Chapter 519: A Low-Spec Version of Wensi Tofu?
As time slowly passed at the judges' table, Wu Henian's expression gradually became strange.
This time… both dishes seemed to be taking an unusually long time to prepare.
He himself was a chef and also the owner of Heavenly Star Palace, so he knew very well that under normal circumstances, vegetable dishes did not require much cooking time, because vegetables were generally easier to prepare than meat dishes.
If a vegetable dish required such a long time, there could only be one explanation:
The cooking process was unimaginably complex.
Wu Henian could not help but grow curious.
Han Shi's dish should be that Ginkgo Biloba Dish, but what exactly had Bright Court Pavilion prepared?
He was familiar with all of Bright Court Pavilion's dishes, and none of them seemed to fit the requirements.
Could it be that Chef Jin had created a new dish?
Just as his imagination began running wild, the green light belonging to Bright Court Pavilion suddenly lit up.
Wu Henian's heart skipped a beat.
Not good. Bright Court Pavilion finished first. Were they going to gain the advantage again?
However, just as that thought appeared in his mind, the light belonging to Han Shi lit up as well.
Both sides finished at the same time?
Inside the completely isolated cooking environment, neither side could possibly know the other's situation.
So while such coincidences had happened before in previous culinary showdowns, they were quite rare.
Theoretically, in a situation like this, the judges would taste both dishes simultaneously in order to ensure fairness. Without the lingering aftertaste from tasting one dish before the other, the comparison of flavors would become even more direct, realistic, and fair.
This kind of comparison produced the clearest results.
Who would have thought the final round would end up like this?
Excitement appeared on Wu Henian's face.
In that case, let me finally see what that Ginkgo Biloba Dish looks li—
Wait, what is that?
His brows furrowed once again.
What the staff of the Culinary Association carried out from Han Shi's kitchen were clearly bowls of soup-like dishes.
The distance was too far for him to see clearly, but it looked nothing like the Ginkgo Biloba Dish at all.
Qi Han didn't use Ginkgo Biloba Dish?
Wu Henian froze for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
That kid got overconfident…
He probably didn't know Chef Jin's identity, so after winning the second round so easily, he assumed the third round would also be no problem.
But in reality, among the three Chefs of Bright Court Pavilion, the strongest one was precisely the last chef—Chef Jin.
The heart that had finally relaxed immediately tightened once more.
…
After walking out of the kitchen, Qi Han quickly noticed that the chef from Bright Court Pavilion had finished at almost exactly the same time as him.
After a brief moment of surprise, he quickly understood the situation.
So the two of us happened to finish simultaneously?
Well, this is a good chance to see what dish he prepared.
"Would you all like to try my third dish?" Qi Han asked politely with a smile as he spoke to the others from Bright Court Pavilion, who had walked down from the stands to join Chef Jin.
"Then we'll gladly accept," Zhao Yangfan replied with a cheerful smile. Seeing the confidence on Chef Jin's face had already greatly reassured him and instantly improved his mood. The three Chefs standing behind him also nodded, indicating that they wanted to taste it as well.
The moment the Wensi Tofu entered his hands, Chef Jin immediately shot a questioning glance toward Chef Song. Chef Song's expression, however, looked slightly bewildered. He lowered his head to look at the Wensi Tofu in his hands before giving an almost imperceptible shake of the head.
This wasn't Ginkgo Biloba Dish.
Not?
Chef Jin raised an eyebrow, then quickly seemed to understand something.
Qi Han had become careless?
Had the overwhelming victory in the previous round caused him to lower his guard?
It wasn't impossible. After all, he was still a young man. And Han Shi had only recently opened, so perhaps the kid didn't even know who he was…
Hah. I spent all that time worrying for nothing.
Chef Jin sneered inwardly before casually picking up a spoonful of Wensi Tofu and placing it into his mouth.
The soup certainly looked beautiful, but as for the taste… hm?
