Divine Lucky Star
Chapter 604 - 603: Master Chef Wang Hao

Chapter 604: Chapter 603: Master Chef Wang Hao

In the WeChat group.

Zhao Zhenhao: "You guys have got to see Wang’s expression, sure looks like he’s plotting something."

Fang Wenbin: "Well, of course, the legend himself couldn’t get an inch of advantage from Brother Hao today, he must be coming up with some battle plan!"

Wang Mengfei: "I bet he definitely won’t eat what Brother Hao makes. He’ll just be puffing up his face to look fat."

Ren Xing: "This is a tricky situation. Eating is all about personal choice, right? We can’t force him to eat, can we? If he just takes one bite and then says it’s not good, wouldn’t all of Brother Hao’s hard work go to waste?"

Zhao Zhenhao: "Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. Let’s hope the dish Brother Hao makes later is good, so we at least have an impression of it after eating. If he really says it’s not good, we’ll just argue that taste is subjective."

Fang Wenbin: "Fair point. After all, everyone’s tastes are different, and that’s a good enough explanation."

As they whispered among themselves, Bill Bragg sat very primly, elegantly picking up the napkin from the table and wrapping it around his neck, then neatly organizing all the knives, forks, and chopsticks in front of him.

Zhao Zhenhao and the others exchanged glances and nodded together.

Wang sure did earn his title. Just look at his manners, his style, and his commanding presence; even the pickiest aristocrat couldn’t find a single fault.

...

Wang Hao had just entered the kitchen, and the chefs who had been working at the hotel all came around curiously.

After all, they had heard that the guests at the table today specifically ordered Northeastern Food, and the whole hotel couldn’t find a qualified chef for that cuisine. In the end, a young fellow like this was called in; could he really cut it?

"Look quickly, how old is this young guy? Can the dishes he makes be any good?" the chefs whispered among themselves. One said, "Cooking really tests your experience; he better not be some amateur coming out of nowhere."

Another nodded: "Exactly, it wouldn’t be good if we mess up the hotel’s reputation."

A third added: "He might be some fresh graduate from New Oriental cooking school, just finished with university."

A fourth cautioned: "Keep it down, guys. Anyone Manager Cheng escorts over must be no ordinary person; they must have some high-up connections. Let’s just sit back and enjoy the show."

"Come, let me introduce you all," Manager Cheng began to introduce Wang Hao to the chefs: "This young man is Mr. Zhao Zhenhao’s close friend, Brother Tie, Brother Hao! Whatever he requests later, you all must accommodate, whether it’s knives or oil, or any condiments like scallions, ginger, garlic, wood, rice, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, tea—make sure you prepare the best for him, understood?"

Mr. Zhao Zhenhao was someone the chefs naturally didn’t dare to offend; they nodded together: "Understood!"

"Alright, Brother Hao," Manager Cheng bowed and nodded, "You can start anytime you’re ready."

"Alright," Wang Hao stretched his arms long, took a deep breath, and then began to give instructions: "First, help me chop some scallions, ginger, and garlic, and prepare all the seasoning."

The Michelin-starred chefs nodded: "Understood."

They then set about preparing everything Wang Hao had requested. One chef, while smashing garlic, shook his head and laughed: "Today is really interesting, us proud six Michelin-starred chefs actually serving as sous chefs to a young guy."

Another chef chopping green onions rattled on the chopping board like a machine gun, as he cut he asked, "I haven’t chopped green onions in a long time, how does my cutting look?"

The first chef gave a thumbs-up: "Perfect! Your skill is still so smooth!"

Being supreme chefs, they were indeed adept with their hands and Wang Hao’s required ingredients were ready in less than a minute.

Next up was the main course preparation.

The key to Northeastern Food is all about stewing. Clean up everything, throw it in the pot to stew, and later just season it with salt and soy sauce.

Wang Hao continued with instructions: "Help me prepare some pickled vegetables, pork belly, and glass noodles. The ingredients must be high quality; today we’re entertaining a distinguished guest."

That was nothing but the truth. Just the presence of Zhao alone meant the chefs couldn’t dare to skimp.

"I’ll go prepare the pickled vegetables," a chef scurried away, another took out a slab of pork belly: "Brother Hao, this is my prized possession, the best Iberian Pork!"

He said it offhandedly, but to his surprise, as soon as Wang Hao touched the pork belly, his eyes widened: "What did you just say? Spanish Iberian Pork?! Nice one, bro!"

"Eh?" Now it was the chef’s turn to be surprised: "Brother Hao, you know Iberian Pork?"

"Definitely," nodded Wang Hao as he sliced the pork. "Spanish Iberian pork may just be the tastiest pork in the world. Every year from December to the following March, the black pigs that have been raised to 85 to 115 kilograms are set free in the oak groves to feed on acorns and other fruits of oak trees, enjoying at least 4 months of free-roaming without cages. Moreover, their breeding period differs from the norm. From being caged to foraging in oak groves, the black pigs are raised for about 18 months before they are slaughtered, whereas white pigs used for Spanish cured ham, traditional white pigs for Italian Parma ham, Kagoshima black pigs from Japan, and the American Berkshire pigs are generally raised for about 9 months before being slaughtered. Doubling the breeding time, the flavor of the meat is also the most intense, making it stand out from the rest."

