Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 40: We Bought the Wrong One—This Is a Counterfeit!
Friends who love spicy food all know that apart from noodles, Old Xia is also quite famous for its red oil.
Apart from Old Xia, regions like Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan are also skilled in making red oil.
No matter where the red oil is made, as long as it’s done well, it’s definitely the soul of the soul.
If you scoop a spoonful of red oil into the meat bun, that taste...
"Slurp"
Lucas wiped the drool that had reached his lips and signaled Lin Chen with his eyes for a spoonful, as his hands were full.
At the same time, his phone was aimed at the meat bun, ready to capture this heart-stirring moment.
"Friends, those who have tasted authentic cuisine from Great Xia should know that chili oil is an indispensable condiment. It looks very red but isn’t actually spicy; the focus is on the aroma."
"Just adding a few drops can completely transform the food."
He didn’t forget to add voiceover to the video.
Just then, the sound of a speaker came from beside them.
"Korean fruit shaved ice~ Korean fresh fruit jelly~ Cool and refreshing, a thousand-year-old recipe, only ten euros per serving, limited supply, while stocks last~"
"?"
The sudden advertisement attracted the attention of Lucas and Marian, and even the guy next to them who was munching on a meat bun looked over curiously.
Across the street, a long line was forming in front of the Kimchi food truck. Many who had already bought were holding bowls filled with colorful fruits, eating bite by bite.
Lucas thought he misheard, so he listened carefully to the speaker’s announcement again, and his expression turned extremely sour.
As a well-mannered person, he restrained the anger in his heart and walked over, phone in hand, randomly finding two young women sitting on the edge of a flower bed eating desserts.
"Sorry to disturb you, but could you tell me what you’re eating?"
Seeing that the person who approached them was a handsome blond guy who seemed to be filming a video, they smiled and held up their bowl for a closer look.
"We’ve never had this before. The lady boss said it’s a traditional dessert from Kimchi Country, with a history of over a thousand years; back then, this jelly was a dessert only the nobility could eat."
The other woman added, "Two of my girlfriends came to eat on Saturday and said it was delicious, so they recommended I come to buy some. I’ve just had a few bites and it seems alright, but the lady boss said this is from Kimchi Country, not Great Xia. Maybe my friend heard wrong?"
"Fuck!"
Lucas couldn’t hold it in anymore and shouted out the name of a plant.
"Typical of Stealing Country people, pulling a fast one on your daddy, huh? Alright, alright, just wait!"
"Huh?"
The two women were stunned, obviously not understanding what he was saying.
Lucas briefly explained the cause and effect of the situation to them, pointing to Marian, "That lady comes to pack food every day. Last time when we made fresh fruit jelly, her whole family came to buy, even taking dozens of servings back. You can ask her if you don’t believe me."
"Is that so?"
The first woman was still a bit skeptical, "But when I came yesterday, this place was already selling it, and business was great. Most of today’s customers were introduced by returning customers."
Yesterday?
Lucas’ mouth twitched, "Because we didn’t set up shop here yesterday to shoot a challenge video, and we sell different foods every day, like a blind box food truck."
"You can search online for Kimchi People’s reputation internationally. The Stealing Country nickname isn’t just given for fun!"
The two nodded. He had explained it this much, and it sounded quite credible.
"Even if what you’re saying is true, so what? Can you guarantee that there’s no such food in Kimchi Country?"
"Indeed, we just bought it out of a pure interest for food. As long as it tastes good, that’s enough."
Lucas opened his mouth, suddenly not knowing what to say.
Lin Chen shook his head at him, signaling that there was no need to say more and to just come back.
"Let them steal; it’s just something without much technical content."
Jelly, to put it simply, is just gelatin. You can buy gelatin powders at any Asian supermarket, mix them with water, and it tastes about the same. For foreigners who haven’t had it before, it’s impossible to tell the difference in quality. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Since they want to steal, let them be.
He wanted to see what these Koreans could come up with by stealing.
Being directly involved, Marian certainly knew what was going on here.
She originally had some fondness for Kimchi Country’s food; stone pot soup and barbecue were quite to her family’s liking.
But after this incident, those limited positive feelings instantly vanished.
"How can they do this!"
The dirty words in a foreigner’s dictionary are few, most just the national classics. She felt like she was about to explode from anger, fiercely bit into the meat bun, and glared at the Kimchi food truck.
"Wait a minute!"
Lucas seemed to suddenly think of something, slapped his forehead hard.
"I just remembered, I filmed a video that night, and Amber said she’d send me the edited video today, and I forgot!"
He hurriedly logged into his email and indeed saw an email sent by Amber that afternoon.
He clicked the link, opening up a video page showing Lin Chen making biangbiang noodles and footage of Lucas filming the process of making jelly last time.
That day, for the sake of authenticity in the video, he deliberately shot the surrounding environment and the signboards of a few nearby food trucks as a way of practicing as a social media influencer.
Evidently, Amber hadn’t edited in the irrelevant stuff, only keeping the cooking parts.
But never mind, the original video still rested in his phone!
He found that video and carefully watched it from start to finish, his eyes lighting up, pointing to the clearly filmed Kimchi food truck menu in the footage.
"Got it! The menu didn’t list fruit jelly or shaved ice! Solid evidence!"
Lin Chen calmly responded, "Filmed on the phone? Does it have a time stamp?"
"Of course it does!"
Without another word, Lucas opened the video information, precisely displaying the shooting date, down to the minute.
It was Saturday night, shortly past ten, nearing eleven.
"Then open the screen recording function and go through it from the start."
Lucas’s eyes lit up, "Right, there’s the screen recording function! These shameless guys are done for!"
"Don’t rush."
Lin Chen shook his head, "Don’t be in a hurry to post it. I’m off tomorrow, so I’ll make some noodles and jelly to bring over, and also bring the jelly ingredients to make it on-site. You can post it on your account then, who doesn’t know how to ride the wave."
"Awesome!"
Lucas gave a thumbs up, had a sudden idea, and ran back to the Kimchi food truck, phone in hand, recording the ingredients on camera. He also didn’t forget to show the two girls previously interviewed the video.
Seeing in the video the slightly yellowish jelly with small bubbles made by Lin Chen, and then looking at the completely transparent jelly in the bowl in their hands, the two looked at each other.
"Eh? It really looks different; let me see the photo my friend sent me..."
"So what do you think? Let me take a look."
"!! It’s really pale yellow! We bought the fake one; this is the pirated version!"
