Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 168 - 133: You Again! Sneaking Out to Eat During Work Hours! (Part 2)

"Gulp."

Seeing so much seafood gathered in one bowl, Gray swallowed hard, feeling a twitching pain in his stomach.

"I can't take it anymore, I have to start eating!!"

Anyway, there was no one around now, so he couldn't care less. He leaned right over the window, tore open a pair of disposable chopsticks, eagerly picked up a thick piece of salmon, dipped it in the fish soup, letting the surface get coated with the thick fish soup, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The thick fish soup was hot, but the salmon was actually not very warm, so it balanced out quite well.

With a gentle press of the tip of his tongue, the unique fat aroma of the salmon burst forth, the tender fish meat unfolded layer by layer like fine silk.

The taste of the thick fish soup was completely different from the Marseille Fish Soup he was familiar with — no tomato sweetness, no vegetable aroma, just the purest fish fragrance.

The strong spicy flavor of black pepper was very prominent, instantly sending a fiery sensation throughout his mouth, fully awakening his dormant taste buds.

The thick fish soup was fresh and not fishy, with a faint sweet aftertaste, and even someone like him, who never cooked, could tell that it was the purest umami extracted from many, many fish simmered and concentrated.

This unique thick texture was very familiar to him, almost identical to the kind of concentrated soup made by grinding ingredients in restaurants, but with a somewhat smoother texture.

After one bite, his appetite opened up, and he couldn't resist picking up the remaining two slices of sumptuous salmon, stuffing them into his mouth, followed by a few more sips of fish soup.

Eating such fatty foods when hungry brings an overwhelming sense of happiness.

He hadn't even touched the main course, but just from eating three slices of salmon, he felt that this bowl of rice noodles completely outclassed all the noodle soups he'd had before.

No wonder even the chef had to stay up late to make this; the soup was absolutely perfect!

After drinking several sips, amazed by the freshness of the fish soup, Gray finally stuck his chopsticks into the bottom of the bowl, picked up a full serving of rice noodles, and mixed them until each strand was fully coated with the thick fish soup.

"Slurp~."

The smooth rice noodles, once coated with the thick fish soup, became even easier to slurp down, all rushing into his mouth with a gentle suck.

This thin noodle had a completely different texture from the rice noodles he'd eaten in beef pho, requiring almost no chewing, breaking apart easily with just a few presses of the tongue, yet still retaining an appropriate elasticity and firmness.

The rice noodles had almost no flavor, only a slight rice fragrance, mainly emphasizing the taste of the fish soup.

The rich fish soup, filled with the flavor of black pepper, became more addictive the more he drank, completely irresistible, making him feel all warm and causing fine beads of sweat to form on his forehead, his entire face flushed red, and all his pores cheering in joy.

Slurping noodles, then a bite of chewy octopus, slurping more noodles, and then a bite of cod.

He ate faster and faster, and soon was holding the bowl up to his mouth, drinking greedily nonstop.

Seeing how much he was enjoying it, Lin Chen, who hadn't tasted it yet, was also relieved and made himself a bowl of the same.

"Ahh, refreshing!"

Gray devoured a bowl of thick fish soup noodles at lightning speed, licking the remnants of the fish paste on the bowl edge, still wanting more.

"Chef, this labor-intensive delicacy can't be cheap, right? How much for a bowl?"

Only after finishing did he remember to ask, feeling a bit embarrassed.

The price?

Lin Chen was stunned.

He had indeed forgotten to think about it.

This could be said to be one of the most labor-intensive dishes he'd made so far, almost requiring his constant presence, unlike Western broths that could just be left to simmer overnight.

Plus, considering the ingredients like salmon and cod, selling it cheap wasn't really an option.

"Fifteen euros, how does that sound?"

After thinking it over, he settled on this price.

To meet the task requirements, the amount of rice noodles in each serving was only a third portion, actually not much, and the disposable bowl's capacity was only 500 milliliters, just enough to fill up a girl.

It might look like it's full of broth, but in reality, it's all fish meat and fish bone puree, rich in nutrients, tasty, and very filling.

With just one bowl, who knows how many small fish he had consumed.

"How much??"

Gray looked at him as if he were looking at an alien, gesturing towards the bucket full of fish soup beside him.

"Fifteen euros? My God, chef, are you doing charity?"

"Any nearby restaurant sells Marseille Fish Soup, with prices typically ranging from 20 to 50 euros. Although food from a food truck might be a bit cheaper, this secret fish soup beats civilian-level Marseille Fish Soup in taste, presentation, and use of ingredients."

"I think it should at least be sold for 25 euros!"

"After all, it's high-grade fish soup made by a restaurant head chef overnight; how can it be sold so cheap? That's outrageous!"

"...Huh?"

Lin Chen blinked, internally chanting "rich guy" in his heart.

He was worried fifteen might be too expensive, yet here someone thought it was too cheap.

Since you're so eager to pay twenty-five, then twenty-five it is.

"Bring me another bowl, chef; I haven't had enough."

Gray promptly took out his bank card and handled the payment with the POS machine himself, his movements fluent, clearly showing he's done this before.

Lin Chen simply pushed the bowl in front of him: "Here, you eat this one, I'll make myself another; it'll only take a few minutes anyway."

"Then I won't hold back, chef."

Gray didn't hesitate, dumping the rice noodles into his own bowl, handing the empty bowl back: "Every bit saved counts. I have a feeling, chef, that your business is going to be booming today!"

"Let's hope so."

This stock selection was quite a bit of a fluke, running into a national delicacy like Marseille Fish Soup; he hadn't considered it before.

Mostly, from his perspective, the much-hyped Marseille Fish Soup wasn't particularly special upon tasting it; some places even made it taste awful.

Ultimately, it was just leftovers and byproducts used by fishermen to create a seafood stew, with its value commercially hyped up.

"Uh~~~" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Outside the hotel entrance.

Elise, wearing high heels, stepped out slowly, stretching towards the sunrise peeking from the horizon.

Every time she worked the night shift, she would sneak out to take a breather at this hour.

Normally, no guests would be wandering around at night; at this hour, they'd all be dreaming.

Holding up her phone, she used the mirror on the back to check her increasingly deep dark circles, heaving a faint sigh.

"Sigh, this shift is really inhumane. If it weren't for the high pay... huh?"

Through the reflection, she seemed to notice something remarkable and immediately turned to look toward the restaurant entrance a little way off.

She saw that familiar red food truck illuminated, with a similarly familiar figure standing at the window, still in a security uniform, holding something to eat.

"...That damned Gray, no wonder I couldn't see a trace of him, sneaking off for a meal!!"

"Hey, wait a minute!"

"Isn't that the chef's food truck? It's after five now, why is it open?"

She glanced at her phone, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Wait, wait, last night... damn, I indeed didn't see the chef return to the hotel!"

Though there were stairs near the beach leading up to the third-floor platform and into the hotel, normally people don't like taking detours and go where the entrance is closer.

Coming from the restaurant, the front door is definitely more convenient.

Last night she hadn't thought much of it, assuming the chef had used another door, but now it seemed he hadn't slept at all, pulling an all-nighter!

She rushed back to the front desk, grabbed a "temporarily away" sign from underneath, put it on the counter, didn't bother changing shoes, and headed toward the food truck in her heels.

Gray was noisily drinking his soup noodles when he suddenly got whacked on the back of his head.

"Alright, sneaking out for food during work hours, got caught by me, didn't you!"

The sudden strike gave him a huge scare, causing the hot fish paste soup to spray from his nostrils, making him cough repeatedly.

"Cough cough, cough... El... Elise? Why... why are you here? I was about to bring you a bowl~"