Chapter 397 - [Bonus ]
"But why did you come here, Wan Wan? Shouldn't second brother be the one taking today off to take the next shift?" The brothers had clearly decided their shifts. One pair work will in the morning, and the next pair will work in the afternoon till the evening. No one would tire themselves this way, so where was Lin Yan?
"Oh, ah Yan didn't tell you?" asked Su Wan, pure surprise on her tiny face as she looked at them. "Yan got a rather huge offer, today he went to take care of a rather distinguished guest at the restaurant. If the guest is satisfied with Ah Yan's cooking, he will let Ah Yan and our restaurant serve his birthday banquet. It's his first big job, so Ah Yan was rather excited."
Of course, he was excited. He was so excited that he only told it to their wife and completely forgot about his brothers.
Lin Jing and Lin Chen looked at each other and exchanged a somewhat similar glance. Sure enough, they were knocked to second place in their brother's heart after all.
The two of them sighed together, making her confused.
What? What was up with that sigh?
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"Aiya! Master Lin, you must be really careful with this esteemed guest. He is rather picky and doesn't like to give anyone face no matter how respectful their name is in the capital, much less this small town. I don't know his identity, but master Shen said that he is a significant guest and we shouldn't offend him in any way if possible," Manager Wang was really excited. Suppose they succeed in getting approval from this esteemed guest, they might be able to make a breakthrough. In that case, no one will look down on their restaurant ever again, and they will prosper more and more. Manager Wang's overenthusiastic attitude was so overwhelming that even little Shi and little Cao were having trouble adjusting to this.
Lin Yan looked at Manager Wang, who was babbling and didn't say anything; instead, he washed his hands and started to busy himself in the kitchen at once.
Today, their entire restaurant has been reserved for entertaining this esteemed guest. Of course, neither Manager Wang nor Lin Yan knew who this esteemed guest was as he was invited by Shen Junxi. He claimed that if Lin Yan wanted to spread his network far and wide so that no one would find trouble with him, he needed to first entertain someone with his skills. Once the esteemed guest is satisfied with his cooking skills, he can deal with small fries like Madam Luo with ease.
Lin Yan didn't know who this mysterious guest was, but he did understand the importance of this meeting. Shen Junxi gave him a chance to show his claws without bothering about getting slapped in the face. He could never let go of this opportunity!
Because if he messed up, he would only let Madam Luo have free rein. At least with this person's backing, he will safeguard his interest!
Su Wan has taught Lin Yan some new dishes: squirrelfish in sweet and sour sauce, while the second was lobster sticky rice.
Lin Yan first started with the squirrel dish because they were hurried. The staff had already dealt with the mandarin fish or lake perch that Lin Yan wanted to use in his dish. Lin Yan needed to pick the most skillfully filleted fish with a crosshatch pattern and dredge the fish in a bowl with a mixture of egg yolk, rice wine, and sesame oil. Then he dusted the fish with a coat of white flour (I know cornstarch is used but skip it), and he continued to do it until the fish was wholly covered without any flesh of the fish showing.
Then he fried the fish and began working on the sauce. He was now a master of making sweet and sour sauce, so he finished working on it within minutes. Then he scooped a generous amount and drizzled it on the fried fish with fried nuts and peanuts.
Making the lobster with sticky rice was tricky, but Lin Yan worked with Su Wan until he became so skilled that he could cook it with his eyes closed. In just a short time, he finished preparing the mouthwatering unique dishes. In contrast, the kitchen staff who were supposed to be working on their own special dishes stood beside him, taking notes.
The head chef responsible for taking charge of the kitchen when Lin Yan wasn't here was a step ahead of the others. He completely forgot about his broccoli with oyster sauce. He stood next to Lin Yan and started memorizing all of Lin Yan's steps in cooking the new dishes. He blatantly learned the latest techniques and kept on questioning Lin Yan, "Can we use common carp instead of perch? It can be a bit expensive for the common folks."
Lin Yan nodded. He had already asked Su Wan about this earlier, and she told him that it was fine to use common carp from the river to make the new squirrelfish dish. They were only using the high-quality perch because they needed to serve an esteemed guest. "Of course, you can. With your intelligence, it's no surprise you have taken this restaurant of ours to another level, head Chef."
"They are here!" Shouted Little Shi as he barged inside the kitchen, then glanced at the staff who had stopped working on their dishes, and shock flickered on his face. "What are you all doing? The esteemed guests are here, and you haven't finished cooking? Do you want our restaurant to be blacklisted! Finish up, hurry!"
The staff immediately turned around to finish the dishes they were cooking while Little Shi turned to Lin Yan and said, "Master Shen is calling for you, Boss Lin."
Lin Yan nodded and washed his hands, cleaning them before leaving the kitchen.. He didn't want to make these esteemed guests wait for him at all.