The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi noticed that Judy's face changed, but she didn't say anything unpleasant: "Okay, ma'am, the soup will be ready soon and will be brought to you."

"Hurry up! We are in a hurry." Mrs. Wells glanced and saw Min Xi. She was surprised and asked, "Are you the new cook?"

Judy said, "Ma'am, this Chinese gentleman is a guest and he is cooking for himself."

Mrs. Wells looked at Min Si again, and then said, "You also think Judy's cooking is not delicious, right?"

Judy's face turned ugly in an instant.

Min Xixin said that Mrs. Wells had such a low EQ, no wonder it was so difficult for her daughter to find a son-in-law, and then said, "I don't think so, ma'am. Judy's cooking is very good, but I prefer to cook for myself."

Judy looked much better after hearing what he said: "Madam, the soup is ready. Let's go have dinner quickly. Aren't you in a hurry?"

Mrs. Wells looked at Min Si again and turned to go to the dining room.

After delivering the meal, Judy came back and said to Min Xi, "Thank you, sir, for speaking for me just now."

Min Xi said: "Every chef deserves respect, at least he has put in hard work."

"You said it very well!" Judy was even more moved. This Chinese gentleman was so good-tempered and had no airs at all. He was the most educated guest she had ever met.

In the evening, Min Xi and Yun Ji had shredded chicken noodles. They blanched the whole chicken and made it into boiled chicken. They also shredded the chicken legs and the breast into shreds and used them as toppings.

Eating noodles with boiled chicken is so relaxing.

Hopson also ate the noodles with them, and praised them as he ate: "I didn't expect that chicken can be so delicious just by cooking it so simply!"

"This is not a simple cooking process. Ingredients, heat and dipping sauce are all essential, especially this soul-stirring dipping sauce. Without it, the taste of the poached chicken will be greatly reduced." Min Xi said.

Hopson nodded vigorously: "Yes, Mr. Min is really amazing! You should open a restaurant. I want to eat the food you cook every day."

Min Xi hesitated for a moment, but still said: "I'm not sure how long I can stay in London, so I don't plan to open a restaurant."

When Hopson heard this, his face was full of disappointment.

Min Xi continued, "But I can open a private restaurant."

This unexpected turn of events made Hopson's mood fluctuate. His eyes lit up and he asked, "What is a private restaurant?"

Min Xi explained: "To be precise, it can be called a one-table restaurant, which means that only one table of food is prepared for each meal, with a maximum of no more than ten people. There is a minimum consumption for each table, but I haven't decided on the specific amount yet."

Hopson slapped the table and said, "Great! I will come to support you every day!"

Min Xi smiled and said, "My restaurant is not cheap. Mr. Hopson, you can make a decision after you look at the prices. But I really need you to introduce guests to me."

"Leave it to me. I will definitely recommend customers to you!" Hopson promised, patting his chest.

They were eating when someone came in from outside. The man was well-dressed and didn't seem to be here to eat. Instead, he looked at each table and even bent down to talk in a low voice with the diners.

Hopson was talking to Min Xi and didn't notice him, but Yun Ji noticed him and looked up for a few more seconds.

The other party quickly came to their table and looked at the food on their table with a surprised expression: "Is this a new dish invented by the kitchen? How come I have never seen it before!"

Hopson looked up and laughed, "It's Mr. Bright. This is not food from your kitchen. It's made by these two Chinese gentlemen. They are guests of the store."

When Min Xi heard Hopson address him, he realized that the other party was the owner of the hotel, so he stood up and extended his hand to him: "Hello, Mr. Bright! Nice to meet you!"

Brett looked at him with an inquiring look, then at Yun Ji beside him. These two people looked so special. Not to mention their hairstyles, their looks were very different from those of Europeans, and even different from the Arabs he had seen. Although they also had black hair and black eyes, their facial features were obviously softer.

Brett shook hands with him and Yunji respectively: "Nice to meet you. Are you from China?"

"Yes, sir." Min Xi replied.

Brett looked at the empty seat next to Hopson and asked, "Can I sit down?"

"of course can!"

"I heard from George that there are two Chinese guests in the store. I've been wanting to meet them for a long time. Nice to meet you!" Brett was obviously curious about their origins and experiences. It was the first time he met Chinese people.

Seeing him sit down, Hopson continued to eat his noodles.

Brett saw the food on the table and asked curiously, "Did the two Chinese gentlemen make this?"

Min Xi smiled: "We made it. We prefer Chinese food, so we always cook by ourselves. Mr. Bright, do you want to try our Chinese food?"

