Super Zoo-Chapter 360 - 356 Why So Awesome?

In the end, three people shared two servings of rice, portions so scant that together, they probably totaled less than 150 grams.

True masters are indeed masters; when cooking, Sheng Weidong didn’t seem to add any special seasoning, yet the rice tasted of the clear fragrance of ginseng, the freshness of crab roe, and even a hint of fish flavor. Each grain of rice was plump and perfectly round, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth after eating.

"Damn, now I’m ruined!" Suming felt disheartened. Having eaten such rice, how could he possibly stomach the swill served in the cafeteria?

Suming wasn’t the only one with that thought at the event. The only exception was Ren Chen, who, from a distance, was all smiles. He sniffed the aroma but didn’t take a single bite, leaving all the rice to the pure and innocent young girl, Nana, he brought with him.

Sheng Weidong stepped down from the stage amidst a round of applause, holding his head high as he took his seat. A row of chefs also gave applause, albeit symbolically, not as enthusiastically as the guests—a typical case of professionals discounting each other’s work.

Suming had expected there to be a segment where the audience would score the dishes, but, unfortunately, there wasn’t one. The waitstaff brought over mouth rinse, and after rinsing, they tasted the next dishes.

Following that, several master chefs took turns demonstrating their special skills.

The master chef from Yangzhou Building made two art dishes, one carved tofu and one carved ice flower.

These two dishes might not necessarily taste good, but the display was all about the carving skill. Tofu and ice, one soft and the other hard, represented two completely different properties that required significant skill to handle.

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Ice is hard yet brittle, too little force won’t allow proper carving, and too much will cause the ice to crack. The master chef faced a square meter block of ice and carved as fast as the wind; there was a series of crackling noises as ice shards flew all over, and like magic, the block transformed into a three-dimensional crystal Great Wall;

Many in the banquet hall gathered their cameras to take pictures, and the moment the camera flashes went off, the crystalline Great Wall suddenly shone brilliantly, almost painfully bright to the eye!

It turned out that in the middle of the Great Wall was an octagonal ’beacon tower’, ingeniously designed to reflect light from all directions!

The name of this ice sculpture was dubbed Proud Spirit of China.

The tofu was very soft, and even a slight touch could cause it to fall apart. The master chef submerged the tofu in water with one hand, using the buoyancy to keep it intact, while carving with a knife in the water with the other hand—almost like carving blind.

The water churned, and after about fifteen minutes, the chef lifted the tofu out with one hand, showing it off to the audience.

In the palm of his hand lay a palace-clad beauty, partially clothed; the camera zoomed in on the big screen, revealing the tofu lady’s clear features and lifelike eyebrows, with even the folds in her robe distinctly visible. The most extravagant part was beneath the sheer fabric on her chest, there seemed to be...

Suming instantly felt he had met a kindred spirit!

Soon after, seven graceful palace-clad beauties, each in a different pose, were carved and placed on a tray lined with crushed ice. The chill from the ice seemed like bluish smoke, gently wafting around the tray as if the seven celestial beauties, each holding fruits, were ethereally floating.

The Banquet of the Peaches of Immortality.

The third chef to take the stage finally made a dish that could be eaten, with an ingredient familiar to Suming: steamed river pufferfish.

But what was special was that the master chef didn’t completely remove the toxic parts of the pufferfish; he simply drained its blood and removed its roe, then steamed it with a few blade-like garnishes in the plate.

A murmur of astonishment spread through the spectator’s seats. What kind of joke was this? Who didn’t know that river pufferfish were poisonous? Everyone present had seen and eaten enough to know that the three dangers of pufferfish—the viscera, reproductive glands, and blood—were deadly toxic. One slip and, if you don’t die, you’d end up with a numb tongue, bloated belly, and blindness. Was this chef gambling with the lives of everyone present?

"Yan Youyi once said in ’The Thesaurus of Arts’: river pufferfish, a curious delicacy among aquatics, is traditionally considered lethal, but if cooked with green mustard, mugwort, and reed sprout, death has not been seen. The toxin of the river pufferfish is an excellent tenderizer. Eating the fish and discarding the toxin is truly a waste; it only needs to be neutralized with green mustard, mugwort, and reed sprout," the host introduced.

