Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 590: Coconut

The four judges hesitated for a moment, but it was Chef Gaggan Anand who first picked up the plate.

He stuck out his tongue, licking it.

There was no choice, since he was a judge, he had to fulfill his duties.

He licked from top to bottom, first reaching the fluffy brown husk of the coconut.

It felt as though something was pricking his tongue, that rough texture was just like a real coconut shell.

It caught Chef Gaggan Anand by surprise.

As he licked the coconut meat, the texture immediately changed to tender, velvety, and delicately scented, ending with the sweet juice inside.

Chef Gaggan Anand also tasted the coconut leaf and the stalk, each with a unique flavor.

Unconsciously, he had licked the coconut clean from the plate, yet he was still not satisfied and even licked the words written in coconut powder beneath the plate.

With him leading by example, the other three judges reluctantly started licking as well.

Soon, someone discovered that licking from top to bottom and from bottom to top yielded different flavors, and even the same coconut shells tasted slightly different in different areas.

In the end, all four judges, without exception, licked their plates clean.

Consider that for the earlier dishes, they had only had a bite or two, except for Sun Mei's modified Jiang Noodles which had intrigued them enough to take a few extra bites.

This was certainly related to the fact that Ma Lu's dish only had the sauce, but licking a plate clean in public also required courage.

Without any words, the four judges had shown their commendation for the dish through their actions.

"A masterpiece, comparable to 'end of the world'!" Olette Yu Pei'er commented.

"I think this dish surpasses 'end of the world', even without considering that 'end of the world' had a longer preparation time. This 'Coconut' offers a richer taste experience with simpler colors, which is more difficult in cooking."

Yoshikazu Yoda added, "Yes, this dish has technically surpassed 'end of the world'."

"Is this your impromptu creation?" Gaggan Anand asked Ma Lu.

"It is indeed the first time I have made this dish."

"A truly terrifying talent."

Following Ma Lu was Chuan Ye Zhengming, who prepared a coconut-flavored French toast with caviar.

The so-called French toast usually involves bread soaked in egg and milk before frying, but Chuan Ye Zhengming substituted milk with coconut cream.

This made the toast have a sweet coconut flavor, and he topped it with caviar and water celery sprouts, which balanced the saltiness of the caviar with the sweetness of the toast.

Qi Shanzhu was the last contestant on stage, feeling very nervous because the strong performances of Ma Lu and Chuan Ye Zhengming before her had been highly praised by the judges.

As a contrast, this would highlight any flaws in her dish.

Indeed, after tasting her miso coconut Mont Blanc, the four judges only asked her two questions before sending her back.

With that, the first round of the competition was entirely over.

The staff opened the ballot box and began calculating the scores for the six contestants.

Ma Lu appeared most relaxed, hands in his pockets, while Sun Mei was biting her nails.

She wasn't worried about the scores but couldn't fathom how Ma Lu had managed to create such a complex dish impromptu in such a short amount of time.

As for the remaining contestants, except for Luo Junkang who still wore an expressionless face, the others more or less showed signs of impatience on their faces.

Fortunately, the host did not keep the audience waiting too long, and announced the scores on the spot.

Ma Lu unsurprisingly scored a perfect 5, Sun Mei received a 4, Chuan Ye Zhengming also had a 4, tying for second place. Luo Junkang and Fan Yixin scored 3.25 and 3.5 respectively, while Qi Shanzhu got only 3.

Just as Qi Shanzhu thought she would be eliminated and was ready to accept it gracefully, she heard Di Supara's score—2.25.

Di Supara's face suddenly changed, even though this round he, Luo Junkang, and Fan Yixin had all made coconut rice.

But Di Supara did not think he would lose to the other two. Just a short while ago, during an interview with the female host, he had said his score would be around 4.

He ended up with only 2.25.

Olette Yupper explained, "Your mango coconut glutinous rice was indeed authentic, but you made a critical mistake."

"In order to save time, you must have used a pressure cooker for the glutinous rice, allowing you to complete in less than half an hour a dish that usually takes an hour and a half."

"But this has caused the texture of the glutinous rice to deteriorate, it's no longer as plump and elastic," Rocky Chen added.

"We understand this was your strategy, to minimize the time in the first round to prepare for later, but unfortunately, the other five chefs performed very well in this round, so..."

Supara's expression was desolate; he clearly knew the judges were right and could only swallow the bitter pill.

Before anyone could feel sad about Supara's departure, the second round had already begun, and the timer on the table started ticking again.

The remaining five contestants threw themselves back into cooking.

Fan Yixin chose Laksa for her second dish, a noodle dish originating from Malaysia and extremely popular in Singapore, which gradually evolved into a national dish of Singapore.

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Fan Yixin used small green dragons from Hainan instead of the common shrimp in Laksa, making broth from lobster shells and clams.

She then smashed tomatoes, chili, lemongrass, red shallots, ginger, and the belacan she brought herself, and stir-fried them before adding a lot of coconut milk to make the Laksa sauce.

Having survived the first round, Luo Junkang also recovered some energy; his movements this time were quick, selecting a grouper.

He then demonstrated his knife skills, slicing the fish into a peony shape, soaking it in ginger and salt water to remove the fishy smell and increase firmness, then coating it with starch and deep frying.

...

Thirty minutes later, Qi Shanzhu was the first to stop the timer. It wasn't that she didn't want to refine her dish more, but she had spent too much time in the first round, with only 41 minutes left on the timer.

The second round took another 31 minutes, leaving only 10 minutes. Whether she would make it through this round or not, she was basically doomed for the next round.

Soon after Qi Shanzhu, the other four chefs also finished their cooking.

This time Qi Shanzhu went first; she made—pan-fried dumplings.

The staff placed the plates in front of the four judges, while Qi Shanzhu clasped her hands in front of her face, too nervous to even look toward the judges' table.

After finishing the meal, Yoshikazu Yoda spoke first, "Interesting, to think of using red snapper for the dumpling skins, wrapping tofu inside, and... fennel?"

"Yes, but it's pickled, specially brought by me for this occasion," Qi Shanzhu nodded.

"What's this sauce underneath?" Olette Yupper asked curiously.

"Coconut milk mixed with Korean hot pepper vinegar."

"A bit complex in taste, but the sourness pairs well with the red snapper, including the tofu and the fennel. You seem particularly adept at balancing complex flavors," Gaggan Anand also commented.