CHAPTER 255: CHAPTER 255: LET’S TEST HIM, UNEXPECTED RESULTS!

Online, videos kept circulating.

Many people posted videos of Jiang Feng making West Lake vinegar fish at West Lake.

Netizens who saw such footage all thought it was quite novel.

After all, he was a great chef setting up a stall to challenge the making of the famous delicacy, West Lake vinegar fish; apart from him, there was no one else.

Because of Jiang Feng’s West Lake vinegar fish, the business for the same dish at Louwailou Restaurant had greatly declined.

Customers who dined there rarely ordered this dish anymore.

After all, with delicious West Lake vinegar fish available at the stall next door, who would go to their place to eat it?

Furthermore, Jiang Feng’s small stall also caught the attention of the State Guesthouse.

The State Guesthouse was a business restaurant next to West Lake, with a wonderful view where one could dine beside lotus flowers and enjoy the beauty of West Lake.

The food at this restaurant was very tasty; the only downside was its price.

For instance, their diving winter melon: one dish, six small pieces of winter melon, cost 60 yuan.

That boiled down to ten yuan for each small piece of winter melon.

Plum sauce spareribs: one dish, three ribs, 100 yuan.

That came to around 33 yuan for each rib.

This was the price level at the State Guesthouse.

But their food was indeed delicious, so many businesspeople who weren’t short on money would come here to dine.

Their West Lake vinegar fish was very popular, as the State Guesthouse’s West Lake vinegar fish had no fishy taste, was very refreshing, and could be directly steamed.

But it was also very expensive.

Now that Jiang Feng had suddenly started selling West Lake vinegar fish at his stall, and the flavor was authentic, it caught them somewhat off guard.

Several head chefs were discussing this.

"A street food stall can make West Lake vinegar fish? Do you believe it? I don’t. It’s all online hype!"

"Quite a few people have posted videos; there might be something to it."

"No telling how much money they spent on buying traffic. You can’t trust what’s on the Internet!"

"In our restaurant, a small serving of West Lake vinegar fish is 170 yuan; he sells it for 48. How could it taste the same!"

"It’s all hype, and then they’ll start selling products."

"But I heard that the restaurant over there is his; they even hung up a sign."

"Internet-famous restaurants, all about the traffic. It doesn’t concern us much."

The head chefs were divided in their opinions.

Some looked down on it, some thought it was interesting, while others found it novel.

Every Monday they had a meeting, and they would chat casually like this afterward.

At that time, head chef Wu Kai said to another head chef, Sun Hu, beside him,

"If you want to try it, have someone bring two servings back tomorrow."

"Let’s taste his West Lake vinegar fish and see how authentic it is."

Sun Hu thought it was unnecessary and replied, "There’s really no need for that."

Wu Kai thought for a moment and said, "I just want to see if this stall owner is the real deal or a fake."

"He’s been hyped up a lot online, but he hasn’t even created an account himself, which is quite peculiar."

"Logically, with his current fame, if he opened an account, he’d definitely not lack followers."

"What if what he makes is actually delicious?"

Hearing Wu Kai’s words, Sun Hu became curious too.

"Shall we try his fish then?"

"That’s what I’m thinking. Let’s give it a try. The technique in the video looks fine, but whether it tastes good, we’ll have to taste it to know."

The head chef nearby, hearing their conversation, also said,

"If you’re buying, I’ll taste it too. I don’t believe he can make it *that* delicious!"

"Now that you mention it, I want to try it too!"

Everyone had initially been discussing it casually, but after this conversation, they became intensely curious about the West Lake vinegar fish made by Jiang Feng.

Many people shared this curiosity.

Jiang Feng never cared too much about it.

Setting up a small stall to sell West Lake vinegar fish was quite relaxing.

The main reason was that he spent little time at the stall and was never short on customers.

Upon arriving at the food street, setting up his stand, and finishing cooking the fish, he would leave directly.

Therefore, he had a lot of free time and could rest more.

He’d play with his cat, walk his dog, and read books.

Life was, indeed, filled with joy.

The next day, Jiang Feng set up his stall as usual.

But today was a bit different from yesterday.

He had prepared many small, disposable plates.

When he took out the simmered grass carp, he would use a knife to divide the fish into three parts, each part consisting only of a prime piece of belly meat.

This way, he could satisfy more customers’ needs.

Turning West Lake vinegar fish into a snack was indeed thanks to a suggestion from a customer the day before.

A small serving of West Lake vinegar fish was sold for 20 yuan, made from freshly selected prime grass carp meat cooked on the spot, with every step openly displayed, without any secrets.

Such a small stall was indeed rare.

Today, like the previous days, business was booming as usual.

At this moment, a young apprentice was waiting in line to buy Jiang Feng’s West Lake vinegar fish.

This apprentice came from the State Guesthouse; the head chefs there were eager to know whether Jiang Feng’s skills were genuine, so they sent the apprentice to bring back a serving.

Jiang Feng’s reputation was immense, and being chefs themselves, they always wanted to test its authenticity.

They wouldn’t publicize it; whether it was good or bad, it was just a topic of conversation in their everyday lives.

The State Guesthouse had a great reputation at West Lake, known for delicious yet expensive dishes.

