On the day of the opening, everyone in the restaurant was rubbing their hands in eagerness. Around eleven o’clock in the morning, they pushed the cart outside and then waited for the aroma to spread.
With the New Year approaching, hurried pedestrians passed by on the cold and biting streets, where a uniquely spicy scent continuously wafted into their nostrils.
Following their noses, people found the newly opened restaurant, now renamed Huiben Building, and read the large characters on the signboard at the entrance: "Grilled Skewers!"
Then they saw a pot full of red oil boiling various interesting and appetizing things, and the crowd stopped to watch.
"What’s this? Why does it smell so good?"
The waiter’s eyes lit up with joy as he approached to greet them, "Honored guests, this is a warm-up activity for our restaurant before the New Year. See that, spicy and numbing grilled skewers, do you want to try a few? Whether it’s tasty or not, try it first and then you’ll know."
Perhaps the scent was too tempting, but everyone who gathered around couldn’t help but salivate.
"See, over here we have the meat skewers, all five cents each, and over here are the vegetarian ones, three cents each."
"Oh boy, that’s not exactly cheap!"
"Honored Guest, our meat is all solid meat, and just preparing it is both time-consuming and laborious, quite a hassle. Besides, when we usually eat fish, we have to kill it ourselves, then prepare it, and then remove the bones when we eat it, which is so troublesome. But look here, smooth and tender Fish Balls, so big, fresh and juicy, really delicious!"
"Alright, enough talk, just give me two skewers to try first. If they’re good, I’ll buy more."
"Alright, what would you like to eat? Choose for yourself. This white one is Fish Balls, the red and white one is Crab Stick, this is Shrimp Balls, over here is snail meat in Snail Balls, and we also have shellfish balls made from shellfish, and this one is Octopus Balls, we have everything, choose whatever you want!"
"Heh, this is quite interesting, looks pretty rare. Okay, then I’ll pick two skewers."
After choosing two skewers, one assumed they could be eaten right away, but instead, they were directly placed into a bowl and a dollop of well-mixed sesame sauce was squeezed on, then looked up and asked.
"Do you want scallions and coriander? What about chili, are you adding that too?"
"Hold on, um, don’t add anything for now. Let me taste its purest flavor first. If it tastes good, I’ll try the others afterwards."
The waiter nodded towards the back, "Alright, honored guest, please come this way. It’s too cold to stand outside, please come in."
With the first customer served, second ones followed. Initially, everyone’s attention was on the meatballs, so the vegetarian options were less noticed.
However, the waiters were not rushed, meticulously collecting money, serve food after payment, especially with a crowd to avoid chaos. This update is available on novel⚑fire.net
The taste of the Fish Balls had been repeatedly adjusted by Xiao Yu and Li Wei until they got it right. Some even had broth added inside; one bite and the mouth filled with rich flavors, incredibly delicious. And if you add sesame sauce, scallions, and chili, it becomes a fantastic mix, oh my, just perfect!
So they were not worried about customers finding the food unpalatable; they feared once the customers started eating, they wouldn’t be able to stop.
Indeed, the first customer who came in had already picked up ten skewers of meat one after the other. After calculating the cost, he decided not to indulge in meatballs anymore and then picked up another ten skewers of vegetarian ones, which included tofu, kelp, cabbage, potato chips, soybean sprouts, and more. After cooking, the flavors were incredibly delicious as well. The spicy and savory taste was different from the sweet and spicy flavor they were used to, a novel taste. In the end, the verdict was simple, in two words, delicious!