The Game of Life-Chapter 727 - 726: Reserve a copy for me as well.

Chapter 727: Chapter 726: Reserve a copy for me as well.

Just as Han Guishan’s passion for finishing his dish was about to lead him to devour half a chicken, the Taishi Snake Soup finally arrived.

Unlike the modest yet elegant small bowls used for serving steamed chicken mousse, the bowls for Taishi Snake Soup were at least twice as big and filled to the brim, covered with lids.

The surface of the bowls was decorated with intricate patterns, which looked somewhat flashy and made one immediately think that whatever inside must be quite expensive.

One bowl for each person.

Han Guishan didn’t lift the lid right away; he was still nibbling on chicken feet. Thanks to his efforts, a small mountain of chicken bones had piled up on the plate in front of him, and the server had conveniently swapped it for a new one, allowing him to discard even more bones.

Han Guishan, sucking on chicken feet, glanced sideways at the Taishi Snake Soup in front of Xu Cheng, whose lid was already removed.

The Taishi Snake Soup looked very appealing when it first came to the table, with its honey-colored broth, finely shredded snake meat mixed with various other ingredients, white and black, thicker and thinner, longer and shorter in size. The finishing touches—tiny strands of lemon leaf so fine they resembled hair and white chrysanthemum petals scattered on top—made it look like a colorful western painting, full of ambiance yet hard to decipher exactly what it portrayed; certainly, it was not immediately recognizable as a bowl of snake soup.

At least Han Guishan didn’t recognize it.

It was normal for him not to recognize it; most diners didn’t either, until the server lifted the lid and introduced the dish as Taishi Snake Soup, causing some guests to suddenly understand.

“Oh, so it’s Taishi Snake Soup.”

Ever since the invitations for the Mid-Summer Banquet were sent out, those who did not receive an invitation had been speculating what dishes Sun Maochai would debut, as had those who had received an invitation.

Taishi Snake Soup was not among Sun Maochai’s specialties, but it had won awards. Despite being labor-intensive and seldom made, many diners had speculated whether this dish would be served. Even though it was frequently guessed, due to Sun Maochai making it so infrequently and the lack of available photos, many diners who had speculated didn’t recognize the dish when they finally saw the Taishi Snake Soup.

The most critical point was that Jiang Feng had completely stolen the spotlight at today’s Mid-Summer Banquet, drawing attention away from Sun Maochai. The marvellous experience provided by the steamed chicken mousse was so strong that, even while eating subsequent dishes, many guests couldn’t help but reminisce about the chicken mousse they had already swallowed and were being digested.

Only the chicken mousse could leave such an increasingly delicious taste.

“I can’t believe it’s Taishi Snake Soup,” Peng Changping also failed to recognize it until the server explained it, much to his surprise.

“You know about this dish too?” Xu Cheng asked curiously.

“Yes, but I always thought it had been lost to time. If I remember correctly, this dish isn’t easy to make. To do it justice, one would even need to cultivate a specific type of chrysanthemum particularly suited to it, and devise a special broth. But to calculate the time needed for the broth alone, preparing this dish would take at least a dozen hours. If you consider the time for cultivating the chrysanthemums, the whole process could span several months,” Peng Changping said with a laugh.

“They even cultivated special chrysanthemums?” Xu Cheng was astonished.

“They did back then, not necessarily now. What I mentioned happened in my father’s days. Back then, cultivating chrysanthemums for a single dish was nothing unusual; one might even grow rice specially for one particular dish. In reality, it was all unnecessary, merely a luxury that richer people enjoyed,” Peng Changping explained. “Using today’s terminology, what’s it called? Oh, right, ‘personalized customization’, seeking that unique touch.”

Xu Cheng couldn’t grasp the notion and just shook his head, scooping up a full spoon of the snake soup.

This time, the Taishi Snake Soup was different from the soup Sun Maochai prepared during the trial run. For the trial, he hadn’t prepared a broth in advance and had to resort to the ready-made broth that Jiang Feng had cooked, which, although tasty, was unsuitable for the recipe. For the 51 servings of Taishi Snake Soup today, Sun Maochai had started making the broth two days beforehand, using abalone, fresh bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, whole chicken, and ham, along with other ingredients.

It had been simmering since yesterday, gently heated to let the ingredients become more tender and meld their flavors into the broth.

As for the chrysanthemums, of course, they weren’t cultivated especially for the soup as Peng Changping suggested; even if Sun Maochai had the skill, he wouldn’t have the time. He had simply chosen what he considered the best white chrysanthemum available, knowing that a good match would be the icing on the cake, while a decent one would not detract from the dish’s quality.

Even without a specially devised broth, the Taishi Snake Soup Sun Maochai made last time was exceptional, not to mention this time, where he had commenced preparation two days in advance, with a broth tailored just for this dish.

