Abalone over Rice

"Forget it!" The old man sitting beside Huo Jiu tugged discreetly at his sleeve and whispered, "It's just one meal. I'm perfectly happy with what I've eaten."

His words only made everyone more certain that there had been some kind of misunderstanding.

Huo Jiu hadn't expected the dining room manager, caught trying to pass off fakes as the real thing, not only to refuse to apologize but to turn around and accuse him instead. He was so angry he laughed.

"If you insist there's nothing wrong with this shark fin, then use the same kind to make a Red-Braised Shark Fin," Huo Jiu said, fixing the manager with a faintly amused look. "If you can make it, I'll believe there's nothing wrong with it."

The moment Huo Jiu said this, the manager's expression changed.

Everyone knew that fake shark fin was different from the real thing. After soaking, it had neither spring nor chew, and no matter how it was cooked, it wouldn't absorb the flavor. An experienced chef could use rich stock and starch to make it nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. Ordinary diners wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

But Chaozhou shark fin could never be thickened with starch. And the Red-Braised Shark Fin Huo Jiu had just mentioned was a Chaozhou cuisine preparation.

The method called for soaked shark fin, pig's trotters, ribs, pork skin, and other ingredients, simmered over high heat with Shaoxing Wine and ham for three hours. The other ingredients were then removed, and a stewing hen was added. The mixture was simmered over low heat for another hour and a half, until the collagen had been coaxed out of the shark fin. Then it was cooked over low heat for another hour and a half to reduce the sauce.

It took a full six hours to produce a tender, silky Red-Braised Shark Fin. If it wasn't cooked long enough, the broth wouldn't soak in; if it was overcooked, the texture would fall apart.

So the moment Huo Jiu brought up Red-Braised Shark Fin, the manager knew there was no way to settle things peacefully.

The young stranger standing before him was definitely not some nouveau riche who had never tried shark fin and had come to First-Rank Pavilion to broaden his horizons. Whether he was in the trade or not was another matter, but his palate was at least that of a seasoned gourmet.

The diners at several nearby tables frowned, looking thoughtful.

Huo Jiu paused, then continued, "As luck would have it, I'm free today. I'll wait right here. Once the Red-Braised Shark Fin is ready, I'll take it with me, along with today's Fish Maw and Shark Fin Soup. Since the manager here says I have no proof, let's take it somewhere qualified to have it tested. Then we'll see whether I've slandered your restaurant."

The entire dining room at First-Rank Pavilion fell silent.

Chapter 9: Abalone over Rice

After a long silence, the manager forced a stiff smile and finally spoke. "Please, don't get worked up. Let's talk this through calmly. As you know, Red-Braised Shark Fin takes at least six hours to prepare. If you didn't order it in advance, our restaurant can't serve it."

"Besides, the kitchen doesn't have any extra soaked shark fin. Even if we went out to buy some right now, there wouldn't be time to soak it." Soaking shark fin took time, too. The whole process would take far more than six hours.

Huo Jiu heard him and smiled faintly, without betraying a hint of emotion. "So you just happened to run out of this batch of fake shark fin?"

"It isn't fake shark fin. The ingredients First-Rank Pavilion buys are all genuine, top-quality products. We've been in business for three hundred years. Why would we serve our customers fake shark fin? It's just a coincidence. Yesterday's order didn't include much shark fin, and the amount you ordered was large. These six tables alone used up nearly all of what we bought. What little is left was already reserved by other regular customers. We don't have a single extra piece."

That sounded rather far-fetched. A hotel would never keep no backup of its important ingredients. What if a distinguished guest showed up? Would they really have to send someone out to buy supplies at the last minute? Especially a restaurant like First-Rank Pavilion, known for its labor-intensive dishes—many ingredients couldn't be prepared in time even if they started soaking them right away.

As soon as the manager said this, the more experienced diners caught a whiff of something fishy.

The manager bowed slightly, putting on an air of wanting to keep the peace. "How about this? You booked six tables, and this is your first time at First-Rank Pavilion. You've done us the honor of choosing our restaurant, so I'll make the decision myself: we'll give every guest at your six tables a complimentary bowl of Abalone over Rice. How does that sound?"

The old men and women from Lakeside Park brightened when they heard the manager. The old man beside Huo Jiu leaned over and whispered, "They're giving everyone a bowl of Abalone over Rice! I just checked the menu. It costs 128 yuan a bowl here. There are sixty or seventy of us, so that comes to almost eight thousand yuan. The restaurant's being pretty generous."

At the old man's words, the manager's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

But the diners at several tables who had been watching the scene frowned.

Some people were still confused and quietly asked Huo Jiu, "What does this mean? Was the shark fin real or fake?"

Something about this just didn't sound right!

Huo Jiu smiled. "Of course it's fake. But if we don't secure the evidence today, then when the story gets out later, it could turn into a bunch of troublemaking guests storming into First-Rank Pavilion, unable to tell real shark fin from fake. The restaurant will have to pay to make the problem go away."

The manager's smile froze, and his tone immediately turned cold. "My friend, as the saying goes, leave some room for others and you'll meet again someday. You have no grudge against First-Rank Pavilion, so why are you pushing this so far?"

"I'm guarding against bad faith, not good intentions. We'd better make everything clear," Huo Jiu said with a smile. "It doesn't matter if the kitchen has no extra shark fin. If you refuse to admit that this is fake, we'll pack up the Fish Maw and Shark Fin Soup from the banquet and take it to the relevant authorities for testing."

The manager gave Huo Jiu a careful once-over, then asked, "You look unfamiliar, and your accent doesn't sound local. May I ask whose child you are?"

"Why?" Huo Jiu smiled calmly. "Do I have to give you my family tree just to eat at First-Rank Pavilion?"