Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 62: Why Did the Stir-Frying Catch Fire—Should We Call the Fire Department?
Dreya and Anna just finished today’s event banquet, and neither of them ate much, as they were busy dealing with the heads of various brands.
Anna didn’t expect it herself, not only not being eliminated but also being selected into the top three due to her excellent performance in rehearsals and stable stage presence during the actual show.
After all, it’s a small event mainly relying on votes from various brand heads, not much in terms of prestige, but it does offer the possibility of securing endorsements.
The banquet wasn’t over yet, but the two of them slipped out early under the excuse that models can’t stay up late as they need to maintain their skin.
"Quick, quick, the food truck’s still there!"
Dreya’s eyes were full of urgency as she strode elegantly with her model walk, moving swiftly toward the crowd.
Her wavy, medium-length hair fluttered in the wind, exuding an alluring fragrance, and her impressive figure was unmistakably displayed under her unique steps and posture.
Her appearance is of the cool and aloof type, whereas Anna’s was more on the gentle and sweet side.
Meng Qi’s eyes followed the two women blankly, greedily inhaling the perfume-scented air.
"Isn’t that Dreya? She looks even more stunning in real life compared to her posters!"
While queuing earlier, he overheard many people talking about this, and he didn’t expect to actually be so lucky to encounter her in person so quickly.
Foreigners aren’t as fanatical as Asians when it comes to idolizing, and after all, an underwear model isn’t a huge star; admiring from afar is usually enough, at most asking for a photo together.
As models, they were long used to being stared at, and they proceeded directly to the back of the line, still wearing their sensual dresses, exposing large areas of fair skin, with a light jacket draped over their shoulders.
Thankfully, it was almost summer, so the evening was still warm, not causing any major discomfort.
Most of the people still queuing were returning customers, some just finished a portion and wanted to buy another to take home, and others had tried before and specifically came back again.
"Let me see, what’s on sale today..."
Dreya squinted, looking toward the whiteboard over a dozen meters away.
Besides the names of the dishes, the whiteboard also showed the ingredients and condiments used in each dish, allowing diners to identify potential allergens.
"Tomato and scrambled eggs? Stir-fried shredded potatoes with green pepper?"
Seeing these familiar dishes, the two looked at each other.
"Since it’s made by this chef, the flavor should be different, right?"
"I think so too, it must be a genuine Great Xia flavor, let’s see how it compares to our usual work meals..."
Before finishing her sentence, there was a whoosh, and dazzling flames flashed from the front causing widespread exclamations.
The diners seemed prepared, taking out their phones to take photos and videos, marveling at the scene.
"???"
Both of them were stunned.
"What’s he doing? Why is it on fire?"
"Should we call the fire department?"
"Hey, hey, don’t mess around, that’s making stir-fried shredded potatoes, said to be one of Great Xia’s most traditional cooking techniques and home recipes."
The person in front quickly turned to look, worried they might do something silly.
"That’s shredded potatoes??"
The two gaped, staring at the yellow stuff tumbling and flying in the orange-red flames like strands of hair, full of disbelief.
If this is shredded potatoes, what on earth were they eating before?
Potato sticks?
Lin Chen had long put on a black mask, firstly for hygiene purposes, and secondly, he didn’t want to be recognized, especially not by colleagues.
Since setting up the stall, the best-seller has been the stir-fried shredded potatoes, followed by sweet and sour plum ribs and tomato scrambled eggs, only the braised eggplant had few takers, needing only to be remade every other half an hour.
He didn’t expect foreigners to not take to the taste of doubanjiang, seems like he needs to be more cautious when making similar dishes next time.
"Hello, fancy seeing you again."
Dreya graciously flashed a charming smile at him and gave a thumbs up, "Your craftsmanship is superb, the best Great Xia cuisine I’ve had so far."
"Agreed!"
"Thank you, lovely ladies for the compliment, what would you like today?"
While smilingly responding to their greetings, he began skillfully chopping and frying.
The diners seemed to have almost arranged it, sticking to tomato scrambled eggs and shredded potatoes, perhaps because these two posed no allergy risks, while some vegetarians couldn’t handle the plum ribs.
After some diners’ suggestions, he no longer sprinkled sesame seeds directly but only added them after confirming there were no allergies before putting them on the dish.
"Let’s have one of each, we often have Great Xia cuisine for our work meals, finally a chance to taste the authentic stuff."
"Then I’ll have everything too, starving since noon, I feel like I could eat a whole cow right now!"
"Alright," Lin Chen nodded and pointed to Lucas, "Please go over there for desserts first, there’s something new today, these dishes are freshly made, will take a few minutes."
Being regulars, they naturally knew the routine, quickly heading to Lucas for payment.
"Can I come back for a pack of this ice jelly later? I’m afraid I can’t eat it all at once."
"Of course, my fair lady, at your service."
Lucas winked his blue eyes at the two, skillfully ladling two scoops of red bean soup from a tub, pouring it over tiny round balls already at the bottom of the bowl, finishing by drizzling a spoonful of osmanthus honey.
"This is our new item, osmanthus red bean tangyuan soup, you probably haven’t had it, this kind of honey isn’t found outside of Great Xia."
"Never had it."
Both shook their heads, intending to try this new item at first, but with his introduction about it being exclusive to Great Xia, they grew even more curious.
"From your tone, seems like you’re very familiar with Great Xia cuisine?"
After coming here three times and seeing this guy here each time, still offering the stall with the boss, Anna couldn’t resist her curiosity. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"Certainly!"
Upon this topic, Lucas immediately puffed his chest, "I attended primary school in Great Xia! Only went back to my home country later, but life there was unbearable, so after high school, I hurriedly returned to Great Xia for college."
"Even though I have no Great Xia bloodline in me, spiritually, I’m absolutely a hundred percent pure-blooded Great Xia person!"
"Huh?"
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed, just over six-foot Nordic hunk, unabashedly claiming to be a hundred percent spiritually pure-blood Great Xia person, the kind of man they had never encountered before.
Even Dreya, usually unexpressive, couldn’t help but glance at him twice, a little intrigued.
"I don’t believe it, say something in Great Xia language and let me hear!"
Anna, obviously more vivacious by nature, initiated a playful challenge right away.
"Can you even understand?"
"No, but you can converse with that guy over there, and we can listen and compare, can’t we?"
"What’s in it for me?"
Lucas shot her a side-eye, spreading his palm, "You just expect me to speak on request? That’s being too undignified, even circus monkeys get a reward!"
