CHAPTER 712: CHAPTER 711: HEAVENLY COUNTRY (PART 1)

Clack!

The valve shut off, and the fiercely dynamic Chinese Iron Pot had already settled back onto the stove.

The stir-frying lasted for only a brief two minutes, with the high heat searing the noodles and tofu to full doneness, ready to be served onto a plate.

Everyone fixed their eyes upon the sight, and their spirits quivered instantly.

Shimmering with a captivating golden hue, the stir-fried noodles were skillfully scooped by the young chef onto an exquisite, large white ceramic plate. Then, with a flick of the wok spatula, the noodles were spread out, their elasticity remarkable, resembling a golden straw mat resting atop the white plate.

The color of the noodles was enough to catch the eye, but a drifting fragrance seized everyone’s nostrils.

"My God, what is this scent?"

Andrea exclaimed with her hand over her mouth.

She sniffed continuously, her eyes brimming with tears without even having tasted the food, seemingly intoxicated and blissfully on the verge of weeping from the aroma.

Her eyes lingered on the still-to-be-served "thickened tofu" in the pot.

Besides the strong scent of soy, Andrea’s Female Qilin Chef’s nose detected something called ’splendid’ amidst the odors.

A faint scent of meat.

Sweet, could it be sweet potato? Wait, perhaps corn as well!

A deluge of fruit and vegetable flavors rushed into her head through her nostrils, conjuring an image of a splendid farm before Andrea’s eyes, where there was much to see.

"Why, why does such seemingly simple thickened tofu have such a rich flavor? Splendid!" Lei Zhe’s eyes widened in amazement.

Yes.

As Xia Yu carefully placed each piece of tofu from the pot onto the noodles that were already on the plate, piecing them together, the audience, dizzied by the smell, could only see that the tofu on the plate was very plain, without the exaggeratively fiery red sauce of mapo tofu, bleeding into the noodles and plate. The sauce that seeped out was equally clear.

"Hmm, what’s this?!"

Upon closer inspection, some noticed an odd detail.

Both Tang Yuqiong and the Far Moon Commander instinctively narrowed their pupils simultaneously, spotting a few very tiny, smashed bits underneath some pieces of the white tofu.

These were fragments of flower petals!

After cooking, it was difficult to discern what flower these remnants came from just by looking at them.

Seemingly reminded, after noticing this small detail, Tang Yuqiong and the Far Moon Commander took a closer sniff of the "thickened tofu" and its emanating scent, feeling that there was a persistent hint of fragrant honey among it.

Dong!

The sound of the spatula tapping the iron pot.

"Ten minutes up!" Xia Yu counted down for himself, smiling, "My third tofu dish is complete!"

"Please look—"

No one nearby responded, all immersed in their trance.

After a long while,

Tang Yuqiong finally came to her senses, her pretty face flushed with excitement, as she fought her way to the front of the kitchen counter and called out to Xia Yu enthusiastically, "It’s so similar!"

"Similar?"

"Yes!" Her voice rose several decibels, "It’s very much like a dish prepared from an ancient recipe!"

Hearing this, Xia Yu made a strange face, "You mean ’Tofu Trio,’ right?"

"Ah, you know about it?"

A twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"What I’m making now is ’Tofu Trio’!"

Completely baffled for a moment, Tang Yuqiong looked again at the large plate of tofu on the table and shook her head vigorously, "It’s not the same! Not at all the same!"

"The stir-fried noodles are there, the thickened tofu as well, and not lacking the dried tofu, so tell me what’s not alike?"

"The flavor!"

"And what flavor do you imagine the ’Tofu Trio’ to have?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Yuqiong was stupefied once again.

Xia Yu paid her no more attention, fetched a few sets of tableware for himself, and using a large spoon, he scooped up a generous amount of the stir-fried noodles, dried tofu, and thickened tofu, then placed two bowls in front of Lei Zhe and Andrea.

"The two of you, please enjoy!" he said beamingly.

Both had already been tantalized by the pervasive flavors, their appetites whetted to a bursting point.

