Gourmet and actor

Before New Year's Eve, relatives from the Xiao family contacted Xiao Huiguang as usual and invited him to celebrate the New Year together.

Xiao Huiguang was afraid that his over-zealous relatives would find out what had happened, so he ran to City B to congratulate them on their father-son reunion.At that time, he was busy entertaining, but delayed his son's business.So he lied that he was traveling outside and would not return until after the Chinese New Year, and declined their invitation.

Xiao Ke took the time in advance to pay respects to Father Han and several friends in the circle who lived in City B in turn.On New Year's Eve, he cooked three sumptuous meals, and accompanied Xiao Huiguang to watch the Spring Festival Gala. The father and son sent off the old year in a calm and warm way.

On the morning of the first day of the new year, the two headed to City S according to the scheduled itinerary.

Compared with normal days, cities are rarely empty during the spring break, and there are much fewer pedestrians on the streets.But accordingly, the taxi is not easy to wait. The Xiao family's father and son, who arrived in City S at 09:30, arrived at the restaurant where Zhou Fu worked after a full delay until after twelve o'clock.

After getting out of the car, he glanced at the restaurant across the street. Xiao Huiguang, who never liked to bother others, said, "It's not good to step on the meal time. Let's find a place to eat something first, and then go to see your friend in the afternoon."

"The time is just right. I was invited to come here this time just to try his handicrafts." Xiao Ke signaled his father to go on. Ready."

Hearing what his son said, Xiao Huiguang no longer insisted.

But the two walked through the door and came to the restaurant. Before they could ask the foreman where Zhou Fu was, they saw many diners walking out.

Xiao Huiguang hurriedly protected his son and retreated to the side, avoiding the crowd, and guessed again: "Could it be that someone is having a wedding? But it's too early to end."

The foreman explained: "It's not a happy event, it's because there was a sudden power outage in this area more than ten minutes ago. The power bureau said it was still repairing it, but it couldn't confirm the time. The kitchen can't cook, so we can only invite new guests to eat elsewhere. "

After listening, the father and son noticed that the lights were not turned on in the restaurant.The waiter is holding the candlesticks and distributing them one by one to the tables of the guests who are eating.

At this time, the foreman said again: "If you two want to eat, there is a hotel on the left turn of this street, which can provide discounted lunch and dinner for the staying guests."

Seeing that the two guests were still dragging their suitcases, she guessed that they were tourists who came to travel during the Spring Festival, so she introduced a place that was convenient for eating and lodging.

You can see the grade of the restaurant from the quality of the waiters.Xiao Ke originally wanted to take the opportunity to learn from the scriptures, but then he realized that since the power outage, it is estimated that the agreed-upon tasting crafts will have to be postponed.

He just wanted to ask the foreman on which floor Zhou Fu worked.Before he opened his mouth, a man in a white uniform and a white round top hat hurried down the stairs in the atrium. It was exactly the person he was looking for.

Seeing him, Zhou Fu suddenly showed embarrassment, "Xiao Xiao, I'm sorry. I had prepared all the dishes, but when the power went out, a regular customer who just arrived said that he specially invited his girlfriend over. He also asked for marriage, insisting that I serve him the dishes, saying that this is a major event in his life. I really can't speak to him, so I just nodded. Xiao Xiao, I'm really sorry."

They are all in the catering business, so Xiao Ke can naturally understand his difficulties, and quickly said: "It's okay, the customer is the first priority. Besides, we are not leaving today, we will play here for two days. There is always a chance to eat you dishes."

Only then did Zhou Fu feel relieved, and said: "Just now I asked my apprentice to ask again, and I heard that this circuit failure is quite troublesome, and it may take four or five hours to fix it. I might as well take half a day off and take you to a friend Try something new there. Come in and have a cup of tea first, sit down for a while, and I'll be right back."

Saying that, Zhou Fu personally led the two of them to an elegant seat, served the brewed fragrant tea, and then left.When Xiao's father and son had their second cup of tea, Zhou Fu, who had changed into casual clothes, just came out, drove for more than 20 minutes, and drove them to a side alley, where he stopped and talked.

Xiao Huiguang thought it was a snack bar opened by Zhou Fu's friend, but Xiao Ke knew it must be the back door of the restaurant when he saw the layout, and the place is probably not small.

Sure enough, he pushed open the small door and walked in. Through a narrow passage, he found a large kitchen. All the utensils were polished and looked extraordinarily neat under the white light.But Xiao Ke always felt that there was something wrong. After careful inspection, he finally found the clue: in addition to the utensils that an ordinary kitchen should have, there are many devices in the room that are similar to chemical equipment that he has only seen in campus movies. There are all kinds of people, and basically they can't name them.

Xiao Huiguang is just the opposite of his son.He liked chemistry since he was a teenager, and he has worked in a chemical reagent factory for most of his life, dealing with various instruments for many years.After entering the house, he first noticed the surrounding furnishings that resembled a chemical laboratory, and then judged from the range hood and other things that this was a kitchen. He couldn't help wondering: "Can you use these things for cooking?"

Zhou Fu explained: "My friend's restaurant is for molecular cuisine. The two seniors who proposed this concept, one is a physicist and the other is a chemist. When cooking, the operation steps are very different from our ordinary chefs. , so these devices are needed.”

