Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 182 - 140: Giving Foreigners a Small Chinese Culinary Shock (Part 2)

If it's that photo, indeed, whether you're a fan or not, once you see it, it's hard to resist the urge to come down and take a look.

Her eyes darted around before pointing to the beach in the opposite direction and said, "I saw it on my way here. Dreya is taking photos over there on the beach, with just two or three staff members around. You can go and get a picture with her~"

"What?!"

"Dreya is over there?"

"I thought she had already left. Is it far? Can we walk there?"

"Not far at all, it would take just over a minute by car, and walking would be about five minutes? You can see it after passing the hotel."

"Okay, okay, let's go ahead!"

"I want to see Dreya in a bikini!!!"

In a flash, more than half of the people in line scattered, leaving only four still queuing in the front.

"Aren't you going?"

Anna boldly stepped forward a few yards and stood again at the end of the line.

"No rush, the photoshoot definitely won't end quickly, and these two orders are almost ready. We can buy the food and then go."

"I'm more interested in this Great Xia version of Marseille Fish Soup. It looks delicious; what good is a beautiful woman if she has nothing to do with me."

It was then that Anna realized the two guys were actually holding hands.

No wonder!

Joel parked the car and came over, seeing fewer people waiting in line, full of confusion, he headed directly to Anna, reaching out to hold her hand.

As if foreseeing his move, Anna swiftly pinched the man in front on his firm and toned rear, quickly retracting her hand.

"Oh?!"

The man yelped in surprise, spun around, and saw a robust-sized Old Hei hastily pull his hand back, shaking his head frantically at him.

Even though he was Old Hei, he looked quite manly, without any sloppy feel, his overall demeanor was quite refreshing.

The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, the contour of his sturdy and full chest muscles faintly visible.

The man's gaze roved back and forth over Joel, his expression gradually softened, and he even threw a flirtatious glance at him.

"Geez, you pinched way too hard~"

Joel took a half step back, his face went from dark to white, white to red, and red to green.

The man already had his phone out, ready to hand it over, leaving Joel no choice but to yell and bolt.

Anna turned her head and chuckled quietly.

Do you think my tofu is yours for the taking?

Humph!

The commotion caught the attention of the two diners in the front and Lin Chen.

"Hey, you're here?"

Lin Chen waved at her. He was puzzled seeing Dreya earlier, why Anna didn't follow, but now she's here.

Anna waved back, flashing a genuine radiant smile. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

She was just about to shout for a bowl of the same soup Dreya had when her eyes instinctively landed on a whiteboard by the window.

Every time the food stall was here, it'd have its menu written there, and she was already accustomed to checking it.

"Salmon, codfish, mussels, octopus?"

The menu only listed four ingredients, but Dreya's photo clearly had more.

Could it be a secret option?

This scenario was familiar to her; Lin Chen often made special dishes for the two of them when setting up his stall previously.

From about five or six meters away, she sent an inquisitive look to Lin Chen, who subtly nodded back.

It's just as she thought!

Without making a fuss, she quietly took out her phone to kill time by scrolling through videos.

Not long after, roughly six or seven minutes, it was her turn to order, with a few more diners queued behind her.

"Same as hers?"

"Others are watching, is that okay?"

"No problem, celebrities should get a bit of a perk."

"Haha, I love your perspective! Once I'm famous, I'll be your poster model for free!"

"Then I'll be waiting for it, and I won't pay a penny~"

Lin Chen then looked at the customer behind her: "Ma'am, any dietary restrictions? If not, I'll proceed with the usual."

"What were you guys conspiring about just now? What perks, what celebrity?"

The woman furrowed her brow in confusion, raised her phone, and asked, "I want the same as Dreya's, can you make it?"

"I can, although it's unnecessary, ma'am."

Lin Chen smiled in explanation, busily tossing rice noodles and seafood into the pot.

"What I made for Dreya was for the photoshoot, the clams replaced the mussels, and the razor clams substituted for the octopus. They're fresh purchases, with limited quantities, and what I'm making now is the most cost-effective and delicious combination in my opinion."

"Those unlisted ingredients are just backups, they'll only be available once the current stock sells out, and the price will drop accordingly. They're just side dishes, having no impact on the flavor."

"If you insist on including them, I can do it for an extra charge."

Upon hearing it was merely for the look, having no flavor impact, the woman's interest waned but did not completely give up, she asked, "How much extra?"

"A total of 40 euros will get you the same."

"Forget it, I'll take the 25 euro one."

The woman quickly gave up.

Having tasted the ingredients before, it wasn't worth the extra cost just for show.

With that money, buying two bowls would be more worthwhile.

Three minutes later.

"Here, your dishes are ready."

Delivering two bowls of soup noodles to the window, Lin Chen immediately grabbed a handful of rice noodles and tossed it into the pot again, ensuring the diners behind didn't wait too long.

"That fast?"

The woman hurried forward with Anna, grabbing their food from the window.

And there it was, she had ordered the celebrity special.

And indeed, it looked much more appealing, the additional 15 euros weren't wasted; it resembled a gourmet dish from a high-end restaurant.

"So pretty, if only I'd added more! Is it too late now?"

"Sorry ma'am, customers are waiting behind you, not convenient to add it last minute."

"All right then."

As Anna walked, she listened to the woman behind her sighing regretfully, her lips involuntarily curling into a smile.

Having a celebrity friend is wonderful~

Of course, if I could become a celebrity too, that'd be even better~

Joel, aggrieved, stayed in the car watching from afar as she sat beside the gay couple, voraciously enjoying her food while he, having gotten up early to drive over an hour to bring her here, was in the car enduring hunger and cold, tears threatening to spill over.

This isn't fair!

...

"Oh? Fresh fish soup noodles?"

Just arriving at the hotel entrance, a young man looked at the phone his wife handed over, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Where? At the restaurant entrance? Isn't it right across?"

The woman nodded: "Never expected to come across fresh fish soup noodles here. Amazing, it seems one of the chefs your restaurant hired this time is skilled at Chinese cuisine."

"Interesting, I didn't see this coming."

The man took off his sunglasses, hanging them by the neckline, he removed his suit, revealing the casual shirt underneath.

The woman also removed her suit jacket, putting on a sunblock coat.

The two instantly transformed from business professionals into regular tourists, stepped out of the car, and instead of entering the lobby, they turned to walk towards the restaurant across the street.

"Combining the craft of Chinese breakfast with Western plating, fully utilizing the local fresh seafood's characteristics, not selling in the restaurant but using a food truck, this chef has got something special. Looks like this trial run's going to be interesting."

"Alright, alright, save the formal tone. I'd say, it's time to give these foreigners a little taste of genuine Chinese cuisine, what have they been eating all day anyway, my baby is probably suffering from malnutrition!"

"That's true. But it's tough to pull off! You really think all foreigners like Chinese food? It's just like how we aren't used to Western food; they're not used to authentic Chinese cuisine."

"No, no, no, not used to it only because the choice isn't right. Ask about fried rice, any foreigner would likely love it, but ask them if they like chicken feet, nine out of ten saying no is a low estimate."

The woman wore a knowing expression: "That's why merely knowing how to cook Chinese isn't enough, you also need to deeply understand Western tastes to select the suitable types of Chinese dishes for them, before giving them a bit of genuine Chinese culinary impact."