Chapter 780: Chapter 779: Summary of the Banquet (Part 2)

Adding a touch of spices can enhance the quality of the dish?

If Xia Yu could hear the voice of the female General’s heart, he would definitely nod in agreement and give a very affirmative answer.

Take Mira, the “Spice Empress” from “Chūka Ichiban!”, for example. How did she, once one of the bosses of the Dark World, maintain her undefeated golden body in culinary battles and cooking confrontations before she encountered those overpowered protagonists?

“Super Vision” is just one aspect. This talent, indeed, allows one to peek at opponents’ recipes and learn them, but to use an opponent’s recipe to create an even more excellent dish…

Hey, the first word that pops into your head has to be “improvement,” right?

But at Mira’s level of cooking skill, the opponents she faces are definitely not of low caliber, right? So how can she guarantee that there’s always room for improvement in the recipes she inherits from her opponents?

Even if there is room for improvement, is there time for it during a cooking competition?

So, here, I must mention Mira’s second signature technique—”Spice Inequalities.”

There’s nothing too complex about it.

Any food or dish can’t do without basic seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, and from the perspective of spice mastery, these basic seasonings are also included in the spice formula for calculation.

Therefore, one could say that Xia Yu learned from Mira the simplest and most convenient method of improvement.

No need to overthink, just focusing on improving the spices in the recipe is enough.

Starting with the base layer of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar and working upwards, just like tonight’s banquet dishes, the baked fish and vegetarian dumplings, entering from the aspect of sauce, could guarantee an undefeated golden body.

“Such a homely dumpling, yet it possesses the inexplicable breathtaking beauty of high-class fantasy dishes!”

Wise Man Karl devoured his third and fourth dumplings, then gazed at the now empty steamer, marveled endlessly.

The steamer was still emitting residual heat, a mischievous wisp of spice seemed to play inside.

Beside it, a small dish of sauce still had plenty left, the bright red oil reflecting the astonished face of the Dragon Giant.

“No—”

Tiqie Xianzuowen said in a deep voice, “Even those fantasy dishes haven’t given me the sense of devouring a lively soul, it’s so satisfying!”

Satisfying!

Hearing the General’s comment, Xingping Chuangzhen gripped his chopsticks and murmured, “If Lei Zhe were to stand before the instructor again, boasting with his so-called ‘Food Tyrant’s Stomach,’ one dumpling would surely completely crush his pride, right?”

Saito Chiyokuro nodded behind his son, feeling a tremor in his heart.

What level of spice craftsmanship could make an ordinary chive vegetarian dumpling seem to come alive, giving such a strong sense of vitality, making one incredibly content with just a bite?

After much hesitation, Wise Man Karl still asked Xia Yu, “Can you tell us if your mastery in the field of spices has surpassed that of the contemporary ‘Spice Empress’ Indira?”

Indira, a familiar name of a Female Qilin Chef specializing in spices, is a rare authority on spices in today’s world.

At this, everyone pricked up their ears.

Hmm?

Yashan Liang and Xijian Run, one with the ‘Divine Sense of Smell,’ an embodiment of spices, and the other also an authority on spice research, couldn’t help but hold their breaths, awaiting Xia Yu’s answer.

“Uh…”

Xia Yu’s smile faded, “Sage, I’m sorry, I cannot answer this question.”

“Why?”

Facing a pair of eyes, Xia Yu spread his hands, “Because I also don’t know how strong my spice dishes truly are—they need to be validated through a real gastronomic battle. Empty words aren’t proof; even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me, right?”

“Furthermore, I haven’t yet created what I consider the ultimate spice dish, so it would be presumptuous to say that I’ve surpassed Lady Indira.”

The room fell silent.

“Alright!”

Xia Yu turned and headed back to the kitchen, “I’m going to prepare the third dish, a meat dish that I’ve also improved with my spice techniques. Many of you here may have eaten it before.”

