RBCT Chapter 107 Lu Tao's Predicament
Chapter 107 Lu Tao's Predicament
Fortunately, Lu Yuan and Lu Jie brought out their dishes one after another, otherwise the chicken-eating guests would have been roasted.
Fried food is usually ordered when three or four people come to eat together. At this time, fried food is the perfect appetizer and is very suitable for the atmosphere of a full square table.
The fried food served in Chinese restaurants is not like fried chicken, which focuses more on a crispy appearance.
Take deep-fried ribbonfish as an example. Deep-frying is just the way this dish is presented, but from the selection of ingredients, we must strive for excellence in order to present the final flavor.
The same applies to deep-fried sandwiches; the process before frying is already very complicated.
Actually, it was very lucky to be able to eat deep-fried sandwiches at Xiao Lu's farmhouse restaurant. Even in later generations, very few restaurants make this dish.
Because this dish needs to be crispy and flavorful, it needs to be made fresh on the same day and then fried again before serving, with the time between frying not exceeding 2 hours.
If the food is made fresh in the morning and then fried again in the evening, a dead core will appear in the middle of the baking tray, which will not be activated, and the desired crispy outside and soft inside effect will not be achieved.
Meanwhile, in the front hall, diners who had ordered deep-fried sandwiches were making crunching noises as they ate, their expressions revealing a delightful enjoyment of the fragrant meat.
The most frequent dish served at Lu Yuan's place today wasn't stir-fried lamb, but rather a beef version of braised meat.
From a sensory perspective, stir-fried beef is no different from other beef dishes except that the beef slices are darker in color.
But diners discovered the difference after they started eating.
The beef has a firmer texture, a more chewy mouthfeel, and is full of meaty flavor.
Compared to stir-fried lamb, stir-fried beef is a spicier and more appetizing dish.
The flavor of the lamb will be more intense, fully displayed in the entire dish.
However, the beef flavor is richer and blends with the aroma of garlic sprouts, pickled cabbage, and dried chili peppers, resulting in a diverse and unique taste.
About ten minutes later, the front hall echoed with cries of "Another bowl of rice!"
There's no way around it, this dish is just too good with rice. As soon as the sauce is poured over rice, the rice will be completely devoured within minutes.
As the mealtime drew to a close, the guests at each table left Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant, burping and patting their bellies with satisfaction.
After lunch today, Lu Yuan felt more relaxed than ever before.
He didn't need to give orders in the kitchen; everyone did their own job, which reminded him of his days as a head chef.
While the waiters were cleaning up, Lu Yuan strolled towards the other three stores.
After being impacted by Uncle Lu and Old Man Lu, Sister Lu's Malatang has regained its vitality.
Although it was already past 3 p.m., there were still a few people coming to eat.
The mala tang restaurant is now the place Lu Yuan trusts the most.
Firstly, his aunts and other close relatives were in charge of the shop, so he had nothing to worry about.
Secondly, the menu here is very simple; as long as you put your heart into it, you're unlikely to make any mistakes.
Spicy hot pot and cold noodles, these kinds of local snacks, will always have a group of loyal fans no matter where they are located.
Even if you're not a die-hard fan, most people will crave it every now and then; that's the charm of mala tang.
According to Lu Hua, the queue at the mala tang restaurant is more than twice as long as that at Xiao Lu Nongjia Restaurant during lunchtime.
The surrounding villagers come here to dine quite frequently, and even the Wang family often comes here to eat spicy hot pot.
Moreover, the villagers invented a very magical way of eating it:
After ordering, they chose to take the food home instead of eating at the restaurant.
In this way, the soup base left over from eating mala tang can be used as a delicious broth, and you can cook another pot of noodles in the afternoon, which will also be very flavorful.
Lu Yuan was stunned when he heard this, thinking to himself that the "tricks" in the countryside are really deep.
In principle, the soup base of Sister Lu's Mala Tang is fresh chicken soup with chili oil and seasonings.
Using this broth to make noodles seems no different from cooking noodles at Haidilao.
This high-quality mala tang costs 2 yuan a bowl. Although he earns 1.4 yuan with tears in his eyes, Lu Yuan still feels like he is losing money. What exactly is the problem?
After watching for a while, Lu Yuan immediately asked Lu Hua to ask Lu Wen for another aunt to help in the kitchen.
The old lady was getting on in years, and although the work at the mala tang shop wasn't complicated, the workload was heavy. Lu Yuan was really worried that the old lady would get exhausted.
Xiaoxue and Sha Xiaojuan's daughter, Dandan, was playing in the front yard. Both little girls had come to the store with their mothers.
But Lu Yuan could clearly see that Dan Dan was out of breath after running just a few steps, while Xiao Xue was much more energetic.
Lu Hua said that Sha Xiaojuan works very hard and always volunteers to do the work.
Most importantly, she is always quick to respond to any customer's needs, showing great at being observant.
Lu Yuan didn't comment on this; she felt comfortable with this state of mind, so she let it be.
Uncle Lu and Grandpa Lu have returned to normal today. The restaurant is full during mealtimes, and any empty tables can be quickly filled.
But no one will deliberately queue here, because they are competitors; eating at Uncle Lu's place is the same as eating at Old Man Lu's place.
If all else fails, there's no problem going to the hot pot place next door for a meal.
Therefore, once Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Cuisine opened, the long queues at these two home-style restaurants basically disappeared.
Without a queue, the aunties in the kitchen have an easier time working.
Overall, these stores have now reached a stable state, and Lu Yuan no longer needs to help them much.
After chatting with Xiaowen and Wenjuan, the cashiers at the two stores, for a while, Lu Yuan also prepared to go back.
Just as he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of Lu Tao standing at the entrance of his shop, looking at him as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Lu Yuan immediately walked over and asked, "Brother Tao, how have you been lately?"
Lu Tao forced a smile: "Xiao Yuan, you're really good at running restaurants. Look how successful these two shops are."
Lu Yuan could tell from the tone that there was a hidden meaning in the words.
So he asked, "Brother Tao, am I affecting your business?"
Lu Tao paused slightly after hearing this, then reluctantly said:
"Ever since you taught me how to stir-fry lamb, business has been booming, but things haven't been going well for me since Uncle Lu and Grandpa Lu opened their shop."
Lu Tao immediately explained:
"Xiao Yuan, I didn't mean to blame you. I was just expressing my admiration. After all, I've never seen anyone open a store that becomes a hit like you."
Lu Yuan didn't take his words to heart at all, after all, he also hoped that the Lu brothers' businesses would flourish.
I never expected that opening my two stores would have such a big impact on Lu Tao's store.
After pondering for a moment, Lu Yuan said, "Brother Tao, if you're willing to make the changes, I can help you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Tao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked eagerly, "Xiao Yuan, how should I change it? I'll do whatever you say!"
"To become a shop like Uncle Lu's or Grandpa Lu's!"