About 300 meters from the tavern, there was a small, unassuming corner shop in the food district. The scent of mixed meat and dairy flavors wafted out from the exhaust fan, and any passerby would be struck by how appetizing it smelled.
Pushing the door open, you'd find yourself facing a narrow 8-seat counter. Behind it, the head chef and a few experienced assistants were busily working in a well-organized manner.
Although this restaurant hadn't been recognized by the WGO (World Gourmet Organization) as a one-star establishment, it was quite popular in the area.
"I'm Matsumoto, pleased to meet you," the chef usually greeted new customers with a brief pause from his work.
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Kentarou Matsumoto, this chef had once trained in Italy. After returning to Japan, he gained experience working in Tokyo's city restaurants before opening this small restaurant in the suburban food district.
The space behind the restaurant's counter was extremely cramped, barely allowing two people to pass side by side.
However, this didn't hinder Matsumoto and his assistants from creating dishes that would make their customers truly happy.
Typically, Matsumoto handled one side of the stove while his assistants prepared the ingredients and managed the utensils on the other side.
Of course, the stove was only equipped with the most basic kitchen tools—frying pans, saucepans, a small oven—just like an ordinary family kitchen.
Similar to many Japanese-Italian fusion restaurants that pride themselves on "harmony and creativity," this restaurant offered distinctly Japanese-style Italian cuisine!
In short, it was a unique blend of Japanese and Italian cooking.
But what exactly is Japanese-Italian cuisine?
To paraphrase a well-known saying: it's hard to define Japanese-Italian cuisine, but you know it when you taste it.
At that moment, Rindo had two different types of pasta in front of her—one paired with prawn and mullet roe, the other with abalone and abalone liver sauce.
Both dishes used ingredients with strong local characteristics.
The sweetness of the prawns and the salty freshness of the mullet roe were perfectly blended with herbs and Italian sauces.
Because her seat was so close to the stove, Rindo couldn't help but be captivated by Matsumoto's swift and skillful actions as he prepared the dishes.
Eight guests.
Fourteen dishes.
All of this was handled by the head chef and his assistant.
With customers entering the restaurant at different times, the challenge of timing the cooking became even more difficult.
"Interesting."
"This restaurant has some similarities to Zane's tavern," Rindo muttered to herself while enjoying the pasta.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Matsumoto asked, glancing at the ten or so empty ceramic bowls and then back at Rindo, who was still slurping her pasta. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed and worried.
"Don't worry."
"After all, I'm the current second seat of the Totsuki Ten Elite."
"A group of cowardly 'Midnight Chefs' hiding in the shadows—defeating them would be as easy as crushing ants," Rindo said confidently, patting her chest as she reassured Matsumoto.
"It's not that I doubt you students from Totsuki!"
"But even many one-star restaurant chefs have been defeated by the Midnight Chefs, and I'm genuinely afraid..." Before Matsumoto could finish his sentence, a masked man suddenly burst through the door.
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The masked man had half of his face covered with a black cloth, revealing only his determined eyes. He wasn't particularly tall, but his physique was well-balanced. Each of his steps was steady and powerful. His movements, though quick, were not rushed, exuding a calm and unhurried elegance!
The arrival of this masked figure brought with it an air of mystery and danger.
His gaze.
His actions.
Every detail about him filled Rindo with a sense of intrigue and mystery, reminding her of the recent turmoil in the culinary world caused by his appearance.
"Is my opponent you?" the masked man asked softly, his eyes fixed on Rindo as he realized who she was.
"Yes, you've been abusing the rules of the food wars and misusing Totsuki's name to wreak havoc in the culinary world. Did you really think we'd let you get away with it?" Rindo replied calmly, meeting his gaze.
"Very well. I hadn't intended to confront you Totsuki students so soon, but it seems..." The masked man's voice trailed off as he drew a sharp chef's knife from his cloak, his aura growing stronger by the second.
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Snake soup.
