Chapter 783: Thailand’s Beijing Roasted Duck
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The sky gradually darkened while the crowd on the street grew. Yuan Zhou had just finished the Mango with Glutinous Rice he bought earlier.
“How is it?” Xiao Xing asked curiously.
“They added sugar in it. It’s too sweet,” Yuan Zhou gave an honest evaluation.
“I think it’s fine, but the rice is not as fragrant as the congee you cook,” Xiao Xing said as he looked at the Mango with Glutinous Rice in his hand.
“Let’s go to the roasted duck place,” Yuan Zhou said as he started heading towards the intersection of the street.
“Ok,” Xiao Xing nodded repeatedly. While Yuan Zhou was not paying attention to him, he threw his Mango with Glutinous Rice away.
Yuan Zhou was walking in front. When he heard the sound of something being thrown into the trash can, he did not say anything and continued walking.
They were not in his restaurant so Yuan Zhou could only ensure that he himself maintained strict discipline. Even if the food was bad, he would still finish it. Only by leading by example would he be able to maintain the rules in his restaurant.
There was no point to expect that the tour guide would follow the same rule. After all, he was not Yuan Zhou’s customer.
The roasted duck restaurant was very big, and on the signboard, Beijing Roasted Duck was written in gold. Two st.u.r.dy waiters stood by the entrance and welcomed Yuan Zhou and the tour guide when they approached.
“Sawadikap,” the two greeted in Thai and brought them in.
The moment they sat down, before Xiao Xing could hand Yuan Zhou the menu, he spoke.
“One roasted duck and one signature dish. No swallow’s nest or shark fin,” Yuan Zhou said.
“Ok, let me ask what’s their signature dish,” Xiao Xing nodded.
“Get them to serve the roasted duck first,” Yuan Zhou decided to first eat the roasted duck.
“Ok,” Xiao Xing started speaking to the waiter after Yuan Zhou spoke.
Naturally, they were speaking in Thai. After the conversation, Xiao Xing translated it to Yuan Zhou.
In truth, Yuan Zhou had never been to Beijing as well. He had only landed there once for a flight transit. Therefore, he had never tried authentic Beijing Roasted Duck as well.
And thus, Yuan Zhou was looking forward to eating the roasted duck here.
The Quanjude Restaurant selling Beijing Roasted Duck that Yuan Zhou knew off required one to book a seat three months in advance if one wanted to eat there. Moreover, one had to pay an advance fee. The fee was not for the roasted duck. Instead, it was a fee for the duck food during the three-month waiting period.
One could only imagine how good the duck was with the amount of extra care given.
“I wonder if the duck here is better than the one at Chengdu,” Yuan Zhou wondered.
Ta. Ta. Ta. A waitress arrived with a tray. On the tray were some sauces and side dishes such as shallot, cuc.u.mber, sweet pepper, and Lotus Leaf Cake.
“It’s quite fast,” Yuan Zhou remarked while staring at the side dishes.
“The business of this restaurant is quite good,” Xiao Xing said.
“Um.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head.
A different waiter arrived with yet another tray.
On the tray was a white plate with duck slices neatly arranged on it.
“Master Chef Yuan, the duck has arrived. Give it a try,” Xiao Xing invited Yuan Zhou to eat.
However, when Xiao Xing looked at Yuan Zhou, he found that Yuan Zhou was staring at the duck with an odd gaze.
“Duck slices?” Yuan Zhou asked with a frown.
“Yes,” Xiao Xing nodded as he looked at Yuan Zhou in confusion.
“They are all duck skins?” Yuan Zhou asked again.
That’s right. The plate served by the waiter was filled with neatly arranged duck skins. The skins were somewhat golden in color, and were glossy with oil. Not a single shred of meat was left on the skins.
“You eat it by wrapping it with this,” Xiao Xing explained.
“Where’s the meat?” Yuan Zhou asked.
“You mean the bones? They will fry it before serving it,” Xiao Xing took a look at the menu and said, not surprised at all.
Yuan Zhou appeared conflicted. Who would eat duck skins with Lotus Leaf Cakes? This was too weird. Perhaps duck skins were special?
As Yuan Zhou was not eating, Xiao Xing was not eating as well. He sipped on his fruit juice silently.
“Forget it. I will do as the locals do and give it a try,” Yuan Zhou decided to eat after some hesitation.
While eating, Yuan Zhou was feeling disappointed with the side dishes as they had been served scallions instead of leeks.
The scallions were cut into a finger’s length and were arranged in a saucer. Yuan Zhou decided to stop hesitating and started eating with his bare hands.
That’s right. When eating Beijing Roasted Duck, it would only taste good if one personally wrap it up. Yuan Zhou did not hold back and placed a piece of duck skin on the Lotus Leaf Cake before adding some sauce, scallions, and sweet pepper to it. Then, he folded the Lotus Leaf Cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
On the very first bite, Yuan Zhou felt the crispiness of the skin.
Immediately after he chewed on it, the oil in the skin poured out. Since the meat was not around to absorb the oil, the aroma spread everywhere in his mouth. His entire mouth felt flooded with oil.
“This is quite a peculiar experience. Xiao Xing, give it a try,” Yuan Zhou said after swallowing it down.
“Ok,” Xiao Xing nodded.
Xiao Xing would visit the Chinatown with his girlfriend every now and then and had been in this restaurant before. Therefore, he did not feel like eating only duck skin was an odd experience.
As usual, Xiao Xing added extra scallions and sauce on the skin before folding it up and stuffing it into his mouth.
“Wu, it’s so oily,” Xiao Xing frowned the moment he started chewing.
He had just eaten Yuan Zhou’s food during lunch and now, he had to eat something like this. It was indeed quite inhuman.
Not even the Mango with Glutinous Rice earlier was as terrible as this. After all, the Mango with Glutinous Rice was only a snack, while this duck skin was their dinner.
It did not matter if a snack was unpalatable. But why had the roasted duck that used to be very delicious become so bad?
“What do you think?” Yuan Zhou asked with a frown.
After all, Yuan Zhou was also afraid that he only felt like the duck was bad because it did not fit his preferences. What if this was the type of taste the locals liked?
“It’s terrible. Your food is better, Boss Yuan,” Xiao Xing remarked with no hesitation.
“Ok,” Yuan Zhou nodded while heaving a sigh of relief.
The two started eating, and the food they ordered were served one after another. Yuan Zhou ate all of them, preparing to finish the culinary funds provided by the system.
By the side, Xiao Xing had a bitter expression, as if he was in some suffering.
The more unpalatable the food here was, the tastier his lunch seemed.
Xiao Xing complained while eating, but when he saw that Yuan Zhou was eating seriously, he felt a deep veneration for him. After all, Yuan Zhou was a person who could cook very well yet he was still willing to eat something this bad.
“Why have I never felt that the Beijing Roasted Duck here was so terrible in the past?” Xiao Xing wondered.
This dinner had broadened Yuan Zhou’s experience and educated Xiao Xing on how bad the Beijing Roasted Duck here was.
“Perhaps my taste buds were out of order in the past,” Xiao Xing said.
“You’re wrong. You have never felt that way because you did not know me back then,” Yuan Zhou said calmly. “If you have met me earlier, your taste buds would have gone out of order long ago.”