To say that it was tantalizingly delicious was an understatement; it was enough to redefine the dish of snake soup for the esteemed guests present.

Due to regional differences, many places do not cook snake, and many people may have lived for twenty or thirty years without ever trying snake meat. There are also quite a few individuals who, out of fear of snakes, will never attempt to eat it. Snake meat is not a common dish, and it rarely appears in markets. Even if a few restaurants offer it, diners seldom order an unfamiliar and expensive dish on a whim.

Eating it infrequently leads to a lack of understanding and makes the experience new and exciting.

Snake meat itself is distinct from other meats, varying slightly in texture according to the type of snake, and even the taste and mouthfeel can differ. Taishi Snake Soup incorporated five kinds of snake, including several venomous species; the flesh of four types was stewed into the broth, leaving only the Water Rhythm Snake Fillet for guests to chew and appreciate its texture.

The freshness, resilience, and aftertaste of the snake meat, combined with the broth’s rich aroma, sweetness, and savoriness, along with the chrysanthemum strands’ light flavor, the citrusy zest of lemon leaf strings, and a touch of their slight bitterness, all converged in the mouth with a spoonful, chewed between the teeth, diffused over the tongue.

Exquisite.

This dish was grand enough to be the centerpiece of the Midsummer Feast.

Originally, the guests had been completely led astray by Jiang Feng, but now, they finally remembered why they had been looking forward to the Midsummer Feast in the first place, and who the exclusive show was initially prepared for.

Sun Maochai might not be as skilled in cooking as Chef Arno, but he understood the stomachs of the people of his country better than Chef Arno did.

A bowl of Taishi Snake Soup plunged everyone back into silence.

In the silence, there was the very soft sound of smacking lips.

The Chicken Beancurd Pudding was so scant, no one wanted to eat it openly, and even if they wanted to smack their lips, they couldn’t make a sound. The Taishi Snake Soup required chewing, which allowed for the smacking of lips, thereby seeming to add more atmosphere to the meal.

Han Guishan had completely forgotten about the roasted chicken on the table.

He ate fast, and even when it came to the Chicken Beancurd Pudding, he ate faster than anyone else at the table, let alone the chewable and gulpable Taishi Snake Soup.

Soon, the bowl of snake soup was nearly empty, and Han Guishan began scraping the bowl and licking the spoon, being himself.

Xu Cheng: …

He really wanted to lick the spoon too.

Chewing the snake meat in his mouth, Xu Cheng faintly realized that his tongue today seemed a bit different from usual.

It was impossible for others to have never tried Sun Maochai’s Taishi Snake Soup, but how could he, Xu Cheng, have never tried it?

Not to boast, but every famous chef in the world counted for nothing against him; when a new dish was out, he was the first to taste it. Even if it meant flying halfway across the globe, just a matter of a flight and a dozen or so hours, he could have a dish from the morning for dinner.

Even if it was developed in Antarctica, he would be able to try it.

But if Xu Cheng’s memory hadn’t deteriorated with age, the Taishi Snake Soup he had eaten in previous years seemed somewhat different from what he had today.

It wasn’t as delicious.

Xu Cheng was beginning to sense that the reason he found every dish exceptionally tasty today was not because the chefs had improved, but because his sense of taste seemed different from before.

Not many people could realize this so quickly because not everyone’s sense of taste had improved to the same degree. Because Xu Cheng’s tongue was particularly sensitive, even surpassing that of Chen Xiuxiu, even a slight enhancement could bring about an immediate and profound change, unlike Jiang Feng’s tongue.

He even knew about the buff without really feeling the effects of the buff.

“Why didn’t I realize how delicious snake meat was before? What a loss. Last time in the south, Mr. Zhu wanted to treat us to snake meat. My wife was there too, but she was a bit scared of snakes and dared not to eat, so we didn’t go. Ah, if only I had dragged her there, it’s so delicious, what a pity,” Han Guishan lamented after adding some soup to his spoon.

“If the chef’s skills aren’t good, the snake meat will be just so-so. It’s just for novelty’s sake, and nowadays, most of the meat snakes are artificially bred, specially cultivated breeds that are fatty but lack flavor,” Xu Cheng said.

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“Is that so?” Han Guishan had an epiphany, “I still have to bring my wife here to eat. I’m going to message my assistant right now to see if we can make a reservation.”

As he spoke, Han Guishan took out his phone and started messaging his assistant.

Xu Cheng: ?

Is that even possible?

Jumping the gun?

Xu Cheng also took out his phone to message his assistant, but after typing just two letters, he suddenly realized his assistant wasn’t as good as Han Guishan’s.

“But I also want to make a reservation, and get the Chicken Beancurd Pudding too,” Xu Cheng said.