"Is it okay?" Brett was also very interested in their food. After all, Hopson buried his head in the bowl and didn't even want to look up.

"Then please wait a moment, I'll go cook the noodles." Min Xi got up and went to cook noodles for Brett. Fortunately, he had kneaded enough dough and some of it was left undone.

After a while, Min Xi finished cooking the noodles. When he brought them out, he saw Yun Ji trying to communicate with Brett, and he couldn't help but smile. After coming to the UK, Yun Ji usually only talked to him, and almost didn't communicate with other people. Min Xi felt sorry for him. Just because of his idea, he followed him everywhere to take risks, to a completely unfamiliar environment, and there was no one to communicate with except him. Now seeing him talking to people, he felt relieved for some reason.

Brett looked at the noodles placed in front of him, picked up the fork to pick up the noodles, but failed to pick them up at the first try. He then looked at Min Xi and Yun Ji opposite him. They were using two flexible small wooden sticks, which were of no reference value. He had to look at Hopson.

I saw the latter pick up the noodles with a fork, twist them, and then put them into his mouth. It was quite troublesome. I had to scoop some soup with a spoon and drink it. I couldn't help but open my eyes wide when I drank it. I took another bite and it was surprisingly delicious.

Hopson looked at him: "Mr. Bright, how do you feel?"

Brett picked up a few pieces of shredded chicken, twirled them around and put them into his mouth, nodding with satisfaction. "Delicious. Very special taste, delicious!"

"You should try this chicken again, dip it in this sauce, it's amazing!" Hopson strongly recommends boiled chicken.

Brett imitated Hopson, picked up a piece of chicken with a fork, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in his mouth. His soul was shocked. How could it be so delicious? This was a taste he had never imagined. The ordinary chicken tasted completely different from the chicken he remembered. What went wrong?

He took the chicken bone out of his mouth: "Are you sure this is chicken?"

Hopson laughed and said, "What you are holding is just chicken bones. Is that wrong? You don't think it is. Who would have thought that this chicken is so delicious even without any seasoning!"

Brett nodded vigorously. "Yes. It gave me a new understanding of chicken."

"Mr. Min said that although the chicken looks simple, it is actually complicated. The selection of ingredients, cooking time and dipping sauce are all essential." Hopson learned and taught at the same time.

Min Xi smiled slightly: "It is my honor as a chef to be loved by everyone!"

Hopson said: "Mr. Min just said that he wants to open a private restaurant, where he will only cook two tables of food a day, and those who want to eat must make reservations in advance. I think this is a huge loss for Londoners, because many people will not be able to eat his food."

Brett was stunned when he heard this: "You want to open a restaurant?"

Min Xi nodded: "We were originally going to trade by boat, but the boat capsized and we lost everything. We were rescued by a merchant ship of the French Empire and came to Europe. When we were in Lisbon, we opened a restaurant specializing in Chinese food to survive. Thanks to everyone's love for it, the business was pretty good and we earned enough money to pay for our return trip. We wanted to travel around Europe before returning to China, so we followed our friends to London. Unexpectedly, we got separated from our friends at sea, and we wanted to wait for news from them in London."

This statement might be true or false, and they had no way of verifying it anyway.

Brett was shocked to hear this. It turned out that they had such rich experience: "Why don't you open a restaurant in London so that more people can taste your cooking skills?"

Min Xi shrugged: "First, the investment in a restaurant is too big, and we didn't bring enough money. Secondly, the preparation time for a restaurant is too long. Maybe our friends will come before we open, and they may leave soon. Private customized restaurants are small in scale, take less time to prepare, and are more effective."

Bright agreed with him: "Your concerns are not without reason. Where is the plan to open it?"

"It's not yet confirmed. We just arrived in London and are unfamiliar with everything. Does Mr. Bright have any suggestions?" Min Xi said bluntly. There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world.

Brett was soft-hearted, so he naturally wanted to give some advice: "What is your planned price range, and which customer groups are you targeting?"

Min Xi replied: "Since we are only serving one table, the price cannot be too low. The minimum consumption should be around 1 pound."

Brett couldn't help but frown when he heard this. The price was not cheap at all. Even for someone like him, it would be painful to go there for a meal.

Hopson also gasped when he heard this: "One pound?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes, 1 pound per table, minimum meal for four people. Is it too expensive?"

Brett and Hopson looked at each other. So far, there has never been such an expensive restaurant in London. However, the cooking skills of these two Chinese are indeed very good. If the noble gentlemen in the upper class are interested in delicious food, they may not be unwilling to spend the money.