"Oh? How do you do it specifically?" Xiao Ke heard this term for the first time, and couldn't help asking with great interest.

"Well, I only know a little about it. Wait a minute, I'll call him out and let him explain to you."

As he said that, Zhou Fu walked towards the half-covered door at the other end of the kitchen, and raised his voice and shouted: "Old Fan, you don't lock the door! Be careful when a thief really breaks in and steals all your treasures!"

After a while, an unhurried voice came from behind the door, "They can't be moved if they are stolen. Didn't you see that passage? People who are slightly fatter can't squeeze in. If there are thieves coming, I have no choice but to accept my fate and go back empty-handed."

Zhou Fu said: "Be careful, he will make your pot smooth. A set is thousands of dollars, and a broken one will cost thousands of dollars."

"Well, you're right. I'll install an alarm at the back door after the Chinese New Year. By the way, aren't you also breaking into the empty door? Do you think I should let the police arrest you first?"

This man spoke slowly and seemed to be very gentle, but he answered one sentence, which made Zhou Fu roll his eyes.Noticing this, Xiao Ke couldn't help laughing.

Zhou Fu was very helpless, "Stop rambling, I brought my friends over here, hurry up to meet the guests."

The man said in surprise, wait a moment, and then there was a rustling sound from behind the door.After a while, a middle-aged man with a shaved head came out.

He is not tall, half a head lower than Zhou Fu, the shortest of the three.Seeing Xiao Ke, he immediately strode forward, and without waiting for Zhou Fu's introduction, he shook hands warmly, "Boss Xiao, hello, hello. I went to your Yushan Palace last year when it just opened. I still remember the taste clearly. I have always wanted to taste it again, but unfortunately there is always no time. I didn’t expect you to come here today, it’s so glorious.”

After finishing speaking, he complained to Zhou Fu again, "You are really not authentic, just break into the empty door, and you don't tell me who is here. If I had known that you invited Boss Xiao, I would not have messed with those stereos."

Zhou Fu also had nothing to do with this friend.He glared at him first, and then said: "Uncle Xiao, Xiao Xiao, his name is Fan Chunming, he is the owner and chef of this restaurant, and the dishes he cooks are quite interesting."

"Hello, Boss Fan." Xiao Huiguang greeted, and couldn't help but return to the instrument, thinking about its function silently.

Xiao Ke shook the hand that was still being held by Fan Chunming, and said, "Hi, this is my father. I took the liberty to come here today, and I seem to have disturbed you. I'm really sorry."

Fan Chunming quickly said: "Boss Xiao, you mustn't be polite, it's just a routine inspection, it's nothing—by the way, Lao Zhou, when you contacted me last night, didn't you say that you would be on duty today? Why did you come here at this point?"

"There's a power outage over there, and remembering that you're in the shop at this time of year, I decided to bring Xiao Xiao and the others over to try something new." Zhou Fu said, "Come here and show off, hurry up."

There are also food specially reserved by Fan Chunming for the family dinner during the Spring Festival in the store. The food is basically ready-made, and it will be fine to deal with it a little bit.He immediately reassured and said: "No problem, Lao Zhou, you can take Boss Xiao and Uncle Xiao to the box to listen to music first, and I will be ready soon."

While speaking, Xiao Ke noticed that Xiao Huiguang's gaze was still lingering on the machine.It’s rare to see something he’s interested in, so he hangs his sunglasses on his neckline, Xiao Ke slightly pondered, and said, “Boss Fan, I’m curious about the way molecular gastronomy is done. Can you let me watch and introduce its principle by the way?”

"of course can."

The so-called people flock together, Fan Chunming, like Zhou Fu, is not the kind of person who likes to hide and put on airs.

Furthermore, he admired Xiao Ke's craftsmanship very much, and seeing that he was also interested in his vegetables, he immediately lifted his spirits.While taking the ingredients, he introduced: "The name sounds bluffing, but it's nothing to put it bluntly. It is to discover the chemical properties of various ingredients, and then use scientific methods to recombine them to change their appearance and give people a fresh and fun feeling. .like this—"

He unscrewed a small round metal can, revealing a box full of translucent, round-shaped small green food on the table.After taking the spoon barrel again, the three of them took the spoons one by one before asking, "Boss Xiao, what do you think it looks like?"

"This... caviar?" Although this ingredient is not used in his own restaurant, Xiao Ke has tasted it in other restaurants and recognized the shape at a glance.It's just that I can't help but wonder why the other party brought out a light green color, and there are no traces of dipping.

Hearing this, Fan Chunming smiled mysteriously, "Try it first."

Seeing him cheating, Xiao Ke took a spoonful according to his advice, and took a tentative sip.

The moment the particles burst in the mouth, what erupts is not the unique smoothness and slight fishy smell of caviar, but a completely different sweetness and juiciness.Xiao Ke recognized it immediately: This is actually the taste of cantaloupe!

The caviar has a strong and oily taste. Even if the original fishy smell is covered up with seasoning, the unique oily feeling cannot be completely erased.What special technique did Fan Chunming use to achieve this step?Or, is this not caviar at all?

Looking at Xiao Ke's expression from confusion to thoughtfulness, Fan Chunming laughed again, "Boss Xiao, my dish is called cantaloupe caviar. Before you tried it, you never thought it would taste like this, did you?"