Chapter 179: Delicate Flavor of the Sesame Seed Cakes
Chapter 179: Delicate Flavor of the Sesame Seed Cakes
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
The freshly baked sesame seed cakes emitted a fascinating fragrance and were stacked together on a clean porcelain plate. The cake skin was like the crab shell and none of the white sesame seeds covered on it fell. Instead, they all stuck on all over the cake skin.
Yuan Zhou directly bit down on the cake followed by a "Ka Cha" sound.
Instantly, his mouth was filled with fragrance. Theoretically, the duck oil and the cake would surely melt together when it was hot. This one, however, didn’t give people any of that feeling.
With a bite on the cake, the inside was soft and the stuffing was crisp; the cake was bitten neatly; its residues neither fell nor stuck to the teeth; it left a delicate flavor lingering in his mouth, which made Yuan Zhou not able to stop. Therefore, Yuan Zhou began to eat the cakes one after another.
The sesame seeds were stuck all over the cake with the help of the melted sugar. The stuffing inside was savory with chopped spring onion. The faint sweetness and the savory taste had a distinct texture but, nevertheless, merged together marvelously, enabling a light fragrance to spread out.
In his mouth were the stickiness of the duck oil and the softness of the cake. When he was biting, the crisp cake skin emitted a sound of "Ca Ca". The two different texture and the distinctly layered tastes made the Duck Oil Sesame Seed Cake seem especially exotic.
Without even taking a sip of water, Yuan Zhou immediately ate up three pieces of the sesame seed cakes.
At that time, there were many people lining up outside Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. Of course, they were all attracted by the scent of the Duck Oil Sesame Seed Cake filling the air, thus came.
At both sides of the long line, a circle of hawkers surrounded the customers in harmony.
"Iced Soybean Milk…. Steamed Bread, Steamed Stuffed Buns…"
"Soybean Milk and Deep-Fried Dough Sticks…."
"Steamed Sponge Cake, fragrant and sweet…. Millet Congee…"
"Drinks, various drinks…"
The shout rose repeatedly one after another. And all the hawkers had a common characteristic, that was, everyone had drinks on their menu and the drinks made up the dominant percentage.
As the watermelon juice was the only drink in Yuan Zhou’s restaurant and, moreover, was not provided in the morning, these hawkers, who had sharp discernment, started to sell various drinks around Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
"I think everyday about what exactly Boss Yuan is eating privately in his store," a customer who was at the end of the line said anxiously.
"I’m also curious. This Boss Yuan cooks appetizing dishes every day in his closed restaurant. This makes me unable to have a good sleep," standing in front, Wu Hai scratched his head and chimed in with great discontent.
"You could close the window and then sleep," having waited impatiently there, Man Man pointed to the opened window of Wu Hai’s room and said bluntly.
"It feels stuffy that way," Wu Hai answered concisely.
"You can open the windows at the other side of your room. Besides, the scenery there is more beautiful," Man Man said. She seemed to know the region well.
The opened window of Wu Hai’s room was exactly facing the second floor of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. From that position, he could easily see Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, not to mention the fragrance of the dishes.
Speaking of which, the residents living around had basically all put on weight, due to hunger.
"Xiaoyun, how long before your boss opens the door?" at that time, a customer asked anxiously.
"It should be any minute," Mu Xiaoyun raised her hand and looked at the cartoon watch before saying with conviction. After all, Boss Yuan had always been punctual.
Just as Mu Xiaoyun finished speaking, the tightly shut door emitted "Hua La" sound as expected.
Yuan Zhou had already got used to the long line and hence, naturally, went back to the countertop, preparing to sell his sesame seed cakes.
"Boss Yuan, you made delicious food again, right?" As soon as the customer entered the restaurant, he couldn’t wait to ask.
"Yeah, yeah. Did you developed a new dish?" This customer regarded himself as a well-informed man concerning new dishes. Every time Yuan Zhou developed new dishes, he would surely come.
"Why don’t you guys check the menu directly?" With an impatient attitude, Wu Hai got seated and immediately looked towards the menu.
"Duck Oil Sesame Seed Cake: 98 RMB/piece. So this is the new dish, right?" Wu Hai opened the mouth and asked.