Hm?!
His eyes widened violently.
After just one bite, he immediately scooped up a second spoonful without hesitation, his face filled with stunned disbelief.
This… is tofu?
That silky white strand that melted apart the instant it touched the tongue, as fine as hair itself—you're telling me this is tofu?!
The intense and rich deliciousness of the chicken broth, combined with the mellow fragrance of soybeans, exploded across his mouth almost instantly. The overwhelming savory flavor was so powerful that it nearly shook his soul, causing Chef Jin's hand to tremble slightly.
I lost.
After only two bites, Chef Jin already had his answer.
Not only had he lost—it was a complete crushing defeat.
The kind of overwhelming gap that no outside factors could possibly influence.
Under normal circumstances, the savory flavor of meat dishes was much richer and stronger, naturally overwhelming the fresh, delicate flavors of vegetables themselves. Adding meat to vegetable dishes could certainly improve the deliciousness tremendously, but that flavor ultimately belonged to the meat, not the vegetables.
If that was the case, then why not simply eat meat directly?
Vegetable cooking should return to its original essence—using culinary techniques to draw out the fresh, pure flavor that belonged to the vegetables themselves, creating a taste so wonderful that people could never forget it.
That had always been Chef Jin's culinary philosophy.
And yet, within Qi Han's Wensi Tofu, although the richness of the chicken broth was still present, the mellow bean fragrance was somehow able to blend perfectly with the savory meat flavor, even overshadowing the brilliance of the meat itself.
It was a direction and concept he had never once imagined before.
The others from Bright Court Pavilion also gradually turned pale after tasting Han Shi's Wensi Tofu.
The contrast was far too obvious.
This was simply not a dish that Emerald Jade Dew could surpass.
Bright Court Pavilion had lost this time—and it was a disastrous defeat.
Chef Song's expression darkened, but inwardly he quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Qi Han hadn't used Ginkgo Biloba Dish after all, so perhaps he wouldn't have to bear responsibility for failing to report information about it in time after investigating Han Shi.
Meanwhile, standing before him, Zhao Yangfan's face had turned deathly pale.
He could not accept this result.
The Bright Court Pavilion he had painstakingly managed was now going to become a stepping stone for Han Shi?
For an entire week, Bright Court Pavilion would have to recommend Han Shi within their own establishment. That alone was enough to turn Bright Court Pavilion into a laughingstock and send their reputation plummeting.
Take revenge against Han Shi afterward?
No. Zhao Yangfan had never considered retaliating against Han Shi, because he clearly remembered that the order to challenge Han Shi to a culinary showdown had originally come from the Emperor himself.
So… the Emperor had known from the very beginning that Han Shi's strength far surpassed Bright Court Pavilion's?
He had intentionally wanted Bright Court Pavilion to lose to Han Shi?
The imperial decree about revitalizing Mingke Street suddenly flashed through Zhao Yangfan's mind, and his eyes widened sharply.
I understand now. I finally understand everything!
His Majesty… merely to attract more people to Mingke Street, for such a trivial objective, had casually ground the Zhao family's generations of hard work and accumulated reputation into dust.
For generations, the Zhao family had loyally served the royal family. Most of Bright Court Pavilion's profits had flowed straight into the imperial treasury, yet this was the ending they received?
For the first time, resentment toward the imperial family surfaced in Zhao Yangfan's heart.
He did not hate Han Shi for defeating Bright Court Pavilion fairly and openly.
He only hated the Emperor, whose single decree yesterday had forced Bright Court Pavilion directly into the line of fire.
Hidden within his sleeve, Zhao Yangfan clenched his hand tightly enough to dig bloody marks into his palm.
…
"What is this dish called?"
After a long silence, Chef Jin suddenly spoke.
"This?" Qi Han's expression became slightly strange. After thinking for two seconds, he finally answered:
"Low-spec version of Wensi Tofu?"