Chapter 303: The Soup with Three Layers of Flavor

Although the taste of dishes is the fundamental determinant of a restaurant's long-term success, one cannot ignore the fact that food, environment, and service are often inseparable.

In many cases, a good environment and excellent service can invisibly enhance diners' enjoyment, creating a subtle flavor boost through visual, auditory, and tactile experiences.

The Golden Opera House Restaurant itself was arranged in a semicircular layout,

With the silver strips surrounding it arranged in a staggered manner, forming a high-low surrounding layout. When the images on these strips lit up, the realistic audiovisual effect was akin to a VR experience, making diners feel as though they were truly in the ocean.

"Amazing!"

"It's like the noodles were kneaded from the tips of waves."

Chocolate looked around at the silver strips in surprise.

Initially, she hadn't paid much attention to these silver strips, thinking they were just reflective strips to enhance the lighting effects.

She hadn't expected these to be LED screens!

Moreover, the screens seemed to be connected to the kitchen's work environment, displaying images that seamlessly matched the movements of the noodle chef.

The timing of the waves, sound effects, and the chef's actions were perfectly synchronized,

Any slight delay in any of these elements would have disrupted the perfect harmony.

"But where is the switch? I didn't see a control panel when I came up!"

Curious, Chocolate reached out to touch the silver screen behind her, trying to figure out if there was a switch inside that controlled everything so precisely.

While she was investigating,

The noodle chef in the kitchen was preparing to take the noodles out of the pot.

Although Chocolate specialized in desserts, she had some knowledge about noodles.

Grasping different quantities while cooking noodles is just basic skill.

The true test comes when the noodles are taken out of the pot!

In the kitchen center, the noodle chef, holding a slotted spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other, expertly drained the soup while rolling the noodles.

Finally, with a strong flick!

He shook off all the starch from the noodles and neatly arranged them in a bowl.

Soon, the waiter arrived with a tray.

"Hello, here are your noodles."

The waiter professionally and gently placed a steaming bowl of noodles in front of Chocolate.

The noodles were served in a clear broth, with a small bowl of red chili oil on the side.

"This is a spicy soup to accompany the noodles. You can add it according to your taste."

After speaking, the waiter took out an exquisite lotus-leaf-edged plate from the tray, on which lay two round cookies.

The cookies were decorated with six-pointed stars drawn with icing, and scattered around were small stars and beer bottles.

"These are our beer festival special star sugar cookies, complimentary for hotel guests."

The waiter smiled and added, "Of course, this is not the complimentary dish. You can choose any dish you like from the complimentary dish page on the menu."

Chocolate asked eagerly, "Can I choose a dessert as the complimentary dish?"

"Of course." The waiter replied with a smile.

"Could you ask the master chef what dessert he's making right now? I'd like to have that." Chocolate pointed towards the baker.

The waiter followed her gaze and nodded, "Certainly, please wait a moment."

...

After the waiter left, Chocolate picked up her chopsticks, studying the bowl of "Do You Not See the Yellow River's Water Coming Down from Heaven" in front of her.

In the cool, clear broth, the fine, elongated dragon beard noodles nestled in the white porcelain bowl, forming a spindle shape.

The noodles were distinct and orderly, like the back of a crucian carp.

Green and red vegetables garnished the top,

With a few strands of noodles falling outside the main bundle, creating an elegant, slightly disheveled look, like a beauty's hair cascading over her shoulder after her hairpin falls out.

"It looks so plain..." Chocolate muttered.

The plain white soup bowl, the plain dragon beard noodles... it didn't match the grandeur of the Yellow River's water she had seen before.

However, the spicy soup looked promising.

If she could pour this spicy soup into the bowl, the color would surely become more appealing!

Unfortunately, she couldn't handle spicy food, so she couldn't witness the transformation of the noodles.

As a dessert chef, she valued aesthetics and presentation.

The plain appearance of the noodles disappointed her.

But the appearance isn't the key; the texture of the noodles and the taste of the soup determine the dish's success.

Chocolate took a spoonful of soup and sipped it.

"Smack, smack~"

Chocolate discreetly smacked her lips, her tongue carefully tasting the flavor.

"Nothing special, just beef broth." Chocolate's face showed a hint of disappointment.

Using beef broth as soup was common in many restaurants.

Just as she was about to swallow all the broth,

A rich seafood flavor with a hint of sea salt occupied her taste buds, following the beef broth's aftertaste.

Chocolate's eyes widened,

Growing up by the sea, she was extremely familiar with the taste of seafood broth.

But to extract such a rich flavor, it must have contained a lot of true seabream and fresh scallops!

Although sea salt's flavor can easily be overshadowed by seafood, the chef here had chosen a type of sea salt that perfectly balanced the broth's saltiness and blended it smoothly,

Along with the addition of sun-dried tomatoes, which fully brought out the umami of the seafood!

Chocolate licked her lips.

Even though she had only sipped a small amount of broth, it uncontrollably slid down her throat.

At the moment the broth passed through her throat,

A third flavor, completely different from the previous beef broth and seafood broth, emerged!

"There's more?!!"

Chocolate gulped down the broth.

It seemed to be... soy sauce?

Chocolate furrowed her brows slightly.

As a chocolate expert, she wasn't very familiar with other culinary categories.

She couldn't precisely identify this final flavor.

But her instinctive first reaction was that it was the taste of handcrafted matured soy sauce... no!

It was the flavor of the broth and matured soy sauce blended together.

The rich seafood broth, the light sea salt flavor, and the complex layers of beef broth spread across her tongue.

As it went down her throat,

The unique soy sauce fragrance from the broth lingered like a final note, its rich flavor and aroma lingering long after.

Chocolate was astonished.