Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple

After crossing a street, the two arrived at a restaurant called Bai Ji Restaurant. The place was not large, only about thirty or forty square meters. Looking at the somewhat old tables, chairs, and signboard, Jiang Hao curled his lip. "This is it? What could possibly be good here?"

He received a White-eye from the female reporter.

"You're in this state and you're still being picky? Let me tell you, if you're stringing me along, just wait and see how I report on you in tomorrow's news."

Jiang Hao shrugged. "The uncrowned kings are so formidable. With one photograph, you can make up whatever you want."

The two entered the restaurant and found a table. There were several other tables of diners around them. Small as the restaurant was, it was quite lively, with plenty of customers. The food here presumably could not be too bad.

A waiter came over with a menu, tossed it onto the table, and said flatly, "What would you two like?"

He held a paper order slip and looked at them without even the hint of a smile.

Just as the female reporter was about to order, Jiang Hao took the menu and glanced through it. He casually picked four dishes. "Here, these four."

The reporter's eyes widened. "You really don't stand on ceremony, do you? Four dishes?"

She had originally intended to order just two dishes to get it over with. Who knew whether this guy had made up a lie just to scam her out of a meal? She had not expected him to be so unabashed as to order four dishes straight away.

Jiang Hao looked at the reporter, who was holding back her irritation, and smiled. "I still don't know your name."

"Zhen Xiaoqiu, reporter for the ATV News Department." The reporter's tone was stiff. "Hey, you said you had an opportunity to make me famous. Can you tell me now?"

Jiang Hao smiled. "Be patient. I'll tell you after we eat."

Zhen Xiaoqiu angrily turned her head away and looked elsewhere. She really had been muddleheaded. How had she believed him and even brought him out to eat? It looked like she was going to lose big this time.

Only then did Jiang Hao take a careful look at the reporter before him. She was not particularly tall, but she had a decent figure and looked somewhat like a certain beauty named Qiu. It was just that those huge black-rimmed glasses on her face ruined the effect. Otherwise, she could barely be considered pretty.

Though the restaurant was small, the dishes came quickly. Before long, all four were on the table: Oyster Sauce Lettuce, Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple, Cantonese Boiled Shrimp, and Steamed Fish.

These four dishes were all common home-style fare, dishes found in practically every restaurant. Of course, the more common a dish was, the more it showed how popular it was with people.

Jiang Hao ate with swift, precise movements. Soon, he had eaten half of every dish, leaving the female reporter dumbfounded. Was this guy the reincarnation of a starving ghost? And he called himself the God of Cookery? So this was what he looked like when he was hungry.

While eating, Jiang Hao opened the system display. No one else could see it. He discovered that the progress bar had not changed at all. It seemed the system had not judged these dishes to be top-tier cuisine.

With something in his stomach, Jiang Hao put down his chopsticks and declared loudly, "These dishes really aren't much good. They're completely below standard."

His voice was not quiet, and the restaurant was not large. Everyone heard Jiang Hao's words and turned to look at him.

The female reporter felt awkward and said irritably, "Hey, what do you mean by that? I'm treating you to a meal, and you're still being so picky."

Jiang Hao signaled to her with his eyes and whispered, "Don't talk. Watch."

The reporter did not know what Jiang Hao was up to, but she obediently kept quiet to see what he intended to do.

Jiang Hao continued loudly, "With a chef at this level, he still dares to cook for a living? He could be sued for fraud. I don't know how he ever graduated from his apprenticeship."

That was rather excessive, and many people frowned.

"Who's badmouthing me?!"

An angry roar came from the back. A chubby man emerged from the kitchen, holding a large ladle in his hand.

Seeing Jiang Hao, the fat chef pointed his ladle at him and snapped, "Kid, are you looking for trouble? My Bai Ji Restaurant has been open for nearly twenty years, and no one has ever said my food wasn't delicious. If you're here to cause trouble, do you believe I'll smack you to death with this ladle?"

As he spoke, he waved the huge ladle in his hand.

The fat chef looked aggressive, but Jiang Hao was not afraid in the slightest. He used his chopsticks to point at the dishes on the table. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I just think these dishes were poorly made. Am I not allowed to say so if I'm unhappy with my meal?"

"Fine, tell me. Point out exactly what's bad about them. But if you can't, don't think about walking out of here peacefully today. Ask around on the streets—I, Old Bai, am not someone people can push around." The fat chef sneered.

If Jiang Hao could not explain himself properly, the fat chef probably would not mind letting him taste that ladle.

Jiang Hao picked up a piece of lettuce from the Oyster Sauce Lettuce dish and said clearly, "Oyster Sauce Lettuce may be simple, but it tests a cook's control of the heat. Stir-fry the minced garlic until fragrant and slightly yellow, then immediately add the lettuce and stir-fry it quickly over high heat. Cook it only until it loses its rawness. Overcook it, and it will no longer be crisp and tender."

"Look at this piece of lettuce. It's obviously overcooked. It looks like it was boiled in water. There's no crispness or tenderness to it at all."

"Also, for Oyster Sauce Lettuce, it's best to use Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce. Lee Kum Kee's oyster sauce balances freshness, saltiness, and sweetness. Only then will the finished Oyster Sauce Lettuce have an appealing color and be crisp, tender, fresh, and sweet."

Jiang Hao pointed at the dish again. "Look at it yourself. Does it look even remotely crisp, tender, fresh, or sweet?"

The fat chef was stunned speechless. This guy could even taste that the oyster sauce was not Lee Kum Kee. He knew Lee Kum Kee was better, but it cost much more, so he had switched to another brand.

When the other diners saw that the fat chef had been left unable to retort by the young man, they knew he must have hit the mark. They immediately realized that this young man was not just causing trouble, and their interest grew as they watched the spectacle.

Zhen Xiaoqiu also watched the scene with curiosity. Though she still did not know what Jiang Hao was trying to do, she found it quite interesting.

Jiang Hao was not finished. He pointed to another dish and said, "Now, let's talk about this Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple."

"Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple, as the name suggests, is pineapple stir-fried together with sweet and sour pork. The key, though, is the pork."

Jiang Hao picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork and continued, "Select the finest pork tenderloin, marinate it for five minutes, coat it in starch, then fry it once the oil reaches seventy percent heat. When it is golden, crisp outside and tender within, take it out. I'm telling you, even the children next door would cry from craving it."

"The oil temperature is the key here. Your sweet and sour pork was clearly not made with the best tenderloin, and the oil temperature was too high. The frying was all wrong. Bad review."

The fat chef's expression became even uglier.

Jiang Hao had no intention of letting him off so easily and continued, "Now, this Cantonese Boiled Shrimp. This dish is very simple, something we eat often, but even so, it still has to be prepared with care. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Your shrimp weren't fresh, the veins weren't cleaned out properly, the feelers weren't trimmed, and the shrimp were overcooked. More importantly, your dipping sauce was terribly poorly balanced. Bad review."

"Finally, let's talk about this Steamed Fish."