"Yes, everyone can only buy one cake," Yuan Zhou specifically instructed them. After all, he had eaten another one again before he opened the door. Now there were only 96 cakes left in total.
"Is it savory or sweet?" The well-informed man of new dishes cared more about this problem.
"savory," Yuan Zhou always answered whenever he was asked.
"One sesame seed cake." The instant Yuan Zhou finished speaking, Wu Hai immediately stated his order.
"One moment."
Then, other customers came to realize the situation and hurriedly ordered the single cake.
By then, Wu Hai had already received his cake and started to eat it.
As a painter, Wu Hai’s behavior sometimes would imitate those artists. For example, now. Though he had chopsticks in his hand, Wu Hai, nevertheless, preferred to eat it while holding it with his hand.
While taking the sesame seed cake with one hand, he subconsciously put the other below his chin, preparing to catch the sesame seeds and crumbs of the cake which might fall.
All those who received the sesame seed cake basically made this gesture subconsciously.
The girls ate in a more cultured way. They all prepared napkin tissues and placed them on the table. On the contrary, men were eating without a care. They either used the plate or their hands, preparing to catch the crumbs like Wu Hai.
It was a common sense that this kind of multi-layer sesame seed cakes would produce crumbs while being eaten.
However, they soon realized that common sense didn’t apply to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
For the Duck Oil Sesame Seed Cake made by Yuan Zhou, every bite on the cake skin emitted a sound of "Ca Ca". The inside was on the contrary soft, with distinct layers that were giving off visible slight steam.
What’s more, the bitten part was neat and no crumbs fell from the cake. Even the sesame seeds remained on the surface without falling at all. After chewing, the cake didn’t stick to the teeth at all. They just swallowed a full mouthful of fragrance.
While these few customers were eating in the restaurant, others outside were nevertheless waiting for the seats anxiously. When they smelled the fragrance, they became far more anxious.
"How tempting this fragrance is! I can even smell the taste of the chopped spring onions," after gulping down his saliva, a customer in line craned his neck and said while watching.
"Stop speaking, please. My belly is growling." However, another person acted quite differently. He just stood still and never looked at those who were eating.
"Sorry, I’m too anxious." The man stood upright and smiled in embarrassment.
"We are all anxious to eat it. There’re only a few people ahead by now and we can get our turn soon." This person didn’t even know if he was comforting himself or others.
Wu Hai, who had finished his meal by then, just stood at the side and didn’t leave while counting something in low voice.
In a little while, Yuan Zhou announced, "The 100 sesame seed cakes for today have been sold out. Everybody, please go back now and come earlier next time."
"Jesus. I have been waiting here and smelling the fragrance for half a day. Even my saliva flowed to the ground," the one that didn’t get his turn said that, feeling rather speechless.
Seeing the scene, the hawkers wittily started to shout for their business.
"Fragrant Steamed Meat Stuffed Buns, as well as vegetable stuffed buns."
Those who couldn’t endure the hunger turned around and went to buy the steamed buns. It was not a weekend and they still had to work soon.
"Wait, Boss Yuan. I find every time you say 100, there’s a shortage in the quantity. What’s the matter?" Wu Hai stood out and said with certainty.
Wu Hai’s words drew attention of the customers who hadn’t left
"Hum, a total of 96 sesame seed cakes," Yuan Zhou answered quite frankly.
"Then where are the remaining four cakes?" Wu Hai asked in surprise.
"I ate it," Yuan Zhou said even more earnestly.
"Boss Yuan, how can you feed yourself with the snack that belongs to us? This is absolutely a horrible habit," Wu Hai was first astounded and then he said painfully while pointing at Yuan Zhou.
"I made them," Yuan Zhou didn’t really understand Wu Hai’s thought. He said seriously with a long face.
"You can’t count the snacks eaten by you into the 100," Wu Hai thought for a while and changed his way of saying that.
"No way. This is the rule. You know, I’m a person who strictly adheres to rules and furthermore, has a good-looking face," Yuan Zhou was always very serious every time he spoke of the rules.
As soon as he spoke that, the customers including Wu Hai became speechless. They had experienced many times how difficult it was to get Yuan Zhou to change his rules...