Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Old Wind
Translator: 549690339
“Citrus Embrace, is quite an unusual dish.”
After Chen Ang cast his vote, another Food Recommender approached the microphone and began, “The difficulty of cooking this dish is high, and the entire process is very meticulous, requiring great patience.”
“Today, on this stage, 1 saw Contestant Lei Ke execute it perfectly.”
” Lei Ke hails from Danju City, where the specialty dishes are very much in line with today’s competition theme.”
“Contestant Qin Lang, your performance today was astounding. I must admit that I also appreciate the dish called Twice-Cooked Pork, and your use of the seasonings taught by your family is indeed in accordance with the competition requirements.”
“If 1 must choose between the two…” The Food Recommender paused slightly and glanced at Qin Lang apologetically, “Sorry, 1 am leaning more towards Lei Ke.”
“This is a culinary competition stage, and 1 hope to see the showcase of more cooking techniques.”
“Therefore, my vote goes to Lei Ke.”
“Thank you for your support, Mr. Duan.” Lei Ke smiled and gave a slight bow.
” 1 cast my vote for Qin Lang.” Song Hui calmly picked up the microphone and spoke, “In my opinion, the Twice-Cooked Pork prepared by Qin Lang today has reached a very high level.”
“Because when 1 tasted the Twice-Cooked Pork, it seemed as if 1 felt a wave of emotion called ‘yearning’.”
At Song Hui’s evaluation, some of the other Food Recommenders looked surprised, and others displayed expressions of “So that’s how it is”.
They had similar feelings while tasting, but the perception was not clear enough to be sure.
After all, this is only a city-level cooking competition.
Even in provincial level cooking competitions, Spirit Chefs who can pour their emotions into their dishes are rare.
Lei Ke, standing at the side, narrowed his eyes slightly and could not help but look at Qin Lang.
Has Qin Lang’s Twice-Cooked Pork almost reached that level?
He became more curious about Qin Lang’s Twice-Cooked Pork.
What exactly is it like?
After Song Hui, the next Food Recommender immediately began to evaluate the performances of the two contestants.
In the end, he gave his vote to Lei Ke.
The votes were 2:2. It was a tie.
After that Food Recommender, the remaining Food Recommenders one by one announced their final vote.
The tally of Qin Lang and Lei Ke was changing amidst the increasingly tense atmosphere in the arena.
2:3…
3:3-
43-
4:4-
5:4-
The votes of the two contestants were in a deadlock, the difference between the two was not more than one vote.
Suddenly, there were just two judges left in the arena.
Their scores would determine the final outcome of the championship competition.
Who would taste victory?
In the players’ spectator seats, Tang Xie’s hands clenched tightly on the railing, his hands were white with the strain but he barely noticed.
“Who do you think will win?” Zhu Ming had somehow moved next to him and broken the silence.
“1 don’t know,” Tang Xie shook his head.
He hoped more for Qin Lang’s victory.
But after seeing the dishes of the two contestants, if he was a judge, he would choose Citrus Embrace.
Zhu Ming nodded slightly, looking at the two contestants in the arena.
“Huh?”
Her expression changed slightly.
Almost in unison, cheers erupted from all around the arena.
The score between Qin Lang and Lei Ke had reached 6:4!!
The gap in votes sprung open at this moment!
The result of the competition was determine at this moment!
“The last vote doesn’t seem to be that important,” Fu Hang, who was the last to vote this time, laughed, lifted the microphone, and said, “But in any case, I still have to perform my duty as a competition judge.”
In the midst of thunderous applause, Fu Hang calmly turned his gaze to the two contestants.
“Qin Lang’s Twice-Cooked Pork reminds me of the pure joy that delicious food brings.”
“It’s very simple, so simple that you can’t discern much of the plating or technique.”
“But it has something more important than any of those things —”
“It’s delicious.”
“So I’m giving it my vote.”
Fu Hang paused ever so slightly, “And Contestant Lei Ke, your culinary skills demonstrated in this contest are clearly on par with those of a city-level culinary competition champion, perhaps even superior. It’s just that you happened to face a stronger opponent.”
“So…” Fu Hang gave a small smile, “For the Zhen Niu Pavilion Beef Tasting Banquet in a few days, like Qin Lang, you too are eligible to participate.”
“Thank you for your evaluation, Mr. Fu Hang.” Despite the invitation to the banquet he had hoped for, Lei Ke couldn’t feel much excitement at the moment.
He had lost.
Lost to this dark horse that he’d never heard of before, who had distinguished himself in this Dongxia city level cooking competition—Qin Lang.
But Lei Ke is not someone who can’t accept defeat.
He wanted to lose in a manner he could clearly understand.
“The judging by the eleven Food Recommenders has come to an end!”
“Now, please, the two contestants should taste each other’s dishes. If you have any objections to the voting results, you can voice it in this section!”
Finally, what he had been waiting for!
Lei Ke’s spirits lifted.
He wanted to taste for himself, and find out, just how delicious this Twice-Cooked Pork that defeated his own creation and received unanimous accolades from the Food Recommenders, is.
“Citrus Embrace, please!”
“Twice-Cooked Pork, please!”
The two contestants exchanged dishes and began tasting.
In the center of the plate, which looked like a blooming flower, an intact-looking tangerine appeared in front of Qin Lang.
The tangerine had a golden-red skin, not like any variety of tangerine known to Qin Lang. However, from earlier comments by the judges, it wasn’t hard to figure out that this was a Golden Red Tangerine, a specialty of Danju City.
After picking it up and examining it, Qin Lang finally spotted small incision marks around the stem of the fruit.
He slowly peeled the tangerine. The interior resembled that of a normal tangerine, yet at the same time, it was completely different.
An expression of surprise appeared on Qin Lang’s face.
This Citrus Embrace really did have some similarities to Dragon’s Chant Strawberries.
The outer shell of the Citrus Embrace was crafted from tangerine juice and white sugar syrup, forming countless white filamentous strands resembling the fibrous membranes in a tangerine segment.
These strands were the roots of another Danju City specialty – the Danxia Grass, which is also used for its aromatic properties.
Qin Lang gently cracked open the sugary shell to reveal the steaming shrimp inside, which emitted a tantalising aroma.
“Would you like to try?”
He broke the Citrus Embrace into three parts, sharing them with the eager Dan Bao and Spicy.
“Gurgle!”
“Crunch!”
On the other side, Lei Ke picked up a slice of the hot and fragrant Twice-Cooked Pork and without any hesitation, put it in his mouth.
As he chewed, the flavourful pork, distinct Doubanjiang taste, spicy Capsicum frutescens, and aromatic green garlic commingled in his mouth like a harmonious symphony.
It felt as if he was lying on the hay in his hometown, feeling the wind from the fields and savouring the smell of the earth carried by the breeze.
Picking up some rice from a side, he took a big mouthful along with the Twice-Cooked Pork.
Maybe 1 should go home after the end of my trip to Dongxia City-
Thought Lei Ke.
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Easter egg at the end of this chapter:
[Dragon’s Chant Strawberry]
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