The most famous recipe is "Jiang Taishi Snake Soup," named after Jiang Kongyin, the last jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) of the late Qing Dynasty, who once served in the Taishi Court.
The method of preparing Taishi Snake Soup emphasizes the use of three types of snakes: the common water snake, the golden snake, and the tree-dwelling snake. A variant of the dish is a stew of three snakes with chicken, or "Three Snake Dragon and Phoenix Stew."
There's also a version using five snakes, with the addition of the rice eel and the mountain pit viper.
Additionally, civet stew pairs well with snake, and when combined, the dish is called "Dragon and Lake Stew."
At that moment, Rindo had fetched a snake from the storeroom!
When she held the snake up for everyone to see, the room was abuzz.
To prepare snake meat, you must first check for venom.
After removing the snake from the water, you add white beans. If the beans don't change color, the snake is non-venomous.
Since Rindo was using a tree-dwelling snake, it was non-venomous.
The next step is to simmer the snake meat for two hours with sugarcane, ginger, and dried tangerine peel to make the broth sweet and fragrant.
Then you add shredded abalone, black bamboo shoots, chicken strips, pepper, winter bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms. Finally, in a hot wok, sauté the shredded ginger and dried tangerine peel until fragrant, add a splash of Shaoxing wine, then toss in the shredded snake meat and other ingredients.
Thicken the mixture with a bit of water chestnut flour, and it's done.
When the dish is served, a bit of lemon zest, chrysanthemum petals, and cilantro are added to enhance the aroma and cut through the richness.
The result is a wonderfully fragrant snake soup!
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Every restaurant carefully selects its ingredients to match the season.
Now that it's winter, people are enjoying autumn crab, snake soup, and sweet desserts after meals. Although the main ingredients may seem similar, the choice of additional ingredients makes a big difference!
Indeed!
The resulting flavors.
Are similar yet distinct, with subtle variations that reveal the chef's creativity.
No matter what, the best dishes are those that cater to the customer's taste.
At this moment, the freshly prepared snake soup was placed in front of the masked man—no, in front of Asahi Saiba.
A closer look revealed that the ingredients used in this dish were somewhat unusual!
For example, the chrysanthemum paired with the snake soup was a rare variety known as "Crane Dancing in the Sky," a premium edible chrysanthemum.
The skill required to slice the lemon leaves was also a test of the chef's knife skills. First, you had to remove the veins and split the leaves in half. Then, you rolled them into tiny cylinders and sliced them as thin as strands of hair, using them immediately to retain their pure aroma.
Such a small bowl!
Yet it contained thousands of finely shredded pieces of snake meat, chicken, bamboo shoots, abalone, and fish maw…
Like the intricate tofu threads in the famous "Wensi Tofu" soup, this snake soup was made with finely shredded ingredients, which left the nearby Matsumoto Kentarou astonished!
"It really is snake meat!" Asahi exclaimed, a note of surprise in his voice.
Faced with this dish, he couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and curiosity.
"You just saw me butcher it; what else would it be?" Rindo replied with a hint of exasperation.
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To be fair, Rindo was braver than most people.
She had slaughtered the snake right there without so much as blinking.
The bloody scene was enough to make anyone shiver just thinking about it, leaving them unsettled for quite some time!
When eating snake soup, you need chrysanthemum, lemon leaves, and crispy flakes.
This is because snake meat is very hot, so chrysanthemum is used to cool it down.
Snake meat is also greasy, so lemon leaves are used to aid digestion. The crispy flakes add texture, just like the fried dough sticks that accompany porridge.
So, after briefly observing the snake soup in front of him, Asahi pushed aside his complicated emotions, picked up the bowl, and took a sip.
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The first taste.
The broth was fresh and smooth. If you had to describe the wonderful texture and flavor in one word, it would be: ambrosia!
There was none of the gamey taste of snake meat, nor any unpleasant aftertaste, only a subtle freshness.
And as he continued to chew,
The flavor of the snake meat became even more fascinating!
The bones slipped easily from the meat as he ate.