Jiang Feng’s Jiangyue Terrace took a more populist approach; considering West Lake’s location, the prices were a bit higher, but still within the range that ordinary people could afford.

Soon, the apprentice bought a portion of West Lake vinegar fish, which was a whole half of a fish.

Carrying the West Lake vinegar fish, he rode his electric scooter at top speed back to the kitchen of the State Guesthouse.

At that moment, it was two in the afternoon, and the kitchen wasn’t too busy.

Seeing the apprentice enter, Wu Kai and Sun Hu immediately asked,

"How did it go? Did you get it?"

The apprentice, holding a bag, hurriedly replied,

"Master, I got it, and it’s still fresh!"

While speaking, the apprentice placed the bag on the table and then opened it.

The West Lake vinegar fish was in a box, which, when opened, revealed the exquisitely prepared dish to everyone present.

Wu Kai and Sun Hu both came over to look, along with two other chefs who also gathered around.

Someone curiously asked,

"Is this the West Lake vinegar fish made by that street vendor?"

"He’s indeed popular; even my friends are talking about it."

"The fish looks quite good, but I wonder how it tastes."

"Is this the West Lake vinegar fish he made? Are those rave reviews online real or fake?"

The West Lake vinegar fish in the box was beautiful, the fish meat a tender white, visibly fresh.

The sauce had a glossy, rich, reddish-brown hue, shimmering and translucent.

This indicated that the chef had excellent control over the heat and technique while making the sauce, allowing the cornstarch to blend into the sweet and sour sauce bit by bit to achieve such an effect.

Just by appearance alone, there was nothing wrong with this West Lake vinegar fish.

Even calling it a top-grade product wasn’t an overstatement.

The head chefs of the State Guesthouse weren’t about to bad-mouth it. They were genuinely curious about Jiang Feng’s culinary skills.

"It looks pretty good," Wu Kai remarked. Then, he picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbed a piece of fish meat soaked in the sauce, and tasted it.

After the fish entered his mouth, he carefully savored its flavor.

Head chef Sun Hu also picked up chopsticks and tried a bite.

The two other chefs followed suit and sampled the taste.

This West Lake vinegar fish was served in a disposable foil box and looked like an ordinary takeaway dish.

The West Lake vinegar fish from the State Guesthouse was always presented on exquisite plates, adorned with blue and white glazed patterns.

Though the presentation differed, the quality of taste was premium in both cases.

In fact, Jiang Feng’s West Lake vinegar fish was even a cut above.

As the head chefs tasted the West Lake vinegar fish, the apprentice beside them was itching to try it yet dared not eat, silently awaiting the verdict.

The apprentice didn’t particularly crave the West Lake vinegar fish; after all, he made it daily and was weary of it. He just wanted to know if it really tasted as good as everyone said and whether the widely praised Jiang Feng was the real deal or an impostor.

It wasn’t long before Wu Kai swallowed the fish meat, smacked his lips, and commented,

"It’s indeed very good. The sauce is authentically balanced, with just the right level of sweetness and sourness."

"He’s quite talented."

"And the choice of fish meat—not a hint of earthiness, a quality that can’t be achieved merely by removing the fishy smell. He definitely used the type of grass carp from reservoirs."

"He’s got true skill."

After all, they were colleagues and couldn’t praise him too much.

In Wu Kai’s heart, however, he thought the West Lake vinegar fish made by Jiang Feng was extremely delicious, even better than their own.

Sun Hu also said,

"Yeah, it’s quite good, and authentic."

"It seems the news on the internet is true."

"Indeed, if it weren’t good, it would have been exposed by now instead of being so popular."

The chefs dealt with West Lake vinegar fish every day and had tasted it countless times, so just one bite was enough to judge the standard of this dish.

In short, they couldn’t find fault with it.

The chefs nodded to each other in silent agreement.

At this point, someone suddenly mentioned,

"The Jiangyue Terrace Restaurant that he runs himself offers really good treatment for chefs. I’ve looked into his Shandong Cuisine Restaurant and Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant. He hires master chefs, and the welfare and benefits are very good."

"Moreover, that Jiangyue Terrace by West Lake has posted hiring notices. Any experienced chef can apply, and the conditions seem pretty generous."

It was normal to talk about such topics in restaurants, though one had to be careful the executive chef didn’t hear.

After all, the executive chef was the manager, and he certainly wouldn’t want his staff jumping ship.

Besides, with the two restaurants so close to each other, it wouldn’t look good to defect.

But a kitchen’s dynamics are rarely that simple. Some chefs might have the skills but not be in line with the executive chef’s vision, and they’d certainly think about moving to a place with better offerings.

Or perhaps some of them had chef friends looking for employment at top-tier restaurants, and they could share the hiring information for Jiangyue Terrace.

So, inevitably, they would discuss various issues related to welfare and benefits.

The West Lake vinegar fish on the table was quickly polished off.

The head chefs, on a whim, had a few more bites; the apprentices also found opportunities to taste it, leaving only a few fish bones behind.

They no longer questioned Jiang Feng’s skills.

Instead, they started discussing the topic of Jiang Feng’s restaurant.

After all, a restaurant owned by a bona fide master chef who also placed great emphasis on training was very attractive to them.