Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 274 - 273: Hosting the ’Demon’ (Part 3)

Chapter 274: Chapter 273: Hosting the ’Demon’ (Part 3)

The private room on the first floor was reserved for entertaining VIP guests.

Mars, Chiyoda Aichi, and Dubian Yuuki were seated together at a tea table made of natural wood.

Though the TV station and the camera team from "Taste Weekly" hadn’t followed in, both carried cameras, and they took photos here and there, extremely curious about this upscale Japanese-style restaurant that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Ichise Hui stood just outside the room, his figure vaguely visible through the translucent paper sliding doors.

"Instructor Xia!"

Accompanied by Ichise Hui’s voice, Xia Yu slid the door open and entered, seating himself on an empty cushion, placing the VIP menu he had devised yesterday on the tea table.

"Here’s the menu, Minister Mars, please feel free to order anything you like—we have plenty of ingredients."

In fact, yesterday Xia Yu had ordered a large batch of food supplies, stuffing the upgraded ingredient storage of the branch to the brim.

Having said that, he stood up, slid open the door facing the courtyard, and rolled up the straw blinds, unveiling the picturesque beauty of the courtyard before the eyes of the distinguished guests, unfolding gradually.

Astonishment.

Chiyoda Aichi and Dubian Yuuki were both so amazed, they paused, not immediately reaching for their cameras, but instead stared, spellbound, at the meticulously arranged garden and floral decorations that conveyed a sense of depth and tranquility.

"It’s beautiful!"

Dubian Yuuki exclaimed in amazement, "The last time I was here, this building was deserted, and that was just a week or two ago..."

Chiyoda Aichi nodded in agreement, subconsciously.

Mars too grinned, "Ha! The layout, the flowers, and that little pond, it’s clear that they have the touch of a master! Not bad, you really splurged on a master for the decoration!"

Xia Yu listened from the side and almost burst into laughter, barely holding back.

This was downright nonsensical earnest gibberish!

What master? It was simply the system’s masterpiece. Xia Yu hadn’t expected even the bigwigs of the Gourmet Society to rave about the branch’s decoration. It seemed that Xia’s branch was already showing the potential of a famous establishment.

At least, in terms of environment, it should be comparable to some high-class restaurants, right?

After the admiration came the main event.

With the pleasant surroundings, Mars was clearly in a good mood. He flipped open the menu, scanned the listed dishes, and read subconsciously, "Stir-fried Qingjiang Vegetable, Furong Crab Meat Egg, Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu, Big Blast Fried Pork..."

Following each dish name was the corresponding price, not including sales tax.

Hmm?

At this point, his voice halted, and Mars eyed the strings of pricey figures, chuckling lightly, "In terms of pricing, it’s already on par with those eight-star and nine-star renowned restaurants."

After a quick flip through the menu, Mars, quite gentlemanly, passed it to Chiyoda Aichi and Dubian Yuuki, "To dine with two such beautiful ladies is an honor for me. Please order as you wish, the bill is on me."

There was no refusal. For a food tycoon, treating guests was like throwing a couple of bones to stray cats and dogs.

Upon opening the first page of the menu, Dubian Yuuki leaned in to look at the menu in front of Chiyoda Aichi, and immediately got a shock from the prices.

"Stir-fried Qingjiang Vegetable, 100,000 yen!"

"Big Blast Fried Pork, 200,000 yen!"

"Wait, ’Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage’!" Chiyoda Aichi saw this, her eyes lighting up, "Chef Xia, is this the dish you presented on the Food Battle Stage the other day?"

"Yes."

Chiyoda Aichi remembered the scorching heat of that dish, and unconsciously clenched her thighs under her tube skirt a little tighter.

"Oh, ’Heavenly Hero Grilled Bluefish’?"

Dubian Yuuki then exclaimed in surprise.

"Such a familiar name!"

Xia Yu could only patiently explain, "Miss Dubian, the dish I made at the Chiyoda Shrine banquet that day was this one, only, the bluefish was substituted with crucian carp."

"I see!" Dubian Yuuki showed a hearty smile, her bright eyes revealing a subtle hint of burning fervor.

