I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 606 - 287: How many ways do you know to eat Youtiao? Midnight hunger rescue guide! [Subscribe to find out!]

Chapter 606: Chapter 287: How many ways do you know to eat Youtiao? Midnight hunger rescue guide! [Subscribe to find out!]

Lotus cakes?

It really is Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes and lotus cakes are popping up everywhere; snacks are crowding the scene. But just selling snacks won’t do; we also need to serve as many main dishes as possible.

Lin Xu scratched Dundun’s chin and placed the little guy on the service counter before heading upstairs.

The time for relaxation was over; it was time to get back to work.

Online, as soon as Lin Ji’s Food’s official account posted about the new mooncakes, netizens were stunned by the unexpected news.

Invisible Chicken Wings: Milk Yellow Mooncake? Floral Ham Mooncake? Is Boss Lin not letting us save a single penny?

Did the graphics card prices plummet today: Before going to Lin Ji, I planned to save up for a 3090. But after eating at Lin Ji for a while, I felt a 3070 wasn’t bad either. Now, seeing the mooncake news... I guess I’ll stick with the 1066 for another three years!

Lost Roasted Whole Sheep: Everyone says you shouldn’t make the kids suffer, but the guy above is just making his graphics card suffer.

I Swear Off Gambling and Drugs: I’m from Southern Yunnan. I saw the Floral Ham Mooncake and couldn’t resist. I’ll be heading to Lin Ji early tomorrow to queue up, aiming to get a box to try.

V me 50, I’ll teach you an anti-scam trick: I’m from Guangzhou. Although I’m indifferent to the Milk Yellow Mooncake, I still want to buy some to give to friends. See you tomorrow!

When you are lying in bed, your culinary skills grow in your heart: Squatting for a mooncake tutorial, how do you keep the liquid filling from melting while wrapping it? If there’s a knowledgeable bro out there, give me a shout.

...

「Third floor, end of the hallway.」

There used to be a wall here, but now a metal door had been installed.

Pushing open the door revealed a corridor inside.

The corridor wasn’t long; a few steps led into the newly renovated banquet hall.

The "renovation" was simple. It merely involved laying carpet on the floor, putting up festive wallpaper, and installing some fancy lighting on the ceiling.

It’s a temporary rental, after all, so there’s no need for extensive decoration. Besides, the space isn’t used every day anyway.

It was only used when group meals were booked. If the clients had a large enough venue of their own, they might not even think much of the environment here.

The banquet hall was filled with round tables, each seating ten people. A small stage was set up at the far end, convenient for leaders of organizations booking group meals to give speeches.

Behind the stage hung a projection screen, suitable for playing corporate promotional videos.

"How is it, Boss? Is everything alright?"

Dou Wenjing was inspecting the decorations and promptly greeted Lin Xu when she saw him arrive.

"It’s fine. For many who book group meals, just having a place to eat is all that matters. They aren’t fussy."

Those who booked group meals at Lin Ji primarily came for the food. They were discerning eaters. If they were after grandeur and extravagance, five-star hotel banquet halls were much more luxurious.

Lin Xu took a look around and felt everything was quite nice.

It was separate from the main restaurant, so they wouldn’t affect each other. Guests could go directly downstairs after eating without passing through the shop, which perfectly suited the low-key preferences of some customers.

Dou Wenjing said, "Besides Brother Qiang’s company, eight other companies have confirmed bookings to dine here. Starting tomorrow evening, we’ll host eight group meals in a row. The largest group will have about one hundred and forty people, and the smallest will have over sixty. All of them have already paid their deposits."

So many people coming to eat just for Mid-Autumn Festival? That sounds like a pretty good achievement.

Lin Xu said, "Make sure to confirm the menus with them, then hand the orders over to the kitchen for purchasing. When they’re setting the menus, have Wei Qian go. He’s more knowledgeable about dish prices, and his involvement will ensure our profits don’t suffer."

"Got it, Boss."

In the following two days, the kitchen became even busier.

Besides the increase in regular customers, the group meal business also put some pressure on the kitchen staff.

Lin Xu became busier too. Almost all the companies booking group meals ordered roasted whole sheep, so in between making mooncakes, he also had to roast lamb.

However, this kind of busyness was fulfilling. The busier he was, the better the business did, and it also meant a greater hope of establishing a home in Beijing. At this rate, perhaps in five years, he’d be able to afford a decent villa. Then he could bring his parents over and no longer have to endure the pain of family separation.

As Mid-Autumn Festival drew nearer each day, not only was the shop’s business booming, but the limited-edition mooncakes were also increasingly in high demand.

Every morning, well before opening hours, many people would appear at the door, lining up to snap up the mooncakes. Even scalpers mingled among them.

In light of this, Shu Yun had no choice but to limit the purchase quantity.

Ordinary customers could only buy two boxes at a time. Those with membership cards were allowed up to three, while high-value top-up customers could purchase five.

Everyone knew this would dampen customer enthusiasm.

But it couldn’t be helped. From the very first day, customers had been constantly requesting to buy out all the mooncakes.

Without purchase limits, it would ultimately only benefit the scalpers.

"Wow, is this the legendary notoginseng?"

On the evening before Mid-Autumn Festival, after Lin Xu finished making that day’s mooncakes, he sat with Shen Baobao at a booth, examining the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs Mrs. Huang had sent over via Mr. Huang.

Lin Xu had previously mentioned in passing that for pot-steamed chicken, a bit of notoginseng and some morels would suffice.

He had thought the ingredients were rather expensive, and just a few pieces—enough for a couple of meals—would be sufficient. To his surprise, however, Mr. Huang had sent over four or five pounds of the finest Wenshan notoginseng.

Besides the notoginseng, there was also a packet of dried morels, two packets of dried Chicken Mushrooms, and several other rather expensive warming and nourishing ingredients.