Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 409 - 234: Long Fish Banquet (Thanks to the Silver League reward from the great hero who loves to eat hamburgers!)

Chapter 409: Chapter 234: Long Fish Banquet (Thanks to the Silver League reward from the great hero who loves to eat hamburgers!)

Uncle Wang’s recollection of the past this time differed from previous ones.

In the past, when he reminisced, he always began with a small mention of how he never kept inaccurate accounts or false accounts over the years, then briefly revisited the glorious days of working at the Gusu Textile Factory, followed by selecting one or two negative examples for a stark contrast, highlighting his own excellent work capabilities.

Finally, he would briefly praise himself for having been quite popular at the factory back then, being a good colleague and a great accountant in the textile factory.

It was basically always about these things.

But today, possibly because the Three Heads Banquet was indeed too delicious, Uncle Wang’s reminiscence wasn’t about his outstanding work abilities, good interpersonal relationships, being commended by the leadership, or the glorious days after leaving Gusu.

Instead, it was about the dishes at the birthday feast.

Uncle Wang directly started naming the dishes.

Soft Pouch Long Fish, Long Fish Soup, Scorched Tiger Tail, Oolong Egg Wrap, Silver Striped Long Fish, Silver Thread Fried Noodles, Long Fish Balls, Long Fish Skewers, Long Fish Pastry, Long Fish Dumplings, Big Fried Butterfly Slices.

As he reported the dish names, no one present doubted anymore that Wang Gen Sheng had dementia. His memory was truly first-rate; after so many years, he still remembered the dish names clearly, deserving of being called the gold-standard accountant of the textile factory, a walking bookkeeping ledger.

He’s always forgetting things; today he forgot to bring fruits, yesterday he forgot to buy soy sauce, the day before he forgot to buy garlic. It must be because he didn’t take Chen Juan’s reminders to heart. Xu Tuqiang strongly suggested Chen Juan go back and administer justice to Wang Gen Sheng, not to let him off, definitely to teach him a lesson!

Uncle Wang named many dishes, most of which everyone there had never heard before, leaving them dumbfounded.

Only Huang An Yao seemed to understand, being somewhat shocked yet a bit confused, and only spoke after Wang Gen Sheng finished: "Uncle Wang, what you had that day was a Long Fish Banquet."

"What Long Fish Banquet?" Wang Gen Sheng seemed puzzled, shaking his hand to indicate that Huang An Yao must have misunderstood, "It was just a friend’s 20th birthday, I went there to mooch some food, not a banquet."

"At that time, given my status, how could I have afforded a banquet? Back then people didn’t even hold wedding banquets, handing out high-end candies as wedding favors was considered lavish."

"But the dishes you just mentioned were from the Long Fish Banquet." Huang An Yao said.

"What is a Long Fish Banquet?" The members of the Qinhuai Gang expressed their question.

Huang An Yao then realized those present were not professionals and quickly explained: "Long Fish is eel, Huai’an produces a lot of eel, and local chefs are skilled in cooking eel. The early form of the Long Fish Banquet dates back to the Qing Dynasty, later developed further by Huai’an chefs, evolving into the Long Fish Banquet, once one of the five great famous banquets in the country."

"All the dishes in the Long Fish Banquet are made from eel, the complete Long Fish Banquet consists of 108 dishes, and it needs to be served over three days, with each day’s menu having eight big bowls, eight small bowls, sixteen plates, and four snacks."

"Even back then, chefs who could fully execute a Long Fish Banquet were very few and far between. Even if a master taught an apprentice, or several masters worked together, producing 108 dishes all made from eel, each with unique characteristics and retaining their flavor over three days, was extremely difficult."

"Like my dad, he is quite good at cooking eel dishes, his signature being Sizzling Fried Eel, Soft Pouch Long Fish, Fried Eel Segments, Long Fish Soup are eel dishes he often makes. If truly counted, he might know a dozen or twenty ways to cook eel, but 108 kinds..."

"Even if Master Pei Shenghua from Chengfang Inn came, he might not be able to do it."

"The dish names Uncle Wang just mentioned could actually form a table of a simplified Long Fish Banquet."

"Soft Pouch Long Fish, Scorched Tiger Tail, Oolong Egg Wrap, Big Fried Butterfly Slices, Silver Striped Long Fish are among the more famous dishes in the Long Fish Banquet. As a simplified version of the Long Fish Banquet, these dishes are already quite decent, and general chefs wouldn’t dare to take on the challenge."

Qin Huai quickly whispered: "The Master Jing Uncle Wang mentioned is your grandmaster."

Jiang Wei Jin, a master of the S-recipe category.

Huang An Yao suddenly understood, even feeling a bit envious: "My dad ate really well when he was young."

Qin Huai:...

Has Master Huang Shengli been this low-key over the years? Never even boasting about his master in front of his son. Zheng Da boasts a lot; Zheng Siyuan’s eyes light up whenever he mentions his grandmaster.

Uncle Wang was shocked, muttering: "So those yellow eel dishes were so impressive, I found it odd at the time; after all, it was the factory director’s son’s birthday banquet, why just cook yellow eel? What’s so great about eating yellow eel, fields are full of them, kids in the countryside wouldn’t even bother catching unless they were really hungry."

Chen Juan:...

For some reason, now Chen Juan felt like she wanted to administer justice to her husband.

"Which factory director’s son? You knew the factory director’s son? Which son? I’ve never seen him." Chen Juan interrogated.

Wang Gen Sheng’s expression changed slightly, unwilling to say much, vaguely replying: "It’s the younger son of Mr. Xu from our textile factory, you weren’t aware, by the time you joined the factory, Xiao Xu had already..."

Chen Juan was also taken aback, not saying anything further.

Looking sentimentally at the leftover dishes on the table, Wang Gen Sheng said: "If only Xiao Xu were still here, he loved to eat, if he could sit here and eat like this today, he would probably be over the moon for days when he went home."

No one responded, only Huang An Yao naively said: "That Mr. Xu must have had a good relationship with my grandmaster back then; even for just a simplified Long Fish Banquet, it takes at least three to four days to prepare; willing to make it for just a birthday banquet, you can’t do it without connections."