Once the river pufferfish was ready, the chef ignored the puzzled looks of the audience and served himself one, quickly devouring it.

Seeing the chef eating heartily and waving energetically to the crowd below, the audience felt somewhat reassured. The waitstaff then fluttered like butterflies, distributing the remaining pufferfish to each table.

Suming’s table also got a river pufferfish.

He had always believed that describing meat as ’melting in the mouth’ was pure bragging.

No matter how tender, it’s not Häagen-Dazs, how could it melt?

But after tasting this bite, he was utterly convinced. The jelly-like flesh of the river puffer didn’t require any chewing at all. With just a light touch of the tongue, it melted into a rich, creamy mince, bursting with freshness and savoriness.

No wonder the river puffer’s flesh is hailed as "Xi Shi’s breasts."

Suming couldn’t help but think, "Fan Li and King Fuchai of Wu were truly blessed men!"

...

...

Time flew quickly, and after several chefs had showcased their dishes one by one, it was already nine o’clock in the evening. Yet, the people present didn’t feel the slightest bit tired; on the contrary, they were energized and full of anticipation for what the next dish would be.

"Now, please welcome the chef from Hong Family Cuisine, Master Hong Feifei, to present her culinary skills!"

As these words were spoken, the entire venue suddenly erupted into a round of enthusiastic applause.

Applause was not uncommon. Ever since the first chef, Master Sheng Weidong, had demonstrated his special ’cooking rice’ technique, the audience had given thunderous applause to each chef as they came and went offstage because the food was simply too delicious!

However, Suming noticed that even the first row of chefs, who typically looked down on fellow colleagues, were vigorously clapping their hands this time, directing their gazes towards Master Hong Feifei on stage.

Looking lightly upon one’s peers was no exception in the culinary world. Before, even when other master chefs performed, the first row had not been very enthusiastic, clapping in a scatter, clearly just going through the motions.

But this time, it was the exact opposite. The applause from the other chefs present was warm and sincere.

Could it be because this Master Hong was not just someone with an effeminate name, but also a woman?

Hong Feifei, on stage, was the only female chef present. She appeared quite young, about twenty years old, and compared to the group of other chefs who were mostly in their forties or fifties, she was definitely a junior.

Suming was the first to disbelieve that these haughty master chefs would put aside their pride and kiss up to her just because she was a woman, and a young and beautiful one at that.

What a joke, it’s not like she’s Yang Mi...

Men might shower women with money and keep them at the center of their hearts, even place them on a pedestal, but when it comes to their own profession, not a single capable man would willingly submit under a woman’s skirt because of her looks.

The only explanation then, was that Master Hong Feifei might just be the best chef of the evening.

"Hey, it’s a young girl, and she’s really not bad-looking!" Nangong Huang whistled and then said, "But she’s still a bit short compared to my sister."

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"A pretty woman should be filial," Suming said with a smile. "Dressed in white, of course, she looks good, it’s called uniform temptation."

"Brother-in-law, do you think I’m a child who doesn’t understand? I’ve only heard of uniform temptation from policewomen and flight attendants. Where’s there a female chef?"

"A beautiful chef, get it?" Suming laughed and nodded towards the stage. "Look what she’s about to cook."

It was true. After a series of ’miraculous skills’ displayed by the previous chefs, the audience might not have been surprised even if the next chef cooked dragon liver and phoenix marrow. But when this young and pretty chef appeared, once again, everyone’s appetite was whetted.

The people present weren’t children; they could all see that this beautiful chef held a distinguished status among all the chefs. Everyone had the same thought as Suming: what exactly makes her so outstanding?

After Hong Feifei came on stage, two assistants wheeled in a trolley from outside, on which was a big woven bag big enough to fit a person. On their way in, the woven bag was dripping water, leaving a trail on the marble floor. Reaching the cutting board, the two male assistants, with a loud call, lifted the woven bag onto the board.

Judging by the actions and expressions of the male assistants, the ’thing’ inside the woven bag was definitely not light.

Once placed on the table, the surface of the woven bag wriggled a few times, as if it contained something alive!