The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Although both are filled with beef, the beef buns do not contain onions, only scallions. The taste is different from beef pie. The pie has the sweetness of onions, while the buns have the unique fragrance of scallions.

Count and Lady Comstock were very surprised that the beef fillings could be made into completely different flavors. It seemed that the two Chinese chefs were really skilled. This further strengthened their determination to go to Yizhuo Restaurant for dinner. They didn't know how many more surprises were waiting for them.

After lunch, the guests arrived one after another. Mrs. Comstock dressed up and entertained the guests in the reception room. Comstock was a count, so the Countess naturally invited people of noble status, either old aristocrats, new nobles, or at least emerging capitalists.

These people may not be top celebrities, but they are also well-known figures in London and England, and naturally they have seen the world. They don't care much about the refreshments served at the Earl's Mansion. They come here to make friends and find marriage partners with their young people.

At this moment, the snacks made by Min Xi and Yun Ji were placed on exquisite silver plates on the coffee tables and tables in the living room, and even on the corridors and small round tables in the pavilion in the courtyard, for the guests to enjoy.

At first, the guests didn't pay much attention to the food. Although today's snacks looked different from usual ones, they were basically the same and there was nothing special about them.

Mrs. Comstock strongly recommended: "Try the dessert. We have invited two special chefs to prepare it today. It is different from the desserts we have prepared in the past."

After hearing what she said, the guests politely picked up a piece of animal biscuit and put it in their mouths. They bit it hard as usual, but found that they bit it too hard and almost hit their teeth. The biscuit was unexpectedly crispy.

"Hey, these cookies are really different, so crispy and sweet." The customer commented after eating them.

Mrs. Comstock took a sip of tea from the saucer and said with a smile, "Am I right? Try some other snacks. They are also very special, especially the custard bun. I love its filling."

Upon hearing this, the customer quickly took a custard bun, took a bite, and was amazed: "It tastes really good. I love its sweet filling with a strong milky flavor. What's in it? Egg yolk?"

Mrs. Comstock spread her hands gracefully. "I don't know about that."

"Madam, today's dessert is really good. I have never eaten this kind of dessert in London. Is it a new dessert invented by your cook?" asked the guest.

Mrs. Comstock shook her head proudly, "This was not invented by my cook. I hired two Chinese chefs to make it. This is a dessert from the East."

"Chinese chef? Is that the China I know? Aren't they in the far East? Are there Chinese people coming to London?" The guest was more curious about the identities of Min Xi and Yun Ji.

Mrs. Comstock nodded. "Yes, two Chinese have come to London from the East, and are now making desserts for everyone in my kitchen."

"Wow, is it true? What do Chinese people look like? Could they please come out and meet us?" The guests were very curious and wanted to see what the legendary Chinese people looked like.

"They don't look like us, but they have fair skin. I'll ask them, and if they agree, let them come out and meet everyone," said Mrs. Comstock.

So the butler was sent to ask Min Xi and Yun Ji for their opinions, saying that a guest was very interested in his Chinese identity and wanted to meet them, and asked them if they agreed.

Min Xi discussed with Yun Ji and said, "Okay, let's go after we're done." Although they might be treated like monkeys, wasn't their purpose in coming here to make more connections? This was a good opportunity.

In fact, they were so busy that they didn't have time to eat until very late, because the guests found that the desserts at today's party were particularly delicious, a delicacy they had never tasted before. Everyone took turns to clear the desserts on their plates and soon finished them.

Leaving the plates empty meant that the host had not prepared enough food and was not treating the guests well, so Min Xi and Yun Ji were asked to make more snacks and desserts than originally planned, trying to keep the plates full.

But it still couldn't stop the guests' love for snacks. As soon as the freshly baked cakes and freshly baked custard buns were served on the table, they were quickly taken away by everyone. This was a phenomenon that had never been encountered in the entire London social circle.

The guests came over to tell Mrs. Comstock that today's snacks were extremely delicious. Mrs. Comstock was happy and apologized to everyone, saying that she had not entertained them well enough.

The guest smiled kindly, "Madam, you don't need to feel sorry. It's not that you didn't prepare enough. It's just that the snacks are too delicious. We couldn't resist their temptation and ate a little more."

