Chapter 47 - Jinniang Cooks
Chapter 47: Jinniang Cooks
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
When Emperor Huilin and the Queen arrived at the door, they glanced over and saw many high-ranking officials and nobles dining in the lobby.
They hadn’t been here for a long time, and the decoration of the Tasty Pavilion was a lot more elegant.
Huixiang came up to greet them. “I’m so sorry, dear guests. There are no more vacant seats today. Sorry for wasting your time.”
Queen Zhou said, “It’s still early and you already have no vacant seats?”
Huixiang said with a smile: “Our restaurant is newly opened, and our seats are booked up quickly every day.
“Our private rooms have been scheduled for next month, and the seats in the lobby have all been booked today, so there are no more seats available. We’re truly sorry.”
Emperor Huilin signaled his entourage to take out a note of 50 taels of silver. “Fifty taels for two seats.”
Huixiang said awkwardly, “I’m sorry, two distinguished guests, but our restaurant has rules. If the seats are already ordered, we can’t sell them again.”
Queen Zhou said, “Forget it, we can go to another restaurant.”
As soon as she said that, she saw Fulu, Jinghua, Lin Mo and Zhou Siming coming in together.
Lin Mo and Zhou Siming wanted to pretend they didn’t recognize the Emperor and the Queen.
But Fulu quickly shouted, “Uncle, Auntie, you sneaked out of the imperial palace again!”
Emperor Huilin: “…” This darn girl.
Princess Jinghua saluted. “Father, Mother.”
Emperor Huilin said, “You don’t need to salute us outside the imperial palace. I and the Queen came out to check out the people’s livelihood in Chang’an. Don’t publicize it.”
Princess Fulu smiled and said, “Uncle, are you here to taste the food in the Tasty Pavilion?
“But the seats of the Tasty Pavilion have to be booked a month in advance because it’s too popular.
“Luckily, the No.1 private room here is mine. Why don’t we have dinner together, Uncle?”
Jinghua tugged at Fulu’s sleeve.
But Fulu, who was always careless, didn’t think there was anything wrong with dining with the Emperor and the Queen.
Zhou Siming said to Queen Zhou, “Auntie, it’s not easy to get a seat in the Tasty Pavilion.
“If you don’t mind, please use the No.1 private room. We can find another room.”
Queen Zhou nodded lightly. “Okay.”
She really wanted to see how delicious the dishes in the Tasty Pavilion were, which she hadn’t eaten for four years.
How could it be so popular among the high-ranking officials and nobles in Chang’an?
In the private room, Tuan’er had just finished making a dough figurine that he thought looked very much like Jinniang but it actually had the mouth on the eyes.
He proudly handed the dough figurine to Qiao Jinniang. “Mom, it’s done.”
Qiao Jinniang looked at the horrible-looking dough figurine and smiled gently. “Well done, Tuan’er. This dough figurine looks exactly like your father.”
“But it’s you, Mom.”
At this time, the door was opened from the outside, and in shock, Qiao Jinniang saw Emperor Huilin and Queen Zhou come in.
When Tuan’er saw Emperor Huilin, he immediately shouted, “Grandpa!”
Emperor Huilin was very kind to Tuan’er. He lowered his body and held Tuan’er. “Why are you here?”
Qiao Jinniang hurriedly knelt down. “Qiao Jinniang greets Your Majesties.”
Although the woman beside the emperor was wearing a veil, Qiao Jinniang could guess she must be the Queen.
The Queen took off her veil and said, “Don’t be too polite. Arise. Are you here for dinner?”
This was the first time that Qiao Jinniang spoke to the Emperor and the Queen in such close proximity. It would be a lie to say that she was not nervous.
She dared to yell at and beat the Crown Prince because she still regarded him as Lu Chen rather than the Crown Prince.
But in front of her now were the Emperor of Tang Dynasty and his wife who could have millions of people executed with the wave of hand.
Qiao Jinniang said uneasily, “Your Majesty, I bought this Tasty Pavilion.”
The Queen said, “I heard that you used to run a restaurant in the South. This restaurant seems to be doing quite well. The seats are difficult to book.”
Qiao Jinniang lowered her head and replied, clenching her handkerchief. “The customers are just curious about Southern cuisine. Tasty Pavilion has many dishes from the South.
“The diners in Chang’an have never tasted the dishes of the South, so they are curious, but after an initial surge of interest, our business will probably not be as good as it is now.”
The Queen said softly, “You don’t have to be nervous. Since you are the owner of the Tasty Pavilion, why don’t you introduce the signature dishes in your restaurant?”
When Qiao Jinniang talked about the dishes, she became a little less nervous. “The signature dishes of our restaurant are mostly Southern dishes. If Your Majesties don’t mind it, please let me cook for the two of you.”
Qiao Jinniang didn’t dare to let others cook for the two. If the dishes were poisoned, it would be troublesome.