The texture was neither tough nor greasy, reminiscent of river fish, with a flavor akin to freshly caught fish.
Yes!
That's the feeling.
It was like the fish I used to eat as a kid!
Clean!
Fresh!
Refreshing!
Tender!
Smooth!
These flavors and textures quickly captivated Asahi, making him forget that he was eating snake meat.
In fact, the flavor was so exquisite, it was like experiencing a first
love—an unforgettable, deep sensation.
With his eyes closed, he took another sip, finding that the soup was thick and smooth. The lemon zest and crispy flakes added freshness, sweetness, and a clean taste… the combination of flavors danced across his palate!
One word:
Wonderful!
It's hard to imagine that such a rare ingredient could be so delicious!
"The preparation of snake soup involves killing, skinning, removing the head, tail, and innards, and other careful processes."
"These steps must be done meticulously to ensure the meat's texture and nutritional value. The cooking process also involves boiling, frying, steaming, and other steps, each requiring precise control of heat and timing."
"This snake soup doesn't have the strong gamey flavor typical of snake meat."
"I see, you must have used sugarcane, red dates, and dried tangerine peel to remove the odor, and you used a lot of ginger, right?"
"The absence of spiciness is because the ginger was soaked and steeped for a long time, removing the heat and leaving only the fragrance!"
"So."
"This snake soup."
"Offers a very smooth and pleasant taste experience!"
"The slight bitterness and sweetness of the chrysanthemum add a fresh fragrance that elevates the rich flavor of the snake soup to a higher level. Truly, this is an extraordinary dish!"
By the end of his analysis, Asahi had entered a state of deep appreciation.
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In his mind.
The bowl of snake soup before him had transformed into dozens of tentacles, writhing like snakes.
Asahi's limbs were suddenly bound by these tentacles, and he was suspended in mid-air.
He quickly realized he was trapped and began to struggle violently!
But no matter how much he struggled.
The tentacles held him tight, preventing any escape.
Freshness—that was Asahi's first impression.
Despite the small serving, the broth was made with fresh chicken, abalone, and snake bones. The shredded snake meat was then combined with shredded fish maw, mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and chicken to create the soup.
This enhanced the freshness and enriched the texture.
Although the snake soup looked plain and unassuming, its simplicity was deceptive. The lack of elaborate presentation made it seem unappealing, but the thick soup was brimming with flavor.
Even with the inherent greasiness of snake meat, the dish felt refreshing and elegant, with a rich, aromatic broth.
The soup was not made from chicken, but it was even better than chicken broth—a true delicacy.
"Wow!"
"This incredible flavor is unmatched by any other type of meat," Asahi thought, his eyes shining with newfound respect.
He now saw both Rindo and this bowl of snake soup in a new light.
Then.
Still unsatisfied, he took another sip of the snake soup.
Pork generally doesn't have a strong smell, beef has a slight odor, and lamb has the strongest aroma.
In terms of texture:
Beef is the toughest and driest, pork is second, and lamb is the most tender.
However, snake meat has a mild, pure flavor, with none of the unpleasant aftertaste typical of other meats.
This snake soup was incredibly fresh and flavorful, the broth clear yet rich, and the soup exuded a golden sheen like honey wax—making it look very nutritious.
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The bright red snake soup was all about flavor.
It also required the chef to master the cooking time perfectly—overcooked meat would be mushy, undercooked meat would be tough.
Rindo, being skilled in handling rare ingredients, was able to slice the snake meat into extremely thin pieces, about half as thin as the average snake soup.
At this moment, Asahi closed his eyes and savored each bite.
Finally, he exclaimed in delight, "What an unexpected dish!"
Snake, as a type of wild game, carries significant cultural weight and is often featured in high-end banquets.
Some chefs, like Rindo, who specializes in wild game, invest a great deal of energy in developing various ways to prepare it.
This results in beautifully crafted dishes, with a wide variety of presentations, full of creativity and offering a powerful sensory experience.
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