Initially, they had thought the prices quite steep, but after finding out the real quality of ’Heavenly Hero Grilled Bluefish’ and ’Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage’, they felt the prices were actually low!

What followed were ’Ascending Dragon Dumplings’, ’Nine Feathered Phoenix’, and ’Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu’ among others.

"A Song of Ice and Fire... Hey, isn’t ’Bordeaux Lamprey’ a French dish?"

Chiyoda Aichi and Dubian Yuuki exchanged glances.

The menu, reeking of a rich Chinese atmosphere, suddenly featured some strange items.

And the prices were anything but cheap.

"Bordeaux Lamprey" was priced at 1 million yen.

"Great Magic Panda Tofu" was priced at 2 million yen.

"A Song of Ice and Fire" was priced at 3 million yen.

"The three special finale dishes, huh?"

Muttered Chiyoda Aichi as she closed the menu.

"How about it, ladies, what would you like to order?" Mars asked unhurriedly.

"Uh..."

Neither woman answered, clearly torn.

Seeing this, Mars chuckled lightly and waved to Xia Yu, saying, "Chef Xia, then just serve a set from the menu for starters."

"A set?"

"Yes, thirteen dishes," Mars confirmed definitively.

"Alright! Just a moment!"

Xia Yu’s eyes flashed as she took the menu, casually pulled the door closed, and then called Ichise Hui to the front desk, instructing her, "Ichise, go and settle the bill first, and then come to the kitchen."

"Okay."

Ichise Hui nodded, her gaze sweeping over the checkout equipment at the front desk with ease.

The kitchen of the VIP branch was much larger than the main restaurant’s kitchen. Xia Yu passed through the courtyard, where what used to be several large baths had been filled in to expand the courtyard area, leaving a separate building for the kitchen.

Upon entering, Tiqie Helinai and Kobayakawa Ryodan had already donned aprons, tied up their hair, and put on chef hats.

"Come on, help me—"

Xia Yu headed for the storeroom next door. Soon after, the three of them either dragged heavy baskets or carried baskets full of garnishes, placing the needed ingredients on an empty table.

"Who has the better knife skills?" Xia Yu asked as he tied his apron.

Tiqie Helinai and Kobayakawa Ryodan looked at each other, then shook their heads at each other.

"We should be... roughly the same," Tiqie Helinai said hesitantly.

To be honest, the Totsuki Elite Ten did not know each other very well, with the exception of Si Yingshi, who strongly overpowered anyone else, the rest of the ranks remained mysterious, seldom appearing in food battles.

Like Ichise Hui, who was well hidden.

Tiqie Helinai, for example, was the most high-profile member of the Elite Ten, battling with the second-year students as soon as school started, but the rest of the Elite Ten had not fully grasped the depth of her culinary skills.

"Then let’s do this, you rinse and pick the vegetables, and I’ll take care of the knife work!"

These guests were no ordinary people, and Xia Yu decided to take the helm himself, leaving no stone unturned.

"Okay!"

"Start with the easier tasks and work up from there. We’ll start with ’Stir-Fried Qingjiang Vegetable’, Tiqie, rinse the vegetables!" Xia Yu reminded, pointing to a water tank in the corner of the kitchen, "After picking them, soak the leaves in the well water from the tank."

"The Divine Tongue" duly complied.

"Kobayakawa, the second and third dishes are ’Furong Crab Meat Egg’ and ’Big Blast Fried Pork’."

"The eggs won’t need any further explanation, use Emperor Crab for the crab meat, clean it thoroughly, cook it, and carefully shred the meat."

"For the fried pork, we’ll use top-quality black pig hindquarters. No need to cut it yet, just prepare another pot of water, add spring onions, ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, sprinkle a bit of yellow wine, and boil. After skimming the scum clean, take it out when it’s eighty percent done and bring it to me!"

He instructed the two members of the Elite Ten methodically as they worked.

Xia Yu grabbed a vegetable basket and started chopping ingredients, such as ginger slices and spring onion sections.

The first few blue recipes were merely appetizers.

The real showstoppers were the three signature dishes added later!