Queen Zhou noticed Qiao Jinniang’s nervousness and said, “Okay, but don’t make too many dishes. Five dishes and two soups will do.”
Qiao Jinniang replied, “Yes.”
Emperor Huilin frowned and said, “How can a daughter of a duke run a restaurant and even personally cook? This’s a disgrace to her family.”
It was not that he didn’t want to grant Lu Chen’s wish but it was that Qiao Jinniang really didn’t deserve to be the crown princess.
In the kitchen.
Qiao Jinniang went to the innermost stove.
When she was a child, her foster parents didn’t allow her to learn how to cook. But Qiao Jinniang would peep through the window and learn secretly, so her foster father passed on his cooking skills to her in the end.
She was very talented in cooking, but she rarely cooked.
Asking Huixiang to light the fire, Qiao Jinniang began to think about what dishes she should make.
About a quarter of an hour later, the five dishes and two soups were finally cooked.
Qiao Jinniang put the dishes into the food box and went up to the private room, placed the dishes one by one on the wooden round table, and slowly introduced,
“Your Majesties, this dish is called Water Bamboo Fried Meat. This water bamboo was just shipped from the south today. It is a dish that has never been seen in Chang’an.”
“This is called Stir-fried Shrimp with Longjing tea. It is the best-selling dish since the reopening of the Tasty Pavilion. The shrimps here are fresh shrimps that were frozen and shipped over from the South. It’s juicy and tasty. With the fragrance of Longjing tea, this dish is best eaten in early summer, clearing inner fire and reducing heat.”
An eunuch wanted to test if there was any poison in the dish but the Queen said, “No need.”
The Queen picked up a shrimp with a pair of silver chopsticks. The shrimp was tender and juicy. Mixed with the fragrance of Longjing tea, it tasted really good. She exclaimed, “It’s really good. Your Majesty, have a try.”
The Queen picked up a shrimp with chopsticks and put it in Emperor Huilin’s bowl.
When Emperor Huilin tasted it, his eyes lit up. The shrimp had no fishy smell, and it’s texture was tender and springy, which was really delicious.
Qiao Jinniang brought up a casserole. “This is a famous Suzhou dish, Eight Treasures Duck, cooked with scallops, ham, chicken liver, diced chicken, mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, chestnuts, glutinous rice, shrimp and other side dishes. Once the lid is opened, the house will be full of fragrance.”
After Qiao Jinniang took off the lid of the casserole, the fragrance of Eight Treasures Duck permeated…
The diners in the lobby on the first floor also smelled the fragrance and all asked what dish it was.
Qiao Jinniang picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks from the duck’s back for the Queen. “The best part of the Eight Treasures Ducks is meat on the duck’s back. Your Majesty, please try it.”
The Queen took a bite of it and smiled. “I’ve never eaten such a delicious duck before. Your Majesty, why don’t you have a try?”
Emperor Huilin frowned and said, “I never eat duck meat.”
The Queen picked up a piece of the duck and put it into Emperor Huilin’s bowl. “Come on, try it. It’s much more delicious than what the imperial kitchen makes.”
Emperor Huilin reluctantly took a bite, expecting some chewy duck meat…
To his surprise, the delicious marinade bloomed on his taste buds, and the meat was not at all chewy. He didn’t expect the duck meat he had always hated could be so delicious!
Qiao Jinniang served two other dishes. “Your Majesties, the other two dishes are called Steamed Crucian Carp and Braised Lion Head.
“The two soups are the famous Pickled Fresh Soup and West Lake Beef Soup.
“There is also an after-dinner dessert, Sweet-scented Osmanthus Fermented Rice Balls. ”
Qiao Jinniang served all the dishes, and on either side of the two lion-head meatballs, there was a little lion carved from carrots.
On the side of the Steamed Crucian Carp, there was Jiang Tai Gong carved from a turnip, which looked very lifelike.
“These are very well carved.” The Queen said, “I’m afraid this knife craftsmanship was not learned overnight. Which chef carved it?”
Qiao Jinniang lowered her head and said, “Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. These were carved by me.”
Emperor Huilin said with disdain, “These carvings are just unnecessary ornaments to show off one’s knife craftsmanship. The most important thing in a dish is the color, aroma and taste.”
Qiao Jinniang nodded obediently.
The Queen glanced at Emperor Huilin. “Why are you scaring her? How do you know this dish doesn’t taste good?”
Emperor Huilin took a piece of fish meat, but as soon as the fish entered his mouth, he shut up.
He had never tasted such delicious fish in the past 40 plus years of his life…
It turned out that fish could taste so fresh and smooth without any fishy smell at all!
Emperor Huilin even thought that if Qiao Jinniang became the crown princess, it would be convenient for him to go to the East Palace and eat the dishes she made…
No, he was the emperor of the country, the father of his people. He must not compromise for a few delicious dishes. Otherwise, his people would laugh at him!
But these dishes were really yummy…