Mrs. Comstock smiled with satisfaction, "I didn't expect today's snacks to be so popular, and I didn't prepare enough. In fact, the two cooks have been preparing snacks in my house since yesterday, but I didn't expect it was still not enough."

In fact, the amount of dim sum they prepared today was one third more than in previous years. The dim sum that could not be finished in previous years was not enough this year!

Most of the young men and women who came to Mrs. Comstock's party had certain purposes. Some came to the party to meet their loved ones, some came to find their ideal partners, and of course, some came to hunt for beauties.

There were also people like Antonio Langdon who were dragged here by their friends to watch the fun. Although he was also of marriageable age, he did not intend to look for his ideal partner in the marriage market run by Mrs. Comstock.

Young girls in London and even in England, when they reach a certain age, have to put a price tag on themselves, take them to the marriage market to be sold, and then be bought by a group of men. He thinks this method is really disrespectful.

After entering the Earl's Mansion, Langdon planned to find a quiet place to hide, maybe he could eavesdrop on some romantic affairs. After all, at this time, the Earl's Mansion was a large-scale courtship scene.

He arrived quite late, almost 4 o'clock. After his friends came in, they went to the crowded places to ask for gossip, while he found a sunny wall of flowers to lie down, covered his eyes with his hat, and prepared to take a nap in the sun.

He had just laid down for a short while when he heard a rustling sound behind him. Someone was coming. He moved the rose stem in his mouth and the corners of his mouth rose.

"Nancy, did you get it?" A sweet and innocent voice suppressed excitement.

"I got it, but only a cake. I didn't get any custard buns, but I like the taste of custard buns better. There were too many people, and I was embarrassed to squeeze with everyone. It would seem too unladylike. What about you, Daphne?" The one who answered was another girl, whose voice sounded sweeter.

Daphne giggled, "I'm not afraid! I grabbed two custard buns, I'll give you one."

"Thank you, Daphne, you're so nice to me! I'll give you half of the cake." Nancy's voice was filled with joy.

Daphne said, "You can have the cake yourself. I don't want any. When I got here I saw that today's snacks were different, so I tried everything and now I'm almost full."

"I saw it too. My mom was there, and there were a lot of strangers. I felt embarrassed to go eat there," said Nancy.

"I didn't eat in the living room. I ate in the corridor outside. There were a lot of food there before, but no one went to eat. I ate quite a lot, hehe." Daphne smiled proudly.

Then there was a chewing sound, and Daphne exclaimed: "This snack is so delicious! I heard that it was made by two Chinese people. I really want to see what those two Chinese people look like."

Langdon, who was eavesdropping, was immediately alerted when he heard this. Two Chinese people! Are there Chinese people in London?

Nancy said, "I heard they will come out to meet everyone in a while. Do you want to go and see what the Chinese look like?"

"Okay! We'll go after we finish eating."

After hearing this, Langdon could no longer lie there and stood up. He also wanted to see what the Chinese looked like.

Langdon walked around the flower wall and glanced at the two girls who were still eating. They were completely immersed in their own world and didn't even notice that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation less than half a meter away from them. They were so careless.

As Antonio Landon walked to the door, his good friend Kane came up to him, his tone unable to hide his excitement: "Anthony, you are finally here, otherwise you would have missed a big event. Come, let me give you a taste, I saved it especially for you." He was holding a silver plate with a piece of cake and a custard bun on it.

Langdon looked down and saw a pastry he had never seen before. Could this be the snack the two girls had just eaten? "What is this?"

Kane said, "Take it first and see how it tastes. I'm telling you, there are two Chinese people coming to the Earl's Mansion."

Langdon scooped a spoonful of cake into his mouth. It was fluffy, soft, sweet and delicious. "Is this what the two Chinese made?"

"How do you know about the Chinese? They did it! They are making snacks in the kitchen now and will come out to meet everyone soon. We will also see what the Chinese look like later." Kane said excitedly.

Langdon already liked the taste of the cake. He nodded while eating the cake: "This is really delicious. I like this cake."

"They were all delicious. We arrived a little late, so there wasn't much left to eat. The cakes and custard buns were just out of the oven and were really delicious," said Kane.

Langdon took another bite of the custard bun. He hadn’t had high hopes for this white pastry, but after taking a bite, he found that it was even more delicious than the cake. “This is even better! It tastes better than cake! The person who invented this pastry is a genius. I can’t wait to meet those two Chinese people.”