"However, despite having double the breeding time, the meat of the Iberian black pig is not at all tough or chewy. Because they have high fat content and have been set free to roam the mountains, getting regular exercise, the fat permeates into their muscles. The meat has a marbled texture; the fat is evenly distributed throughout the layers, giving a mouthful of fragrant meat and oil. A real treat!"

"Brother Hao can really do it!" As Wang Hao chopped and explained, he sliced a piece of pork belly neatly, leaving a group of three-star Michelin chefs dumbfounded. "Not only is his knowledge profound, but his knife skills are impressive, too! Look at that slicing—so regular and neat—awesome work, Brother Tie, no issues at all!"

"Ah haha, I did train a bit in the past," laughed Wang Hao nonchalantly in response.

Train my ass. The real situation was...

Previously, when he absorbed the dark energy from Jiang Huanyu’s best friend Feifei, Wang Hao couldn’t for the life of him figure out what had been enhanced. Now he finally knew...

Looks like our Dice Man is a big foodie! The enhancement he got that time was, in fact, his cooking skills!

With this culinary enhancement, he was practically a whiz at cutting meat, without any issues whatsoever.

Soon enough, the pork was sliced up, and the pickled cabbage and glass noodles were brought over. Wang Hao added water and seasonings to the pot, along with the meat, pickled cabbage, and noodles, and then with the pot covered, it was all set!

"Also, prepare some potatoes, eggplants, and green bell peppers," requested Wang Hao. The pickled cabbage and pork belly stewed noodles needed to simmer slowly, so there was no rush. The next dish he was about to make was called "Di San Xian."

Di San Xian is a signature dish in Northeastern cuisine, featuring three seasonal, freshly harvested ingredients from the field: eggplant, potatoes, and green peppers. It’s celebrated for its rich flavor and natural green ingredients, but what’s even better is that it encompasses a variety of nutritional elements, making it a refreshingly delicious dish from three very ordinary vegetables.

"Alrighty, we’ll get that ready," said a few of the cooks who were taken aback by Wang Hao’s knife skills, and they went to prepare the ingredients.

Eggplant, potato, and green pepper are all common vegetables and staples in any restaurant, so they were quickly brought over.

"Brother Hao, how do you make this Di San Xian?" asked one of the chefs while helping Wang Hao wash the vegetables. "I specialize in Sichuan cuisine, so I’m not very familiar with Northeastern Food. I’m quite curious, heh."

Wang Hao took the eggplant, and with some swift knife chops, "snap snap snap snap," he quickly diced an eggplant into small pieces of almost identical size. "Clean the eggplant and cut it into chunks, sprinkle a little bit of salt on it, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then cut the potatoes. It’s best to have three-colored peppers, but green alone is fine. Prepare some chopped green onions and minced garlic, mix a sauce—with two spoonfuls of soy sauce, one-third spoonful of dark soy sauce, a spoonful of sugar, half a spoonful of vinegar, a little salt, two spoonfuls of starch, and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved."

As he spoke, he continued with the preparation, his technique as polished as any of the other chefs present, leaving them all astounded—

"The skills are solid! Really just graduated from New Oriental?"

"Pretty proficient; there’s some talent there. No wonder he dared to cook himself."

"The technique is all good, but is this Northeastern Food tasty?"

With various thoughts running through their minds, Wang Hao continued to cook and said, "Pour a suitable amount of peanut oil into the pot. Fry the potato chunks until the surface hardens and gets slightly charred, then take them out to drain the oil. Next, fry the eggplant until it starts to char and then take it out to drain. Leave just a little oil in the pot, add the green onions and garlic, fry until fragrant, then add the peppers, stir frying... Pour the prepared sauce in, then add half a bowl of water... Add the fried potato and eggplant chunks, stir well... There, the final step, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce and it’s done."

He said this as he transferred the Di San Xian into a serving dish and announced cheerfully, "Come on, want to try a bite?"

"I’ll taste it," replied the handful of chefs who were now bursting with curiosity. Seeing the oily, colorful Di San Xian, they quickly picked up a few pieces with chopsticks into a small bowl, and then each took a bite...

The rich aroma instantly struck their nostrils, whetting their appetites unexpectedly.

"This aroma..."

A collective inhale came from the chefs as they carefully chewed...

Their eyes lit up! They nodded in unison: "Indeed delicious! Fantastic!"

A crowd of chefs gave thumbs up in amazement—

"Brother Hao, this dish is made well, so tasty without being greasy, crispy and refreshing!"

"Awesome, awesome, this level is on par with a head chef!"

"Indeed skilled, no wonder Brother Hao is so confident. Indeed, a capable man is the most handsome!"

Manager Cheng watched as the group tasted and nodded, the fragrance wafted over and saliva came flooding down, swallowing hard before his eyes fixed on the small bowl, unable to look away...

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Monthly tickets! I’m asking for monthly tickets!!! The chase behind is getting fierce!