Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 447 - 359: When It Comes to Sharing, It Has to Be Family—Not Even a Bite Left for Me?

"Chili oil?"

Raphael pointed to the bowl of red chili oil by Old Chen’s hand: "Are you talking about this?"

"Yes, that’s it."

While eating the meat bun earlier, Raphael already noticed the aroma of chili oil. But since it was blended with the meat stuffing and broth, the quantity wasn’t much and the taste was subtle and not very apparent.

Now that no one was around, he simply scooped a few drops of pure chili oil for himself, without adding anything else, and directly put it into his mouth.

The chili oil had a gentle taste without the spicy kick usually associated with chili peppers.

A distinct aroma slowly spread across his tongue, lingered in his mouth, and became gradually rich and flavorful over time.

"This is..." Raphael closed his eyelids to savor for a moment, his eyes lit up, "Scallion oil?"

Using spiced oil made from fried scallions to create chili oil, this imaginative idea amazed him.

The key is, the resulting chili oil is not only not spicy but filled with a lingering, appealing fragrance.

If one isn’t a professional chef or has considerable culinary experience, they wouldn’t be able to discern the mystery hidden within this chili oil.

Even someone as experienced as himself didn’t taste the scallion oil earlier while eating the meat bun; he only knew this thing was unusually aromatic.

"Why does this chili oil look so red but taste completely non-spicy?"

Everything else was understandable except for this question, which puzzled him.

Even if using non-spicy chili peppers, it surely couldn’t be devoid of spice given such quantity, right?

After pondering for a moment, he reached out again, scooped some of the settled chili paste onto his spoon, and tasted it.

Indeed, directly eating the chili showcases a distinct spicy flavor, unlike the chili oil’s mild spice level.

If the chili oil is gently spicy, then eating the settled chili paste provides a medium level of spice.

Wouldn’t it be possible to adjust their ratio to meet patrons’ varying spice preferences?

Great Xia People are so clever!!

He never imagined that a seemingly straightforward bowl of chili oil could contain so much complexity.

Nagishiro Sho wasn’t very surprised, he had already seen the making process long ago, just hadn’t tried it himself yet.

Upon hearing Lin Chen say he’d make it again in the afternoon, he thought since he’s already here, reviewing it again wouldn’t hurt and might yield fresh insights or inspiration.

While everyone chatted in the dining car during preparation, a compact car slowly approached from a distance.

"?"

Upon hearing the engine’s sound, everyone curiously looked that way.

Lin Chen was baffled.

It’s early Sunday morning at five thirty, why would there be tourists?

This is highly unusual!!

They came this early mainly to prepare meals and offer breakfast to the dock workers, with the actual dining rush expected from six thirty to after eight.

The car stopped steadily, the door opened, and a pair of long beautiful legs stepped out.

Upon seeing the familiar group of outfits, Dais and Miss Elsa’s eyes lit up, and they ran forward.

"Helena? Oh, and Little Lisa! Why are you up so early, are you here for breakfast?"

"Good morning! Miss Dais, Miss Elsa!"

Lisa’s soft and tender voice echoed from inside the car, and her small legs followed her mom’s pace out of the car, beaming as she waved repeatedly at the two women.

Dais’s eyes gleamed with motherly love, she bent down to pick her up and turned towards the dining car.

Upon seeing Lisa, Helena, and the man in the driver’s seat, Lin Chen realized.

That makes sense.

"Stop dawdling, serve up one of each!"

With his command, everyone immediately got busy.

Some started making noodles, some began pulling noodles, others made meat buns, and Lucas started plating the ice powder.

"Good morning chef~"

"Good morning to you, my dear."

Lin Chen cheerfully waved to Lisa outside the car window, indulging in a rare moment of tenderness.

His actions didn’t provoke disdain from the men inside the car; rather, they all forced awkward smiles, nodding foolishly outside.

"Goodness gracious, how can a foreign little girl be so pretty, like a little fairy."

"What fairy, abroad they call it an elf! The kind with transparent wings on their back, haven’t you watched Western fantasy movies?"

"Stop boasting, focus on making your noodles!"

Old Chen grunted, his face creased with smiles as he handed out a warm meat bun.

"Erit Erit~"

"?"

Lisa froze, clearly not understanding.

Instead, Helena took it proactively, thanked him in clumsy Chinese, probably having just learned it recently.

"Xie Xie~"

Lisa stared at the fragrant meat bun in front of her, swallowed, looked up at her mom, and imitated her by thanking, then held the bun as big as her face with both hands and took a big bite.

