Daddy's Gourmet Shop-Chapter 231 - 223: Sickly Sweet

"It’s really not easy. I’ve spent so much time on this, working from early morning until now. Finally, this Honeyed Ham is done. It’s really time-consuming and labor-intensive!"

Ding Suqin, after washing the other ingredients, saw that Huang Tao had taken several hours to finally complete the Honeyed Ham, and couldn’t help but express her admiration.

Huang Tao smiled: "Although this dish takes a long time, if you prepare and steam it in advance, the final processing is quite quick. From the time a customer orders until it reaches the table, it takes at most about ten minutes."

Ding Suqin nodded in understanding and moved closer.

Looking at the crystal-clear ham and lotus seeds on the plate before her, and smelling the rich sweet fragrance, she couldn’t help swallowing, though a question lingered in her heart.

Speaking of which.

With so much sugar used in the steaming process, along with honey and sweet-scented osmanthus sugar, wouldn’t this taste overly sweet?

For customers who don’t like sweets, wouldn’t this dish be cloying?

She didn’t quite understand the preferences of Jiangsu and Zhejiang people, why they always seemed to like adding sugar when cooking.

Ah!

Everything else is great about Jiangsu and Zhejiang, except this penchant for adding sugar to dishes.

Though being a woman, she preferred spicy food and was never interested in sweets from a young age.

So when she saw Huang Tao using sugary seasonings throughout the making of Honeyed Ham, she was naturally skeptical about whether it would taste good.

Yet she completely forgot how she praised the sweet and savory flavor of Dongpo Pork she had been eating these past few days with every meal.

Lin Zifeng sniffed the air, looking eager, and exclaimed, "Ah... just the smell and sight of it already assures me it’s going to be delicious."

Xu Hao nodded in agreement, full of anticipation: "Yes, after steaming for so long, the sweet and savory flavors must blend perfectly without becoming cloying."

Seeing Lin Zifeng and Xu Hao, both budding chefs, say so, the Honeyed Ham must indeed taste good, otherwise, they wouldn’t be saying this.

Ding Suqin was suddenly interested.

She thought about trying it when she got the chance.

To see if it really is as delicious as they claim, never dulling after repeated bites.

Huang Tao smiled and invited, "Everyone, have a taste!"

"Well, I won’t be polite then."

Lin Zifeng laughed, rubbing his hands together, and quickly grabbed some chopsticks, handing them out to everyone.

Everyone took the chopsticks without much ado and directly reached for the Honeyed Ham on the plate.

After a prolonged steaming, the ham had become tender and soft, breaking apart easily with a gentle grip of the chopsticks.

Lin Zifeng picked up a small piece of lean ham and put it into his mouth.

It tasted sweet on the first bite.

But the flavor was not overwhelming, rather very mild.

Then, with a light press of his tongue.

The lean ham instantly melted in his mouth.

The meat was very fine and firm, with a delightful chew.

The inherent salty flavor of the ham and the sweetness of the honey combined, not clashing at all, but blending harmoniously.

The lean part of the ham, which tends to be dry due to lack of fat and moisture, was enveloped by the honey glaze, counteracting the dryness perfectly and adding a lubricating effect.

The texture was smooth!

While chewing, the savory flavor subtly released from the strands of ham, mingling with the honey glaze, repeating in cycles.

It was neither as sweet as imagined nor as cloying as expected.

Only the intertwining sweetness and savory taste, continually stimulating the taste buds, making it addictive.

One bite was followed by another...

Unable to stop the chopsticks!

This might be the charm of the Honeyed Ham!

Its deliciousness.

To those who haven’t tasted it, it’s unimaginable.

For instance, at this moment, Ding Suqin, after tasting it, was instantly captivated by its deliciousness, drowning in a sea of flavors, feeling almost euphoric.

The previous concern about the dish being overly sweet for non-sweet lovers was long forgotten.

Now, her mind was filled with nothing but Honeyed Ham.

She couldn’t help but give a thumbs up to Huang Tao, praising: "Boss, this Honeyed Ham is amazing! Your culinary skills are extraordinary! Even for someone like me, who doesn’t fancy sweets, it’s irresistible!"

"Indeed, not only is the lean part delicious, but even the fatty part is remarkably flavorful. The salty and savory ham flavor combined with the osmanthus-scented honey glaze is simply irresistible!" praised Lin Zifeng while eating.

Xu Hao nodded approvingly: "Indeed, delicious. The sweet and savory flavor, with the fatty ham melting in the mouth and the lean part chewy, along with the tender lotus seeds, make the flavor outstanding."

Huang Tao smiled humbly, gesturing that it was nothing.

Though the Honeyed Ham is a skillful dish.

It takes a lot of time.

But the cooking technique isn’t very demanding.

Neither knife skills nor seasoning are required, and even the timing isn’t particularly critical.

Patience is the only necessity!

With enough patience, the deliciousness of the Honeyed Ham can be perfectly presented.

Huang Tao was quite happy at the moment, not just for the compliments, but more so because everyone enjoyed his food.

As Ding Suqin ate, she didn’t forget to think about pricing, smiling and asking, "Boss, how are you going to price this delicious Honeyed Ham?"

"A full portion of Honeyed Ham will be 288 yuan, and a single serving will be 38 yuan."

Huang Tao thought for a moment and continued, "And this West Lake Vinegar Fish will be 88 yuan per serving. Suqin, later on, write the new prices on the electronic board at the entrance."

Neither Ding Suqin nor Lin Zifeng felt that the prices set by their boss were high, thinking his skills totally justified the price.

Xu Hao, however, thought it was a bit cheap.

Even if the prices were a bit higher, there would still be plenty of people coming to eat.

However, he knew their boss liked to run his business steadily, without seeking too much profit, so he didn’t voice any opinions and respected every decision their boss made.

"Alright, boss, I’ll take care of it now."

Ding Suqin put down her chopsticks and swiftly moved to the electronic blackboard at the shop entrance.

Add the new dish prices:

[West Lake Vinegar Fish: 88 yuan per plate.]

[Honeyed Ham: 288 yuan per full portion, 38 yuan for a single serving.]

With the new prices posted, it naturally caught the attention of the customers lining up in front.

Many student customers, upon seeing the prices, couldn’t help but sigh.

"Whoa... The West Lake Vinegar Fish is 88 yuan, and the Honeyed Ham costs 288 yuan per portion! Even a single serving is 38 yuan! My wallet can’t afford it."

"Indeed, having it occasionally is fine, but eating it every day, my wallet can’t handle it!"

"The price isn’t Boss Huang’s fault, it’s our fault. Anything Boss Huang makes, there’s no worry about selling it anywhere!"

Huang Tao’s pricing is actually quite reasonable.

Even if it were a bit more expensive, those who like to eat would still buy it.

The students knew this in their hearts.

But their wallets were indeed thin!

"It’s fine, we might not have the money, but we have numbers, we can share like ordering roast duck, right? If you’re really hungry, you can even grab a bowl of rice from the cafeteria, right?"

Indeed!

Their eyes lit up, suddenly realizing.

That way, the per capita cost isn’t very high.

And they can still enjoy famous Zhejiang dishes.

It’s a win-win situation!

Everyone felt the plan was perfect.

They discussed among themselves which dishes to buy later.

Then create a group chat, to split the money via group red envelopes.

And continue queuing quietly.

In the kitchen, Huang Tao was preparing other dishes, readying for service.