Without a word, Andrea grabbed a bowl and with chopsticks in hand, she stared at the dish in the white porcelain bowl, her hands trembling, barely able to bring the food to her mouth.

The combination of noodles and tofu seemed light and simple at a glance.

But that was merely a visual impression.

Andrea’s olfactory world was overwhelmed by the dish in the bowl, as if a vast garden lay hidden within, too stunning, too ample, so much so that she found herself unable to bring her chopsticks down.

"Eat up!" Xia Yu urged with a smile.

After all, she was a Lin Chef and a mentally formidable Food Tyrant Chef; Andrea bit her silver teeth and picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks.

And so, this piece of tofu, though stir-fried, retained its whole form, jiggling on her chopsticks like a bundle of jelly, altering its shape with the tension of her grip.

"The tofu’s overcooked yet still so elastic... the Fire Control is simply amazing!"

She murmured this to herself, then opened her little mouth and consumed the piece of tofu.

Hmm!

Her face suddenly froze, expression locked in place.

"It’s so, so smooth!"

Suppressing the urge to scream, with the tofu still in her mouth, Andrea frantically noticed something silently breaking through the windows of her soul, bouncing with resilience, and landing on the softest plot of land deep within her heart.

Tofu itself has little flavor, though rich in the scent of soy if anything.

However, the sauce was where the ’radiance’ truly lay.

With just a trace of sauce following the tofu into her mouth, Andrea found her palate exploding with an incredible mix of flavors, as if a magic bottle had been spilled.

Sour, yet sweet.

The farm scenery previously sensed through the aroma became even more vivid.

Undoubtedly, many kinds of fruits and vegetables were used to create the sauce’s flavor.

But it wasn’t just fruits and vegetables.

Her heartstrings trembling suddenly, with misty eyes, Andrea whispered, "There’s the fragrance of flowers! The sauce definitely includes some kind of floral jam, so sweet, what is it? No, it’s not just one kind!"

"Ah, still not enough! There’s something missing!"

She went in with her chopsticks once more, this time slurping up a big mouthful of stir-fried noodles.

Thump!

Such an astonishing sense of bounce!

While chewing, Andrea’s entire face filled with exaggerated expressions, clearly startled by the texture of the noodles, her eyes widened in awe, "Wait, wait a moment, this QQ candy-like bounciness..."

Unknowingly, the noodles disappeared from her mouth.

The Female Qilin Chef’s body tensed up as if she had been transported to a mystical world of gastronomy.

"Gurgle~"

Seeing this, a chorus of swallowing sounds erupted around her.

Lei Zhe was shocked to see Andrea so easily captivated by the dish.

"I still believe that placing such a plainly flavored tofu dish third, rather than before the first two Mapo Tofu courses, is a major mistake!"

He stared intensely at Xia Yu.

It was evident that Lei Zhe’s stance had softened somewhat.

Earlier, he was firmly convinced that the ’Ultimate Magic Giant Panda Tofu’ was the epitome of tofu dishes.

"Is that so?"

Xia Yu shrugged his shoulders, "Don’t speak too soon, it’s easy to get a slap in the face. Better to taste before making statements!"

"Hmph!"

Lei Zhe grabbed the white bowl, "Then let my ’Food Tyrant’s Stomach’ properly appreciate your signature dish!"

He brought his mouth to the bowl, and his chopsticks shoved in a mix of stir-fried noodles and tofu blocks.

In stark contrast to Andrea’s ladylike composure, Lei Zhe’s rough tasting was quite fitting of his temperament.

In one bite, he devoured half a bowl of noodles and tofu.

Chewing!

Everyone watching Lei Zhe’s face could see a fascinating transition from skepticism to amazement.

His face, constantly moving in the act of chewing, completely contorted, starting to twist.

Even with his mouth full of food, Lei Zhe felt not an ounce of heaviness, his teeth, tongue, and even his cheek muscles remained supremely relaxed.

"Ding ding dong dong..."

Suddenly, the sound of stringed instruments began to play, Lei Zhe stopped chewing, his eyes wide and round.

"This is..."

Before his eyes, a tapestry of culinary artistry slowly unfurled.