Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 258 - 178: Approached by No. 178, Culinary Exchange (Part 2)

Pulling an empty suitcase, I arrived at the front desk.

"Hello, I'm Nagishiro Sho, who called earlier to meet with your hotel manager. May I know my room number?"

"?!"

Elise and Vanessa were shocked. They had a hunch when they saw this Asian face that he might be that head chef, and it turned out to be true. They hurriedly handed over a form.

"Please fill out your personal information and then look at the camera for three seconds."

While registering the information, they didn't forget to notify the general manager.

"Chef, your room number is 1001 on the tenth floor. Our general manager will meet you in the conference room on the fourth floor shortly."

He didn't have much luggage to sort out. He tossed his suitcase into the room and headed straight to the fourth floor to find the conference room.

"Hello Mr. Wang, I'm Nagishiro Sho. Nice to meet you for the first time, please guide me well."

"?"

Wang Ziqin raised his eyebrows in surprise, never expecting this guy to introduce himself in awkward Chinese right off the bat. Did he even mention he was from Great Xia?

"Haha, Mr. Wang, no need to be surprised. In our line of work, we're very good at picking up details. People from the Three East Asian Countries are quite distinguishable from each other."

"This time, I've mainly come to meet the Chinese head chef at your hotel restaurant. The food he sold on Amiens Street before gave me a lot of amazing inspiration, so I wanted to come and personally observe his cooking process and taste his skills."

Nagishiro Sho was quite direct, stating his purpose before even sitting down.

"Ah, sure, sure. As long as you're a guest at our hotel, you can make reservations for the next day's breakfast and lunch at the front desk every day, just pay a little buffet fee. It's cheap, delicious, and filling."

"I've already looked into this on your hotel's website, and I will definitely go. But I've heard if you want to have dinner…" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Here it comes!

Wang Ziqin nodded to himself, realizing this was indeed the purpose of his visit.

Originally, he set up this reservation system for hunger marketing, to see if it could attract some important guests. So far, it seems effective.

"Dinner, right? It's not a problem, but our dinner slots refresh automatically at midnight every day. Only guests staying at the hotel have the chance to grab a spot, and whether you get one is purely based on luck."

"Mr. Wang."

Nagishiro Sho gestured with an open palm: "Name your conditions. We're all East Asians here, we understand each other in business."

Wang Ziqin's lips curled into a smile as he nodded: "Good, since you're straightforward, things become much simpler."

"Rest assured, although I'm a businessman, owning such a large hotel means we're not short on money. So I wanted to discuss with Mr. Nagishiro about any potential collaborations."

"Collaboration? I don't understand, Mr. Wang. Your hotel has a wide range of services and a head chef stationed at the restaurant. What can I help with?"

"Mr. Nagishiro's restaurant in Amiens is among the most well-known, renowned for using Japanese cuisine techniques with Western ingredients and introducing new dishes every quarter, covering global culinary cultures, am I right?"

Wang Ziqin spoke eloquently, having used the waiting hour to conduct some online research.

"That is indeed the case. I came this time to seek inspiration for the autumn menu. I've never explored Chinese cuisine before, and I feel it should be quite exciting."

"Since Mr. Nagishiro wants to learn about our Chinese culinary culture, just eating a few meals isn't enough. After all, we have thousands of years of cultural history and our culinary culture is the most complex and profound in the world."

"Mr. Wang, you're absolutely right. Last night I even stayed up all night watching 'A Bite of Great Xia'. The culinary culture of Great Xia possesses a mysterious power that irresistibly draws one in to explore further."

"You've even watched 'A Bite of Great Xia'? Excellent, it seems you already have a basic understanding and recognition, which makes things much simpler."

Wang Ziqin smiled mysteriously: "The matter of collaboration can be set aside for now. Mr. Nagishiro is likely not staying just a day or two this time? Perhaps after a few more meals, circumstances may change."

Nagishiro Sho nodded in agreement: "My assistant is overseeing things at the restaurant, so there's no issue in the short term. I've indeed come prepared to learn. If that Great Xia chef is interested, I can also share some of our Sakura culinary culture. Exchanging and honing culinary skills together is the only way to grow."

"When you meet our head chef, you both can discuss it yourselves. I won't be involved. Now, tomorrow's dinner, I can accompany Mr. Nagishiro, but our rules…"

"To purchase or obtain ingredients yourself, right? I'm not good at swimming, so I'm quite interested in your hotel's farm. Could I visit it tomorrow morning?"

"Of course, that's no problem! Then it's settled."

The farm has dedicated personnel to accompany visitors, so the general manager doesn't need to be personally involved.

After all, his hotel far exceeds the scale of the other's restaurant. It's a family business, with status and strength far surpassing the opponent, so there's no need to personally attend to everything and lower his status.

Unless the other is a Michelin three-star chef with multiple restaurants under their name, only then would they be worthy of personal accompaniment.

Nagishiro Sho was very satisfied with the outcome of this discussion. After bidding farewell to the hotel manager, he went to the front desk to reserve the next day's breakfast and lunch, inwardly filled with anticipation.

With nothing to do, he decided to explore the nearby area and have a look for some breakfast.

Just after stepping out the main entrance, he noticed a bustling restaurant not far across the street, and his eyes lit up.

"Is it there? The business is truly thriving!"

From over two hundred meters away, he could clearly see the crowded figures inside the restaurant. He instinctively glanced at his watch, noticing it was almost nine o'clock. Isn't the restaurant's breakfast supposed to stop serving at nine? Why are there still so many people?

Even with a buffet, theoretically, they wouldn't accept new customers within half an hour of closing time. The guests would also know that going late might mean nothing left to eat, generally allowing at least an hour for meals.

Foreigners have a slow-paced lifestyle, not rushing themselves unnecessarily.

He couldn't understand the situation. Even in his restaurant, they would inform guests who arrive half an hour before serving ends, usually not accommodating them. Such a bustling scene has never occurred.

Quickly making his way to the restaurant's outside, he peered through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows to see what delicacies the diners had on their plates.

What he saw immediately deepened his confusion.

"Isn't a buffet supposed to be about leisurely sitting and enjoying a plateful of food? Why is everyone standing while eating?"

As he moved around the restaurant's perimeter, he finally spotted two or three tables with normal guests sitting down to eat. Their plates were mostly filled with fried rice, with the rest being dishes similar to the takeout box Ai brought back before.

There were quite a few people watching like him, mostly guests who arrived yesterday or earlier this morning, without knowledge of the restaurant's reputation or dinner reservations. Seeing such a crowd, they couldn't help but be drawn in.

"That fried rice looks so tempting, I've never seen such good-looking fried rice before."

"It looks a bit like Thai basil seafood fried rice but with way more seafood, it's all seafood at a glance."

"How do those Asian people make their rice so grainy, even with my rice cooker, I can't make such delicious-looking rice."

"If I'd known the breakfast options were this good, I would've made a reservation!"

"There seems to be salad too, and those stir-fried beef strips look nice. Rice, beef, seafood, vegetables, well-rounded nutrition. Gosh, the more I look, the hungrier I get."

Nagishiro Sho discreetly exhaled in relief, originally worried his behavior might be mistaken as odd. It seems there's no need to worry.

Moreover, the diners and staff in the restaurant appeared completely unconcerned. This situation seemed perfectly normal, likely not unique to today but a daily occurrence.

A restaurant less than four days old is this bustling—isn't it a bit excessive?