was essentially in charge of finishing off the meal.

Shen Teng grunted to Shen Dad and said, "Dad, I remember Brother Wang said there's still a portion... a portion of longevity noodles. Can you still eat... eat it?"

Speaking in broken sentences, it was clear how full he was.

Shen Dad, who was quite thin, suddenly ate so much that his belly visibly bulged. Hearing his son's words, he took a breath and said, "Eat what? Where would it fit?"

Shen Teng, upon hearing this, perked up like someone on the verge of death suddenly revived and sat up excitedly, "Then when it comes, I'll gladly accept it."

Shen Dad glanced at him, "I think if you eat any more, I might have to consider having a new child with your mom."