As everyone watched him enter the kitchen, Wise Man Karl turned to look at Xianzuowen.

“General, what do you think?” The Dragon Giant, with a serious expression and a trace of awe still lingering in his eyes, felt as if he had stepped through the gates of a new world from the very life of the spices in the first two dishes.

“The soul of spices!”

Tiqie Xianzuowen summed up with a deep tone, “…just like his Flame Cooking Skill, after reaching a profoundly divine realm, he commands a certain charm!”

“This charm, in our mouths, is like a real, living entity. What else could it be, if not the soul of spices?”

Beside him, Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro exchanged solemn glances.

Their hearts were staggered.

According to the General’s statement, were such spice crafts, and the boy’s miraculous Flame Cooking Skill, standing at the same height?

Thinking back to the ‘Bursting Flame’ showdown during the Sapporo competition, Xia Yu imbued the Xia’s Seven Kingdoms United Fried Noodles with a spirit that connected food with meaning…

In other words, after inheriting the culinary righteousness of the Flame King, the young man had reached the pinnacle in another domain, mastering a second type of ‘meaning’ of spices!

But what did this ‘meaning’ of spices truly look like when it was manifested in food?

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro couldn’t help feeling an intense curiosity.

“Next, perhaps the final dish contains this ultimate spice ‘meaning,’ which is the culinary righteousness inherent in perfect skill…” The host murmured, and the two looked at each other with a flame of desire to taste in their eyes.

…

During the banquet, what went unnoticed by everyone was a taxi that stopped at the street corner not far from the storefront.

It was the end of December, the winter season. The snow from the previous day still covered the streets, but a woman wearing only light cotton and linen clothes got out of the taxi, her figure standing like a cold lotus against the winter winds.

With good intentions, the driver poked his head out and reminded her, “Miss, Xia’s Restaurant isn’t open for business yet. This shopping street has many highly-rated restaurants with moderate prices. Feel free to wander and pick one to dine in.”

“Thank you.”

With a soft word, the woman walked directly towards the lit Xia’s Shop under the puzzled and amazed gaze of the driver, without any hesitation in her steps.

“Ah, could she be a relative of Chef Xia from the mainland?” The driver’s fire of curiosity burned fiercely in his chest.

At that moment, a call resonated through the storefront.

“The third dish is ready, everyone, please enjoy—”

Xia Yu stood in the open kitchen, wiping sweat with a towel, smiling at a group of big shots at the bar.

Several assistants got busy, a large tray for each table, and on each tray, a large tin foil bag, its mouth tightly bound by a harmless plain rope, trapping the steam and causing the bag to swell like a balloon.

The tray landed on the table with a thud, and the bag rocked slightly.

“Gurgle!”

At the Polar Star Dormitory table, Yoshino Yuuki wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, bewildered, “Why do I have a dangerous feeling that it’s going to explode?”

At the Elite Ten table, Koga Shoji muttered, “I know this dish, Instructor Xia’s charcoal-grilled seafood rice!”

“But the seafood rice from before, how do I say it…” he scratched his head.

“You mean, it didn’t feel like facing a volcano like now, right?”

Kobayakawa Ryodan chuckled.

“Exactly…”

Koga Shoji had just uttered this word—thud thud!

Suddenly, a knocking sound from behind startled the tense eighth seat half to death. Ichise Hui patted his shoulder, signaling him to calm down: “No explosion, look, the tin foil bag is totally fine.”

Ichise Hui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and turned his head to look at the storefront behind him.

It was a knock on the door, quite loud, almost all inside heard it, at the critical moment of the meal being served, ready to be enjoyed, someone abruptly interrupting was bound to annoy anyone.

“Who is that now? The banquet’s already started, and only now they come?” Aoki Motota shouted, clearly disgruntled.

Thus, all eyes turned toward the entrance.

Zhu Qing also turned around at the bar, seeing the silent woman standing at the door, her pretty face suddenly changed.