"Crunch"

The crispy sound was accompanied by visibly squeezed meat juice, Helena’s throat silently moved, and she quietly swallowed.

Even though she had been working with Lin Chen’s team for over half a month, the times she actually got to eat his food were few.

Thinking about it carefully, it was only at the beginning when Lin Chen was cooking in the restaurant that there was a chance to eat.

After he went out to run a food stand, there was no more chance for a feast.

The Chinese-style burger in her daughter’s hands was also familiar to her. After work, she often hid in her room watching Lucas’s videos, almost memorizing their order, eagerly wanting to taste how delicious these things truly were.

When her daughter came to see her, and it was a Sunday, neither mother nor daughter could sleep, so they dragged their driver to go have breakfast early.

This meat bun was one of the things that initially got Lisa interested in Chinese food.

She had long wondered how delicious it would be to eat on the spot, but after actually tasting it, the unparalleled wonderful taste easily outshone the reheated version by miles.

The crispy yet chewy bun paired with the juicy and tender minced meat was perfectly balanced with fat and lean, making it neither greasy nor tough, just ultimately tender.

After taking three big bites, she reluctantly held up the meat bun in front of Helena.

"Mommy, you try it too, it’s so good!"

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to finish it, but her appetite was really small, and the chefs in the food truck were evidently still making other delicious things, and she wanted to try everything.

Not to mention the fruit ice jelly she had been craving for a long time was also there.

She couldn’t, she just couldn’t eat it all!

She had never hated her small appetite so much, and at this moment, she decided to exercise more in the future, so she could eat more without affecting her figure.

After all, she was going to be a model in the future!

The moment the meat aroma hit, Helena’s eyes began to shine, and drool poured uncontrollably like a flood.

Without a second thought, she took a bite.

Before she was transferred to work in Dieppe, she often heard her daughter talk about how delicious this was.

More than a month had passed, and she finally got to taste it!

"Delicious, delicious, is this the real taste of a Chinese pork burger? Why hasn’t anyone sold such delicious things all these years?"

Just one bite and Helena was instantly captivated by the flavor, her beautiful eyes bending into crescent moons while nodding repeatedly.

"You mother and daughter really have similar tastes, haha."

Helena’s husband leisurely walked up behind her, gently wiping away the meat juice from Lisa’s mouth corner, affectionately ruffling her little head, then looked at his wife with the same gaze.

Helena was too busy to pay him any attention, devouring and finishing the palm-sized meat bun in two or three bites, and promptly grabbed two boxes of mixed noodles from the window.

She held one box herself and gave the other to her daughter, trying a few bites before exchanging.

The man wasn’t in a rush, as if he was used to this scene, he raised a finger, smiled at Dais, and said.

"Please do me another pork burger, thanks, and I’ll pay for everything later."

"Oh, and three of those jellies, please."

As he was ordering, Helena had already stacked two empty boxes in her hand, with even the sauce inside the boxes licked clean with not a drop left.

When the biangbiang noodles were served, and seeing the quantity in the bowl, the man’s mouth twitched, and he raised a finger again at Dais.

"Please bring me one more of each kind of noodle."

He never expected that his wife, who usually had an average appetite, could eat so much today.

Even though the portions of those three bowls were not big individually, combined they were a lot, and adding a pork burger would absolutely fill a normal adult male, or even leave someone with a smaller appetite unable to finish.

And the mother and daughter duo didn’t save him even a bite?

So unfair!!

"Hey Lisa, do you like to eat ice cream? Any fruits you like?"

Lucas, already finished scooping three servings of ice powder, pointed to the array of fruits on the counter and smiled at Lisa.

At the mention of ice cream and fruits, Lisa’s eyes lit up, and she ran over quickly, her chewing sped up when she gazed at the array of fruits.

Helena followed her closely because the little one was still holding handmade noodles, which she would undoubtedly not finish!

Even though a bowl only had two strands, the total amount was definitely not small.

She estimated that her daughter was already 70 to 80 percent full but still saved some room for ice powder, and the remaining two or three bites of noodles were all hers.

Indeed.

Lisa struggled for a while, her small mouth full and bulging, but she never reached the end of the noodles. After several tries, she finally chose to give up.

She bit off the noodles, handed them to Helena, and pointed at the watermelon and mango on the table.

"I like these two fruits! Pineapple is okay too, anything else you recommend?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon a row of small toppings at the side, